Church of the Masses

Act One Hiring Again

2008-07-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

[Please cut and paste this, or link to it, or forward this on to help us get the word out. Thanks - BRN]

act one, inc.
2690 Beachwood Dr. Lower Floor
Hollywood, CA 90068
323-464-0815 office; 323-468-0315 fax
www.actoneprogram.com
barbara@actoneprogram.com

POSITION DESCRIPTION
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR- ACT ONE, INC.

Background for this Position and Organizational Overview:

This position description has been created for the position of Executive Director, Act One, Inc. It serves as a framework for defining the duties and responsibilities, lines of authority, criteria, characteristics and related information about the position. There are many other aspects of the duties and responsibilities of a position, which are developed during the course of the employment relationship. Those post-hiring adjustments should be documented between the Board of Directors of Act One and the Executive Director (with appropriate approvals according to current policies) by revising this from time to time.

Classification and Accountability:

· Classification: This is a full time (minimum 40 hour) “exempt” position under the Act One Compensation and Classification program. The person in this position will be an employee “at will” as described in the Employee Handbook and will work out of office in Hollywood, CA.

· Accountability: This position, which is filled by the personnel committee of the Act One Board of Directors, reports to the Act One, Inc. Board of Directors. The position will be evaluated annually in January before the annual Board of Directors meeting which takes place in February.

General / Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

As the managing head and leader of the Act One team, the Executive Director will supervise the other members of the staff and community in support of the overriding mission and vision of Act One. The position requires an entrepreneurial leader who is eager to see Act One expand and grow in the quality and kind of services it renders, in its donor and supporter base, and in its reputation in the Christian community and in Hollywood.

Particular duties of this position include:

· Supervision of all Act One staff, volunteers, and advisory boards.

· Broad oversight of anything that carries the Act One name so that all the program’s efforts will be branded by our founding keynotes: artistry, professionalism, substance, and spirituality.

· Direction of all fundraising efforts, which includes supervising the Director of Advancement in identifying, recruiting and developing new donors and maintaining relationships with our existing donor base.

· Initiation of public relations and promotional opportunities for Act One, with a particular emphasis on mainstream media outlets.

· Ongoing development of the Act One programs’ curricula and services to support the goal of identifying, training, and mentoring candidates to become hirable for the entertainment industry.

· Initiation and direction of entrepreneurial opportunities to expand and promote Act One programs, to recruit students, faculty, and financial support.

· Oversight of the preparation of an annual budget every November for the coming year, and ongoing oversight of all program expenditures.

· Principal liaison to any other church groups, media ministry groups, universities, and industry organizations so as to advance Act One’s mission and effectiveness.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary: Negotiable, based on experience. Competitive with comparable positions in the non-profit sector in Los Angeles.

Insurance: Medical and Dental Insurance benefits are provided as defined in the Employee Handbook. The benefits will begin after an initial three-month probationary period.

Vacation: There are three weeks of paid vacation annually for this position, including one week at Christmas, which become available after six months of employment.

Sick Leave: There are two weeks of annual paid sick leave for this position which become available after the three month probationary period.

Personal Days: The position carries the added benefit of one half day each week off for personal professional work on entertainment industry projects not affiliated with Act One. These personal development days cannot accrue as regular vacation days and will be considered waived by the employee if not taken on a weekly basis.

Skills, Experience, and Other Characteristics:

The ideal candidate for Executive Director of Act One will possess the following desirable qualities:

· Christian Commitment: It is imperative that this person is a committed Christian and can articulate a Statement of Faith and personal testimonial to that commitment. The candidate should be a person of prayer who is an active member of a Christian church. The candidate must ascribe to the norms of a Christian moral life, understanding that the witness of life is a constituent element of our service to the Act One community.

· Entrepreneurial Leadership and Administrative Abilities: The Executive Director is the principle mover and energetic force behind everything that happens at Act One. The position calls for a person with the creativity and courage to launch and support efforts that will be consistent with Act One’s mission and vision statement. Ours is a very positive, “can-do” environment with a special emphasis on service and stewardship of resources. Knowing how to motivate and martial staff and volunteers, and draw in an ever-expanding network of collaborators is a constituent element of this position.

· Professional Experience: The Executive Director should be well aware of the executive and creative climate in the entertainment industry, and should make every effort to deepen and solidify relationships with working professionals. This will ensure that the program truly serves the industry by providing training that meets the real needs of the marketplace. The Executive Director should also possess the qualities and experience necessary to develop curriculum, particularly that meets the diverse needs of students at all levels of achievement.

· Non-Profit Experience: This job requires a fluid and responsive relationship with the Board of Directors. Responding to and implementing Board priorities, and developing better communication with Board members and committees will be of key importance.

· Communications, Attitude, and Behavioral Skills: The Executive Director should have excellent communication skills, and be comfortable in public speaking, press interviews, and formal meetings. Because of the interdenominational nature of the program, the Executive Director should be a person who respects the goods present in different denominations so as to be comfortable speaking with media, faculty, students, and donors from a broad spectrum of Christian traditions.

A Night of Great Theater!

2008-07-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

My friends and frequent collaborators at Hollywood's multiple award-winning, operated by Christians, theater company, Actors Co-op are doing a whole bunch of cool things with Shakespeare this summer. They are calling it "Shakespeariments." (How cool is that? Why didn't I think of it?!) Check out here for a list of the pieces they are doing.

Here's a message about the current show from its director, Marianne Savell:

Hi Ya'll

It's been my privilege to work on a production of HAMLET with a fine group of actors from Actors Co-op and a generous and talented design team. 90 minutes, 6 actors...

There are only 8 performances as this is a second stage fundraiser for Actors Co-op.

Friday, July 25 8pm
Saturday, July 26 2:30pm & 8pm
Sunday, July 27 2:30pm

Friday, August 1 8pm
Saturday, August 2 2:30pm & 8pm
Sunday, August 3 2:30pm

Box office is 323.462.8460 x400
Suggested donation of $10

Actors Co-op is located at First Presbyterian Church Hollywood
on the corner of Gower & Carlos in Hollywood
Free, well lit parking on Carlos in front of the church.

Hope you can come!

Marianne

Why We Need to Pray for Actors...

2008-07-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

"Remember this, never forget it, you're just a piece of meat."
(1950's studio boss Harry Cohn, to actress Kim Novak)

P.S. Think that is terrible? So do we. Checks here.

FIRST ANNUAL ACT ONE ON LINE FUNDRAISER!

2008-07-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you went to the movies? How much did you spend and did you think it was worth it? Did the movie connect you deeper to God, yourself, or others? Sometimes movies and television leads us to a connection, but what if it happened more? What if you could make a small gesture to ensure that better movies and television will be there in the future?

Act One needs your help. We are looking to find two hundred people who care about the impact of the global entertainment media, and who are willing to give twenty dollars a month, the price of a movie and a Coke. Joining your small sacrifices to that of 199 other folks will go a long way to help Act One continue with its urgent mission by basically paying our rent and utilities every month. We just signed a new lease on our offices, and, I have to be honest, it was an act of faith. The rent has, of course, gone up, and I'm not quite sure how God is going to surprise us with corresponding new ways to pay it. So, here we are letting you know so maybe you can help.

For ten years, we have been here in the heart of Hollywood - ready to meet and mentor and train your kids when they feel called to work in movies, television, the Internet and the whole range of new media. We are here to counsel, exhort and encourage established professionals who are trying to do good work for the world. And we are constantly trying to hold the line in the Church that we Christians should aspire to the highest standards of beauty and professionalism in the media and stories we create. We have taken a lot of hits for being so persnickety about Christians needing to have better standards in the arts and media- but it is the bond that unites all of us at Act One and in many ways, our reason to be as an organization. If you think that nagging voice is important - calling the Church to excellence and creativity and integrity and holiness in Hollywood - we could really use a tangible "vote" of support.

We need your help! The young people who come to us are, by definition, beginners. They often can not afford even the small tuition that Act One charges. Every day, we get letters and messages from young Christians who want us to start programs for actors and directors and publicists, and high school students. But frankly, we are already stretched too thin. We need a new generation of donors to come on board with regular support, so that we can continue what we are doing now, and expand it ten-fold for the future.

If you think Act One's presence in Hollywood is important, I ask you to please consider making the commitment to show it in a tangible way. Please tell your friends and family about what we are doing, send them a link to our website, and invite them to consider becoming a monthly small donor as well. Just keep telling yourself and your friends: "What we see on television and in the movies is not going to get better by accident. Act One is a smart and effective way to put people in place in Hollywood who will guarantee long-term and permanent change in the entertainment industry."

And now its easier than ever to contribute your tax-deductible donation! Log on to www.actoneprogram.com and click on Donate Now to sign up for a one time donation or a monthly withdrawal, which can be set at any time of the month.

Just the cost of a movie and a Coke once a month. That is all we are asking from you Church out there. Won't you consider a monthly donation to Act One?

Thanks and God Bless,

Barbara R. Nicolosi
Chair, Board of Directors

Why it was the 'Golden Age'...

2008-07-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

"We want a story that starts out with an earthquake
and works its way up to a climax."
Samuel Goldwyn

Wall-E: No Garbage Here

2008-07-12T12:34:00.001-07:00

I know it's brilliant. I just don't know exactly what it is.

I know what it isn't: a kids movie. It's too cynical. And too foreboding. I say this as someone who thinks Bambi/Lion King style tragedies are good for kids. Wall-E is different than these in that it is on many levels like a bedtime story based on Al Gore's Power Point movie. And I admit that made me uncomfortable for part of the film. I remember feeling waves of disappointment that Pixar was going to become one of those companies that just couldn't resist the lure of using their power to politicize instead of entertain. Because the movie maybe does just spend a few minutes too long showing us the remains of our planet a few years from now, after we bad ol' humans have wrecked it through an orgy of consumerism.

With an agenda to try and make people think about where we are headed as a society. it probably would have worked much better if the movie were set on some far away planet, like say the way Battlestar Galactica (2003) works. That show feels safe for the audience - not like politicizing - because the issues it raises are safely distanced from the corner voting booth by thousands of years and strange planets far, far away. But in the end, I am giving WallE a thumbs up because I think it was much less about environmental wacko-ness ("HUMANS ARE EVIL AND BAD FOR THE PLANET WHICH IS GOD!") than it is about greed and materialism. And I am always all for another explication of one of the seven deadly sins.

The humor in Wall-E seems to me to be mostly inaccessible to small children. Even the older kids at the screening we attended (I'm talking the eight to ten year olds) sat there almost politely, waiting for the rush and delight of Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. It only came briefly in the one sequence in which Wall-E is floating through the solar system, a sequence which had all the wonder of the undersea vistas that made Nemo so lovely to watch. Several of the younger ones were actually taken out by their parents. There was one little boy in our audience who kept asking every thirty seconds, "What does that mean? What is happening?" The humor here also wasn't the witty jabs of the Shrek movies. Wall-E's images of obese humans being moved around in digitally created fantasies was much more wry than wit. Again, it felt like the filmmakers had a bit of an axe to grind. All about how materialistic we folks out in the audience all are.

Which is rather cheeky coming from Pixar, whom I don't see returning any of the 8 billion dollars they have made on their movies, and ancillary deals to put Nemo on Whopper wrappers, and Incredibles action figures and games and costumes and books and lunch boxes and Halloween costumes and....well, you get the point. I thought while I was watching Wall-E clean up all the trash left behind by the humans that the Pixar I know and love would have had at least one of those monumental trash compacted structures be made up entirely of scuffed up Pixar generated ancillary products....But they were being just a bit too earnest here for that kind of self-deprecating humor. Too bad. It would have worked and hence helped them in their thematic goal.

WallE is in in many ways a charming old style love-story - like um, Hello Dolly maybe? There are too many wonderful craft moments to mention - but I want to send a particular shout out for the use of the music from Hello Dolly as a aural contrast (read paradox) to the visuals on the planet. It was really genius and achieves so much for the storytelling that I was in awe.

Also on a narrative method level, it was incredible to me how they took us through nearly an hour of film with almost no dialogue track at all. I felt like I was watching a brilliant throwback to the heyday of silent cinema, before all the chattering heads came in to tell us how to feel. WallE is brilliant visual storytelling. Almost too brilliant, because as the story picks up pace, there are often two or more things going on in a frame and if you aren't watching very carefully, you will miss jokes and beats.

One friend pointed out to me that the movie is unabashedly a vision of heterosexual love. I hadn't thought of that before, but I think it's probably true. You have WallE the male, loving and then risking his life to protect the female robot EVE who is carrying the seed of new life in her "womb." So that's good. Probably too late for our society which is exhaustedly hell bent on trying to pretend that gender is irrelevant. And I do mean hell bent...

I thought the portrayal of the humans on the space ship was somewhat disappointingly over the top for Pixar. It seemed to me to be a lie about human nature - we could never all of us become just fat, lazy blobs with no passions or desires to learn and grow. I get that they needed to go that way for the storytelling, but by the way it made me uncomfortable - not emotionally but as a viewer of the craft - made me conclude it was a narrative misstep.

