"Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -- Psalm 73:25-26
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"ASH WEDNESDAY IS ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT ASHIER!"
With its official, and somewhat questionable, release date of March 1 -- Ash Wednesday -- The McPassion is already making test audiences gasp in disbelief and hurt with laughter while at the same time spreading division and debate amongst filmmakers and leaders of the Christian faith community. So far, the award-winning makers of The McPassion aren’t helping matters much; in honor of Lent, online streaming of their film -- for a limited time -- at www.TheMcPassion.com. After that, the film will continue to screen at festivals.
As funny as it is shocking, The McPassion is a machine-gun-paced, four-minute parody that pulls no punches as it imagines what it might be like if the greatest story ever told and a fast-food giant united "to deliver the tie-in of tie-ins." "We’re on the brink of prostituting our pulpits beyond recognition," says writer and producer Rik Swartzwelder. "When we start showing movie trailers during worship services and telling the faithful it's their duty to buy tickets at the cineplex -- or to buy anything -- I believe that's as offensive as anything in The McPassion. I'm not judging anyone’s motives; by and large, I think people's hearts are in the right place -- but I believe it's time for a fresh look at this issue. ... Seriously, when the film is over, I hope people will see that we’re not ridiculing faith, in any form it may take, but rather pointing out where things may end up one day."
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RECENT HEADLINES AT CHRIS WELL: LEARNING CURVE
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SNEAK PEEK: "THE GOLDEN AGE" (Preview my upcoming crime thriller, Deliver Us From Evelyn)
ANTHOLOGIZED (Infuze Magazine's best short fiction and poetry from 2005.)
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2006 UPDATE (How YOU can get free comics!)
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Chris Well is a member of International Thriller Writers, Inc. Find him online at StudioWell.com or at his blog Chris Well: Learning Curve.
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