From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V2 #119 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Wednesday, August 13 2003 Volume 02 : Number 119 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 21:49:19 -0500 From: "webmaster" Subject: [AML] Box Office Report 1 Aug. 03 Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross) Weekend of August 1, 2003 Report compiled by: LDSFilm.com [If table below doesn't line up properly, try looking at them with a mono-spaced font, such as Courier - Ed.] Natl Film Title Weekend Gross Rank LDS/Mormon Filmmaker/Actor Total Gross Theaters Days - --- ----------------------------- ----------- ----- ---- 25 2 Fast 2 Furious 361,965 319 59 Paul Walker (lead actor) 125,380,175 43 Wrong Turn 71,068 82 66 Eliza Dushku (lead actor) 15,176,515 58 Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure 18,848 8 906 Scott Swofford (producer) 15,058,218 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) Sam Cardon (composer) Stephen L. Johnson (editor) 66 Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man 11,155 4 1179 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 15,441,116 69 Cremaster Cycle 7,860 3 101 Mathew Barney 400,868 (writer/producer/director/actor) 73 China: The Panda Adventure 4,176 2 738 Reed Smoot (cinematographer) 3,298,647 79 The R.M. 3,011 4 185 Kurt Hale (writer/director) 1,044,262 John E. Moyer (writer) Dave Hunter (producer) Cody Hale (composer) Ryan Little (cinematographer) Actors: Kirby Heyborne, Will Swenson, Britani Bateman, Tracy Ann Evans Merrill Dodge, Michael Birkeland, Maren Ord, Leroy Te'o, Curt Dousett Wally Joyner, etc. UPCOMING LDS-THEMED (+1) FILM RELEASES - Here's a summary of the current official release dates for LDS-themed films this fall. (We've added "The Legend of Johnny Lingo" to the list because it is a film of particular interest to members of the Church and was made by the Latter-day Saint filmmakers who made "The Other Side of Heaven," although "Lingo" itself does not have any LDS characters.) August 8/7 - Suddenly Unexpected (Houston, Texas only) 8/29 - The Work and the Story (Utah - Salt Lake City, Provo, possibly Logan) The Legend of Johnny Lingo (Utah, Atlanta, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Phoenix/Mesa, and Las Vegas) September 9/12 - The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey (Utah) October 10/10 - Day of Defense (Utah) Best Two Years (Utah) LDS FILMMAKING PICKING UP - This past couple of weeks has been a flurry of activity on the filmmaking front. The LDSfilm.com webmasters have met or otherwise spoken with quite a few filmmakers, and we're excited about what the future holds for LDS film professionals. A lot of it we've been able to pass on to you, but we're aware of several new major developments on the filmmaking scene that we are unable to release quite yet. Stay tuned for some important announcements in the weeks and months to come... SUDDENLY UNEXPECTED IN THEATER - Below is text from the webpages currently showing noting the upcoming theatrical release of the Houston-made Latter-day Saint-themed feature film "Suddenly Unexpected." Note that the movie will be playing daily for one week at 11:00 A.M. each day, plus one evening showing on Monday night (for FHE). The technical industry term for this schedule is "Outer Darkness," or "OD" From Nova Meyerland 8 movie theater, http://www.novacinemas.com/listing.cfm?ID=17.00000 : COMING SOON: Next week: SUDDENLY UNEXPECTED () starring: Jerald Garner, Michael Judd, Junii Hoang, Robert Mock, Brendan Estridge, Martin Estridge and Batty Times: World Premiere: Thursday, August 7 at 7:00 August 8 - 14 11:00am Monday August 11 at 11:00am and 7:00pm SUDDENLY UNEXPECTED Two young mormon missionaries wake up to find themselves evicted from the house, where they had been renting rooms from a now deceased widow. Unbeknownst to the elders, the widow's daughter has come to settle the estate and have an estate sale all in one day. The two missionaries awake to find people rummaging through their belongings asking, "Is this for sale?" The day takes some twists and turns as Elder Jones and Elder Smith ride their bikes to pick up a birthday package for Elder Smith. The Elder's bikes are unfortunately backed over at the post office and they end up bumming a ride with an older but kindly man. The Elders hope to return home quickly but their new friend has other plans. They are soon of going from one strange adventure to another. The Elders wonder what on earth they have gotten themselves into but before the day is out their view of the old man and themselves changes. We live in a world of sorrow and pain but all it takes is one person unafraid to make a difference. The Elders are surprised and delighted when they learn this lesson first hand. * * * * * * * HALESTONE (HALESTORM) TO DISTRIBUTE ANOTHER PROD. CO.'S MOVIE: B2Y - HaleStone