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Will a recut Passion still stir debate? Film rereleased minus 6 minutes of worst gore Last year's success of The Passion of the Christ foretold the red state-blue state electoral vote divide as the nation's culture wars played out at the box office. Many movie goers described it as a sacred experience, but to others it was nothing more than a graceless horror flick. So it should come as no surprise that today's rerelease — now billed as The Passion Recut, minus about six minutes of the goriest scenes but still too intense to qualify for a PG-13 rating —...

Madrid, Mar. 09, 2005 (CNA) - The Archdiocese of Madrid’s publication “Alpha and Omega” publised an article in its latest edition on the testimony of the actor who played Barrabas in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” who says he experienced a profound conversion while making the movie.Pedro Sarubbi, in an interview with the Italian daily Avvenire, said he had wanted to play St. Peter but Gibson “had already chosen the actors based on their resemblance to the different characters as portrayed in the paintings of Caravaggio and other masters.”  “As Barrabas, Gibson told me to avoid looking at...

Walt Disney is to promote its $100 million adaptation of C S Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a "Passion of the Christ for kids" in an attempt to secure worldwide Christian support for the film. Disney executives have organised private meetings with several church groups in America to emphasise the themes of Christian redemption and sacrifice contained in the film, which will open in December with an all-star cast. They have also hired a public relations company to market the film directly to Christian groups to ensure that the powerful evangelical movement, which is particularly strong...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=15259739&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=mel-gibson--protect-stalker-from-my-sons-name_page.html

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=541184&page=1

Hollywood A-lister buys the rights to the book ‘Stealing from Angels'Fittingly, just ten days after the death of Sr Lucia dos Santos, the last survivor to witness the appearances of the Virgin Mary at the Portuguese town of Fatima in 1917, Mel Gibson has bought the rights to the book ‘Stealing from Angels’. Brian Dullaghan’s novel tells the story of a young Irish man who escapes a dreary life in his hometown only to slip into a life of major crime in New York. Everything changes when he meets Maria and he jumps ship again, this time to Maria’s hometown...

Gibson's new Passion gets 15 certificate 12.43PM, Mon Feb 28 2005 A new version of Mel Gibson's controversial Biblical epic The Passion of The Christ is to be released in UK cinemas this Easter. The new film, called The Passion - Recut is about six minutes shorter than the original and has been awarded a 15 certificate from the British Board of Film Classification. The Passion of The Christ, released in cinemas 12 months ago, was given an 18 certificate because of some of it violent scenes. But Gibson has now assembled the new slightly 'softer' version which he hopes...

“The Oscars® have gone back to their old ways of honoring junk.” So says Dr. Tom Snyder, a leading conservative film critic, who added, “I guess last year’s ceremony, where the Academy honored one of the greatest classic novels of all time, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and one of the most popular movies of the year, THE RETURN OF THE KING, was just a fluke.” Dr. Snyder noted that none of the nominees for Best Picture tonight were very popular with the public. “I predict a further decline in the TV ratings,” Snyder said. Instead of honoring “immoral” movies...

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25, 2005 – The winners for the prestigious $50,000 John Templeton Foundation Epiphany Prizes for Inspiring Movies & TV were announced last evening at the 13th Annual Movieguide® Faith & Values Awards Gala in Beverly Hills, with Dr. John Templeton, Jr., presenting THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST with the $50,000 Epiphany Prize for the Most Inspirational Movie of 2004. The $50,000 Epiphany Prize for the Most Inspirational Television Program of 2004 was awarded to the “Happy Trails” episode of DOC, broadcast by PAX-TV. “This is a very special night for us,” said Jim Caviezel, star of THE...

The secular Hollywood establishment may have turned its back on Mel Gibson, denying him a nomination for an Oscar for his blockbuster film "The Passion of the Christ," but he won the top honors at the 13th Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry, held in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton on Thursday, February 24. According to the ASSIST News Service (ANS), the award amounts to a Christian Oscar. ANS reported that "The Passion" took home the $50,000 John Templeton Foundation Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie while Jamie Foxx's The "Happy...

Raise your hand if you’re shocked that The Passion of the Christ wasn’t nominated for any major Academy Awards. Yep, that’s what I thought. Of course, you could make the argument that The Aviator, Ray, Million Dollar Baby, Finding Neverland, and Sideways were all so great that they deserved to be nominated for Best Picture, so there just wasn’t any room for The Passion. It might even be true. In any case, I wouldn’t be able to argue back, because I haven’t seen any of them. (At least I’m not alone in that. A recent headline in USA Today read,...

