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 Actor Hugh Jackman plays the role of Jean Valjean in the cinematic version of 'Les Misérables'
January 3rd, 2013
02:42 PM ET
Targeting 'Les Miserables' to Christians pays off at the box officeBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Editor (CNN)—In spite of tepid reviews from some film critics, "Les Miserables" is booming at the box office, and that financial success can in part be traced to a group of its biggest boosters: Christians, particularly evangelicals whom NBC Universal went after with a microtargeted marketing strategy. The story in "Les Miserables" is heavy with Christian themes of grace, mercy and redemption. The line everyone seems to remember is "to love another person is to see the face of God.” NBC Universal looked to capitalize on those components and promoted the film to pastors, Christian radio hosts and influence-makers in the Christian community. The latest film adaptation of the musical is raking in the cash. As of Wednesday, NBC Universal reported, it had pulled in $80.57 million in 2,814 theaters. After winning Christmas Day, the film finished third in the box office totals over the weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, narrowly losing out to "The Hobbit" and "Django Unchained" despite being on significantly fewer screens. “If you’re a Christian and you’re seeing this film, you can’t help but see these themes,” said Jonathan Bock, founder and president of Grace Hill Media, the firm hired for the targeted marketing campaign. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter “We were targeting specifically people who had a bully pulpit,” Bock said. His company’s goal was to draw Christians who would “be impacted by it and then tell anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of people what they just saw.” Screenings set up across the country in advance of the film’s release filled up fast, he said. Bock’s firm has worked on marketing campaigns in the faith community for hundreds of television and film releases, and normally, the screening invite-to-attendee ratio is 4-to-1. “This movie, we booked at 1.4-to-1, and we had turn-aways in every single market. Almost everyone who signed up showed up for the movie,” he said. “There’s a great deal of awareness about the movie itself, and the great thing is that the movie itself delivers,” added Bock, ever the marketer. My Take: The challenge of hope in 'Les Misérables' Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family was one of the groups that partnered with Grace Hill Media for a special screening. For the event, Focus on the Family brought in partners from across Colorado, adoption agencies, child welfare officials and church leaders. “We’re trying to raise awareness for the needs of kids, particularly in the foster care system who don’t have any families. We love to come alongside them and welcome them home, and for that reason, we loved the movie,” said Kelly Rosati, vice president of community outreach for Focus on the Family. She oversees their adoption and orphan care initiative. A movie like "Les Miserables," she said, “is able to engage the heart in a way straight facts and calls to action can never do.” “I think that’s something the movie did in a beautiful way: It stirred the heart without ever having to directly issue a call to action,” she added. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories Another coup for marketers was getting young evangelical leaders like the leaders of Catalyst, the hip conference for young evangelicals, out to see the film. Brad Lomenick, executive director of Catalyst, called it “Epic film. Powerful" on Twitter and suggested that Hugh Jackman’s performance was Oscar-worthy. Mainstream movie critics have not been as glowing. The Los Angeles Times movie critic, Kenneth Turan, wrote in his review, “Because it is so shameless and so popular, ‘Les Miserables’ and its ‘to love another person is to see the face of God’ theme are tailor-made for mockery.” (Turan did give the movie a favorable review overall.) Ann Hornaday in her review in the Washington Post said it was “less a fully realized film than a strung-together series of set pieces, showstoppers, diva moments and production numbers.” Lisa Schwarzbaum asked in Entertainment Weekly, “Shall I go on about all the ways in which this fake-opulent 'Les Miz' made me long for guillotines while millions of viewers who have softer, more generous hearts than I may swoon with money's-worth contentment?” “Christian film critics who view themselves primarily as film critics generally pointed out the same flaws in the movie that everybody else did, which is (director Tom) Hooper’s insistence on closeups and going for the easy emotional cues instead of visual storytelling,” said Greg Wright, managing editor of HollywoodJesus.com. That seeming inattention to the artistry of the cinematic endeavor is probably lost on most Christians who have seen the film, Wright said. “I always felt, looking at the success of the musical, you couldn’t explain it any other way than it was resonating with people on a spiritual level, not just on a musical level,” Wright said. It carried over in the film too, he said. His site had four reviewers take a stab the film. “The response was overwhelmingly positive,” Wright said. “The point for us is not what the art is but what the art does from a spiritual point of view. “We don’t care as much if this is the best movie