The McPassion of the Filmmaker
Rik Swartzwelder didn't like the way churches pitched The Passion from their pulpits a couple of years ago. So the young filmmaker made a biting satire about it—and you can watch it today.
by Mark Moring | posted 3/01/2006
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Rik Swartzwelder is a nervous wreck—and he's the first to admit it. "Scared to death," he says.
The young filmmaker didn't like the way The Passion of The Christ was pitched from pulpits a couple of years ago, and he feels like the church has gotten way too cozy with the idea of marketing Hollywood movies. So he responded the best way he knows how: He made a movie about it.
Swartzwelder, a Christian, wrote and co-produced The McPassion, a four-minute satire about the way Mel Gibson's film—and others since—became fodder for the marketing machine, which, to Swartzwelder, included churches and pastors making their own sales pitches. Swartzwelder's friend Benjamin Hershleder directed and co-produced The McPassion, described on the back of the DVD cover as, "The greatest story ever told and a fast-food giant unite to deliver the tie-in of tie-ins. While supplies last."
The result is a biting send-up that has Swartzwelder nervous about how it will be received. He's had a few private screenings, and says the reactions have been mixed. He says some filmmakers, college profs, and even a few of his Christian friends are already mad at him, calling his film blasphemous and sacrilegious.
Brian Godawa apparently digs it. Godawa, author (Hollywood Worldviews) and screenwriter (To End All Wars), says, "The McPassion is a New Testament equivalent of an Old Testament prophecy challenging the idolatry of the church in embracing the world in its commercialization. For those who would be offended, The McPassion is tame compared to Ezekiel's sarcastic 'short film' of Israel whoring away like a prostitute in heat in Ezekiel 23. Exegete that!"
You can decide for yourself: The McPassion is available via streaming video at the official website, starting today—Ash Wednesday. And it will run for 40 days—throughout Lent. Yes, the timing is intentionally ironic, says Swartzwelder, who recently chatted with us about the project.
Rik Swartzwelder
How did the idea for this film come about?
Rik Swartzwelder: The original idea came when The Passion of The Christ was being released in 2004. I was visiting my brother in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we visited several churches. And every church we went to, we were basically told from up front that it was our duty, or our responsibility as a church member, to buy a ticket to this movie. Now, I don't have anything negative to say about the film at all …
Just about the way it was pitched in churches.
Swartzwelder: Correct. I thought [the marketing in churches] was an anomaly, but now everyone's trying to do it. Everywhere I turn, people are trying to promote their films within church and specifically within worship. And that gets tricky, I think.
Like you, I heard it mentioned from a couple of pulpits. But I never heard the word "duty" or "responsibility." I heard, "This is a good movie and we encourage you to go see it."
Swartzwelder: But were you hearing that before the person had even seen it? To me, that's part of the issue. It's one thing if a pastor sees a film and wants to share that with his congregation. It's another thing when you start marketing a film sight-unseen just because you've been pitched it. How can you endorse something up front when you, yourself, have not even seen it?
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