America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM.

Chapter 247 246. The biggest cultural dispute in history, the beginning of the war

Religion, or faith, is called the strongest and most unbreakable thing in the world.

It is an existence that is more rooted in the heart and goes deeper into the soul than all emotions such as family affection, love, and friendship.

Even after experiencing the most painful torture, devout believers still never regret it. This kind of thing is too numerous to mention in history.

But at the same time, conflicts between faiths are often the most cruel. Many wars in history were caused by religious beliefs.

Even in the new century, there are still a large number of theocratic countries in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia still uses Islamic Sharia to regulate its laws, and conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites continue.

More than a decade ago, Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" caused an uproar in Jesus-believing countries.

He photographed Jesus as a somewhat fleshed-out man who experienced many trials and finally achieved enlightenment and transcendence. Among them, Judas, the second-fifth son, was also re-constructed into a tragic hero who endured humiliation and endured heavy burdens.

Old Martin may just want to make a movie that expresses his own thoughts, but the reshaping of religious history is not allowed.

"There is no doubt that "The Passion of the Christ" is a wonderful and sincere film. We booked the theater to watch it. It turns out that it is worth it."

The two women are also quite strange. Sometimes they feel like they are competing with each other, and sometimes they feel like they are talking and laughing like best friends. I don’t understand.

The distributor, Universal Pictures, could not resist the pressure. After a small-scale screening, it did not dare to expand.

"It was very fast, as if it was premeditated. I think they must have had the manuscript in their hands for a long time, waiting for it to be released immediately after the movie was released."

"Mel Gibson is not only a great actor, he is also a great director, and many people cried in the cinema."

"The Passion of the Christ is the most sincere and touching movie I have seen in many years. It follows the guidance of the New Testament and truly presents that period of history in front of people, allowing everyone to understand the greatness of Jesus."

Although George W. Bush is also a believer, he was not at all ambiguous when it came time to launch a war. People used religious beliefs as a vote-getting card.

"This is a great movie, and I will mobilize believers to watch it together."

Now that "The Passion of the Christ" has come out, it faces a very different environment.

"That's right. It doesn't matter how good the movie is. In the eyes of many people, its appearance is the original sin."

"My great director, I bet you are reading the review of The Passion of the Christ."

Chile, on the set of "Inception", people are arriving one after another to prepare for today's filming.

“Weep for the suffering of Jesus, weep for the compassion of Jesus who saves us all.”

"You know what? This must be the Lord blessing him, and Monica Bellucci plays Maria very well. The movie deserves to be seen by more people."

In the United States, it is far easier for theists to gain market share than for atheists, because religious belief and faith have been equated here.

ABC TV interviewed Donahue, the president of the "Catholic League", who bluntly said that the filming was very good and that this is a good movie that truly reflects the history of religion.

Although atheists account for only 0.2% of prisoners in prisons, having faith does not prevent them from killing, raping, robbing, stealing, and human trafficking.

In addition, the Orthodox Christian Association, which has relatively few believers in the United States, also strongly praised it, and many film critics also gave it favorable reviews.

It is the dirtiest circle in the world, and it is also the circle that most "believes" in gods.

"That's not the case. The decline is certain, but the decline should be very small, because this is indeed an excellent work, if you don't wear colored glasses."

"The actors' performances are wonderful. James Caviezel plays Jesus so vividly that he was reportedly struck twice by lightning during filming but remained unscathed."

If you do not believe in religion or God, in the eyes of many people, you have no faith, and you are a terrible person who does not seek progress and has no moral restraint.

"An incredible film, with dialogue throughout in Latin and Aramaic, so that if it weren't for the English subtitles, few people would know what the actors were saying."

The movie's final box office sales were only over 800 million U.S. dollars. Even more than ten years ago, the ending could only be described as a disastrous failure.

"This is the pinnacle of director Mel Gibson. When everyone thought that "Braveheart" was difficult to surpass, he came up with "The Passion of the Christ" again. Hollywood needs such a profound director, and the audience also needs profound directors. good movie.”

Neil sent a laptop to Eric and said worriedly: "Boss, the situation doesn't look very good. Many people are firing."

Eric felt very good after watching the finished film some time ago. It is very good and has no religious overtones. It is purely from an artistic point of view. After watching it, it makes people very emotional.

