Taymor casting TEMPEST!

'Tempest' cast includes Helen Mirren
Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou among other stars cast
By Borys Kit, Hollywood Reporter

Julie Taymor is gathering a cast ranging from blue-blooded Oscar winners to up-and-comers for her big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" that, in a gender-defying twist, will see Helen Mirren reigning over the magical island.

Although the play centers on Prospero, an exiled duke-turned-sorcerer, Taymor -- who likes to take an experimental approach to her stage and film projects -- has rechristened the lead character Prospera so that Mirren can take on the role.

Mirren will be surrounded by Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Ben Wishaw and Felicity Jones. Geoffrey Rush is in negotiations to join the cast.

The film, being produced by Bob Chartoff, Lynn Hendee and Julia Taylor-Stanley, is eyeing a November start date in Hawaii. Miramax has acquired the rights to all English-speaking territories; Icon is handling foreign sales.

Shakespeare's play mixes romance with fraternal politics and the supernatural. As revised for the screen, it will center around Prospera, her daughter Miranda (Jones) and a shipwrecked crew full of Prospera's enemies.

The island's other inhabitants include Hounsou as the deformed slave Caliban and Wishaw as the airy spirit Ariel.

On the ship are rising comedy star Brand, playing Trinculo, a jester; Irons, as Alonso, the King of Naples; and Molina as the drunken butler Stephano. Rush would play Gonzalo, a royal adviser and old ally of Prospera's.

The cast includes an unusually high concentration of Oscar-winning stars: Mirren earned best actress honors for "The Queen," while Irons took home the best actor trophy for "Reversal of Fortune" and Rush got the nod for "Shine." All three are repped by CAA.

Hounsou won best supporting actor nominations for "Blood Diamond" and "In America." The actor continues to be repped by Gersh and the Peter Safran Co.

Brand, repped by Endeavor, will next be seen in "Bedtime Stories." Brit actors Wishaw and Jones worked together in Miramax's "Brideshead Revisited." Molina is repped by Endeavor.

"The Tempest" is Taymor's second big-screen foray into Shakespearean territory -- she turned his "Titus Andronicus" into the 1999 film "Titus."

The pic also continues the strong relationship Taymor has developed with Disney, for which she directed the Broadway musical adaptation of "The Lion King," and Disney's specialty division Miramax, which released her Salma Hayek-starrer "Frida."

Thanks, Mr Chattaway...

Vancouver's Hollywood Theatre in "Married Life"

I watched a pleasing film the other night, something of a genteel noir by way of Douglas Sirk. The noir comes from "Five Roundabouts To Heaven" by John Bingham, the crime novelist from England (which accounts for the gentility) who may have been the model for John Le Carre's "Smiley" character.

Strong cast (Patricia Clarkson, Pierce Brosnan, Rachel McAdams, and a somewhat miscast Chris Cooper - his working-class naturalism takes the sparkle and starch out of some of his early dialogue, though he connects powerfully with the soul of the character, especially in the final reel), intriguing psychological subtleties that bridge the noir / weepie chasm and bring nifty plot reversals, and a terrific look (including a fabulous opening credit sequence).

But there's added fun in the setting. Relocated from England to an unspecified (but probably Pacific Northwest) American locale, the film is actually shot in Vancouver, BC. Some of the novelty of that has worn off in the past twenty years - though it's always fun to play "spot the actor," and particularly pleasing to see Terence Kelly (who was one of the jurors in PT's staging of TWELVE ANGRY MEN) as a doctor - but the really great part for Vancouver movie buffs is the use of our beloved old-time cinema "The Hollywood" in a couple movie-within-a-movie sequences. 

Well worth renting.  And if it plays at The Hollywood, let's all go see it - maybe Pierce Brosnan will still be there!

miracle at st anna

Sep 26 2008: Spike Lee's MIRACLE AT ST ANNA opens

a thousand years of good prayers

Darrel Manson recc:
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (release in Sept.)

save me

I wrote film criticism for Christianity Today Movies for its first few years, and while I had to let that go for time reasons, I still love the site, and really look forward to reading reviews by some very perceptive writers, including Vancouverites Peter Chattaway and Carolyn Arends, and Jeffrey Overstreet just down the road in Seattle. (Other great writers there as well: Josh Hurst's review of THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA is exceptional, Stephen Greydanus is always worth reading, Frederica Mathews-Green wrote one of my all-time favourite reviews - a mischievous, feisty response to CHOCOLAT - though it was years before CTM came into being.)

Point being, I subscribe to editor Mark Moring's weekly CT Movies newsletters. (When you arrive at the site, a box will pop up where you can subscribe). This week's is very much one of his best, (Hmm... Wonder what that says about those articles that are especially hard to write, those weeks that are especially hard to live?), about a film that completely intrigues me...

God & Gay Conversation

Some weeks, it's kind of easy to write this newsletter, because there's a new movie or a hot topic that pretty much speaks for itself, and the words just flow. Some weeks, it's hard to come up with anything—usually because there's not much going on worth comment—and I'll end up staring at a blank screen, my fingers itching to be told which keys to punch.

This is one of those hard weeks, but not because there's nothing to say. It's because there's almost too much to say—and all because of one little movie. That's the way it goes when that film, Save Me, just happens to be about a drug- and sex-addicted gay man who finds faith, hope, and love—but not a "cure"—at an "ex-gay" Christian ministry.

Talk about a loaded topic. But also, talk about a film with high hopes.

Chad Allen is a gay actor I first met when End of the Spear released in 2006. He played the role of missionary martyr Nate Saint in that film, creating a bit of a stir among Christian conservatives. But Allen says that it was on the Spear set that he first began to realize that all Christians aren't the homophic haters he assumed they were; he met believers—including Steve Saint, son of the man that Allen played—who embraced him (but not his lifestyle) with warmth and compassion.

I've maintained occasional correspondence with Allen since then, and I've been long looking forward to his next film project, Save Me, which opens—in very limited release—today. Be sure to read my interview with Allen, who plays Mark, a promiscuous, drug-addicted gay man who, at the end of his rope and at the behest of his brother, checks into Genesis House, a Christian "ex-gay" ministry. At the home, Mark finds God, compassion, and acceptance, and his self-image and self-respect soars. But he doesn't find a "cure" for his homosexuality—and he's apparently OK with that.

The Christian couple in charge of the home are portrayed as reasonable, loving folks who truly care about these men. Since the people behind the film were primarily from the gay community, it would have been easy to lampoon and stereotype the Christians as gay-bashing radicals. Allen says that would've been too easy, and that wasn't his goal anyway—partly because of the loving Christians he met on End of the Spear. Allen's hope is to help improve the conversation between gays and evangelicals, to tear down some of the walls between the two camps in hopes of more and better dialogue.

Fuller Seminary prof Craig Detweiler thinks Allen and Save Me have accomplished just that, saying the film is a "step forward in conciliatory efforts between artists, filmmakers, the gay community, and the conservative Christian community," And he lauds Allen and the filmmakers for their "courage to upend stereotypes on both sides."

I agree with Detweiler, and hope that more Christians get a chance to see the film. It's only playing in New York right now, but will expand to more cities in the months ahead. But if you choose to see it, be warned: The first five minutes or so are quite explicit, with a steamy gay sex scene that includes a very strung-out drug addict. After that, though, the film remains mostly in PG-13 territory, with a bit of foul language. But if you can get beyond that, I think you'll find a film that does a good job of, as Allen says, advancing "the conversation of God and gay."

Is Save Me a film you'd be interested in watching—whether it comes to a theater near you or someday on DVD? Let us know in our weekly poll.

Meanwhile, Reel News reports that Religulous, the upcoming Bill Maher flick that spoofs and bashes religion—not just Christianity, but all religions—is getting some buzz as a possible Oscar contender. Heaven help us.

See you at the movies,

Mark Moring
Editor, CT Movies

Wim Wenders in IMAGE

Nifty Wim Wenders profile in this issue of IMAGE Update...

