Showing posts with label Hollywood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hollywood. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 06, 2023

Michael Douglas: Am Anfang war der Name | Doku HD Reupload | ARTE

Nov 15, 2023 | Manchmal ist es nicht leicht, der Sohn seines Vaters zu sein - vor allem in Hollywood. Michael Douglas kann davon ein Lied singen. Als ältester Sohn des grandiosen Schauspielers Kirk Douglas stand er lange Zeit im Schatten seines berühmten Vaters. Es brauchte einige Zeit, bis er sich davon abgrenzen konnte und zum eigenständigen Star wurde.

Vater-Sohn-Beziehungen können schwierig sein, vor allem wenn man im Rampenlicht steht. Und besonders, wenn der eigene Vater jahrzehntelang einer der wichtigsten Vertreter des Hollywoodkinos war. Der Apfel fällt bekanntlich nicht weit vom Stamm. Douglas zu heißen, sich selbst zu behaupten und Michael zu werden – der älteste Sohn des großen Kirk Douglas hat einige Zeit gebraucht, um sich aus dem Schatten seines Vaters zu lösen. Die Dokumentation zeigt die außergewöhnliche Karriere von Michael Douglas, der als Schauspieler und Produzent in die Fußstapfen seines Vaters trat und selbst zum Star wurde. Ob in der Rolle des zynischen Banditen oder des romantischen Verführers – Michael Douglas ist seit über 50 Jahren im amerikanischen Kino zu Hause. Er produziert Meisterwerke, in denen er selbst mitspielt, und wurde sowohl für seine Tätigkeit als Produzent als auch für seine Schauspielleistungen oscarprämiert. Trotz seines Erfolgs musste er immer wieder Hürden überwinden: seine Alkoholsucht, sein chaotisches Privatleben, eine Krebserkrankung und die Drogenprobleme seines Sohns Cameron, der gar wegen Drogenhandels zu mehrjähriger Haft verurteilt wurde. Nachdem Michaels Vater Kirk Douglas 2020 mit stolzen 103 Jahren verstarb, wurde Michael zum charismatischen Oberhaupt des Douglas-Clans. Amine Mestari zeichnet in seiner Dokumentation das bewegte Leben des Schauspielers unter Verwendung von bis dato unbekanntem Archivmaterial nach. Er geht der komplexen Vater-Sohn-Beziehung auf den Grund und zeigt, wie Michael, der lange Zeit lediglich als Sohn wahrgenommen wurde, schließlich selbst zur Hollywoodgröße aufstieg, so dass Kirk Douglas nunmehr oft als der „Vater von Michael“ bezeichnet wird. Michael Douglas spricht in „Michael Douglas – Am Anfang war der Name“ mit frappierender Ehrlichkeit über sich selbst und sinniert über den Schauspielberuf und das Leben insgesamt.

Dokumentation von Amine Mestari (F 2022, 53 Min)
Video auf Youtube verfügbar bis zum 13/12/2023


Friday, July 14, 2023

Fran Drescher’s Fiery Speech against Hollywood Studios Goes Viral as Actors Strike

Jul 14, 2023 | The Nanny star blasts Hollywood studios after talks between the actors’ union and studios fail to avert a strike, calling them 'disgusting' for claiming they’re losing money while 'giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs'.

Fran Drescher is president of Hollywood's biggest union, Sag-Aftra. About 160,000 of its members are joining the Writers Guild of America in a strike, marking the biggest shutdown of Hollywood since both unions last went on strike together in 1960.

The unions are fighting for better terms with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios and streamers, including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros Discovery



Read the accompanying Guardian article here.

Les acteurs d'Hollywood rejoignent les scénaristes dans un mouvement de grève inédit : Les tournages, déjà ralentis, sont complètement à l’arrêt depuis l’échec des négociations entre syndicat et studios concernant une revalorisation des salaires. »

„Wir sind hier die Opfer. Wir laufen Gefahr, durch Maschinen ersetzt zu werden“: Hollywood im Stillstand: Nach gescheiterten Verhandlungen mit den US-Filmstudios legt die Schauspielergewerkschaft ihre Arbeit nieder. Auch die Drehbuchautoren streiken seit Wochen. Das gab es seit 60 Jahren nicht. »

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Devenir Marilyn | Documentaire | ARTE Cinema

Marilyn n’est pas née Marilyn, elle l’est devenue. Elle se dévoile dans ce portrait inédit, avec ses mots à elle : une femme lucide et déterminée, reflet mouvant des diktats qui continuent à définir la féminité.

