Dan Wooding
Thursday, March 4, 2004

Dr. Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission(TM)ministry, said in an interview:

“This year’s Oscar ceremony was the best ... since the days of 'Driving Miss Daisy,' 'Trip to Bountiful' and 'Chariots of Fire.' For the last 10 years, the Academy has been slipping into more and more quirky, perverse, ‘independent’ films, but this year they were the major, wholesome movies that took the top awards.

“Of course, the Oscars were swept by 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,' which is a wonderful biblical worldview movie that won 11 out of its 11 nominations. Then, two of the movies close behind it were 'Finding Nemo,' which was written by a Christian, directed by a Christian and produced by a Christian, and 'Master and Commander,' which is full of Christian allegory and contains wonderful Christian messages.

“So, generally, this was the best Academy Awards that I can think of since 1989. I believe there are several reasons for that. One is that they had a shorter time period this year to do the judging. They used to hold the Academy Awards on the last Sunday in March and that gave another month for edgy, out-of-the-mainstream producers to drum up support for their films.

“And, number two, they put a freeze on receiving screeners (a decision later overturned by courts), which hindered the smaller, independent movies that have limited releases and would only be seen by the Academy members in the form of screeners. Therefore, this year the wide-release movies with faith and values did better.

“Next year, I want an independent film, Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’ to do well. I don’t think ‘The Passion’ will get Best Picture, though I could be wrong, but I think it may get some top awards for acting, cinematography, and sets.”

The Christian Oscars

Dr. Baehr then announced that the Christian Film & Television Commission(TM) will present its annual Faith & Values MOVIEGUIDE(R) Awards Gala and the televised presentation of the MOVIEGUIDE(R) Awards at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on March 24, 2004. They are equivalent to “The Christian Oscars.”

In this, its 12th year, the MOVIEGUIDE(R) Awards continues to present a symbol of excellence to the movies, television productions, producers, directors, writers, studio executives and creative talent that best extol biblical and moral values and Christian principles in the pursuit of entertainment.

Said Baehr:

“It really is more than just an awards ceremony. The top people in Hollywood attend, and we also give our annual Report to the Entertainment Industry, which shows that the movies with Christian content do better at the box office than other films. I point out that the more Christian content, the better they do.

“For instance, just recently we have seen ‘The Passion of the Christ’ make $125 million in five days, which is extraordinary, but we have been telling our friends in Hollywood this all along. The more positive, the more redemptive and the more wholesome that a movie is, the more likely you are to get the bigger audience – like the 125 million people who go to church every week.

“Our awards ceremony helps to commend the good; we help encourage people who are doing good work. We bring them together, and we inform a support base for them. We direct them to ministries that they can get involved in. We network them with each other and we also provide them with the arguments, the tools and the economic data that can get them to go back to their studio heads and say, ‘These are the kind of movies and television programs that we should make because they do better at the box office.’

“So really, we are there to encourage, equip and inform, and we have a tremendously positive effect by doing just that.”

President George W. Bush wrote in a recent letter to Dr. Baehr: “The entertainment community has a profound effect upon our culture and particularly upon our young people. Box office receipts reveal that Americans want to see movies of the caliber you honor. I hope that your awards will encourage the best producers, directors, writers, and actors to create films and television programs that lift our hearts and warm our souls by skillfully pointing to beauty and truth in an artful and contemporary manner.

Dr. Baehr said that among the films in consideration for the Templeton Foundation’s Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie of 2003 are “Gods and Generals,” “Luther,” “The Man Without a Past” and “Master And Commander.”

“Television programs that have been nominated for the Epiphany Prize are wonderful shows such as an ‘ER’ episode called ‘The Lost,’ which was full of Godly content, ‘Love Comes Softly’ from the Hallmark Channel, ‘Reluctant Saint: Francis of Assisi,’ an episode of ‘Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye’ called ‘Bad Hair Day,’ and the PBS program ‘Zenith,’” he said. “So it’s going to be an extraordinary year.”

The Christian Film & Television Commission(TM) was founded in 1978 by Dr. Baehr. An internationally noted educator, producer and media scholar, Dr. Baehr's initiative has devoted itself to redeeming the values of the entertainment industry according to biblical principles, influencing top executives and creative artists to adopt higher moral and spiritual values in their productions.

When the Christian Film & Television Commission(TM) ministry's MOVIEGUIDE(R) started in 1985, there was only one movie with positive Christian content; in 2002, there were 116 – that was 45 percent of the movies released that year.

When MOVIEGUIDE(R) started, there were only six movies aimed at families; in 2002, over 40 percent of them invited family audiences.

When MOVIEGUIDE(R) started, 81 percent of the movies were R-rated; now, less than 42 percent are R-rated.

Moreover, there are nine or 10 new large-budget movies about Jesus Christ being released and produced over the next few years, including "The Gospel of John," "The Passion of the Christ," "The God/Man," "The Lamb," "The Greatest King," "The Alpha and Omega" and "The Gospel of Mark."

Dr. Ted Baehr notes, “The chairman of a major studio recently told me at lunch that he attributed these shifts directly to our influence and our economic benchmarking of the entertainment industry.”

For more information, go to www.movieguide.org or call 1-800-899-6684 or 1-800-577-6684.

Editor's note:
James Hirsen’s "Tales from the Left Coast" - Find out the real story behind Mel Gibson’s "The Passion," and more!

Barbra Streisand, Hollywood left naked – Click here now!

Just released! Mel Gibson’s new book, "The Passion," tells the real story. Get it for just 99 cents – save almost $24 – Click Here Now!

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Media Bias
Mel Gibson's "Passion"