It notes that political posturing in films often spells box office disaster. The article cites examples like THE UNDEFEATED (a pro Sarah Palin documentary) and AN AMERICAN CAROL (a farce about Michael Moore being the Nation’s biggest threat) and ATLAS SHRUGGED PART 1 (an indie drama based on the Ayn Rand novel) to prove its point.

What is interesting is that Toth only cites examples of films with conservative view points. He shows his distaste for these themes when he writes about the target audience: “Personally, I suspect that they are much happier venting their spleen either online or by phone rather than sitting quietly in a theater for a couple of hours.”

Toth again shows his political leanings when writing: “The audience has a virtual Constitutional (and certainly God-given) right not to go to your movie. … This type of free and open selection by the audience is called capitalism. I don’t quite understand why I am having to explain this to right-wing filmmakers, but all I can add is, “Welcome to the pain of the marketplace, pal.”

Those are pretty strong words for filmmakers whose projects have failed. I wonder if he’d have stronger words for politically-biased films that lost much more money? The Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford drama, LIONS FOR LAMBS cost $35 Million to make and had a box office of $15 Million. Matt Damon‘s GREEN ZONE cost a whopping $100 Million to make and only made $35 Million at the box office. This despite having pretty much the same concept, producers and marketing muscle as Damon’s extremely popular BOURNE films. Or the recent Sean Penn, Naomi Watts film: FAIR GAME which only made $6.7 Million at the box office while costing $22 Million to produce.

It’s important to note that none of Toth’s examples had the cast, marketing dollars or production budgets of the left-wing themed films. So which ones had the bigger failure?

Good films need to have themes. Themes though can’t be a sermon – no matter how true or important they may be.

Toth rightly notes that “Most people go to movies for a form of emotional engagement, not politics. … most attempts at political statements in movies end up sounding as if the filmmaker is hectoring the audience. As a rule, people won’t pay to be hectored. They come to see a story, not a harangue. Heck, they might even want a little romance on the side.”

Similarly, I think film reviews and commentaries should also concentrate on the story (i.e. political films often fail) rather than making political speeches (i.e. conservative filmmakers don’t get it).

- Blog by André van Heerden, President of Film and TV Production at Cloud Ten Pictures

For those who know me, they know that I like debating. It really doesn’t matter what the topic is, I enjoy a good discussion and enjoy testing theories and learning new things.

It’s probably one of the reasons that I enjoy working on our documentaries.

However for there to be a good discussion, you need to know where people stand. If you’re debating with someone and they keep changing their position or suddenly contradict themselves or don’t really care about the topic, it becomes somewhat pointless.

I have worked with many Christian actors on our feature films and had many wonderful discussions with them. Kirk Cameron shares a common interest and passion for the topic of Creation that I do. Mr. T is as humble and polite a guy that you will ever meet. But some of my most enjoyable conversations came from Judd Nelson (BREAKFAST CLUB, DECEIVED) who disagreed with me on most topics. What I loved about Judd was that he didn’t hide who he was and never pretended to be something that he wasn’t.

I don’t think that I’m alone in this feeling. It’s comforting to know where someone is coming from – even if they’re not “on your side”.

I have found that sometimes when I’m trying to ease into a topic or get a sensitive interview or trying to help someone without sounding judgmental, I try to avoid mentioning that I’m a Christian. It seems to me that this may hurt my cause and make things more difficult. However, time and again that approach has proven to be faulty and causes more problems than avoids them.

Conversely most times that I’ve let people know that I’m a Christian and that this is why I believe certain things, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the reaction and I accomplish much more than I ever thought I would.

It is within this context that I read with sadness that the long-standing organization of “Campus Crusade for Christ” was changing its name to “CRU”. I was a member of “Campus Crusade for Athletes” at Carleton University and really admired those who ran it for their loving and straight-forward approach.

Campus Crusade spokesman andVP Steve Seller told Fox News Radio: “Our name was becoming more and more of a hindrance.”