D'abord il y a la naissance d'un corps. À 12 ans, Norma Jeane Mortensen, qui a grandi dans les foyers d'accueil des quartiers pauvres de Los Angeles, prend conscience qu'elle en paraît 17. C’est l'éclosion en elle d'une autre personne, qui attire le regard des hommes et ne semble pas lui appartenir. Cette métamorphose, accompagnée de l'intuition fulgurante d'un destin, va déterminer sa vie. Dès lors, il s'agira pour elle de devenir celle dont elle ignore encore le nom : Marilyn Monroe. Une quête d'accomplissement à la fois lucide et douloureuse, inextricablement mêlée aux diktats d'une époque et du désir masculin.

De la pin-up à l’icône

La célèbre scène de Sept ans de réflexion, où Marilyn voit sa robe soulevée au-dessus d’une grille de métro, marque l'achèvement de la métamorphose. La pin-up promue actrice à force d’acharnement était déjà un sex-symbol. Elle est désormais une icône pour le monde entier. La suite est une autre histoire. Prenant le parti de mettre de côté certains aspects de la vie de l'actrice, Michèle Dominici (L'histoire oubliée des femmes au foyer) choisit de se concentrer sur les mécanismes de la construction d'une identité. Choisie ? Subie ? Le miroir tendu par Marilyn a de multiples reflets. Ce portrait s’attache à les saisir, et, par un savant montage d'archives traversant les époques, montre à quel point le mythe continue de nourrir nos imaginaires. Les mots de Marilyn accompagnent les images, fragments d'autobiographie, de poèmes et d'interviews, qui dévoilent une femme surprenante de lucidité, à la fois reine et victime d'un monde régi par la toute-puissance des hommes.

Documentaire de Michèle Dominici (France, 2021, 53mn)
Disponible jusqu'au 07/04/2023



Die gleiche Dokumentation ist hier auf Deutsch verfügbar.

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Marilyn - Made in Hollywood | Doku HD | ARTE

Aus Norma Jean Baker wird Marilyn Monroe. Im Amerika der 40er Jahre ist das Pin-up-Girl das Vorbild für Frauen – eine Mischung aus Sexbombe und Mädchen von nebenan. Sie wird von Regisseuren in die Rolle des Sexsymbols gedrängt. Dabei verwandelt sich Marilyn immer mehr in eine Kunstfigur, die sie selbst als Kreatur bezeichnet. Marilyn Monroe mit eigenen Worten über ihr Leben.

Wasserstoffblondes Haar, kurvige Figur, roter Lippenstift: Marilyn Monroe. Mit Filmen wie „Blondinen bevorzugt“ (1953), „Wie angelt man sich einen Millionär?“ (1953) und „Das verflixte 7. Jahr“ (1955) wurde sie weltberühmt. Mit „Manche mögen's heiß“ (1959) erreichte sie den Höhepunkt ihres Ruhms. Vom Waisenmädchen über ihre Karriere als Model, Pin-up-Girl und ersten Filmrollen bis hin zum Weltstar. Marilyn Monroes kurze Lebensgeschichte scheint wie ein Cinderella-Märchen ohne Happy End. Es ranken sich viele Mythen und Verschwörungstheorien um die Schauspielerin und ihr Leben. Wie wurde Norma Jean Baker zur weltbekannten Figur der Marilyn Monroe? War sie damit glücklich?

Die Schauspielerin berichtet, wie aus der Eingebung eines jungen Mädchens, das früh erkannte, dass ihr Körper ihr Kapital war, ihrem Ehrgeiz, den Zwängen einer Epoche und aus den Wünschen der Filmproduzenten ein Sexsymbol geboren wurde. Marilyn fügt sich den Erwartungen der Regisseure und verkörpert anmutig die stereotype Blondine. Wie heutige Superstars aus der Retorte war Marilyn Monroe bereits eine von den Studiobossen erfundene Kunstfigur samt Schönheitsoperationen an Nase und Kinn. Die private Marilyn Monroe hatte mit dem Image des blonden Vamps und Dummchens wenig gemein.

Die neue Biografie ist chronologisch erzählt und zeigt auch Bilder aus unserer Gegenwart, die verdeutlichen, welche Bedeutung der Mythos Monroe in unserer Vorstellungswelt bis heute besitzt. Dabei zeichnet die Dokumentation Marilyn Monroes Lebensweg nach und erzählt hintergründig vom Schönheitsdiktat und der Brutalität des Systems Hollywood, das bis ins 21. Jahrhundert fortbesteht. Allen Mordtheorien zum Trotz ist es am wahrscheinlichsten, dass Marilyn Monroe am Ende von ihrem eigenen Image erdrückt wurde und Selbstmord beging. Sie starb in der Nacht vom 4. auf den 5. August 1962 in Los Angeles.

Dokumentation von Michèle Dominici (F 2021, 53 Min)
Video auf Youtube verfügbar bis zum 07/04/2023


Saturday, October 08, 2022

Between Hitler and Hollywood - Leni Riefenstahl and Arnold Fanck | DW Documentary

Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most controversial artists of the 20th century. Her mentor, Arnold Fanck, was a German film pioneer of the 20s, now largely forgotten. In May, 1932, the two set off together on a five-month filming trip to Greenland.

They were there to make the first ever German-American feature film, the extremely expensive "S.O.S. Eisberg." At the time, it was the riskiest film project ever attempted. Annette Baumeister's current-day documentary is based on spectacular footage from the life-threatening production. Baumeister explores the passionate relationship between Fanck and Riefenstahl, and examines just how closely intertwined the two filmmakers’ careers were. While Fanck’s star waned after "S.O.S. Eisberg," Riefenstahl went on to a superstar career under the Nazis. Did this cold and calculated success come at the expense of her one-time mentor?

The documentary shows excerpts from Fanck's and Riefenstahl's greatest films, including "The White Hell of Pitz Palu" (1929) and "Storm Over Mont Blanc" (1930). Reinhold Messner, Willy Bogner and Matthias Fanck, Fanck's grandson, are all interviewed. Among other things, they speak about the groundbreaking innovations of Fanck's so-called mountain films.

The film also reexamines the work and life of Leni Riefenstahl from a modern perspective. And this deconstruction of the Riefenstahl myth also serves as an overdue tribute to Fanck, a largely forgotten cinema pioneer.


Monday, July 18, 2022

‘Worth Waiting for’: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Get Married in Las Vegas

THE GUARDIAN: Lopez and Affleck married in a small ceremony on the weekend, culminating a relationship that has stretched over two decades and two engagements

Bennifer wedding: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck married at a drive-through chapel in Las Vegas. Lopez and Affleck pictured here at a screening of her film Marry Me in February.Photograph: Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck got married in a Las Vegas drive-through chapel late on Saturday night, culminating a relationship that stretched over two decades in two separate romances and headlined countless tabloid covers.

Lopez announced their marriage on Sunday in her newsletter for her fans, On the J Lo, with the heading “We did it”. Lopez initially made their engagement public in April on the same newsletter.

“Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” she wrote in a message, signed Jennifer Lynn Affleck. » | Associated Press | Monday, July 18, 2022

‘It’s like young love with the brakes off’: Bennifer and the couples who get back together: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are back together after 19 years – and they aren’t the only ones. Why do some pairings work better the second time around? »

Thursday, May 26, 2022

Actor Kevin Spacey Facing Sexual Assault Charges

BBC: Actor Kevin Spacey is to be charged with sexual assault against three men, the Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed.

Five charges are being brought against the 62-year-old after a review of Met Police evidence following complaints dating between 2005 and 2013.

Three complaints relate to sexual abuse which is alleged to have taken place in London, and one in Gloucestershire.

