Jul
01
The usual criticism of sequels is that they have a less than noble reason for existing: namely, cashing in on the popularity of the original, rather than having a genuine artistic statement to make. Douglas Stewart wrote Saturday’s Warrior in 1973 and may have been surprised himself at how popular that play became within LDS …
Jun
17
Saturday’s Warrior was written and produced in 1973 by Douglas Stewart and Lex de Azevedo, and has had a fairly long and successful history among the LDS community in both stage and screen form. According to estimates, over 2 million people have viewed a production of Saturday’s Warrior over the past three decades.
Jun
05
17 Miracles (IMDB, official site) depicts the story of the Willie & Martin Handcart Companies, two Mormon pioneer groups making the trek on foot from Iowa to Utah in 1856 and who encountered trials, tragedies, and small miracles along the way. It is directed by T.C. Christensen, director of photography for The Work & The Glory series, and …
Jun
01
Smaller films with LDS connections don’t generally feature A-list movie stars, or even B-list for that matter. (After Anne Hathaway the next biggest name actor or actress to appear in an ‘LDS film’ is … Gary Coleman?)
May
13
Continuing from Part 1 and Part 2: if we admit that LDS film (like any artistic medium) needs “criticism” in principle, how do you do it in practice? What’s a fair point of criticism and what isn’t? Here’s how I approach it…
Apr
19
[Continued from Part 1] When I was in the Stake Sunday School Presidency some years ago, our primary responsibility was to consult with ward presidencies on the question: ‘How can we improve teaching in the Church?’.
Apr
15
Art criticism has existed as long as art has, if only through “critics” sharing personal reactions to the art form. In ancient times, the Greeks and Romans not only developed great writers of literature, but great theories about literature as well — forming a foundation for early literary criticism.
Apr
03
In the classic movie Stand By Me, the narrator says, “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve…does anyone?” This is certainly true for Lisa and Andy, the two main characters of Once Upon A Summer (directed by Rob Diamond and written together with Andrea Curtis — …
Feb
25
[Viewed at the LDS Film Festival on January 29th, 2011. Eventual theater or DVD release date unknown. Screened version was complete enough to show, but there's a strong possibility that more post-production and editing will be done pending an official release. If there are any significant changes in any publicly released version compared to this …
Feb
05
[Viewed at the LDS Film Festival January 26th, 2011. Midway To Heaven will be released in theaters on Feb 4th, 2011] Michael Flynn has been involved with LDS filmmaking as an actor, writer, producer for several decades now. (His previous work includes The Dance, The Best Two Years, and many Church-produced films.) It’s no surprise, …
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