Today The Passion of the Christ is one year old. I thought I'd reflect a bit on the film and its impact, as well as on the forthcoming "recut" version (tomorrow). Last February was a busy time for me because of the pending February 25th release of Mel Gibson's controversial film. I had written a review for Worship Leader magazine’s January-February issue, which ended up being distributed by the hundreds of thousands. On my website I posted a long, detailed review of the movie which brought more than 18,000 visitors in February, a record for my two-month old site. Since...

On Sunday the Academy Awards will recognize the big movies and performances of the last year, but there is one movie some believe is noticeably absent from the red carpet. Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" did not receive any nominations, despite being a major success at the box office and moving many believers around the country. Now there's a debate on wether the film was snubbed because of its religious content. Reverend Robert Slimp, a Presbyterian minister, says, "In our world today there is antagonism about absolute about a man saying, 'I'm the way, truth and life. No...

THE BEST PICTURE BY JAMES BEMIS When this year’s Academy Award nominees were announced, many were shocked Mel Gibson’s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST was not nominated for a single major award. The movie, which chronicled Jesus’ last twelve hours, took the cinematic world by storm. BREAKING AN UNSPOKEN TABOO Because the movie was filmed in Latin and Aramaic with no big-name stars, Hollywood insiders figured producer and director Gibson was throwing away his $30 million investment. However, upon general release in February 2004, it was obvious something extraordinary had occurred: THE PASSION was not only a box office smash...

http://www.thepassionrecut.com/#

AOL Members Choose Movie Favorities Moviefone 'Passion' Is Top Film, Johnny Depp Wins for Best Actor ('Finding Neverland') Best Picture: 'The Passion of the Christ' Best Actor: Johnny Depp, 'Finding Neverland' Best Actress: Julia Roberts, 'Closer' Best Supporting Actor: Morgan Freeman, 'Million Dollar Baby' Best Supporting Actress: Emma Watson, 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'

HOLLYWOOD, February 11, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Mel Gibson has decided to re-release The Passion of the Christ in theatres in time for Good Friday. The new cut tones down the more violent scenes, such as the scourging and some scenes from the crucifixion, in order to avoid a restricted rating. Daily Variety reported Thursday that Gibson plans to trim five to six minutes from the film, for re-release in US theatres March 11. “There has been quite a demand by the religious community to bring (the film) back for Easter,” Gibson's partner at Icon Productions, Bruce Davey, told Variety, as...

The American Film Renaissance, the conservative counter to the liberal Academy Awards, has just announced winners of the Best Film and Documentary of 2004. The Passion of the Christ and In The Face of Evil won for Best Film and Best Documentary.

Hollywood vs. America Thursday, February 17, 2005 Sun., Feb. 20 at 9 p.m. ET Hosted by John Gibson "The Passion of the Christ" (search) was one of the top-grossing films of 2004, yet it has been totally ignored by the Golden Globes and doesn't prominently appear in most mainstream critics "Best of 2004" lists either. Instead, for its "Best Film" nominees, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association chose to honor a movie about a kindly abortionist ("Vera Drake"), a sex researcher ("Kinsey") and euthanasia ("The Sea Inside.") No wonder then that mainstream America feels totally out of touch with Hollywood. And...

NewsMax.com, one of America's leading online news services, is conducting an urgent national online poll. NewsMax will provide the results of this poll to major media. Additionally, NewsMax's results will be shared with every major radio talk show host in America. NewsMax reports have been cited by national major media, including Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. Don't miss this opportunity to let your voice be heard! Many media outlets and national leaders are interested in your opinion. Hundreds of media outlets have reported on NewsMax's online polls. Your vote does count! NewsMax is conducting one of the first online polls...

A local evening news station, KABC in Los Angeles has announced that Mel Gibson's "The Passion" will be re-released to the big screens nationwide this Easter season. It has been slightly edited to remove some of the violence done to Christ, but most is still there. It is suggested that it might be a perrenial showing on the big screens each Easter.

This week's nominations for the film industry's Oscars for the best movies of the year 2004 provided a sigh of relief to some, as it stoked the conspiracy theories harbored by others. Nearly a year after Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" launched 1,000 commentaries, the 77th Academy Awards ceremony closes the parenthesis on this remarkable cultural phenomenon. As much as critics blasted it -- while others condemned it for incitement of anti-Semitism -- "The Passion" turned into the surprise blockbuster of the year. As such, its popularity was widely considered a slap in the face to the liberal...

