Mark Harrington in front of his "Created Equal" video display. (Anita Crane © 2012)

WASHINGTON – Despite sleet and bitter cold, many pro-life Americans in Washington for the March for Life, as well as people from other countries, stopped to watch the video “Created Equal” as it played on a jumbo screen on Constitution Avenue near Fourth Street NW. One of the attractions was the imagery of Martin Luther King Jr. and his voice echoing a few blocks in surrounding areas.

Mark Harrington, executive director of Created Equal in Columbus, Ohio, produced the stunning video by the same name and it begins by warning viewers of graphic and disturbing images of “severe injustice.”

“Our hope is that young people will be reminded and reaffirm their commitment to defend life – why they’re at the march. In many respects, the march doesn’t represent the victims,” Harrington told WND. “If you go to the March for Life, there’s a lot of speeches, the march is good, a lot of young people, a lot of positive stuff. But, for the most part, abortion victims aren’t represented and so we’re representing the victims. People need to be reminded that violence [of abortion] is happening every day.”

A group of Catholic teens stopped to ponder the video, with one boy exclaiming, “It’s cool!” However, the youth leader from their St. Louis, Mo., parish refused to let them be interviewed.

Prior to arriving in Washington, representatives of a Catholic church in Atlanta had complained to Harrington in fear that his public display would upset children.

Jill Stanek, activist, speaker and vigilant blogger at JillStanek.com, was bundled in layers fitting of her hometown Chicago when she came upon the “Created Equal” video scene. Stanek, of course, was a registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill., when she discovered abortions were being committed there and babies who survived abortion were being left to die without medical care.

She told WND, “I think this is an important movement forward. It’s just the next place that we have to go and I’m just grateful to Created Equal for the video. Some people aren’t going to like it, but it’s the truth and everybody needs to see it – you don’t forget when you see the product of an actual abortion and it changes hearts. The normal complaint is going be about kids seeing it. But in the end, I’d rather have kids see these photos than be in one of these photos.”

“I think people need to see abortion to understand what it is – even the people who are here marching. A lot of them don’t know why they’re here,” Darius Hardwick from Columbus, Ohio, told WND. “I didn’t understand abortion until I saw it. Even pro-life Christians need to see it to change their minds. This gets people’s attention like nothing else.”

Created Equal from Mark Harrington on Vimeo.

Read the rest of the story at WND: http://www.wnd.com/2012/01/this-gets-peoples-attention-like-nothing-else/

Norma McCorvey in "Doonby." (Doonby the Movie © 2012)

MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Roe v. Wade opponents target Dallas for decision’s anniversary
Theme of rally: ‘It began in Dallas. Let’s end it in Dallas’
Published: Jan. 20, 2012

By Anita Crane

As hundreds of thousands prepare to march on Washington, Dallas, San Francisco and other American cities to protest the Supreme Court’s infamous Roe v. Wade decision, Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” of that case, spoke to WND about her role in history and the movie “Doonby.”

Mike Mackenzie, a producer of “Doonby” and son of the movie’s writer/director/producer Peter Mackenzie, joined the conversation. The mystical thriller stars John Schneider as American drifter Sam Doonby in a daring adventure.

“Doonby” Writer/Director/Producer Peter Mackenzie with his sons at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Dan Mackenzie (left) was a cameraman for the film and Mike Mackenzie (right) is one of the producers. (Courtesy of Doonby the Movie © 2011)

McCorvey will speak Saturday at the Dallas March for Life rally, where the theme is: “It began in Dallas. Let’s end it in Dallas.” This means marchers conclude their annual protest at the Earle Cabell Federal Courthouse, which houses the district court where ambitious pro-abortion attorneys first filed the Roe case in 1970, while McCorvey was homeless, unwed, drug-addicted and pregnant with her third child.

“By casting Norma in the film, we hope to highlight the ambivalence Americans have had towards the subject of abortion,” Mike Mackenzie said. “Norma spent half her life being pro-choice, found Christ and became pro-life, and now she’s a fervent activist.”

Starting February 17, “Doonby” launches with a limited release in four Mississippi towns, then opens in Dallas movie theaters on February 24. In the spring, theater distribution will expand and WND readers will be able to find theater locations at Doonby.com.

“I just hope everybody comes out and sees ‘Doonby,’” said McCorvey. “I don’t say that because I’m in it, I say it because it’s a great flick – a great psychological thriller.”

“We hope this film highlights the social issue and really affirms the significance of every [human] life,” said Mackenzie. “What we want to do is raise awareness of the issue without trying to side one way or the other – really just trying to focus on this life issue and protecting the most sacred gift we have.”

Schneider and several of his “Doonby” co-stars, including Joe Estevez, Jennifer O’Neill, Robert Davi, Jenn Gotzon, Erin Way and Will Wallace, spoke to WND about what compelled them to do the film and why they think it deserves an audience. While the movie release date has changed, you can read interviews with Schneider, Estevez and Way and with Wallace, Davi, O’Neill and Gotzon.

Read the in-depth story on Norma and see her in “Doonby” at http://www.wnd.com/2012/01/roe-v-wade-opponents-target-dallas-for-decisions-anniversary/. Also be sure to read her gutsy congressional testimony by clicking on the word “testified” in the above article.

By Brent Bozell
Dec 23, 2011

The depravity of our popular culture and our eagerness to shred traditional values manifests itself every day. Lady Gaga, the top-earning woman in the music business and deemed by ABC’s Barbara Walters to be one of the “most fascinating people,” has a new vocation in mind. She’s announced she wants to become an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church so she can marry two gay male friends.

Lady Gaga is as unattractive, in every sense of the word, as her name is stupid. She welcomed Easter with a single called “Judas” (“I’m still in love with Judas, baby.”) and arrives at Christmas as Reverend Gaga. This is the same “instant online ordination” that TBS late-night host Conan O’Brien used in November in a disgusting scene to “marry” two gay males live on his television show. Gaga and Conan are two of the real cultural losers of 2011. Here are some other winners and losers:

Read the entire article here: http://townhall.com/columnists/brentbozell/2011/12/23/cultural_winners_and_losers_2011/page/full/

Sorry to say the Busted Halo Advent calendar is oddly non-Christian, featuring platitudes by celebrities. Wonder why…

Happy story about ‘year that I died’

‘Snowmen’ movie the story of three unlikely heroes

Posted: December 01, 2011
1:00 am Eastern

By Anita Crane
© 2011 WND

“Snowmen” star Bobby Coleman with Writer/Director Robert Kirbyson. (Courtesy of Mpower Pictures © 2009)

“It was going to be the most amazing winter ever … the year that I died.”

So opens the new family film “Snowmen,” a happy – yes, happy – adventure starring Bobby Coleman as 10-year-old Billy Kirkfield, Ray Liotta as his father Reggie and a cast of endearing characters played by Christopher Lloyd, Christian Martyn, Doug E. Doug, Bobb’e J. Thomson, Josh Flitter and Demi Peterson.

“Snowmen” is the first feature film by Canadian writer and director Robert Kirbyson, who pays homage to his father, his brother and his boyhood friends.

The film is produced by Mpower Pictures, the movie company of Stephen McEveety, who also produced “The Passion of the Christ,” “We Were Soldiers,” “Braveheart” and many other films for Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions.

As WND reported, “Snowmen” had a very limited run in movie theaters. John Shepherd, a producer and co-founder of Mpower Pictures, described “Snowmen” as “Braveheart for kids,” and this brand new family classic is available on DVD from WND.

It’s almost impossible to describe this totally surprising movie without spoilers.

Thus, Kirbyson told WND, “The movie’s kind of a tough sell when you first describe it. One spoiler that I do want people to know is that ‘Snowmen’ has a happy ending. I want parents to know there are some things that sensitive kids might struggle with, but hang in there because there’s a very happy ending.”

Read more: Happy story about ‘year that I died’ http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=372513#ixzz1fP73LVxJ

By Anita Crane
© 2011 WND

In “The Mighty Macs,” which opens this weekend, Carla Gugino, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton and Ellen Burstyn take us back to the days when G-rated movies were the norm, not the exception.

Gugino stars in this feel-good movie based on the true story of Coach Cathy Rush, who worked for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the IHM, and led Immaculata College’s humble team to the first national championship in women’s basketball.

In 1971, Cathy was the 23-year-old bride of NBA referee Ed Rush (Boreanaz) when she chased a challenging job and met the equally challenging Reverend Mother (Burstyn) of the all-girls school in suburban Philadelphia.

When Rush arrived at Immaculata College, there was no gymnasium on campus, the school was in dire financial straits and she had never coached. Yet as the movie motto goes, she dared to dream, and the religious sisters dared to believe.

After writer/director Tim Chambers welcomed Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia to a red-carpet screening, the archbishop said, “This story of faith and determination is inspirational. The family friendly film reminds us of the power of believing that we can achieve against seemingly insurmountable odds.”

Of course there is much more to the real story behind the movie. Read more here: http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=358585

The Iron Man has a soft spot for Hollywood pariah Mel Gibson.

“Unless you are without sin — and if you are, you are in the wrong fucking industry — you should forgive him and let him work again,” Robert Downey, Jr said of his friend Mel Gibson on Friday.

When the “Chaplin” and “Sherlock Holmes” star won the coveted American Cinematheque award, he selected Gibson to present it, in a symbolic gesture of acceptance of the scorned actor.

Gibson fell from A-list grace after his widely publicized self-destruction which brought the public sordid news of booze-fueled anti-semitic rants, drunk driving and a misdemeanor conviction for beating his wife.

But at the Beverly Hilton on Friday night, Downey received solid applause for his pleas for stars to forgive Gibson.

“I urge you to forgive my friend his trespasses,” Downey Jr told the sold-out crowd, with a clear reference to The Lord’s Prayer. “Allow him to pursue this art without shame.”

WND Exclusive MEDIA MATTERS
‘The Way’ project tells story about ‘transcendent experience’
Family project involves Estevez, Sheen and message of family
Posted: October 07, 2011
8:58 pm Eastern

By Anita Crane
© 2011 WND

Filmmaker Emilio Estevez is on a media blitz with his father and fellow actor, Martin Sheen, to promote “The Way,” a heart-wrenching, funny and soul-searching film opening in U.S. theaters today.

Estevez wrote, directed and produced this film for his family, especially for his dad, also known as quite the political activist.

David Alexanian, Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen (Anita Crane © 2011)

During the Washington, D.C., leg of their tour, I was granted an interview with them for WND, along with co-producer David Alexanian of Elixir Films. The filmmakers had a lot to say, one thing led to another and here are some of the highlights.

If you think you know Sheen as star of the NBC series “The West Wing,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” or Terrence Malick’s “Badlands,” think again.

In “The Way,” Sheen plays Dr. Tom Avery, an uptight California ophthalmologist and widower who has lost faith and dropped his Catholic religion. In real life, however, Sheen said he “loves the faith.”

Estevez plays Tom’s son Daniel, a young man who went to Berkeley, dove into cultural anthropology, and got lost somewhere along the line of pondering his doctorate. According to Estevez, Daniel suddenly decides he’s had enough of learning about the world from books, enough of working as a teacher’s assistant and off he goes to actually see the world for himself.

After five years as a traveling “seeker,” Daniel invites his dad to join him on the Camino de Santiago, otherwise known as the Way of St. James, hence the movie title. It is the 500-mile Christian pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, containing the relics of St. James the Apostle in Spain. And according to the filmmakers, it has become a journey traveled by people of many religions – even people of no religion.

Therefore, Sheen sees “The Way” as his family’s overture to the entire human family.

“‘The Way’ is about healing, transcendence and extended family, which is community. The film was a deeply personal project for me,” he said. “At my age, a part like this does not come along very often. It’s the best role I have had in many, many years, and the fact that I am able to be part of a film that includes my family, my son and my grandson, makes it very special.

“The film is also about family. It takes the death of my character’s only son for him to reconnect with the world and truly see what is important in life. I think this will be a message that many families will connect with.”

Following in his father’s footsteps, Estevez began his career as an actor, then graduated to filmmaker in hopes of rising above the standard Hollywood fare. His top three favorite accomplishments are “The War at Home,” “Bobby” and now “The Way” – all featuring both him and his father as actors.

Thus, I asked Estevez a series of questions about his experience of working on other people’s films and why he made “The Way.”

“I mean nobody starts out to make a piece of crap,” he said. “But it happens more often than not. And oftentimes you agree to do movies and everyone has great intentions – and I’ve directed some of those movies that had great intentions and were ultimately not good films. I’ve appeared in them. So has he (Sheen).”

Estevez was talking both production and moral quality of films.

He continued, “If you go out – the studios – they don’t know how to do it any other way. But they’ll green-light a $200 million [production] and that in itself, I think, is vulgar. Now when you think about all the stories that could be told for a lot less, without the CGI [computer generated imagery], without the vulgarity, without the gratuitous killing or sex or [foul] language, I just find that there are so few movies that I’m not embarrassed or ashamed of. I’m seeing actors that I admire in crap belittling themselves and it’s embarrassing.”

Considering the studio system, Alexanian said, “Well, it’s hard to make independent films; films that are independently spirited that get a chance to become mainstream. And I think the studios have the burden of decision by committee, which I think is the death of art.”

Nevertheless, Estevez and Alexanian weren’t completely slamming the studio system of decision by committee, but adapted that into the now-popular indie method of multiple screenings and listening to one audience after another until a movie is ready for world release.

Some feedback or criticism involved Tom sprinkling his son’s ashes along the Camino because this isn’t proper Catholic tradition.

Yorick van Wageningen, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt, and Martin Sheen as fellow pilgrims in “The Way,” a film by Emilio Estevez. (Elixir Films, 2011)

But other parts of the film make up for that oversight. Along the way, Tom adopts three faulty but earnest characters including Joost the Dutchman (Yorick Van Wageningen), who is trying to lose weight for his wife, but wining and dining on cheese; Jack the Irish travel writer (James Nesbitt), who suffers writer’s block but no loss for words; and Sarah (Deborah Kara Unger), the Canadian chain smoker who’s on a mission to quit.

In one of the most poignant scenes, Sarah finds out that Tom is grieving the death of his only son. Given Tom’s loss, she regrets all her harsh presumptions about him, bursts into tears and confesses the real reason for her pilgrimage.

“I had to give her a device for being out there and being so completely broken,” Estevez said. “And what better way than to have this examined in the form of a terminated pregnancy that has left a hole in her heart? And the level of regret and the seemingly hopeless place that she is in and she’s looking to trust men again. She’s looking for the brothers that she grew up with. She’s looking for – to fill that hole in her heart again – and she’s looking for forgiveness. And ultimately she finds it through these other three gentlemen – who are, in fact, gentlemen – and they’re all chivalrous. They all have grace.”

Indeed. As Estevez so humorously demonstrates, Tom, Joost and Jack are gentlemen.

When nature calls Sarah, they guard her modesty with backs turned.

Nodding towards his father, Estevez said, “And he objected to that moment, but I said, ‘This is a galvanizing moment. Yes, it’s somewhat juvenile but it works in the piece and it basically says these three brothers or the father figure will do anything including stand guard while she must relieve herself.’ Right?

“But also to that point, we also wanted to give voice to the unborn and when she says ‘I’m hearing my unborn daughter,’ [Tom's] saying ‘That’s not so crazy, ’cause I’m seeing my deceased son.’ And so the distance between them all of a sudden shrinks about a thousand percent and they are kindred spirits in their loss.”

So if Emilio Estevez and his father want “The Way” to be a voice for the unborn, and if Martin Sheen loves the faith, does this raise other questions? Yes, it certainly does. I asked those questions and much was said. In brief, Mr. Sheen promised me another interview in 2012 to discuss his politics.

Meanwhile, I believe a lot of love was poured into “The Way.”

“The film celebrates faith, family and the very best of humanity,” said Sheen. “I hope people will recognize that they don’t have to go to Santiago, Mecca or Rome or Jerusalem to be on pilgrimage. We all are on pilgrimage, whether we realize it or not. I want people to see themselves in this film and to get in touch with the part of them that seeks to unite the will of the spirit to the work of the flesh. I think we are all seeking a transcendent experience to come to know ourselves and to lead an honest and free life.”

“The Way” is rated PG-13.

‘The Way’ project tells story about ‘transcendent experience’ previously found at  http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=353141#ixzz1a983Yn8C

Fr. Matthew Muñoz

Rome, Italy, Oct 1, 2011 / 12:29 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- John Wayne, for many, was a Hollywood legend who symbolized true masculinity and American values. To Fr. Matthew Muñoz, though, he was simply “granddaddy.”

“When we were little we’d go to his house and we’d simply hang out with granddaddy and we’d play and we’d have fun: a very different image from what most people have of him,”  Fr. Muñoz told CNA on a recent visit to Rome.

Fr. Muñoz was 14 years old when his grandfather died of cancer in 1979. In his lifetime, “The Duke” won three Oscars, the Congressional Gold Medal and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Of all those achievements, though, Fr. Muñoz is most proud of just one – his grandfather’s conversion to the Catholic faith.

“My grandmother, Josephine Wayne Saenz, had a wonderful influence on his life and introduced him to the Catholic world,” said 46-year-old Fr. Muñoz, a priest of the Diocese of Orange in California.

Read about John Wayne’s journey to the Church here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/my-granddaddy-john-wayne-actor-and-catholic-convert/

SHOCKER! Mel Gibson And Joe Eszterhas To Collaborate On Film Telling Jewish Hero Judah Maccabee Story For Warner Bros

EXCLUSIVE: It’s a project that will have everybody in Hollywood and beyond talking. I’ve learned that Warner Bros has set up an untitled drama that teams Gibson and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas on the telling of the heroic story of Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee. Eszterhas will write the script, and I understand that Gibson will collaborate with him. Maccabee teamed with his father and four brothers to lead the Jewish revolt against the Greek-Syrian armies that had conquered Judea in the second century B.C. Gibson has the first option to direct but will definitely produce the film through his Icon Productions banner. It’s understandable why Warner Bros would want to be back in business with Gibson, who was once a high-profile fixture there and who made a fortune for that studio with the Lethal Weapon series and other films.

Read full Deadline New York story here: http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/shocker-mel-gibson-and-joe-eszterhas-to-tell-iconic-jewish-hero-judah-maccabee-story-for-warner-bros/