Distribution, the distribution arm of HaleStorm Entertainment, will distribute the upcoming LDS-themed feature film "The Best Two Years." Previously, HaleStone has only distributed HaleStorm Entertainment-produced movies: "The Singles Ward" and "The R.M." With the release of "The Best Two Years," HaleStorm/HaleStone will become only the second distribution company to distribute LDS Cinema movies from multiple production companies. Excel Entertainment remains the leader in the market, having released "God's Army" and "Brigham City", made by Richard Dutcher's Zion Films, as well as the Garbett/Molen production "The Other Side of Heaven" and the Kaleidoscope Pictures/Focused Light Films production "Jack Weyland's Charly." The remaining movies in the niche are: - - "Handcart," which was directed by Kels Goodman and distributed directly by him. Goodman has publicly stated that self-distribution was very difficult and is not something he would recommend. - - "Out of Step," which went through a couple different distributors in two separate theatrical releases. Neither theatrical release was very successful with regards to box office performance, despite good notes from reviewers. * * * * * * * MICHAEL MCLEAN INVOLVED IN MUSIC FOR "BEST TWO YEARS" - We can now announce that learned that legendary Latter-day Saint songmeister Michael McLean and some of his associates will be handling the music for the upcoming Latter-day Saint-themed feature film "Best Two Years." Michael McLean had an immeasurable impact on the institutional filmmaking of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as a producer, writer, director and songwriter of many of the Church's major video productions of the 1980s. Produced and directed "Nora's Christmas Gift" (1989) a 46-min. TV movie, widely available on video, produced by the Church. "Nora's Christmas Gift" starred Celeste Holme and Elizabeth Wilson and featured the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. McLean co-wrote the story treatment and was the producer of the popular film "Mr. Krueger's Christmas" (1980), starring film legend Jimmy Stewart. McLean currently focuses on songwriting, producing some of the best-selling albums in the Latter-day Saint music market, and developing popular stage musicals, such as "The Ark." Additional bio information from Brother McLean's website at http://www.michaelmcleanmusic.com/ THE LEGEND OF JOHNNY LINGO PREMIERE APPROACHING - "The Legend of Johnny Lingo," a feature film produced by Jerry Molen and John Garbett and directed by Steve Ramirez -- all of whom worked on "The Other Side of Heaven" -- will be released in theaters at the end of this month. On August 28, 2003 there will be a special premiere in Salt Lake City for "Johnny Lingo." August 29th, Labor Day Weekend, the film opens in Utah, Atlanta, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Phoenix/Mesa, and Las Vegas before moving on to numerous other places all around the country. "DAY OF DEFENSE" PREMIERING OCT. 10, SEE THE CONTROVERSIAL MOVIE POSTERS W/ELDERS - The official "Day of Defense" website (http://www.dayofdefense.com) displays October 10th as the day of the premiere of this long-delayed LDS-themed feature film. Two different movie posters can be seen on the website, one featuring the Elders and one featuring the lawyers. Interestingly enough, "Day of Defense" will be the first LDS Cinema film in which the main characters are NOT Latter-day Saints. (Unless you count Rogers' Book of Mormon movie... in which the main characters are Lehi and his family, but that's not what we mean.) "Day of Defense" is about a small town which tries to prosecute Latter-day Saint missionaries for proselyting, thanks in large part to some bigoted Protestant clergymen. The main characters, played by Latter-day Saint actors Andrew Lenz and Brooks Utley are non-LDS lawyers who are friends, but who find themselves on either side of the case. Prolific LDS Cinema casting director Michelle Wright has the lead role as the wife of one (but not both!) of the lawyers. The movie was directed by Adam Lawson, and was adapted from the same-titled book by A. Melvin McDonald. "SUDDENLY" STAR JUDD PRODUCING A FEATURE - The updated biography of Latter-day Saint actor Michael Judd on the official website of the movie he stars in ("Suddenly Unexpected"), states that he is working on producing a film: [QUOTE] Michael Judd is a native of Bountiful, Utah. He served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California. It was only in the last year that Michael found acting and began his career as an actor. Before "Suddenly Unexpected," Michael was in the Mormon genre movie "Day of Defense." He has also been seen on CBS's "Touched by an Angel." Michael is also a producer for 4Leaf Films and is presently in production of his first featured film as a producer. [END QUOTE] * * * * * * * MAJOR MODIFICATIONS