As a result, public opinion pushed him to the forefront. All kinds of criticism and abuse made Martin Scorsese breathless, and he could only keep apologizing.

"Yes, the domestic entertainment sector has been taken over by this movie, and no one is even discussing the Super Bowl incident."

Although Eric claimed that he believed in Catholicism, it was just a smokescreen, using his mother as a cover to deceive fools.

Neil obediently gave up his place and stayed with Eric for more than a year. He was very discerning and understood that there must be some unclear relationship between the two women and the boss.

"But it's not without good news. The first-day box office has been released. "The Passion of the Christ" took in 3300 million U.S. dollars. When I learned this data, people were dumbfounded."

"It's only been a day, and the word of mouth came out so quickly?"

Although most celebrities say they are religious, they do whatever they want, do whatever they want, and take drugs without blinking an eye. In this regard, Hollywood and politics are exactly the same.

At the same time, Kerry Simpson, a spokesman for the Protestant Union, was also interviewed and also praised the film.

For more than ten years, Hollywood has only brushed aside religious-themed movies without conducting in-depth discussions, but Mel Gibson has clearly gone too far this time.

Eric smiled: "That's because there is a pre-sale box office, and the movie has such a big gimmick that many people have booked their tickets in advance."

"Boss, do you think there will be a sharp decline in the future?"

The two of them sat down next to Eric and opened the website to browse the reviews. Overall, they were mixed, not as bad as Neil said.

While talking, Nicole and Theron also came over, and Eric saw them smiling.

As the Internet becomes more developed and information spreads more quickly, it is destined to become the most disturbing religious film after "The Last Temptation of Christ."

"You have to know that Americans don't read subtitles, but "The Passion of the Christ" can make everyone stare at the big screen quietly for two hours. It is a miracle."

"After "Legend of Sicily," Monica Bellucci finally contributed impressive acting skills again. It seems that all she lacks is an excellent director and an excellent script."

However, where there is praise, there is also hatred. A spokesman for the Jewish Association strongly criticized the film, saying that it was too cruel and deliberately distorted history.

In particular, the movie blames the Jewish church for the death of Jesus, and is even more strongly anti-Semitic. It is inciting social sentiment and calls on everyone not to go see the movie.

Many film critics also criticized the film for excessively promoting violence and deliberately torturing Jesus on the big screen for an hour in order to attract attention.

A few people also called for Mel Gibson and the entire cast to be banned and kicked out of Hollywood forever. "It doesn't look too bad, there are quite a lot of people supporting it."

"Not necessarily. After all, Hollywood is a gathering place for Jews. Mel Gibson has made people angry this time."

"Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, and Judaism seem so complicated. Why are they hostile? Because of Judas?" Theron asked curiously.

Eric looked at Nicole: "You have to ask Nicole about this. As a Catholic, she should know very well."

Nicole waved her hands in embarrassment: "I was lying. There are a few people in Hollywood who really believe in religion!"

"Haha. Then let me give you a brief introduction to science."

"Actually, although these four sects are very separate here, in countries with weak religious influence, they are collectively called Christianity, and people don't care at all."

"The earliest of the four sects was Judaism. The Jews in the Middle East began to pray to God because they were surrounded by powerful enemies."

"The Jews believe that there is God in heaven, and that God will send a savior down to earth to save them. The savior is called the Messiah, who is also Christ."

"But no one knows when Christ will come, and the Jews can only wait."

"Later, a man named Jesus began to claim that he was Christ, the messenger of God, and asked everyone to believe in him."

“So Judaism began to split, and people who did not believe in Jesus continued to wait for the coming of Christ and adhere to Jewish teachings.

"People who believed in Jesus founded Christianity, so Christianity was actually a branch of Judaism at the earliest."

"The Bibles of the two sides have also begun to differ. Judaism talks about the various contracts made between the Jews and God, which is the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible."

“The Christian Bible contains more stories about the Jews and Jesus, which is the New Testament.”

"Because Christianity's teaching is to redeem all people, its followers grew rapidly, and it was then designated as the state religion of the Roman Empire."

"Later the Roman Empire split into Western Rome and Eastern Rome, and Christianity also split into two."