But do go see the piece with your teenagers and adult friends. It isn't Pixar's best piece of entertainment, but I would say that it is arguably the best piece of pure art they have produced. Enjoy.

Heads Up!

2008-07-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Intermission, which was the parent ministry that spawned Act One back in 1999, has just launched a cool new web site. You have to go to the site and watch the opening video program. It is funny and yet really nails the whole "Hollywood as a Missionfield" thing that we here all get and almost none of you outside of this Thirty Mile Zone do. If you did, you would be sending lots of money and missionaries here to help.

Intermission was founded when most of us Christians in the business were deep in the closet, and the purpose of the group was mainly to encourage the faithful who were like the disciples locked in the upper room for fear. Coming out of the heart and mind of the wonderful and sorely missed, David Schall, Intermission was responsible for launching the smartest and most effective programs: Actors Co-op, Act One, Hollywood Prayer Network, the Quarterly Ministry Leaders Lunches, and Hollywood Connect.

David understood that the ministries needed to effectively equip the Christian Body, so that it could in turn effectively be a witness in Hollywood. So, all of David's initiatives had a formational and educational aspect to them - Act One most notably, but even the Actors Co-op has an ongoing program meant to deepen and render more professional the company members.

Anyway, Intermission has been reassessing its mandate now that the Church is completely out of the closet here. What is the next thing that the Body of believers needs to equip us at this and subsequent levels? I am excited to follow their progression.

"Wrestling with the Truth That Saves"

2008-07-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a partial transcript of an interview I did with friend Tony Rossi for The Christopher Closeup podcasts. A nice chunk of the interview was all about my favorite TV show, the freshly re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (2003) on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Tony is also an unabashed fan of the show, so we completely geeked out in the interview speculating wildly about the ultimate direction of the show and why it is so great as entertainment. Here's a snip...

TR: Ron Moore, the executive producer of the show, said about it, “There’s a search for truth that we explore continually.” Looking at things from a religious perspective, is the search for truth in a story enough to make it deserving of being embraced by a Christian audience?

Barbara Nicolosi: I think so. I think that one of the things we’ve been getting wrong in Catholic media is that we try and do all the work for the viewer in terms of stories. A story is a car, for example, that you provide out of respect for your viewer. They’re going to go on a journey in that car. It’s a very respectful thing to set them up on this journey, but they have to do the work otherwise it’s not going to mean anything in their life. So if you make it too easy for them and give them the answers, they’ll forget...We say to our students in Act One all the time, “It isn’t telling people the truth that saves them; it’s getting them to wrestle with the truth that saves them.” It’s the reason that when you end a Flannery O’Connor story, you’re furious at her because you say, “Well what did that mean?!” You always think there were three missing pages where she was supposed to tell you what everything meant. And what you have to do is keep going over it and over it and over it until you figure it out. That’s the process of saving you. But Flannery really respects her audience. Now granted a lot of the audience misses the deeper level. But you know what, the ones who get it – it saves their soul.

TR: Galactica is also one of the only shows that deals with religion and faith in an overt manner. At the beginning I was unsure what to make of it because the seeming bad guys were worshippers of the ‘one true God’ whereas the seeming good guys had multiple gods. How do you think the story represents religion? Is it doing it in a good way?

Barbara Nicolosi: I think it was a stroke of genius to make the humans the pagans/polytheists and make the machines the monotheists. In one sense it could just be that the machines are supposed to represent the fanaticism of the Islamic fascists who took down the towers...But it’s not that because Christianity is also a monotheistic religion. So I think that by twisting it on its head, by making the Cylons monotheists, it made it even safer for the show to talk about issues of faith and how they impact daily life...Having said that, this struggle of the people in the show (asks), ‘Are we missing something when we make decisions that aren’t guided by transcendent faith?’ That’s what the human characters on the show are struggling with.

You have some of them, like the most screwed up one, Starbuck, (played brilliantly by actress Katee Sackhoff who would've certainly piled up Emmy noms for her work here if it was a network show instead of the Sci-Fi Channel...) but she really believes that the gods know her name and that she owes them fealty. Then, you have the admiral (Edward James Olmos) and his son, Lee (Jamie Bamber), who are basically agnostics, but now they’re struggling to believe because they don’t know what to do, they have nothing left to lean on. And that’s the question of the show – when you have nothing else to lean on, does it then make sense to reach for the divine or are you just grasping at some kind of straw to save your psychological life? The show hasn’t resolved that yet, but I think it’s setting up to do that very clearly.

We talked about lots of other stuff too besides BSG. I had posted a link to the podcast before but here it is again just in case.

P.S. I have a friend back in DC who is clinging stubbornly to double ignorance about the wonder and brilliance of BSG. She said that whenever she sees a picture from the show on my blog, she just skips over the post. So, I used art work above that could reliably be counted on to attract her...

2008-07-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

"When the storytelling goes bad in society, the result is decadence."
Aristotle

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

I'm off to spend the holiday weekend with friends in San Diego. Not sure if I will have Internet there, so wishing everybody a great Fourth now. Join me in praying for this great nation of ours.

"Whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America."
-- Dwight David Eisenhower

Act One Coming to Rock Island, IL

2008-07-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

----------------------------------FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-----------------------------

ACT ONE PROGRAM BRINGS HOLLYWOOD TO ROCK ISLAND, IL

MEDIA CONTACT: info@actoneprogram.com | (323) 464-0815

HOLLYWOOD | JULY 1. Each year, thousands of hopefuls flock to Hollywood, dreaming of making it big in the film and television business. This year, Hollywood comes to them.

Act One, a Los Angeles-based training program for writers and executives in Hollywood celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year, is partnering with Pepperdine University and Heritage Church to present the Act One Working in Hollywood Seminar in Rock Island, Il. The seminar, scheduled for September 19 and 20, is an intensive weekend program designed to train aspiring writers and producers who are serious about their Christian faith eager to learn more about how to create culture that respects and enriches a global audience.

Participants will study the Hollywood storytelling process, from story development to pitching to the craft of producing spiritually engaging entertainment that is commercially appealing. Under the tutelage of real Hollywood professionals, participants will learn practical lessons on writing outlines and treatments, on creating compelling characters an stories and on the basics of screenwriting format.

Other topics to be discussed during the conference include:

- Finding Your Story: Choosing the right stories, understanding genre and what makes your story stand out from the others.
- The Big Structure Lecture: An overview of the basic three-act structure, illustrated through a breakdown of an epic motion picture.
- Pitching Workshop: Students learn pitching tips, work in small groups to complete a development assignment, and then participate in a pitching session with evaluation from Hollywood pros.
- Breaking Into the Business: A frank dialog between workshop participants and our faculty about the business of show business, what it takes to make it as a professional and as a Christian in Hollywood, and next steps for those who believe God is calling them to an entertainment industry career.