TO BOOK OF MORMON MOVIE WEBSITE - Extensive modifications have been posted to the official website for Gary Rogers' upcoming movie, at http://www.bookofmormonmovie.com, including a frequently asked questions section we found to be very interesting. Check it out on their website. We've included the text of one of the questions in the new FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) section here: [QUOTE] Q. What involvement has the Church had in this movie and how do they feel about it? A. This is the question people ask the most. It seems like the same question is asked every single day. We are going to spend some time answering the question so we do not have to answer it again! During October General Conference, 1988 President Ezra Taft Benson stated; "I have a vision of artists putting into film, drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and characters from the Book of Mormon." President Spencer W. Kimball has made similar statements. Because of these and other statements made by leaders of the Church, it seems clear to us that the Church would like to see a movie on the Book of Mormon produced. However, because The Book of Mormon Movie is an independent commercial production, the Church cannot nor should not endorse it. If the Church got involved in our production, they would have to get involved in any "Mormon themed" production, and that simply isn't practical. If a General Authority took me aside and told me this was a great movie that everyone should see, we wouldn't disclose that on our website for fear it would give the appearance the Church was endorsing the movie! Many people have asked why the Church hasn't produced a movie on the Book of Mormon. It would be difficult for the Church to get into the commercial movie business for many reasons. Whoever produces a movie on the Book of Mormon has to take some creative liberties. For example: if you are going to tell the story of Lehi's journey to the Promised Land, the viewer will get to know Lehi's family very well. We know that Nephi had sisters but the Book of Mormon doesn't tell us how many sisters he had. Whoever makes the movie will have to give them a number. If the Church makes the movie and gives Nephi 3 sisters, many people would take that as "gospel" because it was in a movie produced by the church! What do the brothers say to each other on their way back to Jerusalem to get the plates? We have no record of what they said. However, anyone making an entertaining movie that the general public would enjoy watching, would have to create some "filler" dialogue that is not found in the book. We have added dialogue and elements that we believe are plausible and consistent with the overall text. Before the movie even begins, a disclaimer appears on the screen which is also narrated, stating the movie is neither sponsored nor endorsed by the Church. It also advises the viewer that certain creative liberties have been taken and tells the viewer that the most complete and accurate account can be found in the record itself, the Book of Mormon. We hope that many people will want to read the book after seeing the movie. We have made every effort to produce a motion picture that will be pleasing to the Lord, the general public and the Church. [END QUOTE] The FAQ section also addresses the question of the movie's rating. The FAQ states that a Gary Rogers Book of Mormon movie (he plans to make many) will NEVER be rated R. But it states that this first one, and probably many of the others, could very likely be rated PG-13 because of the intensity of and violence of the source material. * * * * * * * TRU CALLING: The producer of "Tru Calling," the upcoming FOX TV series starring two Latter-day Saint actresses, has been compared by the show's producer to the TV series "Touched By An Angel," which was filmed in Utah with a predominantly Latter-day Saint crew. From http://www.scifi.com/sfw/current/news.html: [QUOTE] Neil Moritz, producer of Fox's upcoming SF series Tru Calling, told SCI FI Wire that production has begun on the first episode, which he characterized as "our version of what Touched by an Angel should be." "It's much hipper," he said in an interview. "It's got a great feel to it." Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) plays Tru Davies, a young morgue worker who receives messages from the dead, then zaps back in time to prevent their deaths. Moritz said that the show would handle the violence tastefully. "I wouldn't say there's gruesome gore," he said. "Obviously we're dealing with death, and there are some horrific images, but it's not over the top by any means." Moritz added that Fox has ordered 13 episodes, but that he hopes to produce a lot more. Tru Calling will air Thursdays at 8 p.m., starting in the fall. [END QUOTE] MODINE STARRING IN BASEBALL TIME TRAVEL TV MOVIE: This week's SciFi.com news also describes an upcoming made-for-TV movie "The Winning Season," which will star non-Churchgoing Latter-day Saint actor Matthew Modine. Modine told SCI FI Wire that the sory is about old-fashioned ethics and values. "It's about honesty, being a gentleman, [and] about manners, how perhaps people had more manners and were more polite in the past. [It's about] the values of the past and the game of baseball... The idea that a baseball player could make so much money today, all the [past] baseball players -- Babe Ruth and Honus -- they're all laughing." The movie is based on the book _Honus and Me_ by Dan Gutman, about a boy who, with the aid of a magical old baseball card, travels back to the 1909 World Series and finds himself transformed into an adult. "The Winning Season" is set to premiere on cable network TNT in the spring of 2004. THE WORK AND THE STORY FEATURED IN KSL NEWS STORY - Channel 2, KSL, based in SLC for Utah market, ran a news feature story about Nathan Smith Jones upcoming LDS-themed feature comedy "The Work and the Story." There were interviews with Ron Ralston, Dan Merkley, and and the incomparable, irascible director (and star) Nathan Smith Jones. "The Work and the Story" stars Kirby Heyborne ("The R.M.", "The Singles Ward"), Richard Moll ("Night Court") and "Richard Dutcher" as sort of "himself." "The Work and the Story" will officially be released on August 29th in Salt Lake City, Provo and possibly Logan, Utah. It is being distributed by Off-Hollywood Distribution. Coincidentally, this is the same date that "The Legend of Johnny Lingo" is being released on 100 screens. ARTICLES ABOUT HALESTORM'S "THE HOME TEACHERS" - See: http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/45131 http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/45132 http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/45173 Our understanding is that "The Home Teachers" is wrapping principal photography today. NEW FROM EXCEL ENTERTAINMENT: LAVELL EDWARDS DOCUMENTARY - Excel Entertaiment will be distributing a new documentary about LaVell Edwards' final season at BYU called "Last Miracle for LaVell." It will be released to the public on August19 (on VHS and DVD). Everybody who loves Edwards, or loves BYU football in general, or loves life in general, should check this out... NEIBAUR'S "HAWKING" IMAX NEARS COMPLETION - The IMAX film about non-LDS astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, directed by LDS filmmaker Bruce Neibaur, is nearing completion. See http://www.imaginaryuniverse.com/beam.html ARTICLE ABOUT LDS HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS ANN SWARD HANSEN - See http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510043966,00.html? ARTICLE ABOUT MATTHEW BARNEY'S "CREMASTER" - See http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/Entertainment/Vis ual+Arts/D960A031BD268BA486256D6E0078F15A?OpenDocument&Headline=Matthew+ual+ Barney%3A+The+art+world's+straight,+white+hope+ THE BEST TWO YEARS ARTICLE - See http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/45154 SISTER NELEH QUITS MORNING NEWS SHOW - Neleh, who starred in the top-rated TV show "Survivor: Marquesas," has quit her gig on local news. See http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Aug/08012003/friday/80164.asp * * * * * * * UTAH-BASED FILM FESTIVAL CALL FOR ENTRIES - Announcing the Free Form Film Festival! Call for Entries! loaf-i productions and Inner Mission Productions are two media-arts collectives that have combined resources to organize the first annual Free Form Film Festival (FFFF). The FFFF is a traveling free-format festival. Any style, genre, format, or length of film will be considered. We believe in the virtues of artistic and cinematic eclecticism, and will be taking our festival to several cities in an attempt to expand our filmmakers' sphere of influence. We initially extended this call for entries over a month ago, but are still in serious need of material. FILMMAKERS SHOULD SEND US THEIR WORKS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Our first deadline is on August 15th. Entries received after August 15th will need to include a five dollar late fee. All pertinent information is available at http://www.loaf-i.com thanks, tyrone davies tyrone@loaf-i.com * * * * * * * ACCLAIMED LDS SHORT FILM DIRECTOR SEEKING UP AND COMING COMPOSER - Filmmaker Tucker Dansie has asked us to post the following: Seeking composer for "One of Life's Little Lessons" Hi there, Tucker Dansie here. In the next few months I will be finishing up "One of Life's Little Lessons" film series. I would like to have the entire series scored (about 20 minutes worth of 5 different films, each with there own feel and 1 main theme song.) I'm looking for composers that could send me a demo of their work that would be similar to the feel of what's on their now (temp tracks) or I'm willing to listen to new ideas