Natl  Film Title                Weekend Gross
Rank  LDS/Mormon Filmmaker/Star   Total Gross Theaters Days
---  ----------------------------- -----------  -----  ----
 2   2 Fast 2 Furious               18,679,370  3,418    10
     Paul Walker (top billed actor) 83,584,700

11   Wrong Turn                      1,317,972  1,074    17
     Eliza Dushku (lead actor)      12,381,877

37   The Core                           76,246    125    80
     Aaron Eckhart (lead actor)     30,935,266

44   Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure   35,432      9   857
     Scott Swofford (producer)      14,762,449
     Reed Smoot (cinematographer)
     Sam Cardon (composer)
     Stephen L. Johnson (editor)

64   The Cremaster Cycle                14,248      6    52
     Mathew Barney                     298,297
       (writer/producer/director/actor)

81   Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man    6,151      3  1137
     Reed Smoot (cinematographer)   15,284,493

89   The Shape of Things                 4,914     12    38
     Neil LaBute                       732,241
       (writer/director/producer)

90   China: The Panda Adventure          4,670      5   689
     Reed Smoot (cinematographer)    3,085,670

What's so interesting and funny about the novel is the place that Tartan ends up when he decides to move out of his mom's home in Provo and get away from it all. He's a ranger, and he takes the first Forest Service job that opens up. He ends up in Longfellow, New Mexico (called "Longwinded" by everyone) -- a town of 558 people, evenly divided between Baptists and Mormons, each of which has exactly the same number of members. With Tartan's arrival, the scales are tipped by one person in favor of the Mormons. Tartan finds himself in the middle of a decades-long feud between the two denominations. He also finds that nearly every citizen of the town is flat out bizarre, each in a different quirky way.

Tartan wonders about the wisdom of coming to such a place, until the breathtakingly beautiful Charity shows up. She's the twentysomething granddaughter of one of the branch members, and Tartan decides that maybe things aren't so bad in Longwinded after all.

This is a very fun read, and I thought it would make a great movie. The book tackles a number of worthwhile themes and subjects which have never been in a film.

We were flattered that Robert Smith and the producers of the movie would ask for help in finding a director for this $400,000-budgeted project. This movie is a first in contemporary LDS Cinema history in that it is the first time a movie project has been instigated and driven by something other than the director. The 8 LDS Cinema film projects which have been released to theaters thus far were all started by the person who ended up directing the movie.

But Smith, although a talented author, knew he did not want to direct. He wanted to get the best director possible for the project, one that would do justice to the material and create an entertaining, worthwhile movie. Smith also wanted the possibilities to be wide open. He had no predetermined "short list," and was willing to consider directors with any educational background or level of experience. He would even have considered a Baptist director, but there aren't any.

We sent information about the project to the LDSFilm.com mailing list, as well as many directors who might be interested. Directors were asked to send Smith and the producers their resumes, samples of their work, and a brief description of how they might approach a low-budget comedy feature of this type. Subsequent rounds of interviews and meetings eventually led to a choice who might seem surprising, but whom the authors and producers are confident will be the best person to adapt this novel: Christian Vuissa.

Christian Vuissa's upbringing as a Catholic in Austria may seem far removed from the rural Southwestern culture of feuding Baptists and Latter-day Saints. But the same can be said for his award-winning film "Roots & Wings," which won the Film Award from the Association for Mormon Letters last year. "Roots & Wings" is entirely about a family of Mexican-Americans living in a suburban United States town. Most of language spoken in the film is Spanish, a language Christian does not even speak. Yet the film has been acclaimed for the power of its almost documentary-like realism. Ang Lee isn't green, and he's not from New Mexico either, but he was tapped to helm "The Hulk." (In fact, "The Hulk" and "Baptists At Our Barbecue" have a lot more in common than simply their locale and being helmed by a foreign director.)

Vuissa's most recent short film is "Unfolding," which is a serious drama (with some humor), as was "Roots & Wings." ("Unfolding" stars Kristen Hill and Levi Larsen.) The film adaptation of "Baptists At Our Barbecue" will be Vuissa's first comedy, and his first feature film.

If anybody has any reservations about Vuissa's abilities to help a feature film of this type, or if anybody is tempted to conclude "not another lame LDS movie idea"... I would invite them to watch either "Roots & Wings" or "Unfolding." Anybody who does so will be left speechless.

Vuissa's films have exhibited unique commitment to excellence. His first feature film, based on Smith's wonderfully fun novel, will easily rival and quite possibly surpass anything that has gone before it.