Wim Wenders

IMAGE Journal Artist Of The Month: September 2008

That one of Wim Wenders’s production companies is called “Road Movies” is no accident, no casual moniker. The central metaphor in nearly all his films is that of a lone figure on a journey, even if the destination is not known. Like Walker Percy’s character Binx Bolling (from The Moviegoer), Wenders’s protagonists are on a “Search.” find a direction, a dimly sensed goal, even if more time on the road is necessary. Whether it is Harry Dean Stanton giving his son back to his estranged wife in Paris, Texas and then setting off again, or the angel Damiel (played by Bruno Ganz) choosing to become human and experience the world in a new way (in Wings of Desire), or Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) in Don't Come Knocking attempting to go home again, each character starts as a wanderer and becomes a pilgrim. Image is proud to have one of the world's great film directors, Wim Wenders, as an Editorial Advisor, and, more importantly, as a friend. His integrity, his unwillingness to make clever or flashy films, stands as a beacon of artistic hope to those who have a vision but may be afraid to pursue it. Wenders is on the pilgrim road, aware of the journey's end in the distance, but fully willing to give himself up to every moment of the trip.
Read Wim Wenders' article Interrogation in the symposium Why Believe in God? in Issue 55 here.

Current Projects

I am currently finishing a film project that was mainly shot in Italy last year. It’s called Palermo Shooting and features German punk rocker Campino, the Italian actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno and the great Dennis Hopper. I am also working on a new photography show, and my future film projects include a thriller in Tokyo entitled Miso Soup and an adaptation of Walker Percy’s magnificent novel The Second Coming, to be shot in the Carolinas. I am also teaching “Digital Cinema,” as a professor at the Hamburg Art School.


Biography

Wim Wenders was born in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1945. One of the most influential figures of the New German Cinema in the Seventies, his films––among them The American Friend (1978), Paris, Texas (1984), Wings of Desire (1987) or Buena Vista Social Club (1999)––have won numerous prestigious awards and international critical acclaim. A major survey of Wenders’ photography, Pictures from the Surface of the Earth, has toured museums and art institutions worldwide since 2001. Wim Wenders has also published numerous books of essays and photographs. He lives in Los Angeles and Berlin with his wife, photographer Donata Wenders. He is President of the European Film Academy, and member of the order “Pour le Mérite”

From the Sep 1 2008 issue of IMAGE Update, a free bi-weekly email newsletter you really ought to subscribe to. (Did I mention it's free?).  100% Certified Soul Food. What's not free, but - apart from tickets to Pacific Theatre - the best value on the planet for your Soul Food Bucks, would be a subscription to the print journal.

ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (1938, USA, Michael Curtiz)

ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (1938, USA, Michael Curtiz, John Wexley / Warren Duff screenplay)
Let's go and say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could.

Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien return to the slum where they were punks together, one now a gangster (guess which), the other a priest. Father Jerry fights to keep a new generation of dead-end kids (played, in fact, by The Dead End Kids) from growing up like Rocky. When the hoodlum faces the electric chair, his pastor pal begs him to "die yellow" and break his hold on the kids' imaginations. Unmitigated mellerdrammer, ANGELS is a lot of tough-talking fun ("You slap me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize") that anticipates by four years this director's masterpiece of heroic sacrifice, CASABLANCA, but with greater theological resonance – the "dead man walking" climax has unexpected heft, echoing another execution, another shameful criminal's death, another redemption centuries before.

ON THE WATERFRONT

ANGELS OF THE STREETS (1943, France, Robert Bresson)

ANGELS OF THE STREETS ("Les Anges du péché" "Angels of Sin" 1943, France, Robert Bresson, screenplay with Jean Giradoux / Père Bruckberger)

A wealthy Parisienne joins the Sisters of Bethany, who make no distinction between the ex-prisoners they seek to rehabilitate and other nuns, and develops an intense relationship with an unrepentant prisoner who commits murder immediately upon release. Lacking the director's stylistic distinctives (which would emerge full-blown two films later, in DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST), an extraordinary debut nonetheless, filmed under the German occupation – story collaborator Bruckberger was both a Dominican priest and a famed member of the French Resistance. Dave Kehr: "The spiritual themes – confession, absolution, salvation – are explored through visual and dramatic paradoxes, as Bresson draws parallels between a life in prison and a life in God, and finds his final image of freedom in a pair of handcuffs."