In addition to the Seminar, Act One will be hosting a Hollywood 101 Evening from 7-10pm on Friday, September 19. Open to the public, the event will feature a presentation on the activity of the church in Hollywood, a keynote address from a high profile Hollywood professional about the challenges of working on the front lines of the culture, and a Hollywood Insider Panel, which will be a provocative, no-holds-barred Q&A about life and work in the world’s most influential mission field.

Conference Details

Date: Friday, September 19, 1pm to 10pm and Saturday, September 20, 10am to 6pm

Location: Heritage Church, 4801 44th Street, Rock Island IL 61201

Cost: $175 if registered before August 1, $195 after August 1.

To register, go to www.actoneprogram.com, or call (323) 464-0815.

Speakers: Dr. Thom Parham (writer JAG, screenwriting professor, Azusa Pacific University); Dean Batali (Writer, producer, That ‘70s Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Act One, Inc., is a nonprofit organization that has trained Christians of all denominations for careers in mainstream film and television for the past ten years. Stressing artistry, excellence, professionalism, and Christian spirituality, Act One prepares students to pursue careers marked by personal integrity and professional excellence, in writers rooms, on sets, and in studio and network offices. The end goal is not to produce explicitly religious entertainment, but movie and TV projects that respect and serve the global audience, combining mastery of craft with great depth and meaning. Over ten years, Act One has amassed a vast alumni network of writers, producers, directors and entertainment executives who are dedicated to producing excellent work for a global audience.

Act One 10th Anniversary Gala

2008-07-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

In 1999, Act One will celebrate its 10th year of mentoring and training a new generation of Christians for careers in mainstream Hollywood. Our little program has made a huge impact by drawing hundreds of committed believers into the front lines of the culture, and we have big dreams to expand a whole lot more in the coming years. In addition to training writers and executives, Act One wants to create bridge programs for directors, actors, critics and pastors. We wnat to build an artist's chapel, and operate a state of the art think tank for the Church on the arts, enterainment and storytelling.

It's going to take money and many new networks of established professionals in these areas to act as mentors and faculty. We invite you to please come on board and help us! And one way to do that is to buy a seat, or become a sponsor of our upcoming 10th Anniversary Kick-Off Gala celebration on October 11, 2008. Here is a message from Act One's Director of Advancement about the event.

-------------------------------------------------

Dear Friend of Act One:

Saturday, October 11, 6:30 pm, Act One will officially launch our 10th Anniversary year with a Black Tie Gala. The exciting event will include a cocktail party, dinner and Broadway style entertainment. It will be held at the historic and beautiful Main Concourse of Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles.

We see this event as an opportunity for the faculty, mentors, alumni and supporters of Act One to come together to enjoy each other and celebrate the great goods that have come to the Church and the world through this vital program. We hope it will be an occasion for friends to introduce the program to many new friends who could come on board and help Act One meet and expand in its next ten years. If you think Act One is a good thing, we really need you to step up now and show us by supporting this event in whatever way you can.

Please do mark your calendars now, and consider attending, or sponsoring seats at the Gala if you can't be there in person. We are also looking for silent auction items if you can help us out in that way.

We have just launched a section of our web site to take reservations to the Gala. It would help us out tremendously f you are planning on attending the Gala or hosting a table, if you could make your reservation sooner rather than later. (It would be a good idea in any case because we have 700 members of the Act One community, and probably only about 300 seats at the Gala!) Would you please consider reserving your ticket or table now? Making your reservation by July 9th will not only hold a seat for you at this momentous occasion, but will also enable the Act One Gala Planning Committee to better prepare for the celebration which will mark the kick-off of Act One’s 10th Anniversary.

Ticket prices are:

Table Reservation
$1,500/table - Table Host
Table hosts receive entrance to the private, cocktail reception; opportunity to meet the Honoree; script consultation (valued at $250); opportunity to audit an Act One Class; first look at silent auction items; recognition in program book; recognition at the gala, dinner and show.

Individual Reservations
$500/person - Lead Role Seating
Lead Role patrons receive entrance to the private, cocktail reception; opportunity to meet the Honoree; script consultation (valued at $250); opportunity to audit an Act One Class; first look at silent auction items; recognition in program book; dinner and show.

$250/person - Supporting Role Seating
Supporting Role patrons receive entrance to the private cocktail reception; opportunity to audit an Act One Class; first look at the silent auction items; recognition in program book; dinner and show.

$150/person - Principle Role Seating
Principle Role patrons receive dinner and show.

To reserve a seat, please click here

Additionally, we are still soliciting items for the silent auction portion of
the Gala. If you have items to donate, please contact Rose@actoneprogram.com
to make arrangements for pick-up or delivery.

Please do consider joining with us to mark the special occasion of Act One's 10th Anniversary of service in Hollywood. Thank you for your continued support.

Rose M. Wright, Director
Advancement & Communications

Lecture in the OC: "The Three Teresas"

2008-06-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

The Magis Institute presents, the fourth lecture in our 2008 lecture series:

Featuring Dr. Eric Hansen Magis Institute Resident Fellow

The Three Theresas: Avila, Lisieux, and Calcutta

July 8, 2008 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Pacific Club 4110 MacArthur Blvd, Newport Beach, CA 92660

Please RSVP by July 4, 2008

Space is limited, we ask that you register via email to inman@magis.us or else via phone to Todd Inman at (949) 474 -7368, ext. 130 by July 4th.

"The Real Patron of the Arts"

2008-06-30T12:00:00.001-07:00

Back in March I was interviewed for the online version of the magazine of Catholic United for the Faith, which is called "Lay Witness." In opening the stack of mail waiting for me back at the Act One offices, I just found a letter from the magazine telling me that the interview is posted here.

They enclosed a copy of the print version of the magazine with the letter. INterstingly, my interview didn't make the print version. But there was a one page essay from the president of CUF, explaining how and why he had thrown out his television. Ha! I love us. I have to... To be fair, Mike goes on to say that the Church needs to be engaged in media. Of course, whether we could do that without actually watching media is up for debate. (Not really.)

There was another essay in the magazine balancing out Mike's piece from Prof. Eugene Gan of Steubenville, making the case that perhaps we Catholics should try and engage the media, and quoting extensively from the last apostolic letter of JPII, "The Rapid Development."

