ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Lord of the Rings

Election Final Thoughts; Year’s Best Shows; Tolkien on Stories

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With one week left before the 2020 election, we present some final thoughts, hot takes, questions, hopes and more.

We also share about some of our favorite shows and other media of 2020, asking the question “how can we redeem the time spent on such things?”

Finally – to help answer this question – we look at J.R.R. Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories” and the idea that stories have three essential parts, all of which mirror the gospel.

All this (and more) in a new episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast:

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Christian Rebels? The Pandemic & Pop Culture Nostalgia

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your sunday drive podcast

Mid-pandemic, with many questioning and resisting government authorities and policies, we ask: Can Christians be rebels? Are there biblical and/or historic church models for us to follow, such as Jesus and the apostles, the prophets, American civil rights leaders?

Many are more immersed in pop culture currently than ever before – particularly in nostalgia for old shows, movies, etc. What are the positives and negatives of nostalgia? How does it relate to spiritual matters and to the “Christian rebels” topic?

All this and more (! 🙂 ) in this episode of the Your Sunday Drive Podcast.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Amazon’s Lord of Rings Series: How Did That Happen? What Does It Mean?

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A little over two years ago, in mid-October of 2015, Peter Jackson released his extended edition of The Battle of the Five Armies. The Middle-earth fan base assumed that was all this generation would see of Tolkien’s works on film. After all, the Executor of the Tolkien Estate, J.R.R.’s son Christopher, had expressed his disdain for Peter Jackson’s interpretation of the Legendarium,  and there was no way any filmmaker would get their hands  on The Silmarillion. What J.R.R. Tolkien had sold the film rights to had pretty much been exhausted, so we would have to be content with what PJ and crew had put to the screen. Or so we thought.

What a difference a couple years makes.

Unbeknownst to all but the innermost insiders, Christopher Tolkien resigned his post of Executor on August 31, 2017.  He was, after all, to turn 93 in less than two months. As one of my Facebook friends put it: “When the cat’s away, the mice will play.” And apparently, play they did.

In early November, Variety ran an exclusive claiming “Warner Bros. Television and the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien are in talks with Amazon Studios to develop a series based on the late author’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ novels.” The shocking thing, which many fans who were soon to be discussing this on the internet seemed to miss, was that the Estate was evidently the one pursuing a deal with major studios. The news about Tolkien’s son’s resigning hadn’t yet broken, so speculation was it wasn’t the Estate trying to make a deal, but Middle-earth Enterprises trying to sell the rights to what little was left in the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings books. McCere from TheOneRing.net insisted in his November 14 article that the content of the brokered series must be from the Appendices. The thought was there was certainly no way the obstinate Estate had approved anything else.

But, if the Variety article is accurate, they have presumably not only approved more, but are the ones (now sans Christopher) who were pushing it! And Amazon ended up with the prize.

According to the Amazon Press Release, as published on TheOneRing.net, “the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The deal includes a potential additional spin-off series.” This places the series directly in the Middle-earth universe, and, yes, potentially includes material from The Silmarillion!  What exactly will be included is only speculation at this point – beyond the fact it is about Middle-earth and is set before Bilbo’s famous Party.

So, what do you think about the announcement about Amazon scoring such a potentially huge prize? Let us know in the comments below.

 

 

Miranda Otto on Eowyn, Family, & the Horror of Annabelle: Creation

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Miranda Otto may be best known for her role as Eowyn in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings cinematic masterpiece. But this year, Otto has starred in FOX’s reboot, 24: Legacy, and the upcoming horror prequel, Annabelle: Creation. Under the direction of Lights Out creator David Sandberg, Otto is teaming with Anthony LaPaglia to tell the story of the doll maker and his wife, Samuel and Esther Mullins.

Otto has chosen to take roles that allow her maintain her home in Brisbane, Australia, recognizing that this means she’s compromised on roles she might have enjoyed. “A few years ago, as my daughter was getting ready to start school, there was a role I was considering,” she remembered. “But I was going to have to move across Australia for five months, and be five hours away. People were saying, ‘You’re crazy, you’re crazy to pass on that.’ But every time I looked at the script, I just got sick. Acting is a big part of my life, but it’s not the only part.”

Influenced by her own parents, both actors when she was born, Otto’s view is still informed by their perspectives. “My mother still has an actor’s perspective- and she’s happy to give her opinion,” Otto shared. “What was great was growing up with my dad as an actor, was that I had realistic ideas about what it was about. It wasn’t that glamorous world of Hollywood but I was drawn and seduced by the commitment of the actors in coming together, to focus and create something. It was grounding, a realistic view.”