A MAN ESCAPED; LEON MORIN, PRIEST

ANGELA (1995, USA, Rebecca Miller)

ANGELA (1995, USA, Rebecca Miller)

Debut full-length film by Arthur's girl concerns ten- and six-year-old sisters who turn to strange hyper-religious visions and rituals in reaction to their parents' disintegrating marriage. Todd McCarthy: "A film of intense and unusual spirituality, mystical and explicitly religious – what feels like a very Catholic film."

PERSONAL VELOCITY, EVE & THE FIRE HORSE, HEAVENLY CREATURES

ANGEL AND THE BADMAN (1947, USA, James Edward Grant)

ANGEL AND THE BADMAN (1947, USA, James Edward Grant)

Badman is John Wayne, angel a fetching Quaker woman who nurses the gunslinger to health, asks him to put aside his guns.

HIGH NOON, THE BIG COUNTRY, WITNESS

IL MIRACOLO ("The Miracle" 1948, Italy, Rossellini)

IL MIRACOLO ("The Miracle" 1948, Italy, Roberto Rossellini)

From a pair of short Rossellini films called L'AMORE, the first (LA VOCE UMANA) having no particular Soul Food content. IL MIRACOLO ("The Miracle" Tulio Pinelli screenplay) is from a Federico Fellini story about a simple-minded woman who sleeps with a vagrant, believing him to be Saint Joseph. Driven out of her village in a pastiche of Jesus' via dolorosa, she gives birth in a stable. American Catholics were scandalized – they saw blasphemy; materialist critics were disgusted – they caught the scent of transcendence.

THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS, STROMBOLI

AMEN. (2002, France/Germany/Romania, Costa-Gavras

AMEN. ("Der Stellvertreter" 2002, France/Germany/Romania, Costa-Gavras, screenplay with Jean-Claude Grumberg, from the Rolf Hochhuth stageplay The Representative)

Kurt Gerstein was a Christian, an SS officer and a chemist who developed Zyklon B to purify drinking water. Horrified at its use in gas chambers, he pleads with Lutheran and Catholic churchmen to intervene. Portrait of institutional complicity is balanced by Jesuit Father Riccardo (a composite character) who joins in Gerstein's futile opposition. Costa-Gavras is an acknowledged master of political film-making, but AMEN falls short of the incendiary "Z" or his Hollywood cross-over MISSING, which shook the political convictions of so many. Stephanie Zacharek: "Hard-hitting if heavy-handed."

THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK, THE ASSISI UNDERGROUND, SOPHIE SCHOLL, THE STATEMENT

ALL THAT JAZZ (1979, USA, Bob Fosse)

ALL THAT JAZZ (1979, USA, Bob Fosse, screenplay with Robert Alan Aurthur)

More-or-less autobiography, the sordid life and transcendent death of a promiscuous, substance-and-people-abusing, death-preoccupied (or God-preoccupied) dancer/choreographer. Roy Scheider plays Gideon, who's no angel; Jessica Lange plays Angelique, who may be. Priest/novelist/sociologist Andrew Greeley celebrates the film as the perfect paradigm of his "sociological theory of the religious imagination": religion as experience, image, and story. TimeOut hates it. Anyway, the dancing's great.

ALICE (1990, USA, Woody Allen)

ALICE (1990, USA, Woody Allen)
Very Fifth Avenue, very Catholic wife of workaholic is smitten with bad back, bad conscience when tempted with – what else, it's a Woody Allen movie – an extramarital affair. Chinese herbalist says the problem is her heart not her body, and his cure – involving invisibility, travel to the past, and the ability to live out her fantasies – brings unexpected, spiritually satisfying change. Perhaps Allen's most eccentric film – and that's saying something! – a bizarre mix of Lewis Carroll, J.M. Barrie and Charles Dickens that ends up somewhere near Somerset Maugham. Julian Fox: "An odd little fable." Indeed.

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE PAINTED VEIL

ADORATION (2008, Canada, Atom Egoyan)

ADORATION (2008, Canada, Atom Egoyan)
Winner of the Ecumenical Jury Prize at Cannes (for movies that celebrate spiritual values), the story of a high school boy whose composition assignment about terrorism stirs family trauma when taken for fact on the internet.
ARARAT, BEN X


Will play the Vancouver International Film Festival, 2008

Nov 28: slumdog millionaire (danny boyle)

Kim Voynar (at Cinematical) raves Danny Boyle's latest, slated to open at the end of November...

Slumdog Millionaire

Fans of director Danny Boyle's work will find much to appreciate in his latest film, Slumdog Millionaire, a sweeping, hopeful story about a boy in the slums of India who becomes an instant celebrity after he wins millions on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? ... A screenwriter friend I talked to after last night's sneak screening called Slumdog "Dickensonian" in style, and that's a fairly apt comparison. While Boyle immerses the viewer in the poverty and tragedy of life as an orphan in the slums of Mumbai, he deftly avoids delving into the murky realm of "poverty porn," which treats the lives of those caught in such circumstances gratuitously. ...

The heart of the film, though, is the thread of love and friendship between Jamal and another young orphan, Latika, who's befriended by Jamal and gruffly tolerated by his older brother. ... This love story, interwoven throughout the film, lends a classical, metaphorical level to the film that adds depth to its mainstream-audience friendly, accessible surface. ... Jamal does what he has to in order to survive -- when you're five years old, homeless and starving while the adults around you kick you around like a dog for merely trying to scrounge enough to keep from dying, the morality of theft and ownership doesn't really amount to much -- but he never loses his sense of fairness, justice and compassion. ...

There's sadness and tragedy within Slumdog Millionaire -- starvation, genocide, child prostitution and overwhelming oppression -- but there's humor, humanity and dignity as well. ... Slumdog Millionaire is Boyle's best film to date, which is saying quite a lot; He's made a joyous, fun, and wonderfully accessible film that should play well in Toronto before moving on to wider release.

One has to wonder whether an actual suitcase full of money will come into the plot, or whether we'll have to make do with "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" as a dynamic equivalent.

I can't help thinking of ABOUT A BOY, which opens brilliantly with the ubiquitous game show. Also, I'm reminded of a potent radio documentary which profiles one particular contestant on the Irish version of the program, which I heard on NPR's "This American Life." You can download that episode for 95 cents here.

NOW PLAYING: Big Screens

A friend just wrote me, looking for a movie prescription to help fend off her end-of-summer malaise. What would I recommend?...

Tomorrow night at the VanCity is a special showing of 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD, which would be wonderful tonic for a book-lover like you. But that doesn't help today. What will be at the VanCity tonight at 9pm is Aleksandra, the latest by contemporary Russian auteur Aleksandr Sokurov. Not necessarily a cheer-up piece, but probably masterful.

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED is at the Fifth Avenue and Granville 7. The screenwriter is outspokenly anti-Christian, so I really dreaded what would happen to Waugh's explicitly Catholic novel, but those who've seen it think maybe the director mitigated the screenwriter's tendencies.

In the realm of sheer fun, I saw IRON MAN last night and it really is entertaining. Robert Downey jr is just a scream, the dialogue is well written, and the emphasis is character and story rather than unending action sequences. A treat.

Also a good mood-picker-upper might be MAMA MIA. Critics were generally critical, that being their job, but everyone I've talked to who's seen it gets very excited when the talk about it, and start contemplating either a trip to Greece or a return trip to the theatre. Do you like ABBA? (The band, not the deity.)

And WALL-E is charming as heck, though I'd rather watch the first third three times than the whole thing once. Not that the latter two-thirds are bad, but the first third is so fine.

Lots at the video store, too. Check soulfoodmovies.

Get happier!

Ron

the new world

Back in June, Warner Home Video announced the October 14 release of A NEW WORLD Extended Cut

The New World Extended Cut: Director Terrence Malick's Epic Starring Colin Farrell, Christian Bale and Christopher Plummer Features More than 30 Minutes of Never-Before-Seen Footage!

BURBANK, Calif. (Business Wire)
The New World, Academy Award(R) nominated director Terrence Malick's (The Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven) adventure-filled journey of discovery, will be released October 14 on DVD in a new amped-up Extended Cut. This edition of the critically-acclaimed, Oscar(R)-nominated epic recreating the turbulent first days of the new America now features more than 30 minutes of never-before-seen footage, heightening the viewing experience with more battles, more intensity and more visual splendor. Also included is a comprehensive, ten-part documentary - Making the New World - which captures the unique creative challenges filmmakers faced. The New World Extended Cut will sell for $19.97 SRP.

Now, news of another forthcoming edition!


Warner Home Video has announced that it will be following up its October 2008 release of the Extended Version of Terence Malick's THE NEW WORLD with a Collector's Edition of the Director's Edition of the Complete Edition of the film. Featuring a commentary track by Jeffrey Overstreet, this 1,437-disk set reveals that the entire film was shot in a single take. Highlights include the crossing of the Atlantic by the entire cast and crew in authentic boats which they constructed themselves by hand, and long (but not overlong) contemplative passages when everyone (except, of course, the commentator) is sleeping. Striking images such as the one reproduced above were shot entirely with available light.

The much-anticipated director's cut (if it can be rightly called a "cut," since the director never actually spoke that word) restores footage deleted from the love scenes featuring the 14-year-old Q'orianka Kilcher, now deemed appropriate because the actress actually celebrated her fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays during the shooting of the film, and therefore of the scene. The restored and extended soundtrack also now includes such notable songs as "Listen With Your Heart," "Colors of the Wind," and the indispensible "A Whole New World." Once the director has completed a final edit of the advance trailer, it can be viewed at the film's official website.

I don't know about you, but I'm hoping Overstreet's commentary will address the Frequently Asked Question "What kind of duck appeared in the montage with Pocahontas and her son?"

NOW PLAYING: Small Screens

This past week a couple of my recent favourites were released on DVD (REDBELT, SON OF RAMBOW), and two days hence the season's Certified Soul Food Masterpiece, SILENT LIGHT, hits the Videomatica shelves. (You might want to rent ORDET while you're at it.)

Also released this summer was DARATT ("DRY SEASON"), which Doug Cummings has raved as something of an African companion piece to THE SON, which Doug and I both count among our absolute favourite films. I'll see if Videomatica might bring in a copy, but it can be ordered direct from Facets (just type the title in the search engine near the top of their home page).

Sep 9 will see the arrival of COOL HAND LUKE, followed on Sep 23 by Coppola's restoration of the GODFATHER trilogy. And my movie-buddy Paul emailed to recommend CHOP SHOP, which also got great coverage in one of the film magazines this spring - I'll see if I can dig that out - as well as EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED, a recommendation I'm very happy to pass along. Paul: "A serious movie with achingly funny scenes in the first half." Exactly.

And don't forget the other new-ish video releases we touted mid-August:
AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS (1988, France, Louis Malle)
BELLA (2006, Mexico, Alejandro Monteverde)
IN BRUGES (2008, UK, Martin McDonagh)
JOHN FROM CINCINNATI (2007, USA)
THE LAST SUPPER ("La Ultima Cena" 1976, Cuba, Tomas Gutierrez Alea)
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES (1987, Canada, Frederic Back)
THE NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS (1982, Italy, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani)
ONE PUNK UNDER GOD (2006, USA, Jeremy Simmons)
THE TREE OF WOODEN CLOGS (1978, Italy, Olmi)
WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY? (2007, USA, Rob VanAlkemade)
MONSIEUR VINCENT (1947, France, Maurice Cloche)

L.A. Times, "Faith-Offending Films"

Nifty piece at the L.A. Times site, in conjunction with their profile of ex-Mormon-film-maker (you can rearrange those hyphens however you like) Richard Dutcher. It's more fun to look at it there, so you can play "name that movie" as the various slides come up. But, because links expire (while Soul Food Movies just goes on and on), here's a cut-and-paste version...

FAITH-OFFENDING FILMS
By Patrick Kevin Day and Jevon Phillips,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

Hollywood and organized religion seem to be in a perpetual game of whack-a-mole. Just when the ire generated by one film has died down, anger from a different denomination flames up for a different studio.

In December, Catholic groups were up in arms over New Line Cinema's "The Golden Compass." By late spring, it was a Hindu group battling Paramount pictures over the perceived slighting of the Hindu faith in the Mike Myers comedy "The Love Guru."

Meanwhile, "Falling" (pictured), the first post-Mormon film from writer-director Richard Dutcher, faces an uncertain reception from the community that once embraced his films.

