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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
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| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 12:03 pm |
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Hollywood, Oct 19, 2007 / 02:04 pm (CNA).- Today marks the release of Promenade Picture’s first venture into the faith and family arena with the movie, the Ten Commandments. Hollywood legend Frank Yablans’ latest venture was not intended to cause controversy, but their ads have been receiving attention due to a refusal to include the phrase, “chosen by God” in advertisements and promotions aired by Disney.
The script reads:
Narrator: One of the greatest stories of all time is now an animated movie event for the entire family ... "The Ten Commandments."
God: Moses, give them my message and they will follow you out of Egypt.
Narrator: An ordinary man, an extraordinary calling.
Moses: Let my people go!
Narrator: With Ben Kingsley, Christian Slater, Alfred Molina and Elliott Gould. ... chosen by God.
Moses: On to the promised land!
Narrator: 'The Ten Commandments,' Rated G. Now in theaters. Check your local listings.
An email sent by a Radio Disney Network sales associate read, "Our BS&P [Broadcast Standards and Procedures] said both scripts need to include the studio mention and omit the following line: CHOSEN BY GOD.... Please let me know if you have any questions."
Radio Disney reported that it requested the deletion of the phrase “chosen by God” because the original script made it sound as though the actors were chosen by God, not Moses, as was the intended meaning.
"In connection with the Ten Commandments, I did find it offensive," said Cindy Bond, Promenade president and Chief Operating Officer. "God in our movie is the main character. You rip the whole guts out of the piece."
Promenade complied with Disney’s request due to the fact that Disney has the ability to reach the film’s youthful target audience.
To walk away from a place that has our exact core audience ... I ordered the spot to be re-cut and re-edited," Bond said. "If you get them into the theater, they'll hear plenty about God."
"The goal of the movie and the goal of the whole series is to interest people in the greatest stories ever told and what we feel were the greatest superheroes that ever existed," Bond said.
Promenade’s founder, Frank Yablans, decided to make his latest film because so many Americans are ignorant of the biblical Decalogue. When they conducted research for promoting the film, it was discovered that more Americans can name ingredients to the Big Mac than the 10 Commandments . Rick Schirmer of Promenade told CNA that, “Frank is doing this film because, as he said, ‘he owes God one.’” While the fledgling film company was approached by several major studios with offers to help produce the movie series, Promenade turned them all down so that they could maintain creative control and ensure faithfulness to the biblical stories.
The above article is reposted with permission from [url=]Catholic News Agency[/url].http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=10732
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5458 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 12:05 pm |
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FWIW, I agree with Disney. The way the script is written, it sounds like Elliot Gould was chosen by God. It is a poorly worded script. What do you think?
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
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| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 03:14 pm |
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As one who deals on a daily basis with grammar in advertising, I have to agree with you — and Disney — that the script writer did a poor job. Of course, if Disney had really wanted to do the job right, the promo could have been rewritten to make more sense and still include those “golden words.”
On the other hand, if you look at what the Promenade president and CEO said, in complaining about Disney’s “tampering,” it comes out as if God is really just another “superhero” in her enterprise venture. Is that any better?
David
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5458 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 06:05 pm |
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David W. Emery wrote: On the other hand, if you look at what the Promenade president and CEO said, in complaining about Disney’s “tampering,” it comes out as if God is really just another “superhero” in her enterprise venture. Is that any better?
I am certainly not defending Disney's policy on religion in general, just this one edit. Promenade could have chosen to re-record the commercial, but that undoubtedly would have cost more. They are the ones who chose the easy path by simply removing the questionable line.
I watch the Disney Channel quite a bit, and none of their shows ever shows a character going to church, unless they are African-American. African-American characters do sometimes sing at church, but it's not like they pray or anything. Jewish characters have been bar-mitzvah'd and Hispanic girls have had quinceaneras but mainly has excuses for parties. But then, that's basically the way network television handles religion as well -- not really with disrespect, just with no acknowledgement at all. There are a few notable exceptions.
In fact, television weeks tend to have only six days. The only purpose for Sunday on those occasional weeks when it is added is to barbeque, watch football, catch up homework, and get ready for school on Monday (usually by conning parents out of money).
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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David W. Emery
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Posted: Sat Oct 20th, 2007 09:56 pm |
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Yeah. Then people think I’m a strange one for not watching television.
Regarding the edit: The news story pins it on Disney, not Promenade. It doesn’t say who made the promo or had it made, just that Disney’s BS&P department required the changes to keep the promo from making a statement that could misconstrued and to give credit where due. My own judgment was that whoever made it could have done better, whether the first time around or the second. They chose to take the easy route, which is understandable. After all, it’s just an advertisement, not the actual product.
Meanwhile, it seems that my comment about the president/CEO didn’t register properly. My point was that, according to the people who made the film, God is merely a character in it. A “superhero,” maybe, but still just part of the plot.
David
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