Dick Staub welcomes you to the annual Theology of Academy Award Nominees show in which we ask three questions of the best picture nominees: 1) Where is God or Who is God in this film? 2) What is the human condition/dilemma addressed in this film? 3) What is redemption in this film and how is it found? On our panel is Jeffrey Overstreet, film critic and  author; Jennie Spohr, producer of The Kindlings Muse and Gregory Wright, managing editor of Hollywood Jesus.com & Past the Popcorn   and publisher of W. John MacGregor’s West of the Gospel, due to be released this summer. The ten nominees are: Avatar: An Education; Up in the Air; Inglourious Basterds; A Serious Man; Hurt Locker; Up; District 9; Precious and The Blind Side.

 

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Host Dick Staub discusses a film the NYT describes as  “A big, warm hug of feel-better entertainment and a community salve.” The film tells the story of New York-based actor James Lecesne, choreographer Gerry McIntyre and musical director Randy Redd Who embark on a journey to New Orleans  to see how they can help in the aftermath of Katrina.  The artists quickly discover St. Mark’s Community Center at the edge of the historic French Quarter.  It had been hit hard and forced to close, leaving a tremendous hole in the neighborhood’s heart. Why not mount a Broadway production with local teenage talent a raise money for the community? Writer/Director Hilla Medalia and Producers John and Ed Priddy are our guests as we discuss this thought-provoking, heart-warming story.

 

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Dick Staub interviews Ralph Winter, a Hollywood film producer who has produced blockbuster movies such as the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Star Trek series.  Films on his resume, stretching back to 1982, have earned more than four billion dollars at the box office worldwide. Winter is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

 

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The Dry Land features a tight, well-written script and outstanding performances as it tells the heartfelt story of a veteran and his family and friends, all of whom are dealing with unforeseen changes in his life when he returns home from the Iraqi war. After seeing the film Hollywood news writer Bob Fischer said, Put “The Dry Land” on your must see list if you are going to be at Sundance. Host Craig Detweiler interviews Producer Heather Rae, writer/Director Ryan Piers Williams and cast members Ryan O’Nan and Jason Ritter.

 

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Host Craig Detweiler interviews writer, Director Thabo Wolfaardt (UCLA) and Producer Melanie Blair about their film Joburg, the story of a young newspaper vendor who struggles to care for his ailing brother. A pregnant woman discovers a terrible secret about her fiancé. At the height of their desperation, these two worlds collide in a life-altering event. Winner of the Director’s Choice Award at Angelus Film Festival.

 

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Host Dick Staub facilitates a discussion of film with author and film critic Jeffrey Overstreet , producer and film critic Jennie Spohr and Greg Wright Managing Editor of Hollywood Jesus and Past The Popcorn.  Films discussed on this podcast include: Angels and Demons; Departures; Star Trek; Audience of One; Times and Winds; Wise Blood; The Wrestler; A Walk to Beautiful; Lord of the Rings on Blu-ray;  Moon.

 

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Host Dick Staub facilitates a discussion of film with Jeffery Overstreet, producer and film critic Jennie Spohr and Greg Wright Managing Editor of HollywoodJesus.com & Past the Popcorn. Films discussed on this podcast include: Knowing; Coraline; Sunshine Cleaning; Days and Clouds; Rachel Getting Married; Still Life; Silent Light; The Robe; Jesus of Montreal.

 

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A discussion of the theology of the five nominees for Academy Awards in the Best Picture category. Hosted by Dick Staub with guests Gregory Wright Managing Editor of HollywoodJesus.com and Past the Popcorn, Jennie Spohr film critic, ordained Presbyterian clergy and Dr. Jeff Keuss a professor at SPU and an engaging interpreter of theology in popular culture.

 

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Craig Detweiler hosts a discussion at Sundance/Windrider with Cinematographer Jay Hunter & editor Ryan Brown The Sundance description is as follows: Charlyne Yi does not believe in love. Or so she says. At the very least, she doesn’t believe in fairy-tale love or the Hollywood mythology, and her own experiences have made her—at minimum—a modern-day skeptic. But this inquiry into love and its present-day manifestations suggests she hasn’t entirely given up hope. As she and her friend (and director), Nicholas Jasenovec, together search for answers and advice, you get the idea that this new generation’s cynicism isn’t the whole story.

 

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Craig Detweiler hosts a discussion at Sundance/Windrider with writer & director Cary Joji Fukunaga and Producer Amy Kaufman about their film Sin Nombre. The Sundance description is as follows: It’s almost impossible to believe that Sin Nombre is Cary Joji Fukunaga’s feature debut; its storytelling is so accomplished, its visual style so crisp, and its heightened naturalism and performances so textured. A social-political thriller in the tradition of American film noir, Sin Nombre is set on the border, where Mexico becomes the crucible and the fearsome gangs of today’s Mexican countryside, the gauntlet, to freedom. The stories of Sayra, a teenager living in Honduras and hungering for a brighter future, and teen gang members Smiley and Casper, for whom the Mara Salvatrucha is nearly their entire universe, become interlaced on the train to the border, a journey that will determine the future of their lives.

 

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