Here Comes Hollywood … Again
Five years later, people are still talking about the commercial success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. It has become the preeminent case study for raking in the entertainment dollars of Christians. Since The Passion’s staggering commercial success, films such as Rocky Balboa, The Nativity Story, Amazing Grace (the William Wilberforce movie), and Evan Almighty have been directly marketed to church leaders as inspirational films that teach good lessons and inspire spiritual conversations. Heck, if memory serves, the Evan Almighty campaign included a faux cover wrap for Christianity Today — an expensive measure that was indicative of the studio’s aspirations.
Now, The Road is inviting church leaders to kick its tires (as discussed by The Christian Post here and in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly). Personally, I find this fascinating.
The Road – in theaters November 25 — is the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s book by the same name. I think McCarthy is an outstanding author and his premise (a father and son journey across post-apocalyptic America dodging cannibalistic bandits) seems like a good one. But does The Road (rated R for intense language, violence, and imagery) really sound like a film that churches can publicly throw their arms around? I hear the film is excellent, but that’s not always the most important criterion for church folk in search of resources and conversation starters.
To give you some idea of what the film’s all about, here’s the intense trailer:
