Waiting......

Well, I've done it. I finished a screenplay treatment and sent it to the SAICFF. That was two day ago. I didn't know two days could feel so long. And I still haven't (and won't for a while) heard anything.



I wrote the screenplay based on a story my grandmother told me (several times) while she was alive. I had an American Girl doll, Molly. One time when I was at their house, my grandmother saw Molly's Christmas Dress. She said it reminded of a little girl she once made a dress for.



Now my grandmother was a seamstress and made probably hundreds of dresses, so the fact that she remembered one particular one was amazing. Then she finished the story. When she had first seen the little girl she thought she was about 6. Later she found out she was 10, but had leukemia and was dying. They came to grandma after seeing her at the doctor's and asked her to make a Christmas dress for the little girl. Grandma did and it was the last Christmas the little girl ever had.



I was absolutely taken with this story when she first told it. It was such a touching story. Fast forward about ten or more years, and it's now in the hands of the SAICFF committee (btw did you know you can submit electronically now? I was prepared to go through the hassle of mailing a disk when I discovered it. Yeah for technology!). And I'm here waiting.



At least I have my classroom to keep me busy! :-)



Tiffany

Outside Hollywood

I finished the book about a month ago, but forgot to finish my review of it.



I really enjoyed this book. It has made me be more careful of what I watch and also how I watch things. I have never been one to just sit down and watch a movie to "zone out". One of the things I find most fun about watching a movie is discussing it afterwards with someone who shares the same beliefs as I do. (Right now this happens to be my sister and parents.) But after reading Outside Hollywood, I have begun to realize how important that is. We have to be so careful what we are allowing our eyes to see and what images we are allowing to be put into our brains.



I think this is an area where the church, and I as a part of the church, tends to fall. We are content to be just "better" than the world. We don't always strive to be the best for God's glory. I think many Christians choose movies that are maybe PG-13 because "they aren't R rated". Or PG because "they are PG-13 rated", etc.

Instead, we need to look beyond the guidelines that a secular world has put on movies and rate them ourselves. That's my first bit of advice. Always look at a synopsis, at the very least, of any new movie you are going to watch. If you have any questions at that point, either put it down or go find reviews from others that you trust. Our family uses Plugged In Online for a lot of reviews, but even then we have to be careful, because they have missed many problems with movies in the past. I personally always recommend getting a review of a movie from someone you know and trust personally before watching a new movie.

If, at this point, you are still interested in watching the movie, go ahead. But I would not necessarily allow young children to be in the room while you are previewing it. Even now my mom will still preview movies for my sister and I: my sister is 19 and I'm 25. I don't resent this in the least. I know she is doing this for my protection and I am grateful for it.

Once you have established that the film is safe for viewing by the intended audience in your home, watch it all together. Now, the most important part (and the part the ties this all back into Outside Hollywood) talk about it. Really, really talk about it. See what you can discover about the world view of the director, writer, producer, actors just by viewing this film. What was good about the film? (acting, directing, promotion of family, the father was portrayed favorably, etc.) What was bad about the film? (pay special attention to those things that might not be obvious:siblings treating each other poorly, sins that are committed and never have consequences, men being put down by the women in the film, etc) Don't exclude Christiam films from this same treatment. There is a lot we can learn (both things to do and things not to do) from the Christian film industry.

And now we are back to Outside Hollywood. The whole reason for the book was to teach people how to make a film that would glorify God in all the areas above. How to make movies that have a strong Christian worldview, that have a high standard of excellence in the technical aspects, that have the ability to build fathers and other men up, that have sibling with wonderful, godly relationships, that show that sin has consequences, that show women building up the men in their lives.

I highly recommend this book to not just those interested in film-making, but anyone interested in learning how to discern a good movie from a bad one.

I'm very grateful for this Christmas present and I think I'll add it to the list of books to be read each year. (That list isn't too long right now: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia, Outside Hollywood. Hmmm, maybe I should get started on the list now....)