ever, but are people responding to it, and if so, why?” Wright said. Like others, marketers heavily targeted HollywoodJesus.com. “We’re probably the strongest skeptics as anybody when it comes to this stuff because we see so much of it. When you smell a rat, it’s pretty clear that it’s a rat, and 'Les Mis' was not that,” Wright said. The microtargeting campaign aimed at the faith community included the bully pulpit model and traditional advertising in Christian periodicals, on radio stations and on websites. Flashback: 'Soul Surfer' opens after fights over depicting faith “Studios have been well aware of the size and strength of the faith market,” Bock said. “On particular films, it really helps move the needle.” For a film of this size, Bock said, it isn’t uncommon for studios to spend anywhere from $30 million to $130 million on a worldwide marketing campaign. Though he was unwilling to get into specifics on what his company earned for this job, he said that for a job like this one, it would not be uncommon for a studio to spend upward of seven figures for a marketing campaign targeting the faith community, including ad buys in traditional and digital media. At the end of the day, most marketers won’t say what specifically got viewers to get off their couches and buy tickets to the movie. Christians see the same ads in mainstream newspapers and same trailers at movie theaters as everyone else. Bock says it’s more of an art and less of a science. Bock is himself an elder at his Presbyterian church in Los Angeles. While that gives him an edge in marketing to the faith community for certain, he said, the best tool any marketer can have is a great product. “You can put a turd in a Tiffany box, but in the case of this film, there was a Tiffany ring in the Tiffany box,” he said with a chuckle. CNN's David Daniel contributed to this report.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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I cannot bring enough of the work out routines. It's pretty cool. Desire they had much better guides although.
http://workoutace.com/hugh-jackman-workout/
Ok well here is my take to those who are christian hates.
1) are you being any better by hating them back. Doesn't look like it
2)Again it's a stereotype but if I call myself (insert your name here). Is that who I am? the christian religion does teach love, respect humilty,grace
3)Les miserables was made a long time ago. Of course ithas a christian theme. Take the story as it is and from it's whole beauty
Examining the nature of law and grace, the novel elaborates upon the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, antimonarchism, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love. Les Misérables has been popularized through numerous adaptations for the stage, television, and film, including a musical and a film adaptation of that musical.'::,
http://caramoan.coNewly released blog post straight from our new website
Gravity is not up for debate ! ............E = mc2..........(U–Pb).................two math formulas..........that do not lie or sin !!!..........
Free speech helps educate the masses................POLITICIANS too !
Where do morals come from?
By Kelly Murray, CNN
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/12/where-do-morals-come-from/#comments
Gravity is not up for debate ! ............E = mc2..........(U–Pb).................two math formulas..........that do not lie or sin !!!..........
BY the way ...................Splat goes a fairy in the sky !...............bye bye tinker bell !
Einstein's Gravity Theory Passes Toughest Test Yet
Apr. 25, 2013 — A strange stellar pair nearly 7,000 light-years from Earth has provided physicists with a unique cosmic laboratory for studying the nature of gravity. The extremely strong gravity of a massive neutron star in orbit with a companion white dwarf star puts competing theories of gravity to a test more stringent than any available before
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130425142250.htm
Hey James Madison................religion has none it looks like.............with the comments on this blog.
The Big question is ETHICS ! does religion have any ?
The Ethics of Resurrecting Extinct Species
Apr. 8, 2013 — At some point, scientists may be able to bring back extinct animals, and perhaps early humans, raising questions of ethics and environmental disruption.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408165955.htm
April 30, 2013 at 4:16 pm | Report abuse |
May 1, 2013 at 12:42 pm | Report abuse |
Dinosaur Egg Study Supports Evolutionary Link Between Birds and Dinosaurs: How Troodon Likely Hatched Its Young
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130418104324.htm
And NO ANGELS the pope KICKED them OFF the TEAM last year !
From Soup to Cells—the Origin of Life
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIE2aOriginoflife.shtml
the wrong path is Adam and Eve !
Human Y Chromosome Much Older Than Previously Thought
Mar. 4, 2013 — The discovery and analysis of an extremely rare African American Y chromosome pushes back the time of the most recent common ancestor for the Y chromosome lineage tree to 338,000 years ago. This time predates the age of the oldest known anatomically modern human fossils.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130305145821.htm
No god(s) needed or required to graduate from public schools in the US
Remember : Adam had to POKE himself hard with his OWN BONE to create Eve.