"Falling," "The Golden Compass" and "The Love Guru" are far from the first films to be greeted with stern disapproval from the faithful. In fact, just about every world religion has been up in arms over a movie. Here are some of them.

The Love Guru (2008)

Who was offended? Hindus

What was their beef? A Nevada-based Hindu leader kicked off the protests against this film when the first trailers began playing in the spring. But in a twist on the normal offend-and-boycott cycle, another Hindu group, Navya Shastra, launched an opposition to the protests against the movie. Their argument was that years of hypersensitivity had resulted in a public turned off to the religion and that educated people could draw their own distinction between comedy and the actual religion. What they didn't expect was that educated people could also tell the difference between a good movie and a bad one. "Love Guru" bombed with critics and audiences.

The Golden Compass (2007)

Who was offended? Catholics

What was their beef? Catholic League President Bill Donohue called for a boycott of the fantasy film, based on the books by Philip Pullman, months before the film's premiere. Donohue was offended by the books' harsh criticism of the Roman Catholic Church and their supposed pro-atheism message. Though director Chris Weitz tried to de-emphasize the source material's more controversial aspects, the outrage continued right up until the film's release. Audiences stayed away in droves, though whether it was because of the religious controversy or the fact that the movie received horrible reviews is a matter of debate.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Who was offended? Catholics

What was their beef? The Vatican, along with several Catholic groups around the world, objected strongly to the assertions made in the book and movie about the motivations of the Catholic Church in allegedly covering up a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Additionally, the Catholic order of Opus Dei denounced the movie's depiction of it in the character of a murderous albino monk (Paul Bettany, pictured). All the ruffled feathers didn't stop the film from raking in $758 million worldwide.

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Who was offended? Jews

What was their beef? Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" was one of the biggest hits of 2004. Its stark images of Jesus' crucifixion and the violence toward him, as well as villainous portrayals of many Jewish people, created a religious furor. Rabbis around the world said the film had the potential to transmit potent negative images, attitudes, stereotypes and caricatures about Jews and Judaism.

September Dawn (2006)

Who was offended? Mormons

What was their beef? "September Dawn" is described as a love story set against the backdrop of a 19th century massacre of a wagon train of Utah settlers. Though the massacre is documented, Mormons decry the portrayal of church members as killers. Star Jon Voight denied the film was an attack on the church or on Republican Mitt Romney, a Mormon who ended his presidential bid in February.

Water (2005)

Who was offended? Hindus

What was their beef? Part of an elemental trilogy that included "Fire" and "Earth," Deepa Mehta's "Water, " starring Lisa Ray and John Abraham (pictured), may have been the most incendiary of the three. Shooting on the film, which depicts the plight of Hindu widows, was disrupted when fundamentalists and supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party staged raucous protests.

Submission (2004)

Who was offended? Muslims

What was their beef? When Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, a descendent of Vincent van Gogh, released the 10-minute film "Submission," with its criticism of violence against women in Islamic society and its images of seminude actresses with passages from the Koran displayed on their bodies, he became the target of death threats. He shrugged them off, but on the morning of Nov. 2, 2004, he was killed in the streets of Amsterdam by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch citizen who was later sentenced to life in prison.

Hollywood Buddha (2003)

Who was offended? Buddhists

What was their beef? Director Philippe Caland's comedy about a struggling movie producer who buys a Buddha head and finds it changes his luck so enraged Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka and Thailand that they marched on government buildings, threatening to fast -- even to the point of death -- if the movie wasn't pulled from distribution. They were especially offended by the film's poster, which depicts Caland sitting on top of Buddha's head.

Bowfinger (1999)

Who was offended? Scientologists

What was their beef? The Church of Scientology has gained a reputation for being litigious in protecting its reputation. In fact, Premiere magazine reported in 1993 that the makers of the 1991 John Candy comedy "Delirious" felt heavy pressure from the church to remove a single line ribbing Scientology. "Bowfinger" screenwriter Steve Martin's riff on the religion, called MindHead in the movie, drew a more muted response. Makers of the movie (starring Martin and Eddie Murphy, pictured) downplayed the connection to Scientology, and Scientologists kept their protests to the pages of local newspapers, criticizing reviewers who drew any comparison to Scientology.