Here's a snip from that great and timely letter:

"The Church is not only called upon to use the mass media to spread the Gospel, but, today more than ever, to integrate the message of salvation into the 'new culture' that these powerful means of communication create and amplify." (Letter of JOhn Paul II, The Rapid Development, January 24, 2005)

ANyway, the lonnnnnnnnnnnnng interview was over the phone, so I was walking back and forth across my apartment in my pajamas ranting, scaring my cat, and probably freaking out my neighbors. It's my usual shtick...only more so...and intended for an orthodox Catholic readership.

The first part of the interview was about broader issues concerning the Church and the arts. I find I always have to start here with more conservative Christians because they have almost lost all interest in and appreciation for the arts. They are basically living in a cultural void, and it is always an effort to try and convince them that that is a morbid choice. Here's a snip:

Tell us about the topic of your presentation tonight: “The Real Patron of the Arts: Hollywood or the Church?”

I was talking to my undergrads at a college in Los Angeles—Christian kids, there are 60 of them from colleges all over the country—and I mentioned the phrase “patron of the arts.” One of the kids in the front row raised his hand and said, “And who’s that?”

And I realized, looking at these 18-year-olds, that they didn’t know the phrase “patron of the arts.” So I said to them, “Well, who do you think the patron of the arts is? Talk about it among yourselves and then tell me what you think.” And so they came back five minutes later and they had two things that they had decided. One was Hugh Hefner of Playboy Magazine, and the other one was the Bravo channel.

And when I said to them, “No—the patron of the arts is the Church,” they looked at me and they were like, “What art, and what Church?”

And I have to say, they’re right. They’re right. Hugh Hefner spent more on the arts in the last month than the Church probably spent in the last year, and maybe even the last decade. He hired hundreds of actors and models and photographers and writers and designers and directors, etc. And we wonder why people like Hefner have cultural power, and we in the Church have been relegated to cultural irrelevance? Who is the real “leaven in the lump of the world” here? We’ve so lost the value of beauty and art and storytelling in the Church that we don’t deserve the moniker anymore—“patron of the arts.” We’re not.

Why is it important for the Church to regain that?

This is a huge question. Let me point to a couple things that would help. One thing to read is Pope John Paul II’s “Letter to Artists” that he issued in 1999, where he talks about the epiphanies of beauty through which God speaks to human hearts, and how the arts are a medium of revelation in the world, and how a sacred artist, or someone who’s prayerful, is absolutely a way for God to speak to the world today.

I read an essay that Pope Benedict XVI wrote before he was pope called The Beauty and the Truth of Christ in which he says that if the Church could have the knowledge that comes through beauty or the knowledge that comes through theological texts, She would prefer the knowledge that comes through beauty because the knowledge that comes through beauty brings to people the conviction of their own smallness and humility, and also the sense of the grandeur and order and intelligence of the cosmos. And that these two awarenesses are the beginning of real prayer.

So when people experience the beautiful, the problem of the Garden of Eden is fixed. You know, the Garden’s temptation in Genesis was “You will be like God.” And this is still the paramount temptation for human beings. Well, when you experience beauty, you know you’re not God and you also feel that that’s OK. You feel good about your life and your very “un-Godness” because you’re filled with awe and gratitude. So, Pope Benedict makes the case that you can know everything in a book of theology and make a prayer that is proud and cold. Or, you can know almost nothing of theology but respond to a sunset and feel God’s presence there and it can be a prayer that is holy and that will be heard.

So just briefly, there are many, many, many goods that come to the Church through the arts, but the idea of the beautiful is the main one.

The second part of the interview was about Act One. I loved that she put the word "whispers" in there! Is it wrong to be pleased with oneself so thoroughly at moments? I would like what follows after that whispers to be one of quotes for which I might be remembered.... Anyway, here's a snip:

What does it take? What kind of person are you looking for to participate in Act One?

Well, the first thing we’re looking for on the writing side is people who can spell! I wish I was kidding! I get people all the time that come to me and they want to be writers but they can barely write two sentences that are clear. It’s very rare to find somebody who actually has a good writing style.

And then we need people who have been reasonably well educated in storytelling. We give our writers a list of the hundred most influential novels ever written. And we ask them to check off how many they’ve read—not how many they’ve seen in the movies, but how many they’ve read. The young people coming to us on the average have read only seven of the hundred most influential stories ever written. And these people are top of their classes! We’re not talking obscure stuff here. I’m talking Hemingway and Hawthorne and Austen and the Greeks. So we have a huge problem. This a particular challenge for these two up-and-coming generations—the Gen-Xers and the Millennials—they’ve been completely cut off from their cultural heritage.

And then they need to be somewhat culturally savvy. They ought to have a sense of what is the best work that is out there and why. Often, the real conservative Christian kids that come to us have seen every movie done in the Golden Age but they haven’t seen anything since Star Wars. And it’s the same problem because if you haven’t seen The Matrix, you don’t know your audience today.

On the executive side, we want people from top schools, top undergraduate programs, and even grad programs, who are primarily law and finance oriented. So we want lawyers, law students, MBAs, people with finance degrees and any other people with corporate or business experience. We’re preparing people there for the executive suites of Hollywood, and that’s the talent pool the industry draws from.

I would say the next thing we want is committed Christians. We have all denominations. I’m very sad that we have had so few Catholics go through the program. I have gone to these schools—the Catholic schools, the special Catholic schools—I’ve gone to them all several times and spoken there and pleaded, and what I find there is that kids do not have any apostolic drive. After getting these great Great Books educations, what they want to be is maybe a DRE in a small country parish in the backwoods where nobody will notice them and they can just shut the world down and out. You know, there’s nothing apostolic in that. St. Paul could’ve done that—the Church would be nothing if we had done that. We have not received a mandate to head for the hills.

There is something wrong in a Church in which we are preparing kids to only play in the Catholic subculture. [whispers] There was never supposed to be a Catholic subculture! You know what disciples do in the Catholic subculture? They have personality fights and power struggles. Well, I’d rather be martyred by the world and the devil than be killed by a fellow Catholic because they don’t like the way I say the Rosary or something.

The Standard Script from Walden

2008-06-30T10:55:00.001-07:00

Here is a snip from Daily Variety's review today of Journey to the Center of the Earth the latest classic work to apparently be rendered banal by Walden Media.

"What Journey to the Center of the Earth emphasizes is how technology ends up dictating content: Helmer Brevig [note from Barb: "helmer" is Tinseltown speak for d"director"] seems compelled to remind us again and again, that we're in 3-D, so something flies at our faces for no apparent reason except to justify the ad budget. It's ornamental, gimmicky, and wholly unnecessary where the narrative and 2-D effects would have been absorbing enough on their own.

A more unavoidable obstacle here is that there's not much in the way of plot..."