He also faces an additional serious sexual offence charge in London. » | BBC | Wednesday, May 26, 2022

Anklage gegen Spacey wegen sexueller Übergriffe auf drei Männer: Gegen den Schauspieler waren im Zuge der MeToo-Debatte Vorwürfe laut geworden. Es handele sich um insgesamt drei Fälle, die sich in England zugetragen haben sollen, teilte die britische Staatsanwaltschaft mit. »

L’acteur Kevin Spacey inculpé d’agressions sexuelles contre trois hommes au Royaume-Uni : Le parquet britannique autorise ainsi des poursuites pénales contre l’ancienne star de la série « House of Cards », accusée d’agressions sexuelles depuis 2017. »

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Danny & Aaron | Gay Jewish Wedding at Paramount Studios, Hollywood, USA

Oct 28, 2015 • An EPIC Jewish wedding film by Buckley Videography featuring the love story of two grooms who ride down the aisle atop a horse dressed as a unicorn (or Jew-nicorn, as they dubbed it!) to the tune of Madonna’s Like a Virgin. And that’s just for starters…. View the real wedding feature and the story behind the wedding in the grooms' own words at Smashing the Glass: Your Jewish Wedding Your Way.

Saturday, July 24, 2021

"Gay" in Pre-Code Hollywood

Sep 14, 2008 • The "gay" part of a great documentary called, "Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood" "must see" to anyone interested in movie making in Hollywood's golden age!

Friday, July 23, 2021

Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines | 2001 Documentary

Mar 5, 2016 • What price Hollywood? was the title of an early George Cukor film, but is a question every closeted movie star has probably asked himself. In 1930, the top box office star was a gay man. Billy Haines lived with his lover, Jimmie Shields, and never posed on the red carpet with a beard on his arm. By 1933, he was washed up in show business; and by 1936, he had become hugely successful in an entirely new line of work as an interior decorator. Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines, details the extraordinary life of Billy Haines, the only matinee idol who ever decided that Hollywood’s price was too high and walked away from film stardom. | Views on YouTube: 1,894,386

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Gay Hollywood: The Last Taboo (2009 – Documentary*

This documentary looks at the challenges facing gay artists in Hollywood past and present. Hollywood in the 1920s was the most homosexual-friendly place to be as most of the behind-the-camera staff were gay. However, for those in front of the camera there was no tolerance from the movie-going public. Any homosexual who wanted to maintain a career had to remain in a well-locked closet. During the 1950s, the studios provided their own "police" who would be the first to arrive at any scene of an "indiscretion" or other scandalous act. Their task was to collect and remove any evidence and then call the real police if necessary. The studios, wanting to safeguard their investments, even forced male gay actors, like Rock Hudson and Cary Grant, into sham marriages.

Watch the documentary HERE »

* This documentary is age-restricted, so it cannot be embedded. It must be watched on YouTube.

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Don Lemon Calls Out Hollywood Elite: Where Are You During Protests?


CNN's Don Lemon calls celebrities of all races to step up a show public support for protesters demonstrating against the death of George Floyd.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines (2001 Documentary)


What price Hollywood? was the title of an early George Cukor film, but is a question every closeted movie star has probably asked himself. In 1930, the top box office star was a gay man. Billy Haines lived with his lover, Jimmie Shields, and never posed on the red carpet with a beard on his arm. By 1933, he was washed up in show business; and by 1936, he had become hugely successful in an entirely new line of work-interior decorator. Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: the Life of William Haines details the extraordinary life of Billy Haines, the only matinee idol who ever decided that Hollywood’s price was too high and walked away from film stardom.

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Gay Hollywood: The Last Taboo | Documentary (2009)


Looks at the challenges facing gay artists in Hollywood past and present. Hollywood in the 1920s was the most homosexual friendly place to be as most of the behind-the-camera staff were gay. However, for those in front of the camera there was no tolerance from the movie-going public. Any homosexual who wanted to maintain a career had to remain in a well-locked closet. During the 1950s, the studios provided their own "police" who would be the first to arrive at any scene of an "indiscretion" or other scandalous act. Their task was to collect and remove any evidence and then call the real police if necessary. The studios, wanting to safeguard their investments, even forced male gay actors, like Rock Hudson and Cary Grant, into sham marriages.

Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The Life of William Haines | Documentary 2001


What price Hollywood? was the title of an early George Cukor film, but is a question every closeted movie star has probably asked himself. In 1930, the top box office star was a gay man. Billy Haines lived with his lover, Jimmie Shields, and never posed on the red carpet with a beard on his arm. By 1933, he was washed up in show business; and by 1936, he had become hugely successful in an entirely new line of work-interior decorator. Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: the Life of William Haines details the extraordinary life of Billy Haines, the only matinee idol who ever decided that Hollywood’s price was too high and walked away from film stardom.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

We Should Hail the Celebrity Boycott of the Dorchester over the Sultan and Sharia Law

THE OBSERVER: It may be a 'fashion thing' but the stance taken against the sharia-loving sultan reflects a new pro-activism

In his almost 50 years as a successful absolute ruler, the Sultan of Brunei has naturally encountered little opposition. It will have helped that criticism of the Brunei royal family, an outfit close to the heart of Prince Charles, is prohibited. Public gatherings of 10 or more people require a government permit. As for elections, there have not been any since 1962, when the British helped crush a popular uprising.

Accordingly, when the sultan announced the imposition of full sharia law, including stoning to death for adultery and homosexuality, and amputation for thieves, there was every reason to suppose this innovation, described by Amnesty as a return to the dark ages, would go swimmingly within the dictatorship and cause little trouble abroad.

His career in oppression has never, after all, impaired the Sultan's warm relations with the UK, which for some reason rents him a battalion of Gurkhas, or his business as a hotelier, proprietor of the Dorchester Collection. Unlike the Obamas, for instance, the Sultan was an honoured guest at the wedding of William and Kate; just last month Baroness Warsi, Britain's "human rights minister", allowed herself to be entertained by this supporter of laws which value her testimony at one half of a man's.

On the other hand, the Sultan has not previously annoyed Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Fry, Richard Branson, much of the fashion industry and another force he is unlikely to encounter in his kingdom, the unionised LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) activists, whose efforts brought his planned barbarism to celebrity attention. Now, days after the first phase of sharia law came into effect, the Sultan is, in fashion terminology, a thing. Boycotts are having a moment.

The Sultan's name is rubbished on Twitter, petitions are circulating, disrespectful placards and demonstrations assault his hotels in cities far beyond the reach of Brunei's sedition laws. In Beverly Hills, the council demands that the sultan sell up the Beverly Hills hotel or denounce his own legislation. Fry, who cancelled his own stay at the hotel group's Coworth Park, Ascot's "exclusive pampering destination", tweets followers to: "Take action against the Sultan of Brunei and his new anti-gay law by putting sanctions in place," while Yves St Laurent is one of several big names pitting fashion against sharia, with a pledge that, until the law is repealed in Brunei, none of its employees will stay in a Dorchester Collection property. Read on and comment » | Catherine Bennett | Saturday, May 10, 2014

Related »

Hollywood Turns on Sultan of Brunei


THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Stars boycott Polo Lounge in protest at Sultan of Brunei's plans to introduce Sharia law at home - but waiters say it's only them who will suffer

Amid the opulent surroundings of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, for decades the scene of Hollywood power lunches and celebrity tete-a-tetes [sic], a pall has descended.

Secluded booths once occupied by A-listers who stepped in from Sunset Boulevard lie empty as waiters stand idly by under the green-striped ceiling, listening to a pianist play Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

The lounge, once frequented by stars from Elizabeth Taylor and Marlene Dietrich to Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise, has become an unfortunate casualty of a movie industry boycott aimed at the Sultan of Brunei, the hotel's ultimate owner.

Last week Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah confirmed he was pushing ahead with a plan to introduce Sharia law for the 70 per cent of his 400,000 subjects who are Muslims, and the first phase came into effect on Thursday.

Unsurprisingly, the prospect of punishments such as death by stoning for adultery and same-sex relationships, amputations by sword for theft, and 40 lashes from a rattan cane for drunkenness, has not gone down well in Hollywood and the Sultan has been unofficially declared persona non grata. Read on and comment » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Saturday, May 10, 2014

My comment:

I wonder what Prince Charles has to say about the introduction of full sharia'h law in the Sultanate of Brunei? After all, the Sultan is one of Prince Charles' big chums. – © Mark

This comment appears here too.

Related »

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Hollywood-Protest gegen Scharia in Brunei: "In welchem Jahr leben wir?"

