“Left Behind: The Movie” will be released on video Oct. 31. It’ll hit movie theaters Feb. 2. Jerry Jenkins, co-author of the “Left Behind” book series said he wouldn’t have sold the rights if he had known that the movie would first be released on video. What do you think of that strategy?
My cat’s breath smells like cat food.
It’s going to be released for all the Halloween night parties? I think that’s perfect.
HALLOWEEN - Customs and superstitions gathered through the ages go into the celebration of Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, on October 31, the Christian festival of All Saints. It has its origins, however, in the autumn festivals of earlier times.
The ancient Druids had a three-day celebration at the beginning of November. They believed that on the last night of October spirits of the dead roamed abroad, and they lighted bonfires to drive them away. In ancient Rome the festival of Pomona, goddess of fruits and gardens, occurred at about this time of year. It was an occasion of rejoicing associated with the harvest; and nuts and apples, as symbols of the winter store of fruit, were roasted before huge bonfires. But these agricultural and pastoral celebrations also had a sinister aspect, with ghosts and witches thought to be on the prowl.
Even after November 1 became a Christian feast day honoring all saints, many people clung to the old pagan beliefs and customs that had grown up about Halloween. Some tried to foretell the future on that night by performing such rites as jumping over lighted candles. In the British Isles great bonfires blazed for the Celtic festival of Samhain. Laughing bands of guisers (young people disguised in grotesque masks) carved lanterns from turnips and carried them through the villages.
In the United States children carved faces on hollowed-out pumpkins and put lighted candles inside to make jack-o’-lanterns. Halloween celebrations today reflect many of these early customs. Stores and homes display orange and black figures of witches, bats, black cats, and pumpkins. People dressed in fanciful outfits go to costume parties, where old-fashioned games like bobbing for apples in tubs of water may be a part of the festivities. Children put on costumes and masks and go from house to house demanding “trick or treat.” The treat, usually candy, is generally given and the trick rarely played. Some parents feel this custom is dangerous. There have been numerous instances in which sharp objects or poisons have been found in candy bars and apples. To provide an alternative to begging for candy from strangers, many communities schedule special, supervised parties and events at Halloween. The United Nations has used the Halloween observance to collect money for its children’s fund.
[Edited by UncleBeer on 09-27-2000 at 09:50 AM]
Some movies deserve to go straight to video. It usually shows a lack of faith in the finished product by the distributors.
I expect if it does end up with any theatrical release, it will be second billing of a double feature at the third-run theaters throughout the Bible Belt. Maybe Joe Bob will review it.
Hey, here’s an idea to boost ticket sales - organize members of a non-christian religion to protest the film - maybe some Wiccans, Buddhists or Moslems. it’s a great way to get lots of media attention.
[Moderator Hat ON]
This does not really seem like a Great Debate, so I’m sending it over to slythe in IMHO. :
:
[Moderator Hat OFF]
The Great slythe hisself has gottened banned from the LBMB and the LB movie MB for asking these same questions. Here’s a bit more info: the production company supposedly spent over $17 million on this flick, promising the fans a big to-do that would out-do last year’s Omega Code.
Then it was announced that the big star that would play the hero, Buck Williams, would be Kirk Cameron. Then it was announced that this $17 million movie was FIRST going directly to video, then the theatres. THEN it was announced that the production company expected the FANS to “sponsor” showings in nearby theatres at $3,000 a pop. Where this sum came from, and which theatres have agreed to set aside their schedules to do this, remain a mystery.
You should hear some of the things the “true believers” called me! 
Satan, they even said I was a “minion” of yours. 
Itll be the first time in history that deaf people can see it closed captioned before being in the theatres, where its not captioned.
These people put out some mighty weird flicks: http://www.troma.com/
And the Self-Proclaimed “Fundy” Chimes In:
I read that the distributors of this film are expecting “The Faithful” to gather up their friends, neighbors and churches to sell every seat at this film. They act almost as if it’s our sacred duty to bring this movie some Star Wars numbers.
Three Observations:
- The book on which this movie is based is written by a man that many Christians, “Fundies (God, I HATE that word!)” included, believe to be an idiot (Tim LaHaye).
- The book on which this movie is based plays fast and loose with theology.
- I resent being told that anything is my sacred duty, especially considering something as mundane and pointless as a movie. Thus, I will not be seeing this movie and I hope that just about every body else stays away from this claptrap in droves.
My $.02
That’s not entirely true. My friend’s wife is hearing impaired, and the larger theatres in the area have a gizmo (I wish I knew more about it) that allow her to “read” a movie that’s being shown. I waited on line to buy opening night Star Wars tickets last summer with them; obviously she could enjoy the movie.
