Coming to a Church Basement near you: Left Behind World at War

[LynneSin]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051020/film_nm/religion_dc

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Cloud Ten Pictures' "Left Behind: World at War" premiered Wednesday night (October 19) in Hollywood, but not at any of the usual venues such as Grauman's Chinese Theater or the ArcLight. Instead, the direct-to-video feature about the years of tribulation after the Rapture, when true Christians are taken into heaven, will premiere at the Hollywood Presbyterian Church before playing weekend engagements in more than 3,200 churches nationwide

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The "Left Behind" screenings have been designed as a grassroots campaign paving the way for the title's DVD release Wednesday by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Cloud Ten CEO Peter Lalonde says many theatrical releases end up serving as loss leaders for their eventual DVD releases. But since his company can't afford $40 million in prints and advertising, it's forgoing theaters while taking the church route to raise the film's profile.

"This is a great way to brand our title before the release," Lalonde said. "We wanted to have the same presence that Hollywood is able to buy with these loss leaders."

The "Left Behind" series of books, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, began with the novel of the same name and follows the lives and struggles of those left behind on Earth after the Rapture. The original book has spawned 11 sequels and two prequels as well as graphic novels, an upcoming video game and two previous direct-to-video adaptations. The third installment, "World at War," directed by Craig Baxley, depicts the prophesied destruction of the U.S. It stars Louis Gossett Jr. and Kirk Cameron.

This weekend's church screenings will use DVD projection. Participating churches will pay $69-$199, depending on the size of the congregation, to show the film. Those fees will cover the shipping of the DVD and marketing materials such as posters, TV and radio spots and newspaper ads prepared for the movie. The churches are free to charge admission prices they set themselves or accept donations, and the ticket proceeds stay with the churches.

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[billyskank]

1. Anybody here actually read one of these books?

I haven't. They sound like drivel, but I want to be fair. I can't judge something I haven't experienced. Anybody who has read one; what was it like?

[ucmike]

2. i saw one of these movies last night

starring kurt cameron as a reporter who exposes the anti-christ. i was dumbfounded. it was on one of the satellite channels.

it was quite ridiculous. without commenting on peoples' beliefs, i can't believe they watch those movies. i know they are captivated by the message, but the production values are crappy, the scripts sound like they were written by lunatics and the plot made no sense. i watched for about 15 minutes, before my wife begged me to change it.

i don't usually stand around and watch car wrecks, but i couldn't change it.

[In_The_Wind]

3. OMG

:scared: