As per a message I just posted to the Steve Taylor thread in the music forum (a thread which, I might add, is mostly about the movie rumours that have circulated around Taylor for years despite the fact that no actual movies have been made), it seems Michael W. Smith recently gave an interview to Billboard in which he said he would be appearing in the film. The film will reportedly be called The Second Chance, and it will reportedly be about a pastor who is sent against his will to work in the inner city and, of course, comes to love the people there.

I really, really hope the film isn't as Hallmarky as it sounds.

It will be Hallmarky, guaranteed, if only on the basis of the fact that MWS will be in it.

Are we sure he got his Taylors right? There are a lot of Taylors out there, and this idea seems to clash with any career paths Steve has trodden before. Unless he's super hard up for money, perhaps?

Now i'm remembering the Clone Club newsletter, and how Steve would report where "your hard earned buck" went if you subscribed to it. It would always show a dime of every issue going to his "wife and Honda," and still another dime to "hard profit."

-s.

Oh, it's *the* Steve Taylor, alright. The other thread includes a link to an article from Cornerstone 2003 where he even gave the budget as $2.1-million, and said there that shooting was going to start in January (2004). But MWS? Not sure about that.

It reminds me of the Max Lucado book that was supposed to come out last Christmas, but was delayed. In The Christmas Child, Steven Curtis Chapman plays the town minister.

"...The main character, Jack, is played by William Moses (of Perry Mason and Falcon's Crest). His wife, Meg, is played Megan Follows (of Anne of Green Gables). Also features Steven Curtis Chapman as the town's minister."

QUOTE

Steven Curtis Chapman plays the town minister.

man oh man. just once, i wish someone would cast a fresh-scrubbed CCM artist against type. who wouldn't want to see SC-squared stumbling around as the town drunk, i'd like to know? or MWS as a homeless veteran, instead of the kind-but-strong, struggling-but-faithful white-church-guy?

kebbie wrote:
: man oh man. just once, i wish someone would cast a fresh-scrubbed
: CCM artist against type. who wouldn't want to see SC-squared stumbling
: around as the town drunk, i'd like to know?

Heh. Stuff like this reminds me of how that movie version of Beloved starring Oprah -- there's a scene in there where she, um, relieves herself outdoors, and a part of me thought, "Hey, Oprah's taking a piss!" and then another part of me thought, "Of course, real actors do stuff like this all the time and I don't think about it much..." Good actors disappear into their roles, to some degree, but celebrities who earn their celebrity through something OTHER than acting can't do that to the same degree; you're always watching the ACTOR, not the CHARACTER.

QUOTE

QUOTE Steven Curtis Chapman plays the town minister. man oh man. just once, i wish someone would cast a fresh-scrubbed CCM artist against type.

Wish granted.
Jaci Velasquez: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323572/
Randy Stonehill: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068271/
Pat Boone: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384783/

Ignore the low user ratings...
Nick

QUOTE

Good actors disappear into their roles, to some degree, but celebrities who earn their celebrity through something OTHER than acting can't do that to the same degree; you're always watching the ACTOR, not the CHARACTER.

So that's why I couldn't quite believe Carman as a boxer in his Rocky wanna-be movie. :wink:

QUOTE

Wish granted. Jaci Velasquez: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323572/ Randy Stonehill: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068271/ Pat Boone: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384783/ Ignore the low user ratings... Nick

Nick,

You rock. How on earth did you know about these? I guess you're not the Catholic Weird Al for nothing. I may never see these movies, but just knowing they exist (especially the Randy Stonehill one!) gives me goosebumps. The same as knowing that recordings exist of William Shatner belting out "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Leonard Nimoy wailing "Proud Mary." It just goes to show, the world is already way too weird to ever believe anyone when they say something or other is a sign of the Apocalypse......

I've been following CCM for almost two decades now, and so these sort of things come to the front every now and then.

I actually saw the Blob movie, years ago, as a teenager when it played on TV--the old WOR afternoon movie. But I didn't know of Randy Stonehill then, and I wasn't looking for him. Apparently his scene was that he came with a guitar, played a hippie song, and then was subsequently eaten by the Blob. I think I read that in that encyclopedia for Contemporary Christian music (2003).

The film is very forgettable. The only thing remotely memorable was that it ended at an ice-skating rink. You did notice it was the directorial debut of Larry Hagman, no?

Jaci Velasquez, methinks, is the biggest example of going against type, and look at the heat she got from it. However, I believe she would have gotten off a lot easier had the movie been well-received.

Anyway, thanks again for the comments. Now back to real work.

Nick

Just remembered that BeBe Winans is reportedly taking a turn alongside his pal Denzel in The Manchurian Candidate, due later this year. He's an FBI agent, IIRC.

Good one, Tim...

And this next one's a toss-up. I just remembered how Sam (Leslie) Phillips played a promiscuous terrorist in Die Hard with a Vengeance. A toss-up, b/c Leslie at this point was eschewing the whole CCM scene, even as she was making great inroads (critically, not financially) in the secular market.

Nick

Stonehill played a bag lady in a Steve Taylor video...

Get Religion: Steve Taylor's movie starring Michael W. Smith

I'm just sitting here scratching my head trying to figure this combination out, and I can't. Granted, they've probably known each other for 20 years. One would imagine they're well acquainted and most likely have a friendly respect for each other. MWS was never really about making a statement as much as he was about realizing corporate worship; Taylor was never really "churchy" at all, and made hundreds of statements, most aimed directly at the church itself. It seems, no matter how well acquainted they've become, that they do not share the same path, and that if MWS were to really get on The Steve Train, he might actually lose some respect from his crowd. (This is assuming, as I do, right or wrong I do not know, that "his crowd" is made up of more evangelical minded Christians who are not as open to some of the statements Taylor has, for years made.)

-s.

CT Goes behind the scenes.

Whatever Happened to Steve?

Here's the film's website: The Second Chance.

This is the leading vote-getter for favorite poster (among 3 choices). It's the most 'religious' of the three, and leads in the voting by a wide margin.

Is it me or does that Bible seem really BIG?

I know this thread is about Taylor's film, but since we talked about CCM artists in film, I thought I'd add this tidbit here...

On Amy Grant's website bio I read:



Anyone seen A Song from the Heart? Was it any good?

It's been awhile since I've seen it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I thought it was sappy, though Grant did do a decent job acting. It was basically a feel-good Hallmark channel kind of movie, large on fluff and light on anything else.

JMO.

Amy Grant is now a blind music teacher?

Tim Willson wrote:
: This is the leading vote-getter for favorite poster (among 3 choices). It's the most
: 'religious' of the three, and leads in the voting by a wide margin.

Yikes. Seems the most "video cover" of the three, to me. As in, "straight to video" cover.

1) Check out my cool new avatar...

and

2) Check out this article (interview) from which I stole it...

STOP THE PRESSES: John Mark Painter is doing the music!!

Saw it. Promised not to say much about it.

Thanks for allaying my fears about Smith, Jeff. I look forward to the full treatment, and I appreciate Taylor's (typical) humility in taking it around even now, before it's ready.

One of the recurring themes in this thread is the appearance on screen of various Christian notables, esp. singers. So here's one more: Rebecca St. James in a minor role in the upcoming Rich Christiano film Unidentified.

Just an update: we now have a release date of February 17, 2006, and new artwork:



The trailer is here.

Provident Label Group is distributing... no word on theater counts or locations that I can find.

What a great poster. That is a perfect poster for this film.

And interesting that the photo that has been doctored to create this poster is from the moment in the film that I discussed quite passionately with Taylor himself.

I'm eager to see this movie again, and I can't wait until the rest of you get your eyes on it. There's a lot to discuss.

Tim, is there any word on who will be distributing this film in Canada? Or will we have to wait an extra year, like we did for Luther? Or will it just not open here at all, the way that Joshua never opened here?

I don't know much yet, but I'm waiting for someone to respond to my inquiries. I suspect there was a push underway to get a major studio to pick this up, but that doesn't seem to be happening and I'm guessing they're going to go it alone.

I've been a bit frustrated lately at the lack of thought given to the Canadian market. Your example of Luther is a good one, and I could name others. If it's independently released, they will likely focus on the home front.

I did get to see this over the summer -- a cut that wasn't quite finished -- and I interviewed Jeff Obafemi Carr (I'll link the transcript sometime). I expected a lot more, but it was pretty good and I expect it will do reasonably well.

By the way, I think the tag line is quite good -- especially with that image.

Same faith. Same city. Different worlds.

I love a good tag line...

Tim Willson wrote:
: I've been a bit frustrated lately at the lack of thought given to the Canadian market.
: Your example of Luther is a good one, and I could name others.

What's bizarre is how even films like Left Behind and The Gospel of John tend to get released here weeks, or months, after they are released in the States, IIRC, despite being produced by Canadian companies. But I guess we have that Canadian connection to thank for the fact that they get released here at ALL.

: I love a good tag line...

I also. Which reminds me, today I paid close attention to the poster for Good Night, and Good Luck. for the first time, and saw that the tagline is something like: "There is a way to change the world... Television." Lame. Pathetic. And kind of scary.

The trailer is up.

Had a chance to talk a bit about the film with Michael W. Smith yesterday; he was in Edmonton for a concert, and there was a 2-hour Q&A with him for about 200 people.

He said there is no plan for this to open in Canada right now, but he's "pushing hard for it."

His other comments were somewhat predictable (Jeff was great, Steve brought energy to the set, etc.) and I'll eventually transcribe them and provide a link.

I linked to this from my blog yesterday, but if you want to see a bit of animated test footage from the aborted Saint Gimp movie that Steve Taylor was going to make before he went and made The Second Chance instead, click here.

Well, I can't say that the trailer drew me in. I was hoping it would because Steve Taylor's name is on it. So far it appears to have the look and narrative that would fit better in the late 80's early 90's save the inner city gangs and wannabes, ala, Sister Act, The Principle, Dangerous Minds, etc.

Asher's reaction to the trailer was only slightly better than mine. I kept thinking, "This looks exactly like a Christian movie."

And I've seen Steve Taylor in concert, sheesh, I don't know, twenty times, including on my honeymoon in Banff, and hanging out with him in The Netherlands. So I really wanted to jump for joy at this thing. But I didn't.

-s.

Could it be that the film is exceptional, but the creators of the trailer made it otherwise? As a fan of Steve Taylor's songwriting and producing skills, I'm hoping that this was a problem in the trailer's editing room. Let us not forget the lessions of that new _Shining_ trailer.

Honestly, the film is not amazing -- it's just good. Although, Michael W. told me on Tuesday that the film has changed quite a bit since I saw it in July.

But the Taylor name raised my expectations. I expected (and fervently hoped for) a Coen brothers-style, quirky, original film, but it wouldn't be too far out of place in the Billy Graham line-up. Which is to say, it really is a very decent Christian film -- better than average.

Expectations can be terrible.

Well, it's made by Christians, it's about the leaders of two squabbling churches, it follows how badly they need to regain perspective on what the church is all about, and its target audience is... well... primarily Christians who need to think about these things.

So, yeah... it's a "Christian movie" ... so far as that label means anything.

But is it a well-made Christian movie? Is it worth seeing? I think so.

Is it propaganda? No.

Like I say at my blog, I was hoping Steve Taylor would be for Christians what Jared Hess turned out to be for Mormons -- an independent filmmaker who broke out of his cultural-religious ghetto through sheer force of quirk alone.

As it is, it looks like this movie will be stuck in the ghetto -- and possibly in a ghetto of the ghetto, given its racial angle. (The comparisons to other recent Afro-Christian films aren't necessarily all that encouraging. If anything, they make it sound like Taylor gave up on his personal creative vision in favour of a film that would fit an existing market trend.)

Mind you, I have always had lowered expectations for Taylor's first feature, no matter WHAT it was about, simply because his longest project to date (an hour-long Newsboys video produced in the mid-'90s) wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be.

Just got the Second Chance update newsletter, and wouldya check out this promotional give-away!



This blurb was preceeded by a headline reading, "Win a chance for Michael W. Smith to perform at your church!" So apparently... worship is a performance now? I guess that's nothing new; I'm just surprised to hear someone admit it so openly.

Tim Willson wrote:
: Honestly, the film is not amazing -- it's just good. . . .
: But the Taylor name raised my expectations. I expected (and fervently hoped for) a Coen brothers-style,
: quirky, original film, but it wouldn't be too far out of place in the Billy Graham line-up. Which is to say, it really
: is a very decent Christian film -- better than average.

I just finished watching it, and these were my thoughts exactly, pretty much -- especially if, by "average", we're talking about the Left Behind movies and their ilk. Which is to say, in context, calling this movie better-than-average might be damning it with faint praise. The Billy-Graham-movie-style writing is particularly evident in bits of dialogue like the one at the end about [spoiler]the lightning rod[/spoiler] -- it's just too neat a metaphorical, sermon-illustration note on which to wrap things up. (Yes, I realize the person who says it is a pastor... but still.)