too. I cannot pay up front, unless my distributor will help, which I doubt, but I will defer on the royalties from sales. I have many companies interested in selling. If you are interested please contact me by e-mail and I'll give you can address to send a CD or if you have an MP3 that's even better. You can see the films now with the temp music at www.oneoflifeslittlelessons.com Tucker Dansie tucker@dansie.com * * * * * * * NEW WEBSITE FOR DISPLAYING SHORT FILMS: MORMONMOVIES.COM - We are currently trying to put our URL to good use. We would like to put together a website where MORMON filmmakers can put there short films up on the web for others to view them. WWW.BRITSHORTS.COM is an example of what we are trying to achieve. We are looking for the following: 1. Web Designer(s) 2. Host server There is no money involved in this project just a hobby, but hey that's how YAHOO and GOOGLE got started (not to mention LDSfilm.com). CONTACT: WEBMASTER@MORMONMOVIES.COM - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 21:51:08 -0500 From: "webmaster" Subject: [AML] Potter on _Suddenly Unexpected_ Premiere Director Mark Potter reports on the premiere of his LDS-themed movie "Suddenly Unexpected", Thursday night, August 7th, 2003: The movie opened last night. Before the showing, both Marge and I were feeling very nervous. We had not seen the final 35mm print. It did not come in until Tuesday afternoon. We got to the theater at 5:30. I could not rela= x as people began arriving. Actually I would have preferred to be some place else. At 7:10 Marjorie and I introduced the film. It began to roll but the sound was not up. Marjorie and I were out of the theater in a bolt. The projectionist had pushed a wrong button. This does not help very nervous people. Once the sound was back on, we went back to the theater. Marge forced herself to go back in and sit down. I stood in the back. I was dying until the audience started laughing. If only a few people laugh, you can no= t hear a thing in the back. It is not until the whole house laughs that you can tell that they found something funny. Once they started laughing regularly, I could sit down in the theater for the rest of the film. They kept laughing-people don't fake laughing or laugh to be polite to make the director and producer feel better. The whole audience laughing is a good judge that you can tell if the movie is working or not. Once the whole hous= e started laughing they kept going through the rest of the movie. Then the movie ended with a big laugh. When people see you after the movie, you expect that they will do what most people do and be polite and say something nice no matter what they thought. So we take what people say with a grain of salt. But I did have two different eight year olds come up to me and say that they thought it was very funny and wanted to know when they could get it on video. Kids don't lie about such things so I knew that they really did like it. Of course we never thought about making a movie 8 years old would like. It just happened= . Several people asked when the video would be out which we took as a good sign. Some of the emails sent to us from non-members said =93I was at the premiere. It was great! Congratulations. Some very creative humor..=94 Another said, =93I responded to the film's gentle, unforced humor. The relationship between th= e elders came across as warm and very human. I liked both of them, and you made it clear how the strange little odyssey with the package enriched thei= r relationship from externally-ordered companions into guys who would like each other even if they weren=92t on a mission together.=94 Another non-member said to us, =93I loved the pacing of the movie. It relaxed me and made me laugh too=94. The audience was about 60% members and 40% non members. Member enjoyed it too. They had many positive reaction. It worked in all ag= e groups of 6 up to 86. I would say that around 80% of the audience really enjoyed the movie. We left the theater feeling very good. Exactly what we are going to do from here, we are not sure at this moment. We are pondering on it. [Forwarded with the permission of the author.] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 20:29:09 -0700 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] Episcopalean Revelation As a vintage member of the Episcopal church, I can make the following comments: 1. The source of authority in Anglicanism has always been three-fold: scripture, tradition and reason. Scripture has never been the sole authority. As a Roman Catholic, Mr. O'Reilly observes two of those sources -- scripture and tradition. 