One would think that eventually, somebody at Walden is going to get sick of this kind of review and start to look at the way they develop scripts.

I'm picking on Walden because so many of us had such high hopes for the company when it got started. They had some Christians at the helm, and a Christian billionaire paying the bills. It seemed like a dream come true for those of us Christians who have been in the business for years. But they didn't understand scripts. Christians didn't get that "the word" was important. It just strikes me as an inexcusable oversight.

An Upcoming Event in Hollywood

2008-06-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday, July 19, 2008

A one-day Seminar
for those in the Entertainment Industry

Presented by

•
UNDERSTANDING
&
SHARING YOUR FAITH
WITH
JEWISH FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES *

Seminar topics include:

• Cultural and religious influences shaping Hollywood today
• Biblical foundations & the Jewish people
• Different branches of Judaism
• Christian misconceptions of Jewish People and their faith
• How Jews perceive Christians
• Breaking down cultural barriers to the Gospel

DATE: Saturday, July 19, 2008
TIME: 1:00-6:00 PM (check-in starts at 12:30 PM)
LOCATION: 4193 Keystone Ave., Culver City, CA 90232
WHAT TO BRING: Bible, Pen
RSVP: JESeminar@gmail.com OR 818- 506-1987
(Must RSVP)-limited seating)
COST: No admission charge. A free-will offering will be taken

www.PRISMHollywood.com

Seminar will be taught by Nikki H., a Jewish believer in Messiah, who lives and works in Hollywood as a director / producer, missionary, and educator within the entertainment community. Nikki's service has included work with a number of Jewish ministries as well as director of evangelism and discipleship on pastoral staff with Church of the Open Door. Nikki's ministry P.R.I.S.M. is currently under the umbrella of ACT International, through which she works in the entertainment industry to impact the media and people in it for the Kingdom of Messiah. She holds a BA in Theology & Biblical Literature from Simpson College and an MFA in Directing from USC.

Nikki produced and directed an award– winning documentary "Joined Together?" on inter-faith marriages. It will be screened today from 5:00 – 6:00 PM.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMMENTS FROM PAST SEMINARS:

"A thorough and thoughtful presentation of what to consider
when sharing one's faith with those who come from a Jewish
background. I found Nikki's seminar to be dynamic
and informative--a 'must-attend' event!"
-- Rebecca F. (TV Producer)

".... those who care about them and who really want the best for
the Jewish people will tell them about Jesus."
-- Derrick W. (writer / director)

"I was enlightened, and given real tools to understand
the Jewish community ... I learned what to say and what to avoid
to introduce a Jewish person to Messiah"
-- Judi D. (performer)

Fatima Movie Possibly in the Works

2008-06-28T00:29:00.000-07:00

Origin Entertainment is working to bring the story of the apparitions of the Mother of God at Fatima Portugal to the big screen. The story was made into a movie once before in the 1950's, but recent events, like the assassination attempt on John Paul II, the revelation of the 3rd secret, and the recently published recollections of Sr. Lucia are all good reasons to tell a more complete version of the story today. Also, today's CGI can render events like the miracle of the sun and the vision of hell much more impressively.

Early in 2007, I spent a month in Australia with a young crew from England and Ireland working on a script for a new Fatima movie. It was some of the best writing I have ever done, and the whole time was an amazing experience of grace, and also the scarily "just over there" presence of Satan being spiteful. We crafted the script as a coming of age story with Lucia as the main character. There were truly some inspired elements that had all of us feeling like we were very much instruments. At that time, Origin Entertainment had an investor who had stepped forward who had promised to cover the entire budget of the film, so we were very excited that we would go into production during the 90th anniversary of the Fatima events.

But it didn't happen. For some unknown reason, the money never came together, and so the script never got finished, and eventually the little international coalition we had joined with to tell the story dissolved.

And then, a few months ago, a whole different group of people called me up and proclaimed, "We think there needs to be a feature film on Fatima." I listened to them wearily, "Yeah. I thought so too, but God seems undecided." Honestly, I am starting to feel like getting together a movie package and financing makes the miracle of the sun look almost banal.

But, things do seem to be happening this time around. So, Origin Entertainment will be holding some informational nights for potential investors on what it will take to get a commercial, mainstream movie on Fatima into productin and then into cineplexes. Our first of these will be in Minneapolis on July 10th. I will be there, as will the CEO of Origin Entertainment, Dick Lyles. If you are interested in attending, or know someone who might be, please send me an email.

All the rest of you can help out by praying. It would be so great to get this project done.

In Memoriam

2008-06-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Sr. Joyce Amaral, ssd

January 10, 1956 - June 26, 1978

"Carry on..."

The Fault Lies Not in Your Television, But in Yourselves

2008-06-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

I just have to ask. Why, oh why, America, did so many of you watch ABS'c latest summer entertainment for the brain dead, the idiocy-fest Wipeout? It was the biggest summer premiere for the network in the last three years.

Which means we will now see many similarly themed, but probably not as stunningly produced and intellectually stimulating, knockoffs on the other networks, and certainly a rash of super-extended, extreme degradation Wipeouts on ABC.

All I hear as I travel around the country is how all of you out there want better entertainment on television. So, why, why did someone in your house vote for Wipeout this week?

Just asking.

WGA is Looking Out For You

2008-06-26T10:43:00.001-07:00

From Today's Variety:

"The Writers Guild of America wants the FCC to write the script on product integration disclosure.

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin, WGAW President Patrick Verrone urged the agency "to establish guidelines requiring on screen, real time disclosure on TV programming where product integration occurs to make viewers aware of the range of products they are overtly - and more often covertly - being sold."

...Verrone described product integration as "the embedding of commercial products within the storyline of a program so as to subliminally advertise to viewers...This practice exploits the emotional connection viewers have with shows and their characters in order to sell a product."

The WGA has expressed a preference that there be a complete ban on product integration, but pretty much everybody agrees that the practice is so rampant now, that it is probably too late to achieve that. Still, it would be a step forward if there was a mandated page somewhere at the end of a production listing all the ads that had been embedded in the show.

Of course, the studios and Madison Avenue ad agencies have chosen coy and disingenuous as the response to the WGA's request. Again, Variety sites one anonymous industry source as remarking, "There's no huge hue and cry we get from audiences about this."

So, audience, please to make a hue and cry. Let the FCC know how you feel.

