[Tim Willson]

I suspect there aren't many consumers of Cloud Ten product on this board, but thought I'd mention that the company has slashed the prices of most of its titles.

VHS going from $19.95 to $7.95, DVD from $19.95 to $9.95 later this month. Titles include Apocalypse, Revelation, Tribulation, Judgment, Left Behind, Deceived, Miracle of the Cards, and Waterproof. Vanished, which was previously $16.95, is also reduced to the new price points.

These titles started out at $30, and have been reduced in price quite sharply one already... creating a bit of a shock for retailers. Slowing sales will perk up again at these prices, though.

Just FYI.

Tim

This post has been edited by Tim Willson: 20 October 2005 - 10:54 AM

[M. Leary]

Are all of those films made from the Left Behind series? I had no idea they made sequels to the first one.

[Tim Willson]

No, there are only two films in the Left Behind series, and the second one (Tribulation Force) was recently reduced in price to 15/20 (VHS/DVD).

Apocalypse is the film that really started the company. Promoted heavily by Jack van Impe, it sold hundreds of thousands of copies, returning a handsome profit on the $700-thousand cost. A second film (Revelation) featured Jeff Facey and Carol Alt. Tribulation starred Gary Busey, Howie Mandel and Margot Kidder... and the trilogy was complete. Then after LB they came back with Apocalypse IV (Judgment) starring Corbin Bernsen.

Miracle of the Cards (with Richard Thomas) and Waterproof (Burt Reynolds) were films that were made by others and released under the Cloud Ten label.

Vanished is a Docu-drama with TV preacher John Hagee.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Tim Willson wrote:
: VHS going from $19.95 to $7.95, DVD from $19.95 to $9.95 later this month.

In which currency? FWIW, I noticed a while back that the Left Behind DVD was selling for a whole lot less at A&B Sound than the Christian bookstores were charging for it.

(M)Leary wrote:
: Are all of those films made from the Left Behind series? I had no idea
: they made sequels to the first one.

No, there is only one sequel, and it is clearly labelled as such -- it is called Left Behind II: Tribulation Force. Most of these other titles actually pre-date Left Behind and are part of an end-times series that Cloud Ten was producing before they got involved in Left Behind. To quote an article I wrote back when Left Behind was released in movie theatres:

The most successful movie franchise may be the series produced by the Lalondes, which got off to a shaky start with Apocalypse (1998), a video marked by a bad script and even worse acting. In this video, when the Rapture occurs, all the Christians leave their clothes behind in neatly folded piles -- one old woman even leaves a note for her granddaughter pinned to her shirt -- but their cars and helicopters, now suddenly driverless, are free to steer out of control, with fatal consequences for the unbelieving bystanders.

The series picks up, though, with Revelation (1999), in which Lawnmower Man star Jeff Fahey plays a cop who discovers the Antichrist's plan to steal the hearts and souls of the world through freely distributed virtual-reality helmets; in Tribulation (2000), Gary Busey comes out of a coma to find himself stranded in the Tribulation, with only his psychic brother-in-law Howie Mandel to keep him company. In the soon-to-be-released Judgment, Corbin Bernsen plays a lawyer who is forced to defend a leader in the Christian underground in a show trial that is designed, in the defendant's words, to make it "politically correct to wipe us out." (Mr. T plays a member of the group who has had enough of turning the other cheek.) The Lalondes have also produced a spin-off video, Vanished (1999), which is meant to be seen by non-Christians after the Rapture takes place. It begins with a dramatization of the Rapture and then segues to a Texan televangelist who looks right at the camera and declares, with an utterly straight face, "Hello, I'm Pastor John Hagee, and I'm one of those who have vanished off the face of the Earth."

FWIW, I've written a number of reviews and interviews-with-the-producers on these films, but I can only find the ones on Apocalypse and Revelation online right now.

I have not seen Deceived or Miracle of the Cards or Waterproof, but I believe only the first one of those three titles is an end-times movie (and I think it stars Judd Nelson?).

[Christian]

Quote

Miracle of the Cards (with Richard Thomas) and Waterproof (Burt Reynolds) were films that were made by others and released under the Cloud Ten label.

With Cloud Ten's edits to the original material intact. At least that was the case with "Miracle of the Cards," in which they trimmed dialogue from two scenes from the screener copy they sent me.

Ya know, as goofy as it makes me feel to admit this, I actually liked "Miracle of the Cards" in a TV movie sort of way. I think it had strong sentimental value for me, because, if my memory is correct, the main character at one point has to undergo an operation similar to one I had when I was 12 years old.

But I didn't get as many cards...

[Tim Willson]

Quote

Tim Willson wrote:
: VHS going from $19.95 to $7.95, DVD from $19.95 to $9.95 later this month.

In which currency? FWIW, I noticed a while back that the Left Behind DVD was selling for a whole lot less at A&B Sound than the Christian bookstores were charging for it.