The CRU website states: “We were not trying to eliminate the word Christ from our name. We were looking for a name that would most effectively serve our mission and help us take the gospel to the world. Our mission has not changed. Cru enables us to have discussions about Christ with people who might initially be turned off by a more overtly Christian name. We believe that our interaction and our communication with the world will be what ultimately honors and glorifies Christ.”

Seller’s goes on to say: “It is a name we intend to give meaning so that when people hear it they know that it’s a caring group of Christians who are passionate about lifting up the name of Jesus.”

Omega Letter writer Jack Kinsella disagrees and writes: “So “Cru” is all about lifting up the Name by calling it a ‘hindrance to its mission’ and dropping it from its title in order to make it more popular.  Calling it ‘Cru’ will tell people it is run by a ‘caring group of Christians’?  Really?  What do they care about?  You’ll never be able to figure it out from their name.”

Cloud Ten Pictures recently revised its logo. We wanted something that looked more current and modern. I understand that Campus Crusade may have wanted to do something like that as well. But when you’ve created a brand that is recognized everywhere and recognized for good things and recognized for goals that you’re continuing to pursue… WHY would you change that? The brand that you’ve created is a good thing. Changing that brand and causing confusion is a bad thing.

People like it when they know where someone stands. So does God: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Rev. 3:15-16 NIV

- Blog by André van Heerden, President of Film and TV at Cloud Ten Pictures

All of the headlines that I read about it on that day and the next and the next declared that he was a Christian fundamentalist. Here’s a sampling: “Norway Terror Suspect Believed to Be Christian Fundamentalist” (Germany) “Police Begin Questioning of Christian Fundamentalist” (Australia) “Oslo Suspects Christian Fundamentalist” (South Africa) and “Norway Attacks Suspect Is ‘Christian Fundamentalist” (Asia). And The New York Times claimed in the first two paragraphs of one story that he was a “gun-loving,” “right-wing,” “fundamentalist Christian,” opposed to “multiculturalism.”

I was appalled and shocked that a Christian could ever commit such an atrocious act. As a Christian myself, I wanted to know why he had done this (against so many teachings of Jesus and the Bible) and looked for evidence of why he was being labelled a Christian. Yet when I was looking I couldn’t anything. I found that he was blond haired and blue eyed and that he was vehemently against Muslim immigration and the Norwegian Labour party but I couldn’t find the connection to him being a follower of Christ.

Turns out that’s because there was none.

In Breivik’s 1500 page manifesto he uses the word “Christian” as a way of saying: “non-Muslim” and raises issues with Christians for their soft-heartedness and says of himself that he is “not an excessively religious man,” and brags that he is “first and foremost a man of logic,” and calls himself “economically liberal” and reveres Darwinism.

If you look for updates on the Norway shootings you won’t see the label “Christian” anymore. But as Craig L. Parshall, Sr. VP and General Counsel for the NRB Today notes, “the damage was already done.” It was an irrelevant title to the story and somehow nearly all the media went along with it.

The same thing occurred with the Oklahoma city bomber, Timothy McVeigh. He too was painted as a right-wing Christian fundamentalist. Instead it turned out that he was a a pot-smoking atheist who said, “Science is my religion.”

What is very telling is how the media purposely avoids any labels when a Muslim is involved in a terrorist act. In the first 7 stories of the NY Times coverage of the Fort Hood shooting by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, they never once mentioned that he was a Muslim. This despite the fact that he shouted “Allah Akbar” as he gunned down his fellow soldiers and had given a lecture where he talked about Islam, and stated that non-believers would be sent to hell, decapitated, set on fire, and have burning oil poured down their throats.

Why is there such an obvious double-standard in the media’s handling of these events? Who stands to gain from such biased and dishonest journalism?

Social commentator Ann Coulter notes in her book Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America, “the liberal rule is: Any criminal act committed by a white man with a gun is a right-wing, Christian conspiracy, whereas any criminal act committed by a nonwhite is the government violating someone’s civil liberties.”

I’m a Christian so I’ll admit that I have biased views. I’m however not wishing that journalists shared my biases, I just wish that more of them had a bias for the truth.

- Blog by André van Heerden, President of Film and TV Production at Cloud Ten Pictures

André van Heerden, on the set of Cloud Ten's upcoming documentary, 2012: PROPHECY OR PANIC?

Can you rationally discuss a controversial topic without getting emotional?

Can you stop yourself from interrupting another person as they make their points – even if you’ve heard them before?

Can you actually listen to and process what they’re saying rather than just preparing to fire your response back?

It’s a lost art.

On the one side you have people who defend their positions by throwing-out socially barbed terms like “homophobe”, “right-wing”, “patriarchal”, “traditional”, “Zionist” and claim that any views that oppose theirs are offensive.

On the other side you have people who defend their positions with a condescending superiority based more on a moral stance rather than on facts and figures and counter-points.

It’s almost impossible for these two different sides to even converse without getting frustrated. Frustration leads to anger. Anger leads to emotional responses and personal attacks. Suddenly the two sides are further apart than ever. Rather than productive discussion we’re left with name-calling.

I can’t help but be reminded of Bill O’Reilly‘s visit with the ladies on “The View.” Here are people who’s daily JOB is to debate hot topics in a rational manner. They’ve done it for years. They know who they’re going to be talking to and what their views are. There shouldn’t be any surprises. And yet very quickly the show saw Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar swearing and leaving the set. That’s not productive for anyone. For those who are supporters of O’Reilly they’ll think that he was in the right. For those who support the ladies of “The View”, they’ll think that they were right. Nothing was settled because no one actually listened. No one actually learned. No one respected the other.

I recently had the great pleasure of traveling with actor and presenter Jeffrey Douglas to the ancient Mayan ruins in Palenque, Mexico. He is the host for our newest documentary: 2012: PROPHECY OR PANIC? He is also a co-host on the long-running national daily radio program: “As it Happens” with Carol Off and was host for National Geographic‘s “Things That Move” TV series. His background knowledge on many topics is wide and he’s well-read and articulate. He also knows how to have a discussion.

Our trip to Mexico was a long one (the trip back even longer!) but I can’t remember a time that I debated and learned about so many different things. The keys: listening and respect. We didn’t agree on everything but I certainly learned more on what we debated about rather than what we agreed upon.

We recently completed another documentary called THE 12 BIGGEST LIES hosted by Kevin Sorbo (“Hercules”, “Andromeda”, WHAT IF…). It’s a bold title that attracts many strong responses. But hopefully, if someone can swallow their retorts and emotions and world-view, they might take something away from it other than ‘anger’.

- Blog by André van Heerden, President of Film & TV Production at Cloud Ten Pictures

Host Jeff Douglas on the set of Cloud Ten's upcoming documentary, 2012: PROPHECY OR PANIC?

On the set of Cloud Ten's upcoming documentary, 2012: PROPHECY OR PANIC?

It took me until the fourth movie to get into the HARRY POTTER series. After the point Voldemort rises, this series (in my opinion) becomes very involving, even making the films that came before it more interesting. This is the feeling I got when watching LEFT BEHIND: WORLD AT WAR. With a solid cast, solid direction, and a tight script, this film shows how good Christian filmmaking can be.

The film opens with a strong scene involving Chris, Ray’s friend from the first two films. He really steps up here and sets the tone for the film. You can see growth in many of the main characters. They have all become confident, yet humble leaders. There is one scene where Buck is captured by the U.S. Government and President Fitzhugh, with a cold stare, points a gun at Buck and asks him if he will renounce his faith in Jesus Christ. Wow, this is the single tensest moment in the whole series. President Fitzhugh’s whole story is great and kind of what I wanted to see with Buck or Ray in the first film: it’s a solid arc, brilliantly performed. You believe him when he is devoted to Nicolae and you believe him just as much when he changes. Another character that changes is Hattie. She is far more antagonistic here in the first half, which also makes things more interesting since she knows Ray is a Christian.