2. This has less to do with continuing revelation than with a continuing presence of Christ within the community. Anglicanism is essentially an "incarnational" religion -- where the life of the community centers on the eucharistic elements, and being thus filled with the body and blood of Christ, the people become the habitation of God. This provides for a dynamic that is hard for some to understand. And, in fact, it is an environment where reason can leap-frog over scripture and tradition, thus allowing for such novelties as the ordination of women and the elevation of the gay fellow to the bishopric. It's really a whole different world from Mormonism. - -- Jeff Needle jeff.needle@general.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 20:24:33 -0700 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] Dutcher on KRAKAUER, _Under the Banner of Heaven_ Quinn, I'm very grateful for your review, and for Richard's comments, and those of others. I haven't gotten a copy of this book yet. As time goes on, I'm less and less concerned about this. They should show up at DI at any time. One question, if I may. You refer to the book as a "novel." Was this a deliberate comment on how you view the book -- more fiction than fact? This is a strong indictment, if it's true. Thanks again for your comments. - -- Jeff Needle jeff.needle@general.com - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 20:30:51 -0700 From: Jeff Needle Subject: Re: [AML] Review of Krakauer and Others in _Salon_ This is news to me, too. I'm very interested. Lisa Tait wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "thelairdjim" > > > I was quite surprised during the Lewinsky embroglio tht they didn't > > decide to call Starr a Mormon, since his church is a splinter off of > > ours as well. But then again it's a legal church and has been for more > > than a century. I suppose it's only the illegal sects that get to be > > honorary Mormons since they can't form their own churches dedicated to > > breaking the law. > > > Okay, I have to ask for more information about this. I read Newsweek and > other sources throughout the imbroglio and I don't remember any references > to Starr's religion. What church does he belong to? Can you give a source? > > Lisa Tait - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:09:23 EDT From: Vholladay5254@aol.com Subject: [AML] Is It Funnier with the Profanity? It's been a while since the subject has come up and the Krakauer thread is definitely more interesting, but this article on Neil Simon caught my eye. From my position in (LDS) publishing, the profanity question among writers was always moot, since it was a non-issue. It didn't matter if it was more realistic in writing or not, if it was offensive to readers we had to work around it. While some writers might find this choice offensive, for us it was better to be less offensive than to be more realistic. This was the article in a nutshell: Neil Simon was asked for permission by the owners of a Pleasant Grove playhouse for permission to run his play "Rumors" without several certain four-letter words - approximately nine. Others words would remain, but these particular ones were particularly offensive to the local audience. Well, apparently Mr. Simon doesn't think so. In fact, he apparently "thinks his plays are far more funny with profanity in them than without." In fact, he feels so strongly about this that he's not granting the Pleasant Grove theatre permission to do his play. According to his lawyer, "I doubt that any person with the proper upbringing would be corrupted by hearing these words." One of the owners, Gayliene Omary, who paid the $800 royalty to produce the play, said she thought it wouldn't be a problem to cut out the profanity because she's been in other productions in which directors omitted language that may have offended the audience expected to attend. The tussle mostly comes over nine utterances of the four-letter "F" word. "We're keeping several damns and hells," Omary said. "But we won't make the cast members say the others." Does this tell us why we need more good Mormon theatre? http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510045557,00.html - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 12:07:12 -0600 From: "Bill Willson" Subject: Re: [AML] What Is Gender? (was: Definitions of GLBT etc.) - ----- Original Message -----=20 From: "Lisa Tait" > > So far as I have been able to determine, the Church does not have a stance > > on intersexuality. Does anyone have further information? > > > implications of choosing > a sex for the child, particularly whether it was supposed to be a boy and > have the priesthood. > > Which brings up a question that I find compelling and pretty much unanswered > in our theology. What is gender anyway? I mean beyond the definition of > gender as the social constructs surrounding biological sex. We believe that > our Father's spirit children have eternal gender identities both pre- and > post- mortal. So what does that mean? What does it mean to be "male" or > "female"? What is the essence of each gender that causes the division? Most > Mormons seem