Gibson's 'Passion' taps churches to sell film; some worry it may incite anti-Semitism

By Janet I. Tu and Moira Macdonald
Seattle Times staff

	AP Mel Gibson, right, directs Mount Vernon native James Caviezel, who plays Jesus, on the set of "The Passion of the Christ."
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Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" doesn't open until Feb. 25, but already a thousand members of Redmond's Antioch Bible Church are praying for it.

"We pray to let God use this film to change people's lives," said Senior Pastor Ken Hutcherson, one of about six people at his church who has actually seen the film.

And come the Ash Wednesday release date? " 'The Passion' is going to be our Christian Super Bowl, so get ready for advertising," Hutcherson said. "We're going to make sure we're on the front line."

In religious circles, few other movies have inspired the level of buzz and controversy of "The Passion," which depicts the last 12 hours of Jesus' life in purportedly graphic detail.

The film, directed, co-written and produced by Gibson — and financed with $25 million of his own money — stars Mount Vernon native James Caviezel as Jesus. It's being hailed by some evangelical Christian leaders as possibly one of the most powerful and moving pictures of all time. Other people fear the film will fuel anti-Semitism.

Join the conversation The American Jewish Committee presents a talk on "Mel Gibson's 'Passion': What's at Stake for Jews and Christians?" at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth St., Seattle. Panelists are Rabbi David Elcott, AJC director of interreligious affairs, and the Rev. James Eblen, Roman Catholic theologian and Seattle University associate professor. The event is free and open to the public. For more information: 206-622-6315, Ext. 2. On the Web www.thepassionofthechrist.com

"The dramatization of the crucifixion (has been used in the past) to incite anti-Jewish violence," said Rick Harkavy, executive director of the American Jewish Committee in Seattle. That's because some presentations of Passion plays, as these dramatizations of the arrest, trial, torture and crucifixion of Jesus are called, have sometimes implied all Jews are responsible for Jesus' death — an idea that's led to the persecution of Jews worldwide for centuries.

The vocal concern about the film from some Jewish groups comes amid unprecedented, grassroots-oriented marketing for the film. It's an effort that promotes not only the movie but its ability to draw non-Christians to Christ.

Gibson's production company, and the Christian marketing firms it's working with, have taken unusual approaches: Holding invitation-only screenings for thousands of evangelical Christian leaders; making outreach material such as postcards and door hangers available through the movie's Web site.

The idea, in essence, is to get the faithful to help market the movie. Mailings have been sent to churches all over the country urging them to buy out showings of the film at local theaters. One marketing company, on its Web site, is urging church members to "invite people to see the movie and then invite them back to church."

Across the nation, "large groups are buying up entire theater auditoriums in advance," said Rick King, a national spokesman for the AMC Theatres chain. "We really have not seen anything like the pattern for 'The Passion.' "

How film gained momentum

At times, the making and selling of "The Passion" may have seemed like a grueling ordeal in itself. Biblical epics, once popular but long out of fashion, are a hard sell in Hollywood. It didn't help that Gibson wanted the movie entirely in dead languages (the movie is in Aramaic and Latin with English subtitles), had a potentially incendiary subject, and would likely be rated R (which it is, for graphic violence) — a rating that gives some evangelical Christians pause.

	PHILIPPE ANTONELLO Simon of Cyrene (Jarreth Merz) helps Jesus (Jim Caviezel) in a scene from Mel Gibson's film.

When major studios were reluctant to sign on, Gibson spent his own money to make the film under the auspices of his Icon Productions company. The budget of at least $25 million — the exact figure is undisclosed — is modest by blockbuster movie standards. "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," by comparison, reportedly had a $135 million budget. But it's high for a religious-themed film.

That's inspired many church leaders, who are excited that a big-name Hollywood star is putting his money and weight into something so central to their purpose.

"This is our deal right here: Jesus comes, dies on the cross, saves us from our sins," said Senior Pastor Joe Fuiten of Cedar Park Assembly of God in Bothell. "If a picture's worth a thousand words, think what a feature-length film is worth."

Fuiten intends to deliver sermons based on themes from "The Passion" the Sundays before and after the film's release. The church also has bought out an auditorium in a Woodinville theater for three showings (one a pre-release screening on Feb. 23). And one of its members plans to underwrite the cost of tickets for non-Christians who attend those showings.

Craig Gorc, senior associate pastor at Cedar Park, was one of about 5,000 church leaders who attended a January screening of the film in Lake Forest, Calif.

"It was deeply impactful for me personally," Gorc said. Seeing the agony of the flogging and crucifixion depicted so vividly "connects me personally to Jesus. What did he have to endure because of me?"

When the movie ended, Gorc said, "it was utterly silent except for the sobbing."

Hutcherson, the senior pastor at Antioch, is encouraging church members to mail postcards, hand out placards and, once the movie's released, stand outside theaters to answer any questions moviegoers might have about Christianity.

"It's one of the greatest opportunities for Christian outreach in this century," he said.

Huge advance ticket sales

Representatives from national movie-theater chains call advance group ticket sales for the film "unprecedented." Typical blockbuster fare, such as the "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" films, also had high volumes of advance sales, but theater representatives characterize those as mainly tickets for individuals or families.

"In 22 years with Landmark (Theatres), this is the highest interest I've seen in terms of group sales," said local spokesman Nick Collecchi. The film will likely open in more than 2,000 U.S. theaters — a large, but not overwhelming, release. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," for instance, opened in 3,693 theaters.

Still, it's a major splash for an independent, religious-themed film. "Luther," by comparison, opened at 400 theaters last September. "The Book of Mormon Movie" is playing at 26 theaters nationwide; "The Gospel of John" at 70.

Those movies have had little impact at the box office. "Luther," the highest grossing of the trio, has earned approximately $5.7 million domestically over six months. By comparison, "Return of the King" has made $345 million after seven weeks. But, with advance sales soaring, Gibson should easily earn back his investment.

Movie stirs unease, dialogue

Although the film is clearly being embraced by many Christians, other voices — both Christian and Jewish — have raised concern that the film could perpetuate anti-Jewish sentiments or behaviors.

Rabbi David Elcott, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), saw the film and thinks it contains harmful stereotypes including, he says, "a beady-eyed (Jewish) high priest out to get Jesus no matter what." He is also concerned the film leaves the impression that the world is "divided between Jesus and his followers on one hand, and Satan's forces on the other. So where am I in this?"

Elcott, along with the Rev. James Eblen, a Roman Catholic theologian, plan to speak at an event tomorrow at Seattle's Town Hall, sponsored by the AJC.

Eblen, who hasn't seen the film, wants to make sure the public knows the Catholic Church declared in 1965 that "we cannot hold Jews responsible for the death of Jesus, generically as a people or even those Jews alive at the time of Jesus."

The AJC purposely made the event interfaith, to encourage "dialogue about this film, but in a way that's constructive," said Harkavy, the AJC-Seattle director.

Harkavy worries that the movie, which he hasn't seen, and the often polarized opinions about it, could undermine "the sense of community between Christians and Jews that's going on in this country. We're not allowing the film to do that."

Nationally, the AJC has issued a 40-page packet of essays and talking points, outlining its concerns and encouraging dialogue between Christians and Jews. A week before the movie's release, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops plans to issue a 150-page resource book on the church's teachings on the death of Jesus and its relationship to Jews.

The Rev. Sanford Brown, executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, has not seen the film but is concerned it may give a literal reading of the Gospels that could lead people to "misinterpret them as being anti-Semitic." The Church Council is composed primarily of mainline Protestant and Catholic churches.

Brown cites, for example, a controversial line in the Gospel of Matthew where the crowd cries: "His blood be on us and on our children." A literal interpretation, he said, could lead to condemnation of Jews as being responsible for Christ's death. But a more nuanced reading — and one held by most denominations now — is "a general sense that we all hold some responsibility because of our human condition, our human sinfulness."

Though recent reports said Gibson had cut that line from the film, Icon Productions will neither confirm nor deny its fate.

Gorc, the Cedar Park pastor who has seen "The Passion," said the film doesn't castigate any one group for condemning Jesus to death. "It was our collective sin."

And Rabbi Daniel Lapin, an Orthodox rabbi on Mercer Island who has not seen the film, believes the current polarized debate about the film will harm Jewish-Christian relations more than the film itself. That's because he believes some Jewish leaders' concerns over anti-Semitism is really an attack on Gibson and his traditional values, and will be perceived by some Christians as "an attack on Christianity itself."

Gibson is said to belong to an ultraconservative Catholic sect that rejects the reforms of the Catholic Church's Second Vatican Council, a series of meetings in 1962-65 that, among other things, repudiated the idea of collective Jewish culpability for the crucifixion.

Controversy and buzz aside, there are still a number of unknowns about "The Passion." Will it be able to sustain a healthy box office beyond opening week? Will it actually draw non-Christians to see it — and to go to church afterward? Will it indeed incite anti-Semitic sentiments? And how will it affect Jewish-Christian relations?

"I've learned not to be outraged about what something's reputation is," said Brown of the Church Council. "Sometimes the reality is a lot different than what the furor is. I'll be interested in seeing it and drawing my own conclusions."

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com;

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com

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