What really brings this film to another level is the addition of Louis Gossett, Jr. and Jessica Steen to the cast. These two have presence. Not saying the other actors don’t, but when these two are on screen, you are glued. Fortunately they get ample screen time. I must also mention the director Craig R. Baxley. This guy knows how to use the camera effectively to keep the audience in every scene. Baxley keeps the camera keeps moving, rotating around characters, ascending up to a person’s apartment, he finds ways to keep the scenes interesting. Not surprising from a former director of THE A-TEAM series. The atmosphere of the film is another strong point. You get the sense that nowhere is safe, something I should have felt more of in TRIBULATION FORCE, but didn’t.

It’s too bad the films had to end here. This series was really gaining momentum. Re-watching these films, I do feel strongly that this material would greatly benefit from a remake. The first film just isn’t the powerful introduction it needs to be. In the end, I am glad I revisited these films as I’ve grown closer to the material as a result. It’s been a rewarding experience. Moving on to the new film, what should this remake focus on to be the epic it needs to be?

- Blog by Travis Else

I’ve been waiting for a long time for the movie SOUL SURFER to come out.

When I heard that they were making the true-life story about young Bethany Hamilton who lost her arm to a shark and then returned to competitive surfing just a few weeks later I was very excited – especially since Bethany Hamilton is a born-again Christian. She writes: “Being able to turn to Jesus after the shark attack kept me alive”.

I thought and hoped that just like THE BLIND SIDE it would be a movie with a strong organic Christian theme. Because it’s based on an incredible true story and real-life people of faith, it wouldn’t need to be “preachy” (which usually comes from forcing a message where it doesn’t belong) and would be able to reach a wide audience.

It opened this past weekend with the second highest wide release per-screen average (highest among new films) and brought in $10.6M at the box office. It did better than the experts had predicted and received an incredibly rare A+ exit rating from CinemaScore‘s moviegoer poll.

What’s really interesting is the reaction from many critics. On rottentomatoes.com (where it weighs positive reactions vs negative reactions) it notes that only 51% of critics liked it. But like the CinemaScore’s exit poll, 87% of audiences liked it. So why the difference?

I think that can be found in the famous Francis Bacon quotation: “People prefer to believe what they prefer to be true.” (You can see more thoughts on truth here.)

The NY Times’ review was pretty good. It noted the strong performances of the lead actors and the thrilling surfing scenes but the reviewer just couldn’t buy it all. He closes the review by noting: “During the closing credits the real Ms. Hamilton appears on screen and thanks Jesus in voice-over. While this story is certainly about faith, SOUL SURFER is most inspiring when it exalts faith in one’s self.” And this is from someone who liked the film. Interesting how it’s okay to believe in one’s self or love or desire or the environment (you name the the theme) but believing in God isn’t as good.

Here’s what some said who didn’t like the film:

“…barefaced Christian pandering that pretends it isn’t…. Young Ms. Hamilton’s story is inspiring, but if you need it spoon-fed by ‘American Idol’ winner Carrie Underwood’s youth-group leader, you’re better off lost and godless.” (Village Voice/LA Weekly)

And:

“Appealingly photographed and shamelessly manipulative… a wholesome movie for wholesome people who really, really don’t want to think about what their entertainment means.” (Toronto Now)

Notice the attacks are not only on faith but on those who are faithful. It’s not enough to not like the movie because you don’t agree with the theme, you have to criticize those who do like it.

I have to give credit to one brave critic who tried to stay honest about where she was coming from (unlike many contemporaries). Wesley Morris writes:

“Faith for some is a combination of a belief in God and a belief in oneself. When Bethany goes from ‘How can this be God’s plan for me?’ to ‘I don’t need easy, I just need possible,’ I stopped rolling my eyes and just said, ‘Amen.’ ” (Boston Globe)

It’s wonderful to note that how many others are saying “Amen” to this remarkable story as well. JUNO actress Ellen Page and Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Matt Hasselback tweeted excitedly about it. Obviously many people ignore cynical film critics like many critics discount faith.

