Movie Industry Watcher Observes Hollywood Sea Change in The Passion's Wake
By Ed Thomas
July 29, 2005

(AgapePress) - One Hollywood insider says things in Tinseltown are changing, in part thanks to Mel Gibson's hit independent feature, The Passion of the Christ. Because of the doors opened by that Bible-based blockbuster, film festival founder Jason Apuzzo sees hope for the future of movies that will appeal to conservatives and others longing to see good, quality cinema entertainment
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As founder of the conservative Liberty Film Festival and its website -- as well as co-editor of the film blog "Libertas" -- Apuzzo has been part of Hollywood for a while now. And after all these years, he says he is slowly seeing changes for the better. For one thing, the movie trade insider notes, Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ did not just open Hollywood's eyes to the profitability of films dealing with religious messages; it also demonstrated that there is substantial interest in such films among what the industry considers to be its core audience.
Apuzzo believes the box office numbers proved to the movie industry that a film like The Passion of the Christ could have a major impact, measurable in box office receipts. "That film brought a lot of people back to the movies who may not necessarily have been Christians or conservatives, but who simply are just tired of bad films," he contends. Also, he says, Gibson's film brought back those who "are also tired of films that don't have a personal dimension to them."

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