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Feature Films by LDS/Mormon Filmmakers and Actors
Weekend Box Office Report (U.S. Domestic Box Office Gross)

Weekend of February 22, 2002

[If table lines up improperly, use mono-spaced font, i.e. Courier]
Natl  Film Title                       Weekend Gross
Rank  LDS/Mormon Filmmaker or Actor    Total Gross   Theaters Days
----  ------------------------------   -------        -----   ----
31    Ocean's Eleven                     $193,268        176    80
      LDS characters: Malloy twins    181,651,711

32    Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure    192,879         19   381
      Scott Swofford (producer)         7,709,153
      Reed Smoot (cinematographer)
      Sam Cardon (composer)
      Stephen L. Johnson (film editor)

35    Behind Enemy Lines                  143,485        249    87
      David Veloz (screenwriter)       58,553,616

47    Mulholland Drive                     61,830         54   140
      Joyce Eliason (producer/writer)   6,866,428

57    The Singles Ward                     22,902          9    24
      Kurt Hale (writer/director)         208,000
      John E. Moyer (writer)
      Dave Hunter (producer)
      Cody Hale (composer)
      Ryan Little (cinematographer)
      Wynn Hougaard (film editor)
      Actors: Will Swenson, Connie Young,
         Daryn Tufts, Kirby Heyborne,
         Michael Birkeland, Robert Swenson,
         Lincoln Hoppe, Gretchen Whalley,
         Sedra Santos, etc.

58    The Other Side of Heaven             22,552         14    73
      Mitch Davis (writer/director)     1,503,881
      John H. Groberg (author/character)
      Gerald Molen, John Garbett (producers)
      Steven Ramirez (film editor)

??    Out of Step                          ??,000          7    10
      Ryan Little (director)               ??,000
      Cary Derbidge, Kenneth Marler (producers)
      Michael Buster, Willow Leigh Jones, Nikki Schmutz (writers)
      Merrill Jensen (composer)
      Michael Worthen (cinematographer)
      Actors: Alison Akin Clark, Jeremy Elliott, 
         Michael Buster, Tayva Patch, Rick Macy, etc.

70    Galapagos                            10,675          3   850
      Reed Smoot (cinematographer)     12,352,701

66    Out Cold                             10,411         19    89
      A. J. Cook (female lead)         13,903,262

83    China: The Panda Adventure            6,638          5   213
      Reed Smoot (cinematographer)      1,953,972

86    Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man      5,657          2   661
      Reed Smoot (cinematographer)     13,090,135

100   Island of the Sharks                  3,421          2  1032
      Alan Williams (composer)         10,638,624

104   Mark Twain's America 3D               2,648          1  1333
      Alan Williams (composer)          2,161,635

Scott Champion of Halestone Distribution let us know that the total box office gross for "The Singles Ward" (as of 26 February 2002) is 208,000, and the movie is still going strong. The film earned $22,902 this weekend, putting it in 57th place nationwide, one place ahead of "The Other Side of Heaven" (which has been playing for over 2 months). This means that "The Singles Ward" has grossed roughly one half of its budget, after less than a month. The movie opens near BYU-Hawaii in March, and throughout the rest of Idaho in April. (Currently its only Idaho location is Rexburg.)

"Out of Step" played for a second weekend, but once again, we do not have any box office data for this LDS-themed movie. An analysis of local reviews (Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Daily Herald, and Ogden Standard-Examiner) shows that aside from Dutcher's "God's Army" and "Brigham City", Derbridge and Hale's "Out of Step" has been the best reviewed of the five post-Dutcher LDS-themed feature films. Unfortunately, few people seem to know about this movie.

The astute reader will notice that the critically acclaimed IMAX documentary "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure" is back on this box office list, after many week's of absence. It is ranked #32 nationwide, and it's total box office gross now stands at $7.7 million. Many of the film's makers are Latter-day Saints: It was produced by Scott Swofford, photographed by Reed Smoot and scored by Sam Cardon. It has actually been playing continuously (and quite successfully), but its box office numbers were not being reported regularly on www.the-numbers.com

There is now a very informative website up for Rob Sibley's straight-to-video comedy/adventure/time travel/spiritual feature film "The Shadow of Light." Check it out (including a great looking trailer) at: http://www.theshadowoflight.com

Writer/producer/director Sibley has made a number of documentaries, but may be best known for "Utah's Blackhawk War: Cultures in Conflict" (1998; PBS). "The Shadow of Light" (featuring time travel back to Utah of the pioneer period and the 1940s) features a cast mostly new to film, including Holt Hamilton, Dallen Johnson, Fred Walters and Christina Shelley. Glenn L. Anderson wrote the film's screenplay. Anderson's previous screenwriting credits include Disney's "The Thanksgiving Promise" (1986). He is also the author of the LDS science fiction novels _The Millennium File_ and _The Doomsday Factor_. He also wrote a number of SF short stories, including "Shannon's Flight" in M. Shayne Bell's _Washed by a Wave of Wind_.

COMING SOON: Ads have begun to appear on television for "Murder By Numbers", starring Ryan Gosling (Latter-day Saint actor who starred in "The Believer"). Sandra Bullock also stars, as an FBI profiler charged with catching a bewildering serial killer (played by Gosling). Don't miss it! (And root for Ryan, of course.)

IN THE FUTURE: Michael Cuesta and his brother (neither are LDS) have been announced as the directors of the film version of Latter-day Saint writer Brady Udall's immensely popular novel _The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint_. The movie is being produced by Michael Stipe's poduction company Single Cell Pictures ("Being John Malkovich"). Cuesta's debut feature film was "L.I.E.", and the director became best known for his complaints about the MPAA, after "L.I.E." was given an NC-17 rating. Cuesta erected an extensive website detailing his criticisms of the MPAA, but he still didn't secure an "R" rating.

ALSO: Director Mike Nichols (who won the Best Director Academy Award for "The Graduate") is directing an HBO miniseries version of Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Angels in America." Neil LaBute had previously been mentioned as the director of a feature film version, but apparently that isn't happening. "Angels" is about gays and Mormons in New York City. Nichols is neither Mormon nor gay, but maybe he lives in New York. (He is married to journalist Diane Sawyer.)