c. 2008 Religion News Service
Screenwriter sues Gibson over `Passion’ profits
LOS ANGELES (RNS) The screenwriter of “The Passion of the Christ” has slapped creator Mel Gibson with a $5 million lawsuit, claiming the Catholic actor/director wildly underpaid him for writing the 2004 blockbuster’s script.
In a lawsuit filed Monday (Feb. 11) in Los Angeles Superior Court, screenwriter Benedict “Ben” Fitzgerald claimed he was deceived by Gibson and Gibson’s Icon Productions over the “Passion” budget.
The lawsuit does not list how much Fitzgerald was paid for writing the screenplay. Instead, it claims Fitzgerald was told in 2001 by the film’s production team that it “was a small four to seven million dollar film and accordingly the amount available for a writer’s fee was relatively small.”
But as the film’s buzz peaked in the six months building up to its Ash Wednesday premiere, Fitzgerald claims he was left out of sharing in the film’s $611 million global box office receipts.
His lawsuit stated that before the film began production, “(Mel) Gibson told Ben that, because he was so rich, if the movie was made and distributed, whatever money might be made would be distributed among the people, excluding Gibson, who worked on the picture because he, Gibson, did not need the money.”
A Gibson spokesman did not return a call for comment. Neither Fitzgerald nor his attorneys would comment beyond the court filing, which seeks a jury trial and claims damages of at least $5 million against Gibson and Icon Productions for alleged unfair business practices.
Fitzgerald’s prior screenwriting credits include the 1979 film “Wise Blood,” directed by John Huston, plus four TV movie scripts in the 1990s. Gibson shared “Passion” screenwriting credits with Fitzgerald.
The lawsuit states that Fitzgerald and his attorneys have been attempting to audit Gibson’s production companies since March 2006, but profits have been “channeled through a complex of Gibson company conduits, and employing a series of stratagems, all with the express purpose of depriving Ben of his full fruits of his efforts as the screenwriter of `The Passion.”’
_ David Finnigan
Wheaton officials withdraw from letter to Muslims
(RNS) The president of Wheaton College, a flagship evangelical institution in Illinois, and two other school officials have removed their names from a letter that called for cooperation with Muslims.
The open letter, drafted by Yale Divinity School’s Center for Faith and Culture, was originally published with 130 signatories in The New York Times in November in response to a letter from more than 100 Muslim leaders.
“I signed the statement because I am committed to the business of peacemaking and neighbor-love,” said Wheaton President Duane Litfin in a Feb. 8 open letter to readers of The Wheaton Record, the student newspaper.
But after prompting from some evangelical critics, he restudied the document and decided that he did not agree with its language seeking forgiveness for Christian sins against Muslims. He also thought discussions of “our common love for God” might be misunderstood.
“The statement was not carefully enough crafted to avoid encouraging that basic premise of civil religion; i.e., that we are all worshipping the same God,” said Litfin. “As a matter of principle over the years, I have made it a point to avoid becoming complicit in this cultural premise, denying as it does the unique claims of Christ.”
Litfin’s colleagues, Provost Stanton Jones and Chaplain Stephen Kellough, also had their names removed from the statement.
Andrew Saperstein, the associate director of the Yale center’s Reconciliation Program, said the three are the only ones who have asked for removal of their names from the document, which has grown to about 600 total supporters.
“While I’m disappointed that he (Litfin) chose to withdraw his name, I have great respect for the way in which he did so,” Saperstein said.
Saperstein, a drafter of the document and an evangelical Christian himself, said he didn’t think the response specifically stated that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, but said that determining ways to communicate “theological truths” can cause concern among conservative Christians.
“This is territory that a lot of Christian leaders in the West just haven’t tried before and so I think it’s raising some challenges,” he said. “It’s stirring up very important dialogue within the conservative evangelical community.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
`Amazing Grace’ named `Most Inspiring Movie’
(RNS) “Amazing Grace,” the big-budget film that traced the life of abolitionist William Wilberforce, won Most Inspiring Movie of 2007 and Best Movie for Mature Audiences at the 16th annual Movieguide Faith and Values Awards on Wednesday (Feb. 13) in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The film stars Ioan Gruffudd as Wilberforce, a member of Parliament who fought to end the slave trade in the 18th century British Empire.
The historical drama from Samuel Goldwyn Films beat out other nominees including “Bella,” “I Am Legend” and “Spider-Man 3” among others.
It was awarded the $50,000 Epiphany Prize, sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, which provides $100,000 annually to films and television shows that reflect a “dramatic increase in either man’s love of God or man’s understanding of God,” according to the Web site for Epiphany Prizes.
“The Valley of Light,” which aired on CBS, won the $50,000 Epiphany Prize for TV. The series stars Chris Klein as a World War II veteran who returns home to tragedy and begins searching for a community he can call home.
Actor Eduardo Verastegui of “Bella” won the Grace Award for Most Inspirational Movie Acting. Bailee Madison and Abigail Mason of “Saving Sarah Cain” received the Grace Award for Most Inspirational Television Acting in 2007.
“Bella” won the Faith and Freedom Award for Promoting Positive American Values in 2007. “Ratatouille,” the animated film from Walt Disney Pictures, was named number one on the list of the 10 best family films of 2007.
The $50,000 Kairos Prizes for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays by Beginning Screenwriters, also sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, was divided between three winners. The first-place prize of $25,000 was awarded to “If by Chance” by Guy W. Forest of San Pedro, Calif.; the $15,000 second-place prize went to “Stairways” by James G. Rogers of St. Davids, Pa.; and the third-place winner, “Angels on Earth” by Caroline Friday of Marietta, Ga., received $10,000.
_ Brittani Hamm
William & Mary president resigns after cross controversy
(RNS) Following public criticism over the removal of a chapel cross and a racy campus show, the president of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., resigned on Tuesday (Feb. 12).
The resignation of Gene R. Nichol, who had led the public university since 2005, comes after he was told on Sunday that his contract would not be renewed in July.
Nichol said in a statement that he and his family were victimized by “a committed, relentless, frequently untruthful and vicious campaign _ on the Internet and in the press.”
In 2006, William & Mary removed a cross from permanent display in the campus chapel, a move criticized by some alumni and conservative activists. One donor threatened to withhold a multimillion-dollar pledge.
Under a compromise, the cross was later kept in a display case and was to be placed on the altar by request.
Nichol defended those decisions Tuesday, saying that it was necessary for a chapel “used regularly for secular college events _ both voluntary and mandatory _ in order to help Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other religious minorities feel more meaningfully included as members of our broad community.”
The former president tied his actions to the legacy of William & Mary alumnus Thomas Jefferson, who, Nichol said, “argued for a `wall of separation between church and state.”’
Nichol was also criticized for allowing a theatrical show by sex workers to be performed last week. He said stopping the production would have violated the Constitution’s First Amendment and the “traditions of openness and inquiry that sustain great universities.”
William & Mary’s Board of Visitors said the decision not to extend Nichol’s contract “was not in any way based on ideology or any single public controversy.”
_ Daniel Burke
Quote of the Day: Evangelical leader Richard Cizik
(RNS) “In spite of their best efforts to steer people to another candidate … they failed. Why? Because the people said, `I don’t care who you think I should vote for. I’m going to vote for who I want to vote for.”’
_ The Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, speaking about religious right leaders at a Brookings Institution forum on “Religion and the Swing Vote” in Washington.
KRE/PH END RNS