No god(s) needed................... Old. DNA works..................also catches crooks !
Ancient DNA Reveals Europe's Dynamic Genetic History
Apr. 23, 2013 — Ancient DNA recovered from a series of skeletons in central Germany up to 7,500 years old has been used to reconstruct the first detailed genetic history of modern Europe.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423134037.htm
Ca-nabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ®) – National Cancer Insti-tute
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/.../page4
Mar 21, 2013 – [1,2] These plant-derived compounds may be referred to as phytocannabinoids. ... have a protective effect against the development of certain types of tumors. ... In lung cancer cell lines, CBD upregulated ICAM-1, leading to ...
Good stuff !
The fact...............the earth is to old for this nonsemse ! Time to EVOLVE !
Ancient Earth Crust Stored in Deep Mantle
Apr. 24, 2013 — Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials from the early Earth's crust. But decisive evidence for this phenomenon has proven elusive. New research from a team including Carnegie's Erik Hauri demonstrates that oceanic volcanic rocks contain samples of recycled crust dating back to the Archean era 2.5 billion years ago. Their work is published in Nature.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130424132705.htm
For what...................... ? Make sure to read what the pope said !
Where do morals come from?
By Kelly Murray, CNN
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/
Learning is fun with facts.......................... and facts work when teaching children.
Atheist Prof. Peter Higgs: Stop calling Higgs boson the ‘God particle’
Professor Peter Higgs said recently that there is no God and so people should stop referring to the theoretical partial that
bears his name as the “God particle.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/08/atheist-prof-peter-higgs-stop-calling-higgs-bosen-the-god-particle/
Pope praises science, but insists God created world updated Thur October 28, 2010
Stephen Hawking is wrong, Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday – God did create the universe. The pope didn't actually mention the world-famous scientist, who argues in a book published last month that the laws of physics show there is no need for a supreme... \
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/28/pope-praises-science-but-insists-god-created-world/
Science
Heaven is 'a fairy story,' scientist Stephen Hawking says updated Tue May 17, 2011
By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor The concept of heaven or any kind of afterlife is a "fairy story," famed British scientist Stephen Hawking said in a newspaper interview this week. "I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when...
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/17/heaven-is-a-fairy-story-scientist-stephen-hawking-says/
April 7th, 2012
08:32 PM ET
The Jesus debate: Man vs. myth
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/07/the-jesus-debate-man-vs-myth/comment-page-137/#comment-2281915
Make sure to read comments
April 18, 2013 at 3:10 pm | Report abuse |
Breaking News
NASA: Three planets found are some of best candidates so far for habitable worlds outside our solar system.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/us/planet-discovery/index.html
NASA: Mars could have supported life
Star Dust we are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWdU_px9ApE
Holy Hallucinations 35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XTCRdC8Dlo
The ORIGIN story is bullsh-it...............so is the bible............... nasty !
From Soup to Cells—the Origin of Life
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIE2aOriginoflife.shtml
Scientists have unearthed the first direct signs of cheesemaking, at a site in Poland that dates back 7,500 years.
Human Evolution
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/IIE2cHumanevo.shtml
BBC. Planet of the Apemen. Battle for Earth 1. Ho-mo Erectus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUliLKSJ4bQ&feature=player_embedded
BACKFILL on E =mc2.....
Einstein letter, set for auction, shows scientist challenging idea of God, being 'chosen'
By Jessica Ravitz, CNN
Decades before atheist scientist and author Richard Dawkins called God a "delusion," one world-renowned physicist – Albert Einstein – was weighing in on faith matters with his own strong words.
“The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends,” Einstein wrote in German in a 1954 letter that will be auctioned on eBay later this month. "No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.”
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/category/culture-science/
May 4, 2013 at 6:47 am | Report abuse |
Cheech & Chong's History of 420
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/3b1508d1f0/cheech-chong-s-history-of-420?rel=player&playlist=341944
All cults...........creationists, ID believers and devil cults.................
The fact...............the earth is to old ...........time to EVOLVE !.
Ancient Earth Crust Stored in Deep Mantle
Apr. 24, 2013 — Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials from the early Earth's crust. But decisive evidence for this phenomenon has proven elusive. New research from a team including Carnegie's Erik Hauri demonstrates that oceanic volcanic rocks contain samples of recycled crust dating back to the Archean era 2.5 billion years ago. Their work is published in Nature.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130424132705.htm
Dover Trial Transcripts............................................. FACTS.
Below are the complete transcripts from the Dover Trial. Thanks to our friends at the National Center for Science Education for helping us fill in the missing transcripts.
http://www.aclupa.org/legal/legaldocket/intelligentdesigncase/dovertrialtranscripts.htm
Education works for children
Earth From Space
Detailed satellite images reveal the web of connections that sustain life on Earth. Aired February 13, 2013 on PBS
Program Description
"Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. Produced in extensive consultation with NASA scientists, NOVA takes data from earth-observing satellites and transforms it into dazzling visual sequences, each one exposing the intricate and surprising web of forces that sustains life on earth. Viewers witness how dust blown from the Sahara fertilizes the Amazon; how a vast submarine "waterfall" off Antarctica helps drive ocean currents around the world; and how the sun's heating up of the southern Atlantic gives birth to a colossally powerful hurricane. From the microscopic world of water molecules vaporizing over the ocean to the magnetic field that is bigger than Earth itself, the show reveals the astonishing beauty and complexity of our dynamic planet.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/earth-from-space.html
February 16, 2013 at 7:18 am | Report abuse |
Peace
forget the flaws. it just delivers what we ought to feel and understand. I will live it's message.:-)
I was a skeptic, because I don't usually like film adaptations of musicals. I thought exactly the OPPOSITE of some of these critics... while other film adaptations (i.e. RENT) are heavy on song and dance numbers, watching Les Mis I almost forgot at times they were singing. Often, in such adaptations, the story is hard to follow because the dancing, etc., distracts from the content. I thought it was exactly the opposite in Les Mis... the singing was great, but the makers used the "miracle" of film to really bring the story to life. It would have been an incredible movie, even without the song and dance... but they worked that into it beautifully. In terms of "Christian" themes - I am a Christian, but lets face it... these themes are not uniquely Christian. Themes of redemption, forgiveness, freedom, liberty, and how living according to the "letter of the law" without understanding the heart of the law - while themes that Christianity certainly emphasizes - are themes that resonate with humanity in general. It speaks to the heart of the human condition, regardless of your spiritual or religious views.
Please, let's us not forget that Les Miserables is a novel by VICTOR HUGO. It's a 1300 page book with a profoundly religious theme – depicting a man's redemption. I think the movie did a great job at portraying Hugo's message, as all the important events and features were captured effectively. Too often I see film adaptations that play down religious themes in order to reach larger audiences, and in doing so distort and harm the essence of the story. A good example is Narnia. Granted, it is a children's book. However, they expelled much of the story's religious character (besides the concept of good vs. evil) and made it into a corny hollywood film loaded with Lulu Lemon-type cliches.
So, I don't believe it really matters if Les Mis was marketed to Christian audiences or not. The movie stayed true to the novel and it was quite good! 🙂
It seems as if a number of critics are uncomfortable with the spiritual elements in "Les Miserables," whether on stage or screen, but do not want to criticize it on that level (hence inviting the perception of religioius bigotry) and so deflect to other matters of a stylistic nature. As for close-ups, film is a close-up medium. Show me a musical that is adapted to film that does not use close-ups. You see this is classic adaptations like "Oklahoma," South Pacific," etc. too. One can argue that the close-ups actually bring the story to a clarity for the average viewer in a way that the stage production does not. I've heard people who have seen both say that they could follow the storyline much better in the film that with the stage production.
Why would anyone expect a Hollywood critic to praise a movie with a religious theme. Look at what they do praise – all the things that are taking our country down. Read Nahum 2 & 3. We are headed in the direction of Assyria & Nieveh!!
As a person reading the book, and actually listening to the soundtrack as of right now, Les Miserables has several themes to it not just including Christianity. Victor Hugo was a politician before he was kicked out because he didn't want Napoleon III to be the head of the government. He put as much politics into his book as much as he did Christianity. People also don't realize that musical lovers would go as much as Christians would. I am a Christian, and that is not the only reason why I love Les Miserables. I love it because I love musicals, I love the book, I love the message it gives, and yes I love it because it's Christian based. If you can't love it because it's Christian oriented, then love it because of the wonderful music and choreography, and the great story and meaning behind it.
I know several people who have seen and enjoyed this film, and none of us are Christians.