In Christianity, as with most religions, attaining holiness and a higher spirituality while simultaneously pursuing worldly ideals such as fame and fortune is nearly impossible. This book looks at religion among the creative class. It is suitable for those who wants to understand how religion adapts to social change.

When it comes to Hollywood, Christians too quickly wash their hands of popular culture and leave this immensely influential media to unbelievers. In truth, the industry is listening. There is a church in Hollywood, but too often their work is unrecognized. Behind the Screen offers a glimpse of Hollywood insiders who, through their jobs on movie sets, behind TV shows, and in radio broadcasts, work together to give glory to God. With contributions from the writers and producers of such productions as Joan of Arcadia, Mission Impossible, Batman Forever, That '70s Show, and others, believers everywhere are encouraged to join with the church in Hollywood and do their part in closing the gap between Christianity and culture.

In Christianity, as with most religions, attaining holiness and a higher spirituality while simultaneously pursuing worldly ideals such as fame and fortune is nearly impossible. So how do people pursuing careers in Hollywood's entertainment industry maintain their religious devotion without sacrificing their career goals? For some, the answer lies just two miles south of the historic center of Hollywood, California, at the Oasis Christian Center. In Hollywood Faith, Gerardo Marti shows how a multiracial evangelical congregation of 2,000 people accommodates itself to the entertainment industry and draws in many striving to succeed in this harsh and irreverent business. Oasis strategically sanctifies ambition and negotiates social change by promoting a new religious identity as "champion of life"-an identity that provides people who face difficult career choices and failed opportunities a sense of empowerment and endurance. The first book to provide an in-depth look at religion among the "creative class," Hollywood Faith will fascinate those interested in the modern evangelical movement and anyone who wants to understand how religion adapts to social change.

In this thoroughly revised and updated edition of his popular book, Brian Godawa guides you through the place of redemption in film, the tricks screenwriters use to communicate their messages, and the mental and spiritual discipline required for watching movies.

Designed as a tool to reach the unsaved, this intriguing book has enormous evangelistic potential. Ray Comfort shares the spiritual beliefs of over 120 top Hollywood stars from past and present, such as Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Madonna, Peter Jennings, Winona Ryder, John Wayne, and George Clooney, with beliefs ranging from reincarnation to the idea that God is a woman, "a deity created in our image," or "a shaft of light in a doorway." Most importantly, the author compares many of the celebrity views against the Bible, so that the gospel is clearly communicated throughout the book's pages. Readers will be challenged to examine their beliefs as they are gently persuaded by God's Word. In addition, the book will strengthen believers in their own faith by discussing the evidence for the existence of God, inspiration of the Bible, divinity of Jesus, etc. This riveting book makes an excellent evangelistic gift, with many readers buying one copy for themselves to gain insight into what others believe, and additional copies for lost friends and neighbors to lead them to the truth.

Religious Communication Association's Book of the Year Hollywood and Christianity often seem to be at war. Indeed, there is a long list of movies that have attracted religious condemnation, from Gone with the Wind with its notorious "damn," to The Life of Brian and The Last Temptation of Christ. But the reality, writes William Romanowski, has been far more complicated--and remarkable. In Reforming Hollywood, Romanowski, a leading historian of popular culture, explores the long and varied efforts of Protestants to influence the film industry. He shows how a broad spectrum of religious forces have played a role in Hollywood, from Presbyterians and Episcopalians to fundamentalists and evangelicals. Drawing on personal interviews and previously untouched sources, he describes how mainline church leaders lobbied filmmakers to promote the nation's moral health and, perhaps surprisingly, how they have by and large opposed government censorship, preferring instead self-regulation by both the industry and individual conscience. "It is this human choice," noted one Protestant leader, "that is the basis of our religion." Tensions with Catholics, too, have loomed large--many Protestant clergy feared the influence of the Legion of Decency more than Hollywood's corrupting power. Romanowski shows that the rise of the evangelical movement in the 1970s radically altered the picture, in contradictory ways. Even as born-again clergy denounced "Hollywood elites," major studios noted the emergence of a lucrative evangelical market. 20th Century-Fox formed FoxFaith to go after the "Passion dollar," and Disney took on evangelical Philip Anschutz as a partner to bring The Chronicles of Narnia to the big screen. William Romanowski is an award-winning commentator on the intersection of religion and popular culture. Reforming Hollywood is his most revealing, provocative, and groundbreaking work on this vital area of American society.