content to accept some form of the priesthood/motherhood > dichotomy, but that doesn't satisfy me. The priesthood/motherhood > assignments seem to be, if anything, the result of gender, not the cause. As > far as I have seen there is nothing in the scriptures anywhere that > addresses this subject. Sure would be interesting to know. ______________________________________ >From the family proclamation: All human beings=97male and female=97are created in the image of God. Each= is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual pre mortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose. That seems scriptural enough for me. As far as what that means? -- Well it seems that Heavenly father saw the need for different roles and functions in mortality and for that matter for life eternal to perpetuate itself. So he made us two separately different entities, each with a definite role in the process of procreation. A man and a woman are two separate parts of a whole, and as such they fit together and serve God's holy purposes. As far as the intersexual dilemma of the cross gender birth defects go, I have no idea why these things occur. Why are some children born without arms or legs? Why are some born deaf or blind, or with other debilitating defects? We just have to deal with these problems like any of the other problems brought on by the conditions of mortality. It has bothered me for some time that there are a number of women in the church or out of it that feel that being a woman somehow makes them inferior, or that theological doctrine somehow denigrates their gender. The truth is - If we look at the simplified story of creation we have been given in scripture, and also had laid out so beautifully for us in the temple ordinance, is it so difficult to see that God created everything in a very organized hierarchy? First plants, then creeping things, then higher forms of animals, then Man (from dust) and last Woman from the rib of the man. This order is symbolic of our order of importance to God. God saved his finest creation for last. To man he gave the Priesthood and the responsibility of decisions and leadership with more than ample opportunity to make many mistakes, but to women he gave the power of creation and the responsibility to hold posterity within their bodies. Men grow their seed daily and it is either used or cast away periodically. Women hold all the seed they will ever possess from birth. This is an awesome responsibility, one that could only be intrusted to His finest creative efforts. I think it is best if we just deal with what God has given us, the best we can, and not be so bent on trying to reshuffle the deck. Life is good, and God is in charge. We just have to figure it out and do the best we can. Bill Willson, writer http://www.iwillwriteit.com http://www.latterdaybard.com Here's a great place for LDS artists to show and sell their work. http://www.minutemall.com CHECK IT OUT! - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 13:56:47 -0600 From: "Eric Samuelsen" Subject: RE: [AML] Dutcher on KRAKAUER, _Under the Banner of Heaven_ Hey guys. Eric Samuelsen back, after falling under the knives of = surgeons. Good to check out the several hundred AML messages waiting = for me here in Outlook; man I've missed our dialogue. As Mary Aagard kindly pointed out, I reviewed Laura Miller's review of = the Krakauer book, which, at the time, I hadn't had a chance to read. = Basically I was responding angrily to Miller's article/review thingy, = which I thought did not live up to the generally high factual standards = Salon (and Miller, frankly) set for themselves. Brigham Young resembled = Mao Tse-tung in these particulars: they were both male, and they were = neither of them Eskimos. Beyond that, further comparisons are absurd. =20 I now have read _Banner_, and haven't much to add to Richard Dutcher's = excellent non-review review. Krakauer is a journalist, not a historian, = and he's also clearly someone who isn't at all well versed in Mormon = history. I love his mountain climbing books; Into Thin Air is brilliant, = because Krakauer knows that world in his bones, and as always, writes = compellingly. He's in over his head dealing with Mormon history or = contemporary mainstream Mormonism. Beyond these few points, however, something else needs to be said. In = part, the violence of those Mormon fundamentalists who are violent is in = fact rooted in some strands of nineteenth century rhetoric. Jedediah = Grant did, in fact, preach blood atonement (the notion that certain sins = are so serious, especially apostasy, that the sinner must atone for them = by the effusion of his/her own blood). Couple days ago, a letter to the = editor in the Deseret News argued against an effort in the Utah = legislature to end firing squads as a death penalty option, because = Mormons run this state and we believe in blood atonement. Well, I'm a = Mormon and I don't believe in blood atonement. And the evidence that it = was ever an official doctrine of the Church is not strong. (In fact, it = fundamentally contradicts essential Mormon understandings of Christ's = atonement). But it's not difficult to trace the logic thusly: Jedediah = M. Grant preached blood atonement from the pulpit. He was an apostle. = When the Brethren speak by the Spirit from the pulpit, it's scripture. = Therefore, we believe in blood atonement today, and forever.