Let the countdown begin We’re only a week and a half away from the first Lord of the Rings movie, but the hype machine cranks up today for another Inkling‘s film, due out in 2004: C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Walden Media, a relatively new film studio (born in May) that aims at “marrying popular entertainment and education” will produce it (and hopes to produce the other Narnia stories too), but the real money behind it comes from Christian billionaire Philip Anschutz. The 16th richest American (according to Forbes) owns Walden, one-fifth of America’s movie screens, and a lot more. According to a September 1999 Fortune article, Anschutz was “working deliberately and diligently” to do “something significant in American Christianity.” Is this it?
“We have been relentlessly pursuing this project since the formation of Walden Media in May,” Walden Media head Cary Granat (who used to run Disney-owned Dimension Films) tells Variety. “We were very fortunate in that the C.S. Lewis Co. saw eye-to-eye with us on exactly how to make this film.” Speaking of the C.S. Lewis Company, Douglas Gresham will oversee the film’s creation. “It has been our dream for many years not simply to make a live-action version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but to do so while remaining faithful to the novel,” Lewis’s stepson tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We are delighted to make this film with Walden Media, which we are confident will create the adaptation that my stepfather would have wanted.”
Those following the recent Lewis conspiracy theories will be interested in this note in the Variety story: “HarperCollins retains publishing rights to the collection and had no involvement in the film pact.”
Billy Graham becomes an honorary knight Wouldn’t you know it, just when he stops holding crusades, he becomes a knight. At a ceremony at the British embassy in Washington, evangelist Billy Graham was named an honorary knight of the British Empire. “He has preached to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history,” said Ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer. “His ministry is truly international. Dr. Graham has blazed a trail of Christian commitment marked by tolerance and respect for others.” Graham had words, too: “I want to convey to her majesty, the queen, my deepest gratitude for the high honor she has graciously bestowed upon me this evening. … I accept with humility and unworthiness.” Weblog hasn’t seen coverage beyond the Associated Press (even in Graham’s hometown paper, The Charlotte Observer), and the AP has photos too.
More articles
Religion after September 11:
- Airport chapels see more use | Airport chaplains around the country are reporting increased business since the September 11 terrorist attacks involving four American jetliners (The Washington Times)
- Jonah teaches whale of a lesson on mercy, justice | Jonah tried to hide from God, not because he was afraid to die for a just cause, but because he was afraid a compassionate God might forgive the people of Nineveh rather than punish them for their evil ways (Martha Ezzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Freedom of religion:
- Ashcroft: Religious groups could be monitored | “For so-called terrorists to gather over themselves some robe of clericism … and claim immunity from being observed, people who hijack a religion and make out of it an implement of war will not be free from our interest,” says attorney general (Associated Press)
- Soccer player says she was demoted for not joining in team prayer | Coaches say she was suspended as captain for not participating in “dress up days” and other events (Associated Press)
- Woman pilot sues U.S. over Islamic dress code | Regulations, imposed only in Saudi Arabia, violate right to practice Christian faith freely, says first woman to ever fly a U.S. combat mission (Reuters)
Other articles of interest:
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