2008-06-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

"I find most people know what a good story is
- until they sit down to write one."
Flannery O'Connor

Act One Job Opportunity

2008-06-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Sent: Tue, 24 Jun 2008 2:18 pm
Subject: Act One Job Opportunity

Act One, Inc., a non-denominational Christian organization founded to train Christians of all denominations for careers in the mainstream entertainment industry, is currently seeking exceptional candidates for Director of the Act One Writing Program. Ideal applicants are available to begin work by September 2008, and will demonstrate professionalism, integrity, and a genuine desire to work as part of a ministry team. We offer a creative and stimulating work environment and numerous professional development opportunities. Interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume to barbara@actoneprogram.com.

Resumes and cover letters may also be faxed to 323-468-0315. No phone calls, please.

act one, inc.
2690 N. Beachwood Dr., Lower Floor
Hollywood, CA 90068
323-464-0815; 323-468-0315 fax
www.actoneprogram.com
barbara@actoneprogram.com

POSITION DESCRIPTION DIRECTOR - ACT ONE: WRITING PROGRAM

Background for this Position and Organizational Overview:

This position description has been created for the position of Director of Act One: Writing Program. It serves as a framework for defining the duties and responsibilities, lines of authority, criteria, characteristics and related information about the position. There are many other aspects of the duties and responsibilities of this position, which will be developed during the course of the employment relationship or which are covered in the Act One Employee Handbook.

Classification and Accountability:

Classification: This is a full time (minimum 40 hour) “exempt” position under the Act One Compensation and Classification program. The person in this position will be an employee “at will” as described in the Employee Handbook.

Accountability: This position, which is filled by the Personnel Committee of the Act One Board of Directors, reports to the Executive Director of Act One, Inc. and works closely with the Act One, Inc. Board of Directors. The position will be evaluated annually in February before the annual Board of Directors meeting.

General / Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

As a member of the Act One team, the Director of the Writing Program will work with the other members of the staff and community in support of the over-riding mission and vision of Act One. The mission statement of Act One is as follows:

“Act One, Inc. exists to prepare Christian professionals for the entertainment industry who are committed to excellence, artistry and personal holiness, so that through their lives and work they may be witnesses of Christ to their fellow artists and to the global culture.”

Particular duties of the Director of the Act One Writing Program include:

Ongoing development of the Writing Program curriculum and other educational, formational and community building initiatives at Act One to support the goal of identifying, training, and mentoring candidates to become professional writers for the entertainment industry.

Supervises the Writing Program staff and direction of the corporate staff as it relates to Writing program matters.

Oversees entrepreneurial opportunities to expand and promote the writing program, to recruit students, faculty, and financial support.

Prepares of an annual budget every December, and ongoing oversight of the program’s expenditures within it’s budget, including Act Two, TV Track, Script Critique Service, Screenwriting Weekends, Speaker Series, and Alumni Ongoing Formation.

Acts as liaison to any other church groups, media ministry groups, universities, and industry organizations so as to promote Act One’s mission and to recruit students, faculty, and donors.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary: Negotiable, based on experience.

Insurance: Medical and Dental Insurance benefits are provided as defined in the Employee Handbook. The benefits will begin after an initial three month probationary period.

Vacation: There are three weeks of paid vacation annually for this position, including one week at Christmas, which become available after six months of employment.

Sick Leave: There are two weeks of annual paid sick leave for this position which become available after the three month probationary period.

Personal Days: One half day each week is allowed for creative work.

Skills, Experience, and Other Characteristics:

The ideal candidate will possess the following desirable qualities:

Christian Commitment: It is imperative that this person is a committed Christian and can articulate a Statement of Faith and personal testimonial to that commitment. The candidate should be a person of prayer who is an active memberof a Christian church. The candidate must ascribe to the norms of a Christian moral life, understanding that the witness of life is a constituent element of our service to the Act One community.

Professional Experience: The Director should be well aware of the executive and creative climate in the entertainment industry, and should make every effort to deepen and solidify relationships with working professionals. This will ensure that the program truly serves the industry by providing training that meets the real needs of the marketplace. The Director should also possess the qualities and experience necessary to develop curriculum, particularly that meets the diverse needs of students at all levels of achievement.

Communications, Attitude, and Behavioral Skills: The Director should have excellent communication skills, and be comfortable in public speaking, press interviews, and formal meetings. Because of the interdenominational nature of the program, the Director should be a person who respects the goods present in different denominations so as to be comfortable speaking with media, faculty, students, and donors from a broad spectrum of Christian traditions.

Leadership and Administrative Abilities: Attention to detail in everything is vital. A self-motivated sense of urgency and follow through to completion of tasks and projects must be displayed at all times and in every aspect of the operations. Ours is a very positive, “can-do” environment with a special emphasis on service and stewardship of resources.

Position Start Date:
September 2008

A Truly Incredible Hulk of a Movie

2008-06-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

So, we can take for granted that somewhere out there in Tinseltown, some Machiavellian studio executive has a collection of really rare original Incredible Hulk comic books. He had his people buy them up back in the early 90's when the comic book movie thing had hit really big, and he was sure that cornering the market in Hulking memorabilia had him sitting on a gold mine when the big green guy finally made it to the cineplexes.

And then Ang Lee took the story and sensitively created his own hybrid - Sense and Sensibility/Ice Storm/Brokeback meets Shazam/Wonder Twins, which audiences promptly rejected as an irreconcilable merger of tone and arena. Comic book geeks tell me with verbal renting of garments that Ang Lee ruined the Hulk. So, maybe our green-lighting studio exec is really a closet comic geek who just had to give the pure mythic potential of Bruce Bannon's struggle not to let his pulse rate get too high one more hundred million dollar shot at silver screen immortality.

One would think, then, that in getting a second chance to tell the story, so soon after the recent blunder, that the folks behind this new version would have had a genius story idea or something. You know, some kind of brilliant element in their pitch that would justify doing this again. It somehow needed to be substantially better than the Ang Lee failure, otherwise, what the %$#! are we doing coaxing audiences out to see it again?

(This image - of underutilized and anyways, badly miscast, Hulk star, Edward Norton, reminds me of moviegoers everywhere meditating on this latest movie, trying to figure out what the pitch was like that got Universal to try this one again.)

There isn't anything in this latest telling to shame Ang Lee. In fact, Lee's attempt is arguably better, because t least one had some degree of empathy for the main characters in that piece. There wasn't a lot, but at least the whole father-son thing made him somewhat sympathetic. Also, Lee's movie had good acting, which this one does not. And Lee's movie made sense - arguably too much sense for the genre - whereas this one is ridiculous in all the wrong places for a comic book piece.

The only answer I could come up with as to why they remade this piece is as an answer to the question, "What will the 13 year old boys watch at the movies this week?" And the corollary, "How can we get the 13 year old boys to by a video game if we don't do a feature film launch of it?"

A true hulking bore of a loud, tedious movie. Pass.