=20 And thus Krakauer's main argument, and the one that personally offends = me the most, could be said to be valid. A potential for violence = underlies the principles of my religion. Ouch. Now, that offends me, in large measure because my everyday = experience living as a Mormon is so much the opposite. Mormonism today, = it seems to me, primarily centers around family and service. The = Lafferty's have no more to do with how I experience my religious life = than Osama has to do with how my dearest Muslim friends experience their = religious life. Family home evening is not a violent experience, except = on those rare occasions when we only have seven brownies left for our = four children. Now, could the Church do more to distance itself from the fundies? It's = hard to imagine how. But could the Church do more to distance itself = from Jedediah M. Grant? Yes. Isn't it about time that we Mormons = acknowledge that General Authorities, even Apostles, can and do make = mistakes? They can and do preach silly things from the pulpit. They = can and do hold tight to foolish and outdated folk doctrines, or pull = their ideas from some popular social theory. And we, as members of the = Church can and do make up our own minds about whether or not we agree = with them, through, of course, prayer, but also, let's face it, through = reason. Or have none of you had the experience of driving home after a = Stake Conference or a Fireside and saying to your spouse "man, that was = one lousy talk?" Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 14:17:27 -0600 From: "Eric Samuelsen" Subject: RE: [AML] ROWLING, J.K. _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ (Review) It's always dangerous to respond to a post a month after it was first = posted, but when have I ever been wise? I absolutely love Harry V. I think it's the greatest book in the = series. I've been reading it aloud to my children, and it's been a = ball; I get to come up with new character voices for Tonks (sort of Toni = Colletteish), for Bellatrix (definitely Margaret Hamilton: the Wicked = Witch of the West), Kingsley Shacklebolt (James Earl Jones) and best of = all for Delores Umbridge (Carol Channing). But what I love about the new = Harry Potter IS in fact the LDSness of it. Because this book, far more than the others, is about death. In this book, you see Dumbledore's office, where he constantly receives = advice from the portraits of previous headmasters. I kept thinking of = President Hinckley, and how specifically he builds his presidency on the = presidencies of Brigham Young or Spencer Kimball or Howard Hunter. =20 In this book, of course, Harry loses a friend to death, and has to come = to grips with that. In this book, Harry learns unsettling truths about his sainted dead = father. His geneology, so to speak, has a few dark corners to it. = Sirius, meanwhile, reveals through his rejection of it, that family = history, when used to show how cool you are to have had such wonderful = relatives, can lead to the worst sorts of damning pride and arrogance.=20 In this book, however, the sealing power of family is shown to be the = greatest power in the world. =20 And in this book, Harry asks a ghost to explain death to him. And the = explanation is wonderfully comforting and mysterious and right. =20 It's a great book, and a very funny book. Harry is very much a teenager = in this book, much given to histrionics and mood swings and = emotionality, clueless about girls, but also obsessed with them, and = also, at times, astonishingly mature and grown-up. I have two teens at = home, and it's such a wonderful age. Also, at times, no fun at all. Best of all, this is the book where Hermione most comes into her own. = She's such a wonderful character, so bright and insightful and loyal and = brave, endlessly patient with Harry and Ron, but also snappish and = impatient too. She's truly one of the great creations in modern = children's literature. =20 And Fred and George rock. They are laugh out loud funny, pretty much = non-stop. And Umbridge is a wonderful villain. But this is a book that will bring you closer to God. It's a book that = I can talk to my kids about, all of 'em, because it's true and good and = virtuous. Love love love this book. Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V2 #119 ******************************