- Blog by André van Heerden, President of Film and TV Production at Cloud Ten Pictures

When we were doing interviews for our documentary THE 12 BIGGEST LIES, we were told by some experts on Islam (like Rev. Majed El Shafie and Nonie Darwish) that if you’re traveling to a Muslim country, you’ll often be told by any good travel agent to never go out on a Friday. Why? Well, that’s the day that Muslims go to “church” and when they emerge from their mosques they’re ready to find non-believers and kill them.

Compare this to how Christians come out of their church services. Or Jews coming from synagogue. They’re full of hope and peace and love and forgiveness.

This past Friday hundreds of Muslims emerged from their worship services and went and raided a UN outpost and beheaded two people and killed at least another 10. Since then each day has seen other Christians and UN workers attacked and killed with the murders being blamed on the burning of the Quran by Florida Minister Terry Jones. The media has now focused its attention on this minister and speculation as to whether he is responsible for the attacks and deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq rather than putting the blame on the actual murderers and their belief system.

Take a look at some recent headlines…

Muslim Extremists Murder Christian Lawyer, Family in Pakistan …

Islamic extremists killed a Christian lawyer, his wife and their five children in northwestern Pakistan this week for mounting a legal …

Islamic Militants in Somalia Murder Christian Leader, Christian …

Islamic extremists shot the leader of an underground church to death outside the capital city of Somalia this month and have threatened to …

Christian Killed by Muslim Employer, Relatives Say, Christian News …

Masih was found dead at his Muslim employer’s farmhouse. … staged a two- hour sit-in, police registered a murder case against Cheema, …

Evangelist Beaten to Death by Muslim Extremists Inside Mosque …

An Ethiopian evangelist was beaten and killed by Wahabbi Muslim extremists while evangelizing on the streets earlier this week, …

Muslim Mob Kills Wife, Children of Christian in Pakistan …

A Muslim mob in Jhelum, Pakistan murdered the wife and four children … When Masih tried to file a complaint against Khan for the murder, …

Clashes Erupt After Murder of Christian Man in Egypt, Christian …

Throwing stones at Coptic Christian churches and homes in the area in response to the extended detention four Muslim murder suspects.

Muslim Attack Injures 23 Coptic Christians, Christian News, The …

An Egyptian judge recently acquitted four Muslim men of the murder of a Coptic man. USCIRF called it “the latest example in a growing …

Pakistan Minister Condemns Reward for Killing Christian Woman …

Qureshi, who had also called for the murder of the Danish cartoonists who drew caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, said that if the …

How many more of these types of headlines do people need to see before realizing how dangerous Islam is? Take a look at this news report from France: http://www.youtube.com/embed/A3YQANdvvbY

This is happening everywhere in the world and will continue to do so. And just as politicians are now admitting that multiculturalism has been a horrible failure, hopefully they’ll now say the same thing about political correctness.

- Blog by André van Heerden, President of Film and TV Production at Cloud Ten Pictures

We have recently been monitoring some interesting discussions about what our next LEFT BEHIND movie should be. We have a number of good options and of course many ardent fans have their opinions as to which road we should take.

Our first 3 feature films (LEFT BEHIND: THE MOVIE, LEFT BEHIND II: TRIBULATION FORCE, LEFT BEHIND: WORLD AT WAR) and our original docu-drama (“Left Behind: Where’d Everyone Go?”) have reached millions and continue to reach many more. The idea of doing a fourth film – a sequel to LEFT BEHIND: WORLD AT WAR, and bringing back the original cast of Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Gordon Currie, Janaya Stephens and Chelsea Noble is very appealing. So too is producing a prequel to all of our characters’ stories and the rapture or choosing a minor character from the best-selling Left Behind novels (Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins) and telling their story of what happened during the Rapture and Tribulation Period.

However, we believe there’s a much better option.

With recent global events it seems that everyone is wondering “what is coming next” and could we really be in the end-times? Speculation about 2012; massive earthquakes and tsunamis (Japan, New Zealand); rising US national Debt; upheavals in Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Lybia, Iran; continued violence in the Middle-East; growing anti-semitism; global economic concerns; and general social malaise all seem to be pointing to something else, something BIG, about to happen.

Matthew 24:6-8 says that just before the Rapture: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

It’s time for us to share this incredible story with the world.

