{"id":1100,"date":"2007-06-21T13:35:39","date_gmt":"2007-06-21T13:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2007\/06\/evan-almighty-amps-it-up-for-c.html"},"modified":"2007-06-21T13:35:39","modified_gmt":"2007-06-21T13:35:39","slug":"evan-almighty-amps-it-up-for-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2007\/06\/evan-almighty-amps-it-up-for-c.html","title":{"rendered":"‘Evan Almighty’ Amps It Up for Christian Audiences"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Evan_Noah_idol.jpg\"When I was in film school in Los Angeles, I went to sneak previews all the time. It’s a great chance to see movies before critics and friends ruin them for you, and best of all, the audiences are a hodge-podge of teenagers, couples, college students, and families who come for free seats and glory of gloating: “I-saw-it-first.”
\nSo last week when I was invited to an advanced screening of “Evan Almighty<\/a> in my new hometown of Colorado Springs, I expected more of the same. But this was something entirely different. People in Jesus t-shirts were scattered all over the auditorium. I ran into friends who work at Focus On The Family, Young Life, and many of the other evangelical companies and churches in town. Everyone was talking; entire rows seemed to know each other. I direct theatrical productions for a local megachurch, and this screening felt just like the megachurch\u2019s lobby on a Sunday morning. It was bubbly and fun and loud.
\nOnce the theater was at capacity, a disc jockey from the family-friendly radio station welcomed us to the screening. \u201cThis film is just as funny as ‘Bruce Almighty,’\u201d he shouted. \u201cOnly this time it\u2019s safe for the whole family!\u201d
\nThe audience cheered. And I cringed.<\/p>\n


\nIt was clear whom Grace Hill Media, the event\u2019s host, was targeting. Ever since \u201cThe Passion of The Christ\u2019s” 370 million dollar run in 2004, Hollywood has been in pursuit of what has become known as “Passion dollars.”
\n\u201cThe Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: The Chronicles of Narnia,\u201d<\/a> \u201cThe Nativity Story,\u201d<\/a> and most curiously, \u201cRocky Balboa,\u201d<\/a> are just a few of the recent films that aimed elaborate marketing campaigns at Christians. Churches are told these movies are evangelistic, and they are encouraged to buy out entire theaters for their congregations. \u201cRocky Balboa\u2019s\u201d marketing company even offered a ready-made four-week sermon series about the film.
\nAnd now, “Evan Almighty”–it’s not just a sequel to the successful Jim Carrey film, but it’s a sequel for Christians.
\nAs the deejay promised, the film was safe. \u201cBruce\u201d had mild sexual humor; “Evan” has piety–or at least, characters who talk about prayer and God. It’s clean, it’s funny, and it has a clear moral message.
\nAnd, at least for the evangelicals who saw the picture with me, it works. Afterward, the movie the theater was buzzing like a group of churchgoers who\u2019d just heard a great sermon. If this theater is any indication, Christians will be voting for “Evan” next week with their box office dollars. But if they do, I shudder to think where the straight-to-evangelicals marketing will stop.
\nComing to a church near you: The \u201cRambo IV\u201d sermon series!
\n—Rob Stennett<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was in film school in Los Angeles, I went to sneak previews all the time. It’s a great chance to see movies before critics and friends ruin them for you, and best of all, the audiences are a hodge-podge of teenagers, couples, college students, and families who come for free seats and glory…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movies"],"yoast_head":"\n'Evan Almighty' Amps It Up for Christian Audiences<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2007\/06\/evan-almighty-amps-it-up-for-c.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Evan Almighty' Amps It Up for Christian Audiences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I was in film school in Los Angeles, I went to sneak previews all the time. 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