Talking Smart About Storytelling

2008-06-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

I attended a two-day seminar on story with a group of Christians back East not long ago, and came away really underwhelmed. I have been thinking about it since and how superficial the discussion was compared to the ongoing discussion about the same topic in which the Christians in Hollywood have been engaged. You could pop in to a beginner session at any Act One event and hear much more profound, and ground-breaking ideas than anything I hear out there in Christian circles outside of Hollywood. I attended the event hoping to get some insight and move my understanding forward a bit in this most crucial area, but all I left with was the itch to try and do better. The problem is, the artists/storytellers and the Christian community are talking past one another, in different dimensions.

So, from a pastoral aspect, it seems time to try and get a conversation going. But a high-level one. And by that I don't necessarily mean academic. I mean, lets listen to people who have experience and chops as storytellers, and let's seriously see if there is any guidance for them in their creative task to be had from thinkers in the Church today. We are going to hold our own conference which has the working title "A Conversation on Storytelling in the 21st Century."

Also, Act One will be celebrating its tenth anniversary year in 2009. We see this conference as kicking off the celebrations for the year by a moment of reflection on what we have learned and on what we still need to brood.

So, in collaboration with the Magis Institute, Act One will soon be hosting "A Conversation on Storytelling in the 21st Century." We're looking at this event to go off sometime in late September or early October here in Hollywood.

I am going to share the notes of our initial planning discussion for this event, because I am looking for several things from folks out there who might want to be part. Specifically we are looking for the following:

- suggestions of thinkers and storytellers whom we should consider as panelists
- co-sponsoring organizations for the event
- a publisher to turn it into a book
- someone to do a web page for the event as a means to promote but also to continue the discussion possibly afterward
- people who want to get dibs in early to be one of the lucky fifty people who will get to be an audience to the discussion

A CONFERENCE ON STORYTELLING IN THE 21st CENTURY
Fall 2008

Hosted by Act One: Hollywood and The Magis Institute

Our point is to respond to the call of John Paul II in his Letter to Artists to "renew that fruitful dialogue between the Church and the arts." Most of us in who will be part of the conversation have seats on both sides of the dialogue table as members of the Church, and also members of the art/entertainment world, which should make this conversation completely unique in the panoply of media conferences, which are exclusively either religious or secular. Act One's special vocation is to be both/and.

I. Fruits of the conference will be:
- our attendees, many of whom are storytellers will get some new ideas/goals to bring to their efforts in the culture
- we'll transcribe the talks and discussion and produce a book
- the discussion will be recorded to be distuted via podcasting and CD's

II. Format

2 days. Eight topics to be engaged in hour-long discussions. The topics will be introduced with twenty minutes of brilliant thoughts by invited panelists.

III. Who Can Attend? How much?

It depends. If we get a surge of interest, we could hold it at a large venue like the WGA or DGA theaters. But this could be a lot of hassle. For now, we will plan to hold it in a cozier space - and open up a gallery for a limited number of audience members who might want to observe the discussion and who may be invited to participate with questions.

Maybe charge attendees $100 (no meals included)?

IV. Dream list of panelists/discussion leaders to invite:

- Dana Goia, Chairman, Nat'l Endowment for the Arts
- Dallas Willard, USC School of Religion, author The Divine Conspiracy
- Representative from the Pontifical Council for Culture, Vatican
- Dr. Peter Kreeft, Boston College, author of 874 great books
- Somebody from the story department at Pixar
- Any of the amazing panoply of Act One faculty members including: Bobette Buster, Chris & Kathy Riley, Barbara Hall, Karen Hall, Ron Austin, Scott Derrickson, Dean Batali, John Tinker, David McFadzean, Chuck Slocum, Linda Seger, Sean Gaffney, Barbara Nicolosi, Charlie Carner, Spencer Lewerenz
- Rev. Tim Kelleher, Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, NYC
- Dr. Tom Dillon, President, Thomas Aquinas College
- Todd Field, director In the Bedroom, Little Children

Who else are we missing? Who would have something deep to say about the nature of narrative, its goals, power and ethics? I'm looking for ideas.

V. Possible Questions for "A Conversation on Storytelling in the 21st Century"

- Can a story offer healing to a person/a society and how?

- Ethical questions - What are people reaching for when they show up to get a story? What do we owe them? What does the world need for people to be getting from stories?

- What is a hero in 21st Century storytelling?

- Looking at character choices - irrevocable, visual, active, high stakes - what do these mean and why does the audience need them?

- The Great One: What Did Flannery O'Connor know about paradox in storytelling that we have all forgotten?

- Theme: What do we mean when we say a story needs to be universal? What does structure have to do with theme?

- A brief history of storytelling and where are we know (in terms of structure/theme/method/ dsitribution)? What is coming next?

- What makes a for a brilliant/healing ending in a story? (Resolution, Satisfaction, leave work for the audience to do - what do these mean?)

- Considering Developmental needs in stories - what do little kids, adolescents, gen x, boomers each need in their stories?

- Is Aristotle's Poetics still relevant? What is a "cathartic experiene of fear? of pity?" What is a "beautiful" story according to the smart Dead Greeks.

- What process do great storytellers use? (Pixar)

- In the Church: Sermon on the Mount (for the disciples) vs. Parable (for the unfriendly crowds). Is there a role for storytelling in the church?

- Darkness & Story- how dark can you go? When have you gone too far?

- Marketability for Christian content- transcendent in storytelling. What has happened since The Passion wave, and what have we learned about shopping a story with transcendant themes?

- Why does bad work like "Bella" and "Facing the Giants" attract so many Christians? (ONLY KIDDING!...We won't try and answer this last question until the debrief party in a bar with plenty of alcohol around!)

VI. How to be a part?

1. Send donations to support the event to here. Or by mail to: Act One, Inc., Conversation on Story Conference, 2690 N. Beachwood Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90068

Donations to the event are tax deductible as Act One, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit.

2. If you have ideas about any of the above, know of an organization that might be interested in sponsoring the event, or a magazine/publisher that might want to publish it, or would like to participate as a panelist or audience member, please send an email to Conference Co-odinator, Vicki Peterson at vicki@actoneprogram.com.

Dirty Harry On the Move

2008-06-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

Cyber-friend and frequently sympatico movie critic Dirty Harry (formerly of Libertas) has a new blog all his own here. You have to love a guy whose mission statement is the following:

To what extent this site can, we will promote, aid, and encourage those in the entertainment community doing right by liberty and America.

To what extent this site can, we will shame those in the entertainment community still capable of feeling shame into doing right by liberty and America.

To what extent this site can, we will expose and ridicule the shameless who seek to do harm to liberty and America.