Pre-casting auditions were held for "Baptists", under the supervision of Catrine McGregor, in Salt Lake City June 12-14 and June 16-17. Callbacks will take place during the rest of this week. Filming is scheduled to begin in August, with an early 2004 release date planned. Vuissa will be credited as co-writer (because he spent weeks with the author and producers re-writing the earlier draft of the script) and co-producer. Vuissa recently set up a production office in Provo, Utah.

TOPS AT THE BOX OFFICE THIS WEEKEND: Well, the Disney/Pixar animated feature re-surfaced this week to take back the #1 spot at the box office, despite the fact that it was in its 3rd weekend and faced competition from a boatload of new movies. The auto-racing action pic "2 Fast 2 Furious" starring Latter-day Saint actor Paul Walker was thus bumped to #2 nationwide in its second week, after just 1 week in the top spot. Jim Carrey continued reviving his career by playing God in "Bruce Almighty," the #3 movie. "Rugrats Go Wild," the critically-skewered 3rd film in the animated Rugrat franchise opened weakly at #4. Also new this weekend was the Harrison Ford buddy cop comedy "Hollywood Homicide," opening in the #5 spot nationwide with a $11.1 million weekend gross. "Hollywood Homicide" features celebrated Latter-day Saint singer Gladys Knight as the mother of one of the suspects chased down by Ford's cop character. Overall, the critical response to "Hollywood Homicide" has been less than favorable. RottenTomatoes.com ranks it with only 28% favorable reviews out of 116 counted. But some critics liked it. Ebert and Roeper gave it two thumbs up. Deseret News film critic Jeff Vice was not too impressed, and gave it 2 out of 4 stars. But Salt Lake Tribune reviewer Sean P. Means rather liked it, and gave the movie 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Alas, Sister Knight's role is only about 11th billed, and she didn't get listed on the poster. So "Hollywood Homicide" isn't tracked in our weekly box office table. But we fully expect to see Knight in a starring role in a feature film someday. (She will be -- as the lead actress -- if you-know-who gets funding to make you-know-what.)

Finally, the third movie that opened wide this weekend opened in 6th place: "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd." Fortunately we had nothing to do with this one. RottenTomatoes.com tabulated a positive review percentage of only 10% for the movie (out of 87 reviews counted). "Dumb and Dumberer" is the prequel to the much more successful "Dumb and Dumber," which starred Jim Carrey. "Dumb and Dumber" was filmed in Utah and featured some Latter-day Saint actors in bit parts or as extras. One of them was Curt Dousett, who recently had a major supporting role as Kirby Heyborne's defense attorney in the Latter-day Saint-themed feature film "The R.M." (2003).

MORE KNIGHT: Speaking of Gladys Knight... the week before her movie "Hollywood Homicide" opened, Salt Lake City's newspapers reported about how she rocked the house at the Tabernacle on Temple Square, leading her Las Vegas-based multi-ethnic Latter-day Saint choir, the Saints Unified Voices Choir, in an evening of "toe-tapping, hand-clapping, bench-thumping music praising Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world." The event was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the 1978 revelation that allowed black Church members to hold the priesthood. One of the songs Knight performed was a jazz song with words written by her husband, William McDowell, who recently was baptized as a member of the Church.

LATTER-DAY SAINT WINNERS AT THUNDERBIRD: The annual Thunderbird International Film Festival was held last week in Cedar City, Utah. The event is sponsored by Southern Utah University. This is an international film festival with films submitted from all over the world, by people of all backgrounds. This year's festival included films from Alabama, California, Tennessee, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Maryland, Utah and other places.

Among the winners this year were the Latter-day Saint-themed feature film "The R.M." (named Best Long Professional Comedy), Scott Tiffany's Latter-day Saint-themed documentary "Forgotten Voyage" (named Best Long Professional Documentary), and Christian Vuissa's Latter-day Saint-themed short film "Roots & Wings" (named Best Short Student Drama). "The R.M." also won the award for Best Costumes.

"The Most Dangerous Game", made by Latter-day Saint filmmakers from Utah County, won the award for Best Long Action Film (first film division). The film is described thus: "Sam Rainsford is a hunter stranded on an island, where he is hunted by another hunter for sport."

Also, Latter-day Saint writer Helene Holt won the award for Best True Story, for her screenplay "Exiled." (Three different screenplay awards were given: Best Screenplay, Best Original Story, and Best True Story.) Holt, who lives in Provo, Utah, is the author of "Exiled!" a book based on the true story of John Lathrop's quest for religious freedom. Holt's screenplay is based on the same story.

The judges at this year's festival were Lionel Grady (Associate Professor of Communication at SUU), Kyle Bishop (Lecturer of English Composition at SUU) and Todd Robert Petersen (Assistant Professor of English at SUU). I'm not sure what happened with the selection of judges this year. In years past the Festival has had real filmmakers, screenwriters, etc.