As far as the OP: The Last Seduction had a cable release before theatrical about six years ago, which eliminated it from Oscar consideration for Linda Fiorentino. Not that Left Behind is going to run into that problem, however.
Slythe,
The $3,000 is allocated like this. It takes $1500 to make a copy to send to the theater. The other $1,500 is to go into a general marketing co-op fund.
The reason they are requesting sponsors is because Hollywood wanted to water down the message(like what’s new). Anyway I really wish they would open it up in theaters first but I guess they need the money to have a bigger opening at the theaters is why they are releasing it on video first.
Seems to me like they just don’t have any confidence in their movie.
How many people want to go out on a Friday night and pay upwards of $7 to be preached at? If the message was keeping it from being an entertaining movie, then of course Hollywood wanted to “water it down”. This probably doesn’t have anything to do with Christianity, per se–if a movie went over the top to get across its message of, say, animal rights, and became preachy and boring, the Hollywood folks are going to want changes.
I think this movie will fail both financially and as a witnessing tool. They may keep the message (i.e., you heathens are all going to hell) intact, but they’ll probably only be preaching it to the choir. How many nonbelievers are going to go to a movie that’s being sponsored by a local religious group?
Slythe–are they still banning people willy-nilly and without explanation over at the LBMB? It’s one reason (of many) that I stopped posting there, although I don’t think I ever actually got the boot.
Dr. J
Come on Dr J they(Hollywood) forbid the show “Touched by an Angel” to mention Christ. Sure it(LB) has a witnessing message and Hollywood doesn’t want it out there for the masses to see. So they don’t want to support it.
You gotta understand we(Christians) believe something like Left Behind is going to happen soon. If you believed something like that(the Tribulation) was going to happen, wouldn’t you try to put the word out anyway you could? I mean you are a doctor you try to save people from pain don’t you? It is the same thing Christians try to do for the unbeliever does that make sense?
So we can’t have Hollywood try to water down the message. Epecially(to us) when it is such an important message.
BTW the second lipotripsy worked the stone broke(tuesday). I wonder how long it will take for it to pass? Any ideas?
DoctorJ, the LBMB used the excuse that I was using obscenities. To be more exact, I used the term “puff-piece”, which they censored to read "***-piece"!
It won’t do any good to look it up, though-they are slowly but surely removing all of my posts, AND all references to my posts, from the LBMB.
Now, The Left Behind []Movie Message board removed me from their rolls without any warning whatsoever, and refuse to say why. Of the 20-odd posts I’ve made there, all have disappeared. I didn’t swear or call anyone names in any of these posts-I merely asked what the $17 million was spent on, and what theatres were going to show this movie at the February 2nd “premiere”.
Wildest Bill, the one question I can’t seem to get answered is: Once your group gathers toether $3,000, what do you do with the money?? Do you go to the theatre manager and say,“Could you please set aside the big-budget movie from Hollywood that you have already contracted to play, and show this religious movie “starring” Kirk Cameron?”
By the way, who is controlling this “General Marketing Co-Op Fund” that y’all are funnelling the $1,500 into? Surely not CloudTen Pictures, the people who managed to spend $17 million on a home video??
Well, ol’ Mr. Jenkins can kiss is Academy Award nomination good bye! If I recall correctly, movies MUST be released in theaters before being released in any other format. This was a pro-active measure to inhibit studios from releasing their movies on the Internet first, but videos also count.
So like… is there any relationship to this X’ian flick being released on oooooo-scary-pagan-satan-trick-or-treat night or what?
How many people want to go out on a Friday night and pay upwards of $7 to be preached at?
Especially when they and all the friends they care to have over can rent the video for $3.
It sounds doomed to me. I wonder if it’ll even make it to a theatre realease…
Incidentally, having had a day to ponder this, wouldn’t the video make a better witnessnessing tool anyway?
I mean, that way everyone who believes this message could invite a couple of non-believers over to dinner who would otherwise never even have considered viewing this material in the theaters or as VHS.
Responding to the OP…I’d say send it to the theaters first.
Unless…they are afraid of non-Christian hecklers in the audience giving it a ribald MST 3K treatment.
I understand this is part of a series. Maybe they fear taking a big loss on the film and not being able to make the sequels.
(This reminds me of when The Judas Project came out. I saw it in a theater with about 12 other people, tops, about a week or so after it was released. If you have these sorts of turnouts across North America, you’ve got a bomb on your hands. Thus, the Left Behind makers’ current strategy, I guess.)