"This is a ground-breaking book. The text is remarkable in its use of MPAA files and studio archives; Weisenfeld uncovers all sorts of side stories that enrich the larger narrative. The writing is clear and concise, and Weisenfeld makes important theoretical interpretations without indulging in difficult jargon. She incorporates both film theory and race theory in graceful, non-obtrusive ways that deepen understanding. This is an outstanding work."—Colleen McDannell, author of Picturing Faith: Photography and the Great Depression

Between Heaven & Hollywood is David’s inspirational journey from the wheat fields of his Mennonite home outside of Dodge City Kansas, to the bright lights of Los Angeles. This story of perseverance will assure you that your dreams aren’t frivolous. They might be the most important part of your life. White has starred in more than twenty-five movies and produced forty films, including the blockbuster God’s Not Dead. He serves as a Managing Partner of Pure Flix, the largest faith-based movie studio in the world. With his signature wit and sidesplitting hilarity, David’s story of faithfulness, grounded in the biblical truth that no dream is too big for God, will inspire you to relentlessly pursue your dreams, and in the process, bring the reality of God’s kingdom a little closer to the here and now. God has planted a dream in your heart that is both unique to you and essential to the world. White reminds us that there is no one too common, too uneducated, too poor, too inexperienced, or too broken that he or she cannot be used by God.

In 1988, director Martin Scorsese fulfilled his lifelong dream of making a film about Jesus Christ. Rather than celebrating the film as a statement of faith, churches and religious leaders immediately went on the attack, alleging blasphemy. At the height of the controversy, thousands of phone calls a day flooded the Universal switchboard, and before the year was out, more than three million mailings protesting the film fanned out across the country. For the first time in history, a studio took responsibility for protecting theaters and scrambled to recruit a "field crisis team" to guide The Last Temptation of Christ through its contentious American openings. Overseas, the film faced widespread censorship actions, with thirteen countries eventually banning the film. The response in Europe turned violent when opposition groups sacked theaters in France and Greece and caused injuries to dozens of moviegoers. Twenty years later, author Thomas R. Lindlof offers a comprehensive account of how this provocative film came to be made and how Universal Pictures and its parent company MCA became targets of the most intense, unremitting attacks ever mounted against a media company. The film faced early and determined opposition from elements of the religious Right when it was being developed at Paramount during the last year the studio was run by the celebrated troika of Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, and Jeffrey Katzenberg. By the mid-1980s, Scorsese's film was widely regarded as unmakeable—a political stick of dynamite that no one dared touch. Through the joint efforts of two of the era's most influential executives, CAA president Michael Ovitz and Universal Pictures chairman Thomas P. Pollock, this improbable project found its way into production. The making of The Last Temptation of Christ caught evangelical Christians at a moment when they were suffering a crisis of confidence in their leadership. The religious right seized on the film as a way to rehabilitate its image and to mobilize ordinary citizens to attack liberalism in art and culture. The ensuing controversy over the film's alleged blasphemy escalated into a full-scale war fought out very openly in the media. Universal/MCA faced unprecedented calls for boycotts of its business interests, anti-Semitic rhetoric and death threats were directed at MCA chairman Lew Wasserman and other MCA executives, and the industry faced the specter of violence at theaters. Hollywood Under Siege draws upon interviews with many of the key figures—Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Michael Ovitz, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jack Valenti, Thomas P. Pollock, and Willem Dafoe—to explore the trajectory of the film from its conception to the subsequent epic controversy and beyond. Lindlof offers a fascinating dissection of a critical episode in the embryonic culture wars, illuminating the explosive effects of the clash between the interests of the media industry and the forces of social conservatism.

More than a narrative about a young man destined to accomplish the impossible, more than a chronicle of successful Hollywood writer, producer, and director, Lee Stanley’s unparalleled success that changed not only his life but also the lives of millions of others … Faith in the Land of Make-Believe is the gritty memoir of someone who was never taught how to be a man, a husband, or a father, and was scared to death somebody would find out. Now an award-winning filmmaker, author Lee Stanley learned early in life never to show a weakness. With a macho facade, womanizing ways, and hair-trigger rage, Stanley became his own worst enemy—an enemy that only Christ could defeat. Faith in the Land of Make-Believe is the powerful and brutally honest story of a man who learned how to become totally dependent on God. This is a book about passion, determination and a refusal to give up. Most importantly it is about fulfilling your purpose by never backing down, and always standing solely and completely upon the Word of God.