Catholics Media and Culture

Sundancing around faith. Writing in First Things, Anthony Sacramone makes some excellent points about how the presentation of faith and religion has changed over the years.Citing an article in the LA Times about faith-themed movies screened at Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival, Sacramone notes how movie makers have gone from giving us faith-inspired movies like…

MTV Programming boss says network will stick with Skins despite shedding of advertisers and viewers.  Sounds like a sound business decision to me. Actually, David Janollari claims the network has “not lost any advertising dollars on the show” (despite a ninth advertiser pulling its spots from the show). That may be true, in a way.…

The wisdom of Ernest Borgnine. Upon winning a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild, the legendary 94-year-old Oscar winner (for Marty in 1955) had this to say: “We are a privileged few who have been chosen to work in this field.” He added “I hope that we will never let our dedication to…

The Rite wins b.o. bragging rights. The New Line/Warner Bros. exorcism drama rakes in about $15 million to become the weekend’s top drawing film. Two and a Half Men production shutdown could cost CBS a bundle in lost revenue. The network says that’s secondary to star Charlie Sheen getting the help he so obviously needs. …

The Rite Stuff at the box office? New Line is hoping its PG-rated story of exorcists battling the devil will pull gross somewhere in the high teens (as in millions of dollars) this weekend. The movie, based on a book about a real-life exorcist, is receiving praise for treating treating faith with respect and priests…

“The opposite of pornography.” So proclaims the creator of MTV’s Skins in answer to the growing chorus of critics that compare the sexually-provocative scripted series (with a largely underage cast) to child porn. Bryan Elsley says “The show is the opposite of pornography. It isn’t us who are being provocative. I think that some of…

MTV’s Skins sheds viewers. Audiences join advertisers in dissing the sexually-charged show (featuring minors among its cast) currently caught in a storm of child porn allegations. Only about half its initial viewers returned for its second episode. Meanwhile, Hollywood Reporter notes that the ad flight is costing the network up to $2 million a show…

An estimated 200,000 people turn out for March for Life 2011. But, once again, the media coverage seems a bit scant. Bad news judgment? Media bias? Media corruption? You be the judge. MTV’s Skins episode airs with few advertisers. Facing allegations that the controversial sexually-provocative teen drama (which includes minors in its cast) amounts to…

What’s next for Keith Olbermann? With the Countdown over for the controversial host’s tenure at MSNBC, the Hollywood Reporter lists 10 things the Olber man should consider next. Possible new homes for a new Olbermann show, according to THR’s Tim Goodman, include his arch-enemy Fox News, ESPN (where he’d go back to his sportscasting roots),…

MTV’s Skins may violate federal child pornography statutes. Is violating the rules of good taste no longer enough for the network?Meanwhile, Taco Bell is pulling its advertising from the show. Moving on to other taco-related controversies, a place called Boca Tacos y Tequila will reportedly soon serve snack food filled with (apparently) delicious African lion…

John W. Kennedy
about

John W. Kennedy

John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment™, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God.

Current projects include "Bryant Park" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and "Photo Finish" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series "Ben 10", "Ben 10: Alien Force", "Ben 10: Ultimate Alien", "Ben 10: Omniverse" and "Generator Rex" among others. He also writes Beliefnet’s "Faith, Media & Culture" blog.

Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM.

Specialties: Script Writing, Movie/TV Novelizations & Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows.

He can be reached for writing, producing and consulting services at 516-640-1182.

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