Here is the complete list of 2003 winners:

Professional Comedy, short: The Hit
Professional Comedy, long: The RM
Professional Documentary, long: Forgotten Voyage
Professional Drama, short: Dreaming in Black and White
Professional Drama, long: Chaos Theory
Professional Open Genre, short: Abracadabra
Professional Open Genre, long: Life on Jupiter

First Film Action, long: The Most Dangerous Game
First Film Comedy, short: Bubbles
First Film Comedy, long: Overnight Sensation
First Film Documentary, long: Our House
First Film Drama, short: The Least of These
First Film Open Genre, short: Stranded

Master Thesis Comedy, short: Intelligent Life
Master Thesis Documentary, long: Off the Charts
Master Thesis Drama, short: Are You Feeling Lonely?

Student Drama, short: Roots and Wings

Best Picture: Life on Jupiter
Best Director: Off the Charts
Best Editor: Abracadabra
Best Photography: The Least of These
Best Set Design: The Least of These
Best Sound/Music: Life on Jupiter
Best Costume: The RM
Best Makeup: Gabriella
Best Screenplay: Champagne & Chocolates
Best Original Story: Dream Suppliers
Best True Story: Exiled
Karl Malden Award:
High School Grand Prize: Skywriting
High School Runner-up: Ready or Not

CARMEN IN CINDERELLA: I just don't know what to think about this... Latter-day Saint singing sensation Carmen Rasmusen, who dazzled America while competing on America's #1 TV show last month, "American Idol," is part of the cast of the Warner Bros. feature "Cinderalla Story." We announced this previously, and we also announced that this was a Hilary Duff vehicle.

But last week we noticed that the IMDb listing has Carmen starring as Cinderalla -- the title role. Duff is listed as an evil stepsister.

See the IMDb.com listing for this movie at: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0356470

I speculated that maybe somebody was just messing around with the database. But maybe this is legit. Trusted sources have pointed out that "Cinderella Story" is part of a Disney contract. Now, as anybody who follows Hilary Duff news knows, Duff and Disney (which produces the TV series Lizzy McGuire, which made Duff a big star), have had a falling out, as Disney has balked at Duff and her mom asking for more money to extend her work on the series. Duff is walking out, not doing another year of Lizzy for Disney, and basically her mom is trying to torpedo their relationship with Disney while Duff gets better offers from elsewhere.

So, according to sources, Duff has been re-positioned in the cast (demoted from the star to "Evil Stepsister" is how the IMDb.com listing shows her), perhaps as a punitive measure or perhaps as part of leverage to get her to abandon the project entirely. Since a contract has already been signed maybe Disney doesn't just want to (or can't) fire her entirely. Carmen apparently has a recording contract with Buena Vista Records, which is a division of Disney. So maybe she is actually slated for the lead role, although they could easily go with somebody else before filming starts. Carmen has no film acting experience, after all. Not that it necessarily matters. Anyway, all of this is very speculative. So stay tuned.

Rasmusen is currently touring with the American Idol tour. She was recently a surprise celebrity guest at a ceremony/roast honoring U.S. Rep. Jim Hansen Friday with the annual Legacy Award for community service. The ceremonies were sponsored by the Davis Chamber of Commerce, took place at the Eaglewood Country Club and included addresses from former Senator Jake Garn and past Utah Governor Norm Bangerter.

LaBUTE ON SCREEN AND OFF: I don't think we've mentioned it, but Latter-day Saint playwright and filmmaker Neil LaBute is actually ONSCREEN in a film that's been on the box office charts for over 7 weeks now. LaBute is one of the contemporary major directors who interviews influential directors of the 1970s in the documentary "A Decade Under the Influence." Actor Bruce Dern, the grandson of Utah governor George Dern, is also featured. Other luminaries from 1970s cinema interviewed in the film include Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Nicholson, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Roger Corman, Michael De Luca, Ted Demme, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, Sidney Lumet, Sydney Pollack and Martin Scorsese. LaBute joins other peers from his generation of directors, including Paul Thomas Anderson and Steven Soderbergh, in discussing cinema during the decade with them. "A Decade Under the Influence" is playing in only 1 theater, and has grossed $33,143. LaBute's newest play "Merge" premiered last week at the Summer Shorts festival on the University of Miami campus. The festival focuses on short-form drama, and LaBute's entry there illustrates his continued interest in writing for the stage. "Merge" is vintage LaBute, and is described as an "unhappy mixture of love, sex and alcohol." I could say more, but you probably don't want to know. LaBute is currently preparing a more palatable story for the big screen. Filming is scheduled to begin in September on "Vapor," starring Sandra Bullock and Ralph Fiennes. An adaptation of the same-titled novel by Amanda Filipacchi, "Vapor" has a budget of just under $30 million. It is described as a "contemporary Pygmalion-style story is about a struggling actress (Sandra Bullock) who saves the life of an eccentric scientist who offers to use his odd ideas and procedures to make her a star." If you're wondering: Didn't LaBute just release a movie with the same basic plot? Well, yes. So? "The Shape of Things" (which is still in theaters and reached a total box office gross of $732,241 this weekend after 5 weeks in release) is an altogether different Pygmalion-style story: the woman remakes the man.

NEW BUTCH DOC: A new documentary about famed outlaw Butch Cassidy aired last Wednesday on KUED. Butch Cassidy was was a Latter-day Saint from Beaver, Utah, but was not an active churchgoer as an adult. The outlaw was further popularized when he was portrayed by Paul Newman in the acclaimed movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." The new hourlong documentary, titled "Butch Cassidy and the Outlaw Trail," was created by KUED documentarian John Howe. It is full of historical facts, many of which have come from new and recent research. The documentary was narrated by Hal Holbrook, the non-LDS actor who has narrated other documentaries about Latter-day Saints: Lee Groberg's "Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail" and "Sacred Stone: Temple on the Mississippi" (about the Nauvoo Temple).

NEW DANSIE FILM: [quoting a press release] Tucker T Dansie's "One of Life's Little Lessons" short film series is in post-production of its 5th project. "The Wooden Bowl," featuring Natalie Dallimore, Coz Green, Bracken El Brakie, Doyle Grant Johnson and Levi Larsen as the narrator, is the story of a young family whose great-grandfather "Poppy" comes to live with them, changing their lives forever. While editing is not yet complete, a trailer for this heartfelt film is now online at the newly updated http://www.oneoflifeslittlelessons.com website. While you are there, make sure to view the other films in the series and read about the 6th story which has just been chosen, entitled "The Price of a Miracle" which is planned for production later this year.

HEIMERDINGER MOVIE NEWS: From popluar Latter-day Saint author Chris Heimerdinger's 13 June 2003 newsletter: [QUOTE] "We're still working fast and furious to put together the final financial arrangements so that we can make the movie "Summer of the Nephite." I finished the first draft of the novel version of this story last week. It'll be on the shelves this fall, though it's still up in the air as to who will publish it. I may learn the answer to that very soon. Exciting stuff! Nevertheless, it could still fall through, in which case I'd be shooting it next summer, not this one. I'll finally know the answer to that question by the time I send the next newsletter. We're also finishing up the first song for the movie in the next few days. We'll try to get a portion of it up on the site for our guests to listen and judge as soon as possible. [END QUOTE]

OPEN AIR CINEMA: The Salt Lake Tribune published an article by Vince Horiuchi (http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jun/06152003/arts/66028.asp) about Open Air Cinema, "a five-person company started by Brigham Young University student Stuart Farmer that presents outdoor movies in Utah County parks." The company shows Hollywood movies (including edited versions of "The Matrix" and "Gladiator"), as well as Latter-day Saint-themed feature films such as "The Singles Ward" and "The R.M." Movies are "displayed on a 50-by-30-foot inflatable screen, using a front-screen projection system connected to a DVD player." The company's founder got the idea for outdoor cinema while serving a full-time mission in Zurich, Switzerland. For information on the full schedule of movies and dates, go to http://www.summercinema.com.

PROJECT GREENLIGHT'S second season on HBO was announced recently. Note that Latter-day Saint filmmaker Dagen Merrill (the son of Academy Award-winning director Kieth Merril) was one of the top 3 finalists in this year's Project Greenlight competition. But I don't think he'll be on the show. From IMDb.com: [QUOTE] "Project Greenlight" Returns Sunday, June 22nd, on HBO. Presented by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Chris Moore, "Project Greenlight" is an HBO Original Series, based on the contest created by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to help aspiring writers fulfill their filmmaking dreams. This year's all new season of "Project Greenlight" will feature the work of three winners from two categories--screenwriting and directing--as they film the winning script, "The Battle for Shaker Heights." Tune in and catch the excitement of the filmmaking process from the very beginning with HBO's special, one-hour premiere of the new "Project Greenlight" (visit the official site) on Sunday, June 22nd at 10:30pm/9:30C. [END QUOTE]

THE UBIQUITIOUS KIRBY HEYBORNE: In case you suddenly get amnesia while you are sitting in a theater this fall, how can you tell if the film you are watching is LDS Cinema? Just look for Kirby Heyborne. The star of "The R.M." (and 3rd-billed actor from "The Singles Ward") is also appearing in the following LDS-themed films scheduled to be released this fall:
