Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 12:47 am
Ugh.
Apparently hoping to attract the millions of churchgoers who flocked to The Passion of the Christ -- but who rarely go to the movies -- the Walt Disney Co. has begun to court church groups to secure their support for their upcoming film version of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. According to some reports, the studio has hired a PR firm with strong connections among the evangelical movement and has already seen positive results from the move. Jim Burns, head of San Francisco-based HomeWord, which produces a syndicated 30-minute radio program each day, aimed at young people, told the London Sunday Telegraph: "We are very, very optimistic about what Disney is doing with the film. Our people have seen some footage and it is wonderful from the Christian point of view." The film has also received the endorsement of Douglas Gresham, the stepson of C.S. Lewis, who operates a religious retreat in Dublin, Ireland. "I am a committed Christian and I am very happy with the script," Gresham said.