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Brunei hat das Scharia-Strafrecht eingeführt, in Hollywood formiert sich der Protest. Dem Sultanat gehört auch das glamouröse Beverly Hills Hotel, wo die Stars der Szene am Pool entspannen. Jetzt wird zum Boykott aufgerufen.

Los Angeles – Das Beverly Hills Hotel ist vor allem für seine glamourösen Geschichten bekannt, es gehört mit den Legenden seiner mehr als hundertjährigen Historie zum Inventar Hollywoods. Hier stiegen Elizabeth Taylor und Richard Burton ab; hier ignorierte Marlene Dietrich die Vorschrift, dass Frauen im Restaurant keine Hosen tragen dürfen; hier betrachtete Faye Dunaway nach der Oscar-Nacht ihre Goldstatue im Bademantel am Swimmingpool.

Nun müssen die Hotel-Manager jedoch mit einer äußerst unangenehmen Geschichte umgehen. Am Montag versammelten sich Dutzende Demonstranten, um gegen den Besitzer des Hotels und dessen Politik zu protestieren.

Seit Jahren gehört das Beverly Hills Hotel einer staatlichen Investmentgesellschaft aus Brunei. In dem Sultanat auf der Insel Borneo wurde in der vergangenen Woche das Scharia-Strafrecht eingeführt, was Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah als "großartigen Fortschritt" pries. Auf Ehebruch und homosexuelle Handlungen können demnach in Brunei künftig der Tod durch Steinigung stehen.

Zum Protest vor dem Hotel hatten unter anderem Feministinnen und Homosexuellenverbände aufgerufen. Unter den Teilnehmern war auch der berühmte Moderator Jay Leno. "In welchem Jahr leben wir? 1814? Kommt schon, Leute. Es ist 2014", sagte Leno laut "Variety.com". "Das Böse blüht, wenn gute Leute nichts tun." » | hut/AP/dpa | Dienstag, 06. Mai 2014


VARIETY: Jay Leno Among Sultan of Brunei Protesters at Beverly Hills Hotel: As it is embattled with a growing list of prominent organizations dropping out of events, the Beverly Hills Hotel on Monday faced the public spectacle of a protest across the street as entertainment figures and political leaders rallied against a harsh Islamic code imposed by the sultan of Brunei, who owns the fabled venue as well as other prominent tony hotels. » | Ted Johnson | Senior Editor | Monday, May 05, 2014

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Brunei law on gays, women sparks Beverly Hills Hotel boycott: The tiny, oil-rich country of Brunei has been a quiet steward of the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air, undertaking multimillion-dollar renovations of the landmarks. ¶ But in recent days both hotels have come under siege from Hollywood feminists and gay rights advocates because of new laws in the Southeast Asian sultanate. ¶ Brunei last week imposed new criminal codes, based on Islamic law, with harsh penalties for homosexuality and adultery, including death by stoning. » | Martha Groves, Nabih Bulos, Matt Stevens | Monday, May 05, 2014

Monday, February 17, 2014

Churches Block-book Cinemas for Son of God Opening

Diogo Morgado in the film poster for 'Son of God'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pastors distribute tickets to the faithful in pulpit promotion campaign for new film based on hit miniseries The Bible

American church groups are block-booking cinema multiplexes to fill seats with the faithful for opening night screenings next week of Son of God, the forthcoming film about the life of Jesus Christ.

They are buying up all the tickets and distributing them to churchgoers as part of a "theatre takeover" to promote the film which is based on the hit television miniseries The Bible.

Cinema chains said the pre-release buzz and demand for tickets was on a par with major blockbuster releases as pastors spread the word about the celluloid portrayal of the life of Christ from the pulpit.

Crossroads Church in Cincinnati has bought every seat in all 13 screens for a simultaneous showing of the film on February 27, according to The Hollywood Reporter. » | Phil Sherwell, New York | Monday, February 17, 2014


SUMMARY: This major motion picture event -- an experience created to be shared among families and communities across the U.S. -- brings the story of Jesus’ life to audiences through compelling cinematic storytelling that is both powerful and inspirational. Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar®-winner Hans Zimmer. Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado portrays the role of Jesus as the film spans from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection. [Source: The Hollywood Reporter]