We’re absolutely thrilled that there are so many passionate fans of our LEFT BEHIND series. We’re very proud of them and have long considered producing the 4th in the series.

However, we believe we’ve been presented a huge opportunity to reach much further than that original series ever could. Our original LEFT BEHIND movie had a lower budget, went direct to DVD (then theaters), and focused a lot on the politics of what could happen after the rapture – just as the first book did.

In getting the rights back we took another look at the book and discovered something very exciting. While the original book and movie concentrated on the politics, they never really explored what the world would be like after the biggest and most devastating “disaster” the world has ever seen. Think about what happens when there’s a big accident on the highway right now. Imagine that but multiply it by at least ten thousand AND imagine that happening with depleted or no emergency services!

Think about what happens when one child goes missing. Think about the panic and the mass searches and distress. Imagine that but picture that EVERY child has vanished – world-wide and there’s no one to help. That world is fascinating and dark and the possibilities for incredible stories (with Buck, Chloe and Rayford in particular) are endless.

Plus, and this is a key point, such a big “disaster movie” story justifies a wide theatrical release and the ability to reach millions of people who have never even heard of the rapture. This is the reason we began producing movies in the first place and the reason we founded Cloud Ten.

We’re confident that this movie will surpass even the most ardent fans expectations and pray that there’s enough room in our fans’ hearts to love and support two Left Behind film series.

Special News: Look for the complete LEFT BEHIND SERIES DVD Pack for a special price at Walmart!

- Blog by André van Heerden, President of Film and TV Production at Cloud Ten Pictures

Often when I’m talking about the projects that Cloud Ten Pictures has produced, it leads to in-depth discussions about faith, truth, politics and ultimately the Bible and God. It’s amazing how all important questions and debates ultimately lead to that.

Recently I’ve been debating a few people about the topics covered in our provocative documentary THE 12 BIGGEST LIES. Just this week I was debating some Muslims about whether Islam is a religion of peace on the show SPIRITUALLY RAW. It was a lively debate and ironically those who were trying to defend Islam and its teachings actually helped my side by verifying exactly what I was saying. It soon occurred to me that rather than defending my position and talking all the time, that I would be better off asking the right questions instead.

A perfect example of this was sent to me from popular actor Kevin Sorbo (Hercules, Andromeda, Soul Surfer, What If). It’s a clip of highly controversial author and speaker David Horowitz speaking at UCSD (University of California San Diego). A student member of the MSA (Muslim Students Association) asks him a question. Listen to her response when he asks HER a question.

Even though I wrote and directed a documentary that shows that Islam is not a peaceful religion I was still shocked by the well-spoken student’s final answer.

Check out this short video.

- Post by André van Heerden, President of Film and TV Production at Cloud Ten Pictures

With New Year’s Celebrations now over and a new year begun, we’re planning how best to reach others with a message of hope and truth.

Over the last year and a half we’ve produced three documentaries: SHADOW GOVERNMENT (based on the book by Grant Jeffrey), DRAGONS OR DINOSAURS (based on book by Darek Isaacs) and THE 12 BIGGEST LIES hosted by Kevin Sorbo. These all have different audiences and speak to some while not to others.

There’s no shortage of topics to tackle and with world events seeming to come ever quicker and lining-up more and more with Bible Prophecy, we’d love to make the most of our time and resources.

Of course we’ll still be working on our next feature film (look for updates soon on LEFT BEHIND or DIRK AND THE DEVIL or the next APOCALYPSE film) but what topic should our next documentary focus on? On they 2012 Mayan Prophecies? The fraud and manipulation behind the Global Warming warnings? The newest developments in Mark of the Beast technologies? Present day Miracles? Increasing signs that we’re in the end times and approaching the Apocalypse? How the theory of evolution has destroyed America? The age of the Earth? More Big Lies? Exorcisms and demonic possession? How to build a strong family? Israel and Prophecy?

We’ll be praying about it but we’d also love to hear your thoughts ASAP!

- Blog by André van Heerden, President of Film and Television Production at Cloud Ten Pictures