Cloud Ten keeps pricing the same in Canada and the US (effectively cheaper here). General market retailers average a much smaller markup than specialty store, so if these titles are available in the general market after these price reductions, prices could be around $5-7.

Quote

I have not seen Deceived or Miracle of the Cards or Waterproof, but I believe only the first one of those three titles is an end-times movie (and I think it stars Judd Nelson?).

Forgot to mention Deceived in my earlier reply -- yes, Judd Nelson and Lou Gossett, Jr. It's one of the poorer scripts I've ever seen. The story is about an extra-terrestrial signal received by a monitoring station where an oddball collection of characters has gathered. Turns out, the signal is satanic in origin. Could be good material for Mystery Science Theatre.

Tim

[Christian]

Quote

I have not seen Deceived or Miracle of the Cards or Waterproof, but I believe only the first one of those three titles is an end-times movie (and I think it stars Judd Nelson?).

And, perhaps not surprisingly, it's a bad movie. I watched it and told a Crosswalk sales rep, who had confidently asked me to review it because Cloud Ten was one of his clients, that I didn't like it and was planning to review it negatively. He was shocked. "But it's so much better than their other stuff!" he asserted, as if that were the standard by which to measure the quality of "Deceived." Another time, a rep from Billy Graham's film group expressed grave disappointment that I didn't mention the limited budget of their film "The Climb" in a review, because I had drawn an unflattering comparison between "The Climb" and "Changing Lanes," which obviously cost much more. She missed the review's main point about the way the movie communicates its message. She wanted a different standard applied to their films. A lower one, apparently.

I got that a lot at Crosswalk -- skepticism about why I would compare CCM stuff and evangelical subculture movies to mainstream films and music. A lot of employees, and readers, seemed to think that was unfair, if not entirely inappropriate.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Christian wrote:
: I got that a lot at Crosswalk -- skepticism about why I would compare
: CCM stuff and evangelical subculture movies to mainstream films and
: music. A lot of employees, and readers, seemed to think that was unfair,
: if not entirely inappropriate.

I feel for ya. But the real question, I think, is not why so many Christians expect us to judge evangelical movies by a lower standard than mainstream big-studio movies, but why they expect us to judge any given evangelical movie by a lower standard than any other independent film. Not that many of these Christians would even know what an "independent film" is in the first place -- but if they did, they would recognize that many of us critics DO allow for the fact that some films are made on smaller budgets, and yet, despite this limitation, some of these films are still quite good, and they put low-budget Christian films to shame.

[Peter T Chattaway]

This clearly ain't worth a new thread all on its own, so ... look what The Passion hath wrought:

- - -

Studios Putting Faith in Religious Videos
With 20th Century Fox set to distribute "Passion" on video, other major studios, including Paramount and Columbia, are releasing a spate of titles aimed at the booming market for faith-based entertainment. Columbia is set to take over domestic distribution of the Cloud Ten library including the two films based on the hugely popular "Left Behind" book series on Aug. 31, the same day "Passion" hits stores. The multiyear agreement for Cloud Ten's current 10 and future titles marks the first foray into the faith-based area for the studio's home video arm.
Hollywood Reporter, August 4

- - -

One question: Has Cloud Ten actually DONE anything in the past year or two or three? To what "future titles" does this story refer?

[Clint M]

[Peter T Chattaway]

Left Behind III is now filming. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[Clint M]

Left Behind III is now filming.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Maybe Kirk Cameron will get an Oscar nomination so that he can match his Growing Pains co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.






Or not.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Just got this e-mail:

From: "Whitney Kelley" <whitney@alarryross.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2005 16:10:59 -0500
To: "Whitney Kelley" <whitney@alarryross.com>
Subject: Are You Ready for War? -- Left Behind: World at War Motion Picture

ARE YOU READY FOR WAR?

Left Behind: World at War -- the third feature film based on the popular book series -- will hit the screens in October 2005.

However, it won't be in theaters -- it will only play in churches and ministries.

Cloud Ten Pictures is asking America to take Hollywood to Church.

Here are some main talking points to consider for a feature article:

1) The film will enjoy what is considered a 'wide release'­ on 3000+ screens. However, the screens will be in churches and ministries -- NOT traditional theaters! Churches are signing up around the country to host these screenings for their congregants and visitors.

2) With the success of this release strategy, studio executives will have to sit up and take notice of this viable distribution option. In order to take advantage of it themselves going forward, they will HAVE to make films that can be shown in churches.

3) The film will release ONLY in churches and ministries the weekend of October 21, 22 and 23 and then will release on DVD on Tuesday, October 25th.

4) Churches will purchase the DVD for a set fee and then have total control over ticket pricing and will keep the 'box office take' to be used for fund-raising, to support missions, etc.

5) Academy Award Winner Louis Gossett, Jr, joins the returning cast of Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Chelsea Noble and Gordon Currie -- and all are available for interviews.

6) This has the potential to be more than a one-time event! Cloud Ten Pictures would like to revive the Family Movie Night which was so popular in the 70's and 80's.

The Left Behind franchise continues to enjoy a faithful and enthusiastic following. I look forward to talking with you about featuring this newest film in your September or October issues. Please feel free to contact me at 972-267-1111 or by email at whitney@alarryross.com for more information about the film or coordinating an interview with the talent or production team.

YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED VIA BACON'S MEDIA SOURCE at www.baconsmediasource.com.

Whitney Kelley
Account Executive
A. Larry Ross Communications

"Values-Added" Public Relations --
RESTORING FAITH IN THE MEDIA
12300 Ford Road,
Suite 212, Dallas, TX 75234
(P) 972.267-1111
(F) 972.267-3535

Make of it what you will.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Left Behind III: World at War comes to a church near you this Friday (and a video store the following Tuesday). CT Movies interviews producer Peter Lalonde, and I blog it.

This post has been edited by Peter T Chattaway: 18 October 2005 - 08:28 PM

[Tim Willson]

Peter, perhaps Lalonde is confused when he tells you that he got saved after seeing THIEF IN THE NIGHT and tells Mark Moring (and Crosswalk's Annabelle Robertson) that it was THE PRODIGAL. Could be that the film was actually The Prodigal Planet, part of the Thief in the Night series.

(Or he could be making the whole thing up... )

[Peter T Chattaway]

Oooh, The Prodigal Planet. Good possibility.

FWIW, I don't believe I say that he saw A Thief in the Night ITSELF, but rather, that he saw one of the films in that SERIES (the last of which, The Prodigal Planet, came out in 1983, the same year as the Billy Graham film The Prodigal).

I WOULD argue further that TPP played in churches while TP played in theatres ... but I think I remember watching TP in my home church (though I can't recall whether I saw it in the year of its release or some time afterwards, when it might have been on the equivalent of the second-run circuit).

[MichaelRay]

Studios Putting Faith in Religious Videos
. . . booming market for faith-based entertainment.

Is it just me or did this line strike anyone else as a sign of the imminent apocalypse?

[Peter T Chattaway]

BTW, I'm curious, what sort of release pattern is this film getting?

The official location finder indicates that there are 23 churches showing this film in British Columbia -- but only one of these churches is in Vancouver (and no show times are listed at all), and only one other church is in a Vancouver suburb (namely Richmond, and the only listed showtimes are at 10am on Saturday and at 6am -- SIX IN THE MORNING! -- on Sunday).

The capital city Victoria has two churches on board, but they are each showing the film only once -- Friday at one church, Sunday at the other -- so it might just as well be a single venue.

That leaves 19 churches spread out over the far-flung, remote, hinterland regions of the B.C. interior.

[Tim Willson]

For a flat fee (a sliding scale based on their size) churches got the right to show the film for one weekend only, as well as the actual DVD and some promotional material. When they show it, whether or not they charge admission, and similar details are left up to each church.

There are over 3000 churches involved in North America, and 185 in Canada. The telemarketing campaign started very late (about 6 weeks ago), and many churches who might have been interested simply didn't have enough time or already had events scheduled.

(You'd be right if you guessed that I was involved. I'm personally uninterested in 'End Times' films generally, but this was a great chance for us to work with Sony. It has been a gruelling and challenging campaign that has likely shortened my life; however, we have wanted to develop the movie distribution channel through churches for years, and this has been valuable from that standpoint as well. Let's hope they will be as receptive to films that touch on other issues as well.

[Peter T Chattaway]

Sony Effort to Reach Christians Is Disputed
How comfortable is Hollywood with wooing the Christian audience? The question arose this week over Sony's release of its first high-profile DVD aimed at believers, "Left Behind: World at War," the third in a series about the biblical end of days but the first time a major studio has significantly backed evangelical entertainment. . . . Mr. Feingold disputed Mr. Lalonde's contention that the studio was taking a low-profile approach to promotions. "It's not been our practice to shy away," he said. "I don't believe you can go beyond the followers for these kinds of movies." But the producer [Lalonde], who has hired his own publicist to promote the picture, said that potential viewers were being overlooked by Sony's refusal to spend more heavily. "The marketing budget was consistent with an everyday, direct-to-video release, and this is not that," he said. "This is a direct-to-video phenomenon. We were really strangled there." . . . Mr. Feingold said Sony had plans to make two more Christian movies next year, and intended to make more "Left Behind" films. "We think it will be a nice franchise for Sony," he said. "Modestly budgeted, the 'Left Behind' books are a nice business." Mr. Lalonde, however, said he was not certain he would proceed with the studio on the next round. "We're going to do another movie," he said. "Do we self-finance, take distribution back? Our position has been we have to build our own distribution systems, get our own financing, our own pipelines. We lack only one thing: real capitalization."
New York Times, November 2