Hollywood mogul Mel Gibson will release a new, low-violence version of his 2004 surprise mega-hit "The Passion of Christ" next month.The star, dubbed Hollywood's most powerful figure since the huge success of the low-budget, graphically gory film, is trimming five to six minutes of violent scenes ahead of the film's March 11 reappearance on US screens, Daily Variety reported Thursday..The original film raked in 370.2 million dollars in its North American run that began on Ash Wednesday one year ago, but Gibson noted that many people had avoided the film because of its grisly portrayal of Jesus Christ being tortured...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hollywood mogul Mel Gibson will release a new, low-violence version of his 2004 surprise mega-hit "The Passion of Christ" next month. The star, dubbed Hollywood's most powerful figure since the huge success of the low-budget, graphically gory film, is trimming five to six minutes of violent scenes ahead of the film's March 11 reappearance on US screens, Daily Variety reported Thursday.. The original film raked in 370.2 million dollars in its North American run that began on Ash Wednesday one year ago, but Gibson noted that many people had avoided the film because of its grisly...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1300755.htm

ASh Wednesday, will be tommorrow, the beginning of the Lenten Season which will bring us to Good Friday, the day on which Catholics around the globe, REMEMBER, the suffering of Jesus Christ. Last year to the date, Mel Gibson, made a remarkably, real-to- life, TRUE movie,"The Passion of the Christ"- and brought to the screen of theaters,the Bible,pictured as never before. Some call Gibson, the "John Wayne" of Traditional Catholism, for just as John Wayne was far and wide known for his Americanism,and his guts: Gibson showed, much like Wayne his guts,in going forward with this history,in the Bible of...

"The Passion of the Christ," starring Jim Caviezel and directed by Mel Gibson, earned more than $370 million. (CNN) -- Internet Christian soldiers are admitting defeat in their battle to win a best picture Oscar nomination for "The Passion of the Christ" -- but their campaign to influence Hollywood goes on. Web sites supporting Mel Gibson's movie about Jesus' final hours -- the eighth-highest grossing American film of all time -- failed to convince enough Oscar voters that it deserved a best picture nomination. The movie did, however, garner nomination nods for musical score, makeup and cinematography. "Hollywood has...

http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2005/feb/03mel.htm

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/2/2/170959.shtml

Another Perspective Shunning Oscar By Shawn Macomber Published 1/28/2005 12:05:20 AM It's the Red State/Blue State rumble that never happened. Supporters of both The Passion of the Christ and Fahrenheit 9/11 are both crying foul at their respective films lack of acknowledgment by Academy voters. Apparently, People's Choice awards for both films (Best Drama and Best Picture, respectively) were not enough to sate appetites for recognition. Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, Andrew Sullivan decided to weigh in with his personal "kudos" to the Academy "for ignoring the execrable Fahrenheit 9/11 and the pornographic Passion." I'm sure members...

I never received a response from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences regarding our Passion for Fairness petition. But I did just receieve an e-mail from an exceedingly hateful Steve Norris, who claims to represent the Academy. Here's the e-mail.

LOS ANGELES, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Michael Moore's attempt to turn voters against U.S. President George W. Bush failed and on Tuesday he lost his gamble as well for a coveted best-picture Oscar nomination for his incendiary documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11." The omission from the coveted category marks a major misfire for the liberal firebrand who withdrew his anti-Bush polemic from contention in the documentary category, which he won two years ago with "Bowling for Columbine," in order to focus on the big prize. No documentary has ever won the best picture Oscar. Conservative filmmaker Mel Gibson, who performed a miracle...

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2237

BEST PICTURE THE AVIATOR FINDING NEVERLAND MILLION DOLLAR BABY RAY SIDEWAYS ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Don Cheadle - HOTEL RWANDA Johnny Depp - FINDING NEVERLAND Leonardo DiCaprio - THE AVIATOR Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY Jamie Foxx - RAY ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Alan Alda - THE AVIATOR Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS Jamie Foxx - COLLATERAL Morgan Freeman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY Clive Owen - CLOSER ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Annette Bening - BEING JULIA Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE Hilary Swank - MILLION DOLLAR BABY Kate...

A group that collected signatures on a petition urging the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to consider Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" for an Oscar nomination delivered 25,000 names to the organization today. According to a statement from the group Passion for Fairness, the signatures come from movie fans from all 50 states – "blue and red." After Gibson announced he would not campaign for an Oscar, Patrick Hynes started a web-based petition drive to generate grass-roots support for the film. The petition reads: To the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: It has come...

It can finally be told that Mel Gibson met and talked with Sister Lucia of Fatima at the Convent in Coimbra, Portugal.During lent of 2004 Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of Christ" was making news all over the world. From our knowledge of Carmelite Convents, we knew that the Carmelites could not leave the convent and see the film, which we thought would be a great thing for preparation for Good Friday and Easter. But how could we get them the film since it was not yet out on DVD and the convent in Coimbra does not have a TV,...

Damn the naysayers ... it CAN happenThe people have spoken and Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ has won the People’s Choice Award for Best Drama. This despite a complete and thorough snubbing from the Hollywood industry; everyone from the Golden Globes to the Directors Guild to the American Film Institute has passed over The Passion. But not the people. So can this tremendous thumb in the eye to the Hollywood industry improve the film’s chances among Oscar voters? Well, maybe. Just maybe. For starters, it pays to know the details about Oscar voting. The voting system – whether...

NEWSFLASH We already know Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 911 will win "Favorite Picture" at the People's Choice Awards tonight. But Passion for Fairness can confirm that The Passion of The Christ will win BEST DRAMA at tonight’s People’s Choice Awards. And Mel Gibson WILL attend the ceremony. Red and Blue America does battle aga

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,11876711%255E7642,00.html

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,11876711%255E7642,00.html

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/6/153719.shtml

Washington, DC, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" was seen by many believers as the most important religious event of 2004. On that, Catholics, evangelical Christians, and even some moderate Muslims will agree. Some found it to be more relevant than the debate over homosexuals in the priesthood and same-sex marriages, or the cruelty committed by terrorists in the name of their version of Islam. Gibson's intensely religious film grossed nearly $700 million -- more than 20 times the original investment -- despite the fact that the dialogue was entirely in Aramaic and Latin.

About three months before the release of Mel Gibson's hugely popular and controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, a new Beatles album hit the street. Let It Be Naked was, of course, a reissue; but unlike so much of the Fab Four material released during the previous decade, it was an important album. Let It Be might not have been the best of the mature Beatles, but the unadulterated version -- stripped of Phil Spector's baroque production and free of the shameless clunkers (mostly from McCartney) that spoil more recognized classics like The White Album and Abbey Road --...

I truly do not understand why these detractors will not let up. Michael Medved accurately pointed out that the REACTION towards Gibson's film, rather than the film itself, would lead to antisemitism and I agree. These protests and denouncements have gone from offensive to downright annoying/obnoxious. I read that Tom O'Neil, another fool who makes inane points about the film, say that the Academy, which he points out is heavily Jewish populated, were cussing and swearing throughout a screening for the Academy Awards. I am very irritated that Bill Donahue got flack for candidly discussing the prevalance of Jews in...

Following up on his succesful TV debut on Hannity and Colmes last night Patrick Hynes, a freeper whose screen name is Kerry Crusher is scheduled to appear on the the nationally syndicated Mike Gallagher radio show this morning at 10:30 am. You can listen live at this link, but only if you are a "premium member" of the Mike Gallagher website. You can sign up for a one month membership for $4.95 if you choose by clicking this link. The topic will be the "Oscarworthiness" of "Passion of the Christ" as well as (he thinks) some discussion of the "red/blue...

As stated in this thread Freeper Pat Hynes (aka Kerry Crusher) is scheduled to be on Hannity and Colmes at about 9:45.

Patrick Hynes, a freeper whose screen name is Kerry Crusher is scheduled to appear on Hannity and Colmes tonight. The topic will be the "Oscarworthiness" of The Passion of the Christ as well as (he thinks) some discussion of the "red/blue state" political ramifications of the movie. He's been told his liberal counterpart will be a movie critic who doesn't like the movie. For those that don't know Pat is the proprietor of the websites www.crushkerry.com and www.passionforfairness.com. His "real job" is as a media and campaign consultant for the GOP consulting firm of Marsh, Copsey & Scott He has...

Ho / Reuters File -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Fahrenheit 9/11” (Michael Moore). Political cartoonists have won Pulitzers for more partisan attacks than Moore’s indictment of the Bush administration, yet he’s been pilloried by the right and the left. Yes, the movie is guilty of cheap shots, but in a year crowded with political documentaries (“Bush’s Brain,” “Outfoxed”), “Fahrenheit” gradually emerged as the most entertaining and the most prophetic. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6738144/

President Bush's re-election and Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" have tied for first place as the top religion story of 2004. "Some studies credited evangelicals with providing Bush with his margin of victory," noted Religion Newswriters Association, which polled journalists who write about issues of faith for the secular media. Fifty-one percent of the members named Gibson as Religion Newsmaker of the Year. Bush came in second with 40 percent. Sen. John Kerry's sudden embrace of religion late in the presidential campaign did not make the top 10, though the Massachusetts Democrat figured in the list's No. 4...