I haven't a clue right now how many stars I'd give this one. It kind of depends on whether I grade it compared to other movies, period, or whether I grade it compared to other CHRISTIAN movies.

One of the tricky things about this film is that it seems pretty weighted in favour of the black minister; the guy has a chip on his shoulder, but the film seems all too ready to excuse that chip by pointing back at Smith's character and showing that it's HIM who has to do all the learning. I thought Smith's character made a few valid critiques of the other guy, but Smith doesn't exactly play those critiquing scenes in a way that elicits our sympathy. And the way Smith's character comes to reject fame and money feels a little weird, given the movie's "win a Smitty concert (or worship service, what's the diff) at your church" promotional campaign.

Interesting to note, BTW, that even in this Christian film, it's the white guys who have fond memories of Martin Luther King Jr., while the black guy quotes Malcolm X in one of his sermons.

I asked Jeff Obafemi Carr about this in an interview:

Tim: Is there a little bit of a poke in the eye to the white, suburban church? I mean, that's written overtly into the story line, but it does seem to kind of be organic to the story. There really is a little bit of trying to stir people from their lethargy a little bit and reconnect with real needs....

Jeff: I would say that it's a poke in the eye to the church that's in the movie. The danger is, you pick one story to tell and everybody kind of puts a layer on top of it, to say well, this doesn't necessarily apply to every church. Because there is a lack of movies out there that deal with issues of the church, sometimes you do a story about one or two particular churches and everybody wants their entire story to be told. But it just so happens that this is one particular church dealing with another particular church, and the issue is how those churches connect in their walk with God. Sure, it's great to have missions all over the world, but it's also great to have missions in the inner city; is there a way to be able to do both? And hopefully that will cover a lot of churches, both suburban and urban, and ask them to look at their ministries and what they're doing to reach out to the other and build that bridge.

Tim: And the bridge goes both ways?

Jeff: Oh, the bridge always goes both ways. The mirror has two faces. So, the bridge is both ways and I think - living in the world that we live in now, and being human beings, we recognize that there's none perfect but the Father, so we all have things that we can do. To use the famous quote for us from the Book, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." So we can continually ask ourselves, What can we do to do it even better, and to do it even bigger, and to affect more people in a positive way?

The latest Paste Culture Club Podcast has an interview with Steve Taylor.

FWIW, my review.

Someone asks, Should the church be going public with its problems like this?

Note to Jeffrey: In an earlier post, you wrote, "Is it propaganda? No." I've been thinking about this the last few days, and it seems to me that The Second Chance is arguably at least as propagandistic as Titanic and Bringin' Down the House and other movies in which ostentatiously affluent white people are "converted" by their experiences among the lower classes (who may or may not be of a different race). I mean, this is DEFINITELY a "message movie" in a way that, e.g., Brokeback Mountain isn't.

I was referring more to "propaganda" in the sense of Christianity advertising itself to secular culture, which is the failing of so many Christian "artists."

Peter,

Your CT review struck just the right tone, encouraging Steve Taylor fans to see it, but not to expect too much. Excellent.

(BTW, it strikes me as I write this that those of us discussing the film here are calling it a Steve Taylor film, whereas most of the public will be talking about 'the Michael W. Smith' film. Interesting, maybe?)

Tim Willson wrote:
: Your CT review struck just the right tone, encouraging Steve Taylor fans to see it, but not to expect too much.
: Excellent.

Thanks.

For about one second, while writing the review, I thought about going into the plans Taylor had for the aborted Saint Gimp, but then I thought, No, that's too much. The fans already know about that (though they might not know about the animation footage that is currently online; at least, *I* did not know about that footage until a couple months ago), and the non-fans won't care; it wouldn't be right to complain that The Second Chance is not Saint Gimp.

But, y'know, I still want to see Saint Gimp.

BTW, I'm just curious about something here: Who here thinks that this film is about race? I don't. I think it's about class. But when I read blurbs on the movie's website about how "segregated" America's churches are, I somehow don't think they're talking about ECONOMIC segregation ...

Current ratings:
Rotten Tomatoes -- 40%
Metacritic -- 51%
The New York Times and Los Angeles Times seem to like it, at least.