As a mother, Otto finds stories where bad things happen to be difficult to read – or to share as an actress. While she’s played a few roles where her character has lost a child, she rarely turns to them voluntarily. But the story of the Mullins’ grief, and their subsequent adoption of six orphans who encounter the evil spirit Anabelle, drew her in as she interacted with Sandberg and heard his vision for the project.

“I think when I met David, I found him to be such a nice, unaffected person,” reflected Otto. “I thought working with him would be a good experience. I realized I’d be safe with someone like him, because he was very reassuring. When I looked at the original movie, I really enjoyed it, and took on the fun element. As frightening as horror films are, there’s something fun about being with the audience in that experience. So I tempered my personal feelings in light of that.”

Having seen the completed project out August 11 in theaters, Otto believes that there’s a very human aspect to the Mullins that will allow people to connect with, as they also feel for these young orphaned girls who must fight a great evil.

“The kids make up this story about Mrs. Mullins like we did as kids in my neighborhood,” she remembered.  “We’d make up funny names and imagine what those strangers were like. The thing is, you scratch the surface and everyone is human underneath. You can come up with all of these scary things but they have incredible stories behind them.”

Stories have been part of Otto’s experience since she was a child, since she was an actress at eighteen, since she was the brave female warrior who donned a man’s armor and fought at the Battle of Pelennor Fields and slayed the Witch King. Even as she tells new stories, these are ones she remembers fondly – and which her American audience still praises her.

“It was a really exhilarating experience being on those films. I sort of had to pinch myself everyday. While the rest of the world didn’t know it yet,  I knew the moment I arrived there and saw what was filmed already and what they were doing, that it was going to be an important bit of cinema. I feel so lucky to have been a part of that.  I loved that character, her dignity and her courage.”

Now audiences will have to see if her role as Mrs. Esther Mullins can capture their attention. She’s still fighting evil in the midst of her story, having traded Middle Earth for a 1950s haunted house.

How It All Began: The Story of God (Ep. 4)

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Past Articles in This Series: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3

The Creation of AdamIn the beginning . . . how did the heavens and the earth come to be?  It’s a question we’ve all invariably considered at some point in our lives. Morgan Freeman has been puzzled by creation since he was a kid attending church in his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi.  What else is out there? If God was the architect of everything, who (or what) created him? Or was chance a major aspect of the whole thing?

The fourth episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman (National Geographic, Sunday at 9P/8C) brings the subject of creation to the forefront of discussion. And just like the preceding episodes, Freeman’s curiosity leads him to a worldwide search to find an answer (if one exists). He learns some interesting things along the way that are worth tuning in for.

For most people in the Western Hemisphere, creation is synonymous with Adam, Eve, and a garden in Eden. The two lived there peacefully, enjoying the place—all until the day they chose to disobey the one rule God gave them—eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:15-17).  Then they were thrown out by God and forced to work the land in order to survive. Freeman adds, “It’s hard to believe we all come from one man and one woman . . .  but we do.” Freeman has an intriguing discussion with researcher Jodi Magnuss where she mentions a legend about Adam and his dead bones. Supposedly, he was buried right above where Jesus was crucified.  When his blood seeped into the ground, it met the bones and Adam was resurrected. She then has a quick Hebrew lesson with Freeman involving the words adam (man), dam (blood), and adamah (land).

The episode continues with Freeman visiting Gobleki Tepe, an ancient city in Turkey, Egypt, Australia, India, and Guatemala to learn stories of how other faiths describe creation as occurring. Some involve twins and corn (Mayans). Some involve star babies and dreaming (Aborigines). Some are close to the Christian view (Islam), And others just focus on cycles of creation without getting into any details (Hindu).

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman filming in Italy.

(Photo credit: National Geographic Channels)
The Story of God with Morgan Freeman filming in Italy.

(Photo credit: National Geographic Channels)

There is a scientific look at the creation story as well—but the question of the Big Bang is proposed to some high ranking individuals in the Vatican. Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo (seen in the picture above) tells Freeman the Big Bang is not creation because “we don’t know what was before” it happened. But the story is compatible with the normal biblical account of creation because, according to Georges Lemaître, a member of the Pontifical Academy of Science, God is outside of space and time.  Creation is an everlasting act, according to Lemaître, one of the first to propose the Big Bang Theory.  I was surprised there wasn’t a quick discussion about whether the account in Genesis 1 took six literal days or simply six equal measures of time, as I’m sure there’s a scholar out there who could provide some perspective on the subject.

