‘Letters to God’ director appeals to Christian community to help keep movie in theaters

---

‘Letters to God’ director appeals to Christian community to help keep movie in theaters Posted: 16 Apr 2010 10:07 PM PDT “Letters to God” director David Nixon appealed recently to the Christian community to support his latest movie, which theatres are threatening to stop showing. Nixon urged Christians to get their friends, family and church to see the movie this weekend, or even purchase tickets in advance for upcoming weekends, so that the movie can build up the same momentum they did with “The Passion of Christ.” “Letters to God” made No. 10 in the box office top 10, grossing $1.1 million in 897 theatres.  It was made on a $3 million budget. The film is averaging $1.2 thousand per theatre, but that is not enough to keep it in theatres.  On Facebook the movie has over 65,000 fans with momentum continuing. Baptist Press film critic Phil Boatwright called “Letters to God” a triumph and “one of the best films you and your family will see all year.”  Some secular viewers however feel that the Christian message is overdone. “Letters to God” is a true story about a boy, Tyler, who is with a malignant brain tumor and who is undergoing chemotherapy.  His mother is a single parent, so the boy’s uncle and grandmother help in his care.  Tyler deals with his sickness by sending his prayers as letters to God.  A postman, who is an alcoholic and who has lost his own son, keeps the letters and reads them. Jackie K. Cooper, a secular film reviewer wrote, “Letters to God keeps letting the story be interrupted by the sponsor, which in this case is Christianity.”  However Cooper noted that Tanner Maguire, who played Tyler, was especially effective and could project fear, serenity and acceptance. Cooper did admit that “Letters to God is a film that will touch your heart. Who can dismiss the validity of a young boy’s faith in the face of an almost insurmountable illness?” but concluded, “Still, you wish the filmmakers had just trusted the story to deliver the message of faith and hope rather than pack it full of ‘Christian commercials.’” Considering the fact that one in three people will contract cancer, and one in four will die from the disease, Global Healing Center notes that “Letters to God” is, more than a movie, a mission to show people that hope can be spread through prayer and love. The promoters of “Letters to God” are now connecting church leaders to the movie’s Web site to provide them with resources, sermons, and other materials that will promote Christ’s compassionate care.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Underground To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Posted via email from The Underground-- Not Your Average Christian Mag