The Joneses

Sometimes a movie will surprise you. I have seen thousands of films over the years, and I usually feel like “I have seen this movie before”. Where’s the originality or the willingness to explore new territory? So I had little or no expectations when I took a look at the new film, the Joneses. I expected this film to be nothing more than a silly or stupid comedy with a heavy dose of sexuality thrown in for good measure.

The Joneses stars veteran actors David Duchovny and Demi Moore. You might remember Duchovny from his days as Fox Mulder in the X Files. Demi Moore was the highest paid actress during the 1990s with big hits such as Ghost, Disclosure, and A Few Good Men. Both actors have had less than stellar performances or opportunities in recent years.

The Joneses could serve as a comeback of sorts for both David Duchovny and Demi Moore. Their performances prove that they still have what it takes. Both were engaging and delightful, while being personable. In fact, The Joneses is a solid movie with an unpredictable story line. Although, it is not a faith-based movie, it does offer a cautionary tale about the ugly side of the American Dream. Without giving away too many details, the plot goes something like this: David Duchovny plays Steve and Demi Moore plays Kate, his wife. Steve, Kate and their two teens move into an upscale neighborhood. They seem to be a perfect reflection of an all-American family with a beautiful home and all of the accessories in life. But do they have a hidden agenda? Or are things as they seem? What follows will surprise you as the film takes a U-turn most audiences will not expect.

The Joneses is a film worth checking out. I’m surprised it didn’t gain more attention. It debuted in September during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. It received mostly positive reviews. It’s hard to understand why it received only a limited theatrical release and made only $1.4 million domestically.

I have a difficult time understanding why good films that have something important to say don’t receive more support. The Joneses is worth your time and effort. I must caution you that it does contain some language and sexuality, which is obviously inappropriate for younger audiences. But the positive elements of this film clearly outweigh the negative content for more mature and discerning audiences. It is currently available on DVD.

The Rant, How Far is Too Far?

As I have said before, Monday is always a good day for a rant. Maybe I should call Monday Rant Day. So here goes. Do you think filmmakers have a responsibility to the public? Do they sometimes go too far or cross the line by depicting excessive violence or sexuality. Is there such a thing as good taste? If there ever was a recent example that makes the case for crossing the line, the filmmakers in the name of being edgy, provocative or controversial crossed that line in the 2010 film, The Killer Inside Me.

I realize there are plenty of other films that offer up more violence and sexuality than this film, but it is the nature and how it is presented in The Killer Inside Me that is totally unacceptable. And I am not the only one who makes this case. Several reviewers of the film feel that the film is exploitive in it’s depiction of violence toward women. Two scenes in particular absolutely destroy this film. I don’t have a problem with violence or exploring the darker side of the human experience, but there is a way to do it in good taste that respects the audience.

Director Michael Winterbottom had a lot going for him. This film is stylish and mesmerizing in its use of film noir in recreating the early 1950s of West Texas. Casey Affleck is outstanding in the role of Lou Ford, the town deputy, who also is a killer and sociopath that nobody expects. But the filmmakers destroy the noir atmosphere by excessive and unnecessary violence and sexuality. They indulge in it to the point of sickening the audience. I frankly don’t understand the point. What’s so frustrating is they potentially had a good character study. Why, why, why throw it all away?

The Killer Inside Me was made for about $13 million. The numbers tell you everything you need to know. In the name of art, the filmmakers decided to do it their way. It debuted in January 2010 at the Sundance Film Festival. It was sold to IFC for only $1.5 million and made only $600,000 at the box office. Looks to me that the investors will never see their money.

It’s time to send a message. I don’t advocate censorship or banning movies, but I do think we need to have a good dose of common sense. There’s no need to depict this type of brutality and voyeurism. In fact, one could make the case that the filmmakers wanted us to enjoy the experience because it went on and on. Maybe other filmmakers should complain and object and say there is a line you do not cross, and we do have a responsibility to the public. Let’s not make the mistake by justifying what they did as artistic expression. Here’s one film I suggest you skip.

Hitting the Nuts

The next few days promise to be an exciting time for some local filmmakers here in Cincinnati, Ohio. After almost two years of hard work, the locally-produced film, Hitting the Nuts, will have it’s world premier on October 9, 2010, at 8 p.m. at Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The premier is part of the week-long Cincinnati Film Festival. Tickets are currently available but going fast. Two other dates are also scheduled during the festival at the Esquire Theater located near the University of Cincinnati. Tickets are available for October 11 at 7 p.m. and October 12 at 5 p.m.

Hitting the Nuts is a mocumentary in the tradition of A Mighty Wind or For Your Consideration. Hollywood Casino is an appropriate location for the premier because the film’s plot revolves around an illegal Texas hold’um card game that takes place at a morgue in Scott County Indiana. Most of the film was shot right here in Cincinnati, which served as a backdrop for the Indiana locations.

The movie features an odd assortment of characters who, for one reason or another, must win this tournament. It is an offbeat comedy featuring some of the best improv actors from the Los Angeles area. Joe Boyd, the teaching pastor at Community Vineyard Church in Springdale, Ohio, wrote and directed the film. Boyd also stars in the movie as the Amish farmer is a veteran of the film industry and has worked in improv in the comedy clubs in Los Angeles. He also had an on-going role in the daytime soap opera, General Hospital. The idea for Hitting the Nuts originated while Boyd worked in Los Angeles. But it wasn’t until he moved back to Cincinnati that all of the pieces fell together.

Joining Boyd in the production of Hitting the Nuts are Vineyard staffers Isaac Stambaugh, the line producer for the film, and Brad Wise, who served as one of the producers. Mark Denny, the Director of Photography, helped to make Hitting the Nuts look like a film having a more substantial budget.

Several other people involved with the project attend the Vineyard church. Most volunteered their time and their talents to make the project possible. Our own Media Missionary School’s host, Bekka Prewitt, was the film’s first assistant director.

Hitting the Nuts was shot in August of 2009 with a budget approaching nearly $200,000. The film was one of the most substantial projects shot in Cincinnati in some time. The producers are hoping that this is the beginning of a film industry here in Cincinnati as they plan to produce several more films here in the local area. They also expect to secure a distribution deal with Rivercoast Distribution during the Cincinnati Film Festival. This could put Hitting the Nuts in a theater near you. Expect a DVD release as well.

For ticket prices and information, go online at cincyfilmfest.com.

The Red Pill, Part 2

Obviously, there’s no physical red pill that exists that you can take that will allow you to see the world as it really is. I wish it was that simple. But it’s more of a process that requires time and energy and a commitment to pursue the truth. A good place to start is to continue to read Media Missionary’s School blog and website. We offer a ton of resources and articles that can help you on your journey. I’ve also written book that I’ve re-titled “The Red Pill, A Cure for Today’s Mass Media Culture”. It can offer you insight and perspective into the strategies and techniques of today’s modern media age. But this is only a start. None of theses resources are intended to tell you what to think but only to serve as a guide to help you to take control of your life and the decisions you make.

I believe taking the red pill is a five step process.

Step 1 starts with awareness. We are all too busy rushing around thinking about the future and doing what someone else tells us we are supposed to do. You have to take time to slow down and live in the moment. It’s important to be aware of our environment and the world around us. That requires us to pay attention to the moment. Our lives are a journey. But often we are only interested in the destination. What we fail to understand is that our life is a process, and what happens along the way or the journey will define who we are as a person.

Step 2 requires us to question everything. We can no longer accept things on face value. Just because we see it in the news or hear it in the media does not make it true. Taking the red pill means we must ask questions and press for answers. And that means questioning all of our institutions, for example, government, schools and the Church. Most often we just assume the world is supposed to be a certain way or this is the way society tells us to live our lives. But why do we accept it as normal?

Step 3 is to learn the language of media. If we don’t understand the strategies and techniques that media employ to hold our attention and distract us, we will always be subject to its control. The only way to truly be free is to become media literate. By doing so, we will understand the multiple, layered media images that are being communicated through today’s mass media culture.

Step 4 requires us to readjust and examine what we think to be true and know why we believe it to be true. By following steps 1 – 3, we reach a place where we have to readjust our lives. It will require some difficult decisions. We must examine what we believe, where that belief came from and why we believe it. More than likely, this will affect the decisions we make and where we spend our time and our money.

Step 5 is where we decide from this point forward that “I will no longer be told what to think, but I will now think for myself”. This might not make you the most popular person. Taking the red pill’s ultimate destination is freedom. And freedom carries responsibility. You have to take the responsibility to stand up for the truth and, most often, reject the status quo. You must be willing to pay the price for freedom. It will be worth it in the long run.

Act One's Terence Berry talks about content

Act One's Terence Berry talks about content and the idea of Christian and mainstream films from Media Missionary School on Vimeo.

The Red Pill

Most of us have seen the 1999 film, The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves as Neo. In the movie’s most critical scene, Neo faces a difficult choice between taking the red pill or the blue pill. I think we all face the same decision in our daily lives. We just don’t realize it. In Neo’s world, life is good, safe, predictable and convenient. Sound familiar? But the world he lives in that he believes is real is actually a fabrication and doesn’t exist.

The blue pill allows him to the opportunity to go on and live his life in this artificial or contrived reality. The red pill will offer him the chance to see things as they actually are. Once he takes the red pill, there is no going back. He will have to face the truth no matter how unpleasant or unpredictable. It will require him to think for himself and be accountable for his actions. So Neo rejects the status quo and takes the red pill.

The Matrix started me thinking. What would we do if we were faced with the same decision? Is the world we live in and the life we live real? Or has it been created by an outside force? Most of us will never get a choice this black and white. But it is an intriguing question. Would we take the red pill if it offered us real answers? If we could understand the decisions we make and why we make them; what we believe and why we believe it; and what it is really based on, would we take the red pill?

If you’ve read my blog, you probably realize that the world we accept as normal, I believe is manipulated and controlled by today’s mass media culture. In other words, the world you and I live in is a reflection of today’s media and the reality it has created. I’m convinced most of us probably wouldn’t take the red pill because, frankly, the truth is just too scary. And I think the majority of us think we already know and understand the world we live in so there’s no need to take the red pill. However, that’s not the case. The media has done a snow job on us. The media has been successful in helping to distract and insulate us from the realities of life and the things that are truly important. Our mass media culture reflects this. It has created it’s own matrix, and we have bought into it. I would go as far to say that the media culture has rewired our brains and the way we think.

The lives you and I live today take place in the marketplace. Everything is now a form of buying and selling. Life itself has been commercialized. How we make money seems to always be our first priority. Our existence seems to be driven by a never ending appetite of consumerism. More is better. We must have everything and have it now seems to be the message that today’s media is communicating. Even the American Dream has been hijacked and perverted by this form of consumerism. Our lives are also defined by advertising, marketing and branding. We become the products that we use or consume. We are told that the next purchase will make us the person we have always wanted to become.

The ultimate goal of life itself is to achieve celebrity, to become important and successful no matter what the cost. Does any of this sound familiar? Are we on a treadmill with no hope of ever getting off? Perhaps the red pill can offer us hope to escape this false reality. Today’s mass media culture has placed you and I at the center of our own world. Everything revolves around our wants and needs. It has helped to reinforce our own self-importance along with instant gratification of wealth, power and prestige. Would you agree that this is in direct contrast to the basic, simple teachings of Christ? As difficult as this may be to accept, we have all bought in some degree into the mass media culture. That includes people of faith.

Breaking out of this stranglehold will be no easy endeavor. Who doesn’t want a lifestyle or even a Christian faith that is safe, convenient, comfortable and puts us in control? However, that is not what the Word of God has called us to nor is it the reality of the Christian faith. Symbolically, we can continue to take the blue pill, but this leads us away from what God intends for us.

So if you decide to take the red pill. And start down this road, and begin to think for yourself and to question everything, there is no turning back. Nothing will ever be the same again. The Bible says the truth will set you free. But do you want to know the truth, and do you really want to be free. I guarantee you, there will be a price to pay for this freedom.

A Bold Move

Any time a church steps out of the boundaries of traditional ministry, it’s a bold move. This is especially true when it happens to venture into the world of filmmaking. The Vineyard Community Church based in Springdale, Ohio, which is located near Cincinnati, Ohio, has made this bold move and is currently in production on it’s first, full-length featured film. Most of the people involved in the unnamed project work at the Vineyard or attend the church. Brad Wise who is the creative director for the church serves as the film’s director and writer. Teaching pastor, Joe Boyd, who has a background in the film industry in Los Angeles, is the executive producer. The Vineyard’s video coordinator, Isaac Stambaugh, who is the former producer for the syndicated Zone television program, is credited as the director of production and the first assistant director.

Much of the remaining crew, including production assistants, extras and grips will donate their time to the project. In fact, this is not a big-budget affair. In industry speak, it would be considered to be a micro-budget film. Isaac Stambaugh will more likely consider it to be a no-budget film. With no expectations or little money at stake, this gives the Vineyard an opportunity to test the waters into the world of filmmaking. But it does offer potential rewards if the film can find distribution and a potential market. It is a labor of love for all who are involved. Joe Boyd sees this as a first step for the Vineyard, who may very well be in the process of launching a future production company.

Brad Wise has also written another script that will likely go into production the spring of 2011. The working title for this project is called A Strange Brand of Happy. It has a significantly larger budget and already has a commitment for a theatrical release. If everything comes together as planned, the Vineyard Community Church will be in a unique position. Joe Boyd’s vision is to create, produce and market faith-based films to a mainstream market.

Currently, there is no church or religious organization that has attempted this goal. Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia has produced films such as Facing the Giants and Fireproof. But their movies are mostly aimed at a faith-based or Christian audience. The Vineyard believes they can offer compelling stories that point the audience to Christ and, at the same time, offer solid entertainment value.

Their current production, which is yet to be named, is a classic example of this concept. This film deals with prejudice and racism. It is a timely topic considering the debate that rages in today’s headlines. The story revolves around an idealistic, young, white social worker who moves into a predominately African-American suburbia community. He discovers that he may not be as enlightened as he believes he is. The main character finds a suspicious bag in his back yard which he believes could be cocaine. What surfaces is suspicions and prejudice that lie right below the surface. The film examines what we really think about each other and our misconceptions that we’d rather not discuss. It’s an excellent topic that the Vineyard believes is relevant and capable of reaching a large audience.

The film will wrap by mid-October. Expectations are that the movie will be ready for distribution sometime in early 2011. The Vineyard Community Church has taken a bold step. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the months and years ahead. Will they be able to accomplish what no one else has done—to create faith-based films for a predominately nonChristian audience?