Outside Hollywood

I am in the middle of reading Outside Hollywood. It was a gift from my sister for Christmas. Actually, it was a Christmas gift two year ago, but due to some publishing problems it wasn't released until this year. So I got it this year for Christmas last year. ;-)

It's written by Isaac Botkins, a young man who is in the film industry himself. He has written this book to encourage and guide young filmmakers through the process of making a film.

He starts at the very beginning, which is, after all, a very good place the start. He makes the case that we, as Christians need to not help Hollywood in its paganness, but we need to set up an independent industry that will rival and ultimately win out over Hollywood.

In order to be an independent filmmaker, Isaac says, you need to be firmly ground in your faith. The entertainment industry is a place where if you are not constantly examining God's Word and creating a deeper relationship with Him, you will be steamrolled. Hollywood in particular will attack any weak spot you may have in your spiritual armour. To add you what Isaac has said, I also believe that to be involved in the arts and entertainment area, you need to be specifically called to it. As my acting teacher at school said, "If there's anything else that you can do, do it. Only those who are specifically called to be an actor, should do this."*

Once Isaac has established the need to be a strong Christian, he outlines how Hollywood began and how it has slid down the slippery slope to where it is today. I literally stayed up until almost 2:00 am one night reading about this decline. It's horrific. While in the beginning, it was moral industry with its self-imposed laws to govern itself, non-Christians then recognized the power of media and designed it to be used to fulfill selfish ends. They tore down the standards that were already in place and opened it up to all kinds of immorality, blasphemy, and unnecessary violence.

Now that the author has you thoroughly convince of the need for being "Outside Hollywood", he begins to teach about the steps that need to be taken.

He starts with the screenplay, afterall, if you have a resourceful producer, an incredible director, amazing crew, and show-stopping actors, but no story, the show will fail. I really enjoyed this part of the book very much. I love writing and am working at developing this love into something I can do from home. Isaac's description of what makes a good story, with the wonderful examples he gives, has spurred me to go back to the plot outlines I have and make sure they are set up to tell a great story.

That's as far as I've gotten. He goes on to talk about how to produce, direct, and some other things. It's a wonderful book and I highly recommend it. Even if you just read it to find out more about Hollywood, it would be worth it. You can find it at Vision Forum.
Tiffany


*Just to be clear, I do feel that God has given me certain abilities that, by my own shortsightedness, I believe can be used in the entertainment industries. However, my "high calling" in life is to be a wife and mother and support my husband in whatever God has called him to do.

SAICFF

My mother, sister, and I went to the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival this past October. It was held (rather obviously) in San Antonio, Texas. We visited the city's wonderful boardwalk many times that weekend and even got lost on it once! :-)

When Mom and I went to the boardwalk last year, we had seen some gorgeous flowers, but didn't get any pictures. Well, the same bush was blooming this year and I finally got my pictures!

What a refreshing weekend! I have said before that one of my loves is Christian Filmmaking. It was so wonderful to be in a place where so many others shared the same feelings.

And think of it! It was a place where you were the odd one out if you didn't where a skirt! That was a new and encouraging experience for me. One day I even dressed in my Regency dress and hardly got a second glance, well, at the festival that is. When we went to the boardwalk, there were one or two.

We were also able to meet "old friends" from the Sense and Sensibility board. We had planned to have dinner at a park and everyone dress up historically. Unfortunately we were a few minutes late and missed the main group, but as we were trying to figure out what to do, another girl from the board showed up. We wandered around with her looking for them. A kind man then asked us if we were looking for the "S&Sers". We replied yes and he pointed us in the right direction. It was so neat to meet everyone!

