Catching up on Correspondance

Photo by Dave Palmater, used under a Creative Commons Licence

Thanks to everyone who has either left a comment, or emailed me in the last 6-7 weeks, and sorry that I've not replied sooner. Things have been really hectic, what going on holiday, trying to buy a house and going for new jobs, and I've got totally behind.

I think I've now replied to all the the comments that have been left, so if you've left one since the middle of September you might want to check back to see if I've replied. I'll hopefully reply all the emails shortly.

Please do keep your emails and comments coming. They are hugely appreciated, and hopefully once I'm back on top of them again, normal service will resume.

Atonement Review Up

I don't usually plug my reviews of non-Bible films here, but my review of Joe Wright's Atonement has been a long time in coming, and, unless I find the time to go to the cinema a whole lot more than I have done recently, then there's a good chance that this will end up as my film of the year.

The Passion: Cast UpdateGraham, Nesbitt, Oyelowo and Wilton

See all posts on this film
Just been checking Wikipedia's article on The Passion and they had the names of some additional members of the cast, that I'd not heard previously. That in turn led me to look at the IMDb page for the film which now includes a quite lengthy cast list.

Perhaps the most well known member of the cast is James Nesbitt (Cold Feet, Millions pictured below) who will play Pontius Pilate. Back in July I mentioned that producer Nigel Stafford-Clark had taken the novel approach of using well known actors to play characters such as Pilate that would have been well known in their own time. That said I've not been able to find out who (if anyone) is playing Caiaphas, and it would appear that the previously unknown Mary the Mother of Jesus is being played by TV stalwart Penelope Wilton.The name I'm most excited by is Stephen Graham (This is England, Gangs of New York, pictured top) as Barabbas. Graham's performance in This is England was one of the best pieces of acting I've ever seen, and if he's able to bring to Barabbas the pent up anger he has so ably demonstrated in the past, then it will make his scenes something to behold.

Also fairly well known is David Oyelowo in the role of Joseph of Arimathea, a revelation that emerged from an interview with the Daily Telegraph. There are a couple of other newspaper articles which (very briefly) mention the appearance of these actors in this production. The Guardian has an interview with Penelope Wilton, and both the Belfast Telegraph and the Manchester Evening News have pieces on James Nesbitt.

NBC to Modernise King David Working Title Kings

I'm a bit pushed for time today, but just got time to post this one up. According to Variety, NBC are producing a modern re-telling of the story of King David, with the working title Kings.

As Peter Chattaway notes, NBC are owned by the same company who owns Universal studios who have themselves got J. Michael Straczynski to write the script for a new David film which may, or may not be the one which Ralph Winter is producing.

Ark (Poland 2007)

Last month I tried to compile a list of films about Noah, which quickly became monstrous, so I never got around to completing the list and posting it up (although I might do one day). One of the films on the 'list' that did catch my eye was the polish film The Ark by Grzegorz Jonkajtys and Marcin Kobylecki. Here's the official website's synopsis:

An unknown virus has destroyed almost the entire human population.

Oblivious to the true nature of the disease, the only remaining survivors escape to the sea. In great ships they set off in search of uninhabited land. So begins the exodus, led by one man...

It just so happens that it's due to play in Vancouver on the 7th November, or at least so claims Ron Reed who has the following blurb taken from the lucky cinema's mail out:

The Ark: inspiration, experimentation and production
with Grzegorz Jonkajtys, Director & Lead Animator and Marcin Kobylecki, Producer
Nov 7, 7:30 - Tickets are $15 in advance, $20/$15 non-members/members at the door.

Please join us for this special evening with the creators of The Ark, this year’s winner of the Best of Show from SIGGRAPH’s Electronic Theater program. The presenters will talk about their inspiration, concept development and creative influences, then go into a breakdown of production on this 8 minute film that combines 3D computer graphics with practical sets.

Grzegorz Jonkajtys
Animation Artist, Director. Graduated from the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He received an honourable mention from the dean of the Academy. His debut short animated film entitled Mantis (2001) gained widespread acclaim winning numerous prizes at Polish as well as international film festivals. For many years now he has been working in an American company, CafeFX. It specializes in special effects for big Hollywood productions. He took part in creating special effects to such films as The League of Gentlemen, Gothika, Hellboy, Sin City or (sic.) Pan's Labyrinth. At the moment Grzegorz Jonkajtys has completed work on his second animated film entitled Ark.

Marcin Kobylecki
Executive Producer at Platige Image the biggest CG animation and special effects studio in Poland. He is the Executive Producer of the short films The Cathedral, Fallen Art.

If you would like to pick up your online order early, the Vancity Theatre box office will be open for will call Fri Nov 2 - Mon Nov 5, 7:15pm-8:30pm.

Amongst the features available from the official website are two trailers and a gallery.

There are also numerous articles on the pair behind this in various animation journals such as FX Guide and the CG Society of Digital Artists.

Biblical Studies Carnival XXIII

Photo by Tim Parkinson, used under a Creative Commons Licence

John Hobbins of has posted the 23rd Biblical Studies Carnival over at his Ancient Hebrew Poetry site. It's caused a bit of a stir by being fairly opinionated (in the very best sense of the word). It's nice to have something where the editor makes known his point of view. Mind you, I can say that as, thankfully, this blog wasn't one of those that came in for criticism!

He's also added a related post - Biblical Studies Carnival XXIII: What I Left out the First Time - which highlights some of the articles that have been posted on blogs not working from within a Christian framework. It's a great idea, and it will be interesting to see if anyone follows it up.

James M. Darlack is the man with a hard act to follow. For more details about these Carnivals, visit the Biblical Studies Carnival Homepage.

Podcast: The King of Kings (1927)

After a late night session early this morning, I've finally managed to upload the latest Jesus film podcast. This month I'm talking about Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings from 1927.

So far, there have been twelve talks in this particular podcast. It's not too late to download the other eleven:Jesus of Nazareth, Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Jesus of Montreal, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Miracle Maker, Il Messia, King of Kings, Last Temptation of Christ, Life and Passion of Jesus Christ and Jesus (1999).