It was made abundantly clear throughout the episode that, regardless of belief, there is a standard that someone bigger than us had a hand in the creation of the planet we live on and the universe we look at on a clear evening. Something had to happen – and we’re a direct result of it. It provides us with a sense of encouragement and perhaps purpose. As Gandalf wisely noted in the Lord of the Rings, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

May we make the most of it.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens–Thoughts to Consider (SPOILERS)

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Kylo RenSince a large chunk of the population has donated a portion of their disposable income to a movie theater in order to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we’re getting to the point where spoiler-free reviews are going to be unnecessary. If you haven’t seen the film yet and want to be surprised when you get to the theater, I’d recommend taking a look at my earlier review first, since it contains no spoilers.   Otherwise, read on, as I go into some of my personal ponderings regarding the movie.

Scroll past the picture below to read on.  Otherwise, it’s okay to return later and read when you’ve had a chance to see the film for yourself.

Fighter battleAre we all here? Good.  Here are a few personal thoughts after seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens twice (Thursday PM and Friday PM):

I am not a Star Wars fanboy, but I have always had an interest in the series.  Perhaps it’s because George Lucas wanted to change some sequences in the preexisting films to make a plot point more noticeable (Greedo shooting first instead of Han Solo), more detailed (all the CGI with Jabba the Hutt in A New Hope) or look more unified (the horrific revised ending to Return of the Jedi that seems a bit ironic, seeing as it shows the folks on Corcuscant celebrating freedom, not knowing they’ll suffer the same fate as Alderann thirty years later). Maybe it’s because I wanted to leave a theater with a sense of awe and wonder—something I didn’t get when seeing The Phantom Menace back in 1999.  It could be due to the fact that I saw Peter Jackson succeed mightily in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Hobbit?  Not so much.). Regardless, I went in wanting something more, something dynamic, something post-worthy.

I got that—and much more.

The film’s first portion centers on the planet of Jakku, as BB-8 takes the map portion with him a few seconds before Kylo Ren’s Bat Cruiser (not trademarked, but it should be) shows up and annihilation occurs.  Rey, a scavenger in those parts, wants little to do with the droid when she encounters him and eventually has to make a decision about whether to sell him.  BB-8’s loyalty reminds me, in a non-speaking way, of the loyalty of Ruth to Naomi in the Old Testament (see Ruth 1:16-18).  Rey decides not to, and it’s a good choice on her part, as the droid introduces her to Finn, a Stormtrooper gone AWOL. The two make quite a formidable pair, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of this pair in future films.

As for Kylo Ren, it’s revealed that he’s the son of Han Solo and Leia.  He’s definitely a force (pun intended) to be reckoned with (notice the Force stop of Poe Dameron’s blaster shot in the opening sequence). In fact, the only folks who can fight him off are Snoke, General Hux, and (later on) Rey. But he’s got some serious issues. He has no control over his temper, slashing massive streaks into a computer wall when he finds out Rey was not captured. In another sequence, the Stormtroopers on duty just turn around and walk away. This probably explains why his lightsaber fizzles, pops, and looks so different than the ones we’ve come to know in the past. He wants to be good, but can’t seem to fight his way out of the Dark Side. We see this in play on numerous occasions, notably when taking to Han Solo on the bridge at the end of the film.  He knows what he needs to do, but can’t do it—does that sound eerily like the struggle Paul talks about in Romans 7:15-25?  As a result, he is a wretched man.  It looks like we’ll get to see more of this struggle in future episodes.

The last scene location of SW: TFAIn the end, Starkiller Base is destroyed, Han Solo is taken out by his son, Finn is on life support after a nasty lightsaber slash up the back from Kylo Ren, and Rey travels with Chewbacca to a planet full of islands.  Atop one of the islands, she meets up, for the first time, with Luke Skywalker.  Luke on the island reminded me of John on the island of Patmos in the book of Revelation. He had vanished (remember the opening screen crawl?) after seeing one of his Jedi trainees go rogue (in this case, Kylo Ren).  Perhaps he was waiting for a revelation of his own.  In John’s case, he came across Jesus himself, who told him to write some letters to a group of churches that needed a wake-up call badly (except for Philadelphia) and provided an amazing look at what will eventually come to pass. We’re not sure about Luke yet, but Rey holds his lightsaber out to him as the camera pans around them and the film ends (one of the best shots I’ve seen in a film in quite a while, I might add).  Perhaps it’s the wake-up call Luke needs to hear.  Sadly, we’ll have to wait a few more years until director Rian Johnson shares Episode VIII with us.