There were so many wonderful films presented this year. The Photographer was one of my favorites. I found out about it first through the Sense and Sensibility board back around April/May. The sisters of the young man who made it were on the forum and were talking about it. Then I went to Masterworks and one of the girls there that I knew from two years ago mentioned that she had worked for a film doing makeup/coaching/whatever that was going to be entered into a contest. By comparing when she told me about the plot and what I already knew from the board, we discovered that she had worked on the same movie! So when I got back to a computer, I U2Ued the girl on the board and we "met." So after waiting all summer, I was finally able to see the film. It was amazing! Everything was so meticulously thought out an prepared. At the end, I thought, This is the kind of Christian movie I've been waiting for.

Another amazing film in the competition was The Monstrous Regiment of Women. This was a documentary about what feminism has done to women, particularly in this present day and age. It is truly heartbreaking to see the lies that women have bought. I would highly recommend this documentary for adults. Because of all the themes it deals with, I would not recommend it for children (they show actual footage of an abortion, which we fast forward), but I do think it's important that women today, especially young women know what feminism has done to our culture.

We also were able to see the world premiere of The Return of the Daughters. What an inspirational and convicting documentary. I have already shared that I am a "stay-at-home daughter" and this really encouraged in what I am doing now and challenged me to do more. The documentary shows the lives of five young ladies who have chosen not to follow the world's path, but to follow God's directives for young ladies. They are all stay-at-home daughters who help their fathers, their families, and their community. I would also recommend getting this DVD if you are interested in knowing how and why these girls chose to stay home.

After a long weekend fully of exciting new meetings (the people from the S&S board, and others) and some wonderful old reunions (we got to see the Chanceys again and the Keens, it was so good to be able to all-too-briefly catch up.) we were tired, but ready for the twelve hour drive home.

I thank and praise the Lord that we were able to spend such a wonderful, inspiring, convicting, encouraging, friendly weekend with others who are like-minded.

Tiffany

"Christianizing" Hollywood

I am very interested in Christians in the performing arts world, specifically film and television. I got my degree in acting because I wanted to help the Hollywood industry change for Christ. However, every time I turn around, I realize that Hollywood isn’t going to change.



When I was at Masterworks Festival this year (a four week camp put together by the Christian Performing Arts Fellowship) we had a Masterclass with Ken Wales who was the executive producer of Christy and more recently Amazing Grace. When I had my private hour with him, I told him my idea for a screenplay. He said he liked it, but if I was ever going to be able to get a producer from Hollywood to make it, I would need to cut out most of the Christianity in it. I felt like I had actually been punched in the stomach. How could a Christian tell me that I needed to “take out most of the Christianity” in my story? Then I realized….he was from Hollywood. Of course that’s what sells in Hollywood. That was his mind set.



Then I just received an e-mail from Regent University (a Christian University in Virginia with a masters degree program in media ) saying that they were to have the executive producer and writer from the show “That 70s Show” in to talk about how Christians are changing those in Hollywood. My first reaction was, “How could the man who writes such a disgusting show as ‘That 70s Show’ claim to be a Christian?” My second, “How could he tell me what the Christians are changing Hollywood?” Then I had the answer….he was from Hollywood. Of course that’s what sells in Hollywood. That was his mind set.



After those two experiences. I am now more excited than ever to go to the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. For those of you who don’t know the SAICFF is a group of Christian filmmakers who enter and show their films every October in San Antonio. These film are decidedly Christian in theme (no cutting out most of the Christianity here) and family friendly. In fact, many of the films are actually made by families. I got the lecture CDs from the festival two years ago (I wasn’t able to attend because I was in school) and Mr. Botkins (one of the speakers) spoke about how we can’t “Christianize” Hollywood. We need to make our own “Hollywood”. I dimly saw before what he meant, but now I completely understand and want even more to be a part of the SAICFF.



Tiffany



Just as a note, I completely agree with the Masterworks Festival and believe that they are really reaching artists for Christ and I am not saying anything against them. I am actually planning to go back next summer. Also Regent University is the best place I have found to be able to get a well rounded truly Christian Masters degree in Acting/Directing/Producing. I am not saying anything against those places in particular, just using them as instances I have seen with my own eyes where we need to change.