"The people in Western Rome are Catholic, and most people in Western Europe believe in this. The people in Eastern Rome are Orthodox, and countries in Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, etc. believe in this."

"A few hundred years later, the corruption of the Catholic Church became increasingly serious, so Martin Luther once again split from the Catholic Church and founded the Protestant Church."

"So the four sects each have their own conflicts, but since the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and the Protestant Church are all split from Christianity, when facing Judaism, the three of them can share the same hatred and deal with the outside world."

"Because Judaism had a doctrinal conflict, it united with the Roman Empire to execute Jesus. This episode is clearly recorded in the New Testament."

"Mel Gibson's bringing this period of history to the big screen is equivalent to putting Jewish believers on the fire. Of course Judaism hates him."

Theron's eyes revealed admiration: "Eric, you know so much knowledge, it seems like nothing can be difficult for you."

Eric smiled and happily accepted the admiration, never mentioning that he had specifically consulted after the internal preview out of curiosity.

Letting your significant other worship you is actually very helpful in enhancing your relationship.

"Director, I still don't understand. Even if Mel Gibson doesn't make movies, this thing still exists. Thousands of years have passed. What's there to hate?" Neil frowned.

Eric shook his finger: "No, these are two different things. In the eyes of Christianity, Judaism is the sinner who killed the savior Jesus."

"But in the eyes of Judaism, what I did was very right. Jesus was a deceitful criminal who should have been killed. He did nothing wrong."

"The movie-watching frenzy triggered by The Passion of the Christ is, in the eyes of Judaism, equivalent to pouring dirty water on oneself and a slander."

"You said you were right, and I said I was right. Religion is inherently subjective, and there is no evidence. I can only say whoever has the loudest voice will listen."

Nicole smiled: "Neil, did you steal my money yesterday?"

Neill Blomkamp's expression changed and he shook his head hastily: "What! What are you talking about! How could I steal money!"

"You stole it!"

"I didn't, oh, I understand."

"Haha. Although I have no evidence to prove that you stole it, as long as I say it out loud, guess what the crew will think of you."

Neil sighed: "I became Jewish."

For five consecutive days, the box office of "The Passion of the Christ" has been rising steadily.

It grossed US$8380 million at the box office in the three days of its first weekend, ranking seventh in film history. The first place was "Transformers" in its first week.

The box office in the first five days reached an astonishing 1.45 million, directly reaching the third place in film history, second only to "Transformers" and "Lord of the Rings 3".

The astonishing explosive power dumbfounded everyone, including producer Mel Gibson's company. BOX has continuously adjusted its box office expectations, from the initial North American US$9500 million to the current North American US$3.3 million.

"Havana", "Death Club", "50 First Dates", etc. are not enough, "The Passion of the Christ" is scheduled to be the box office champion in the next few weeks.

Fortunately, "A Quiet Place" was released a week in advance, otherwise it would not have won the box office championship for a single week. Now two movies occupy the first and second place.

But opposing the booming box office is intensifying criticism. Not only Judaism and some media, but also social organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Anti-Discrimination Association have also jumped out to fiercely oppose it.

There are already signs of demonstrations and rallies in New York, Seattle, New Orleans and other places, and the impact of the events has exceeded the recent Super Bowl incident.

Some Conservative MPs once again expressed their opinions, calling for restrictions on film and television creation and increased censorship.

Even MGM, which has been silent all this time, has been involved. As long as you investigate carefully, everyone will know that AK Film and Television is MGM's white glove. This time it was also exposed. The stock price that had been rising suddenly stopped. , even started to fall.

But Eric is not worried about this. After all, the money actually goes into his pocket. When the public opinion storm passes, the stock price will naturally rise back.

Taking advantage of someone's selling, he also told Mai Ke and a few women to eat as much as they wanted and wait for the appreciation in value to make sure they won't lose money.

Early in the morning, Eric yawned. Theron, who had dealt with him first last night, went on a date with Nicole again, and he didn't have enough sleep time.

However, the scenes in Chile are coming to an end, and I will return to the United States after filming in the next few days.

He picked up the phone and took a look. There was a text message from Carol, and Eric called it back.

"What's wrong Carol?"

"Boss, Disney, Universal, Sony, Paramount, Fox and Warner together sent us a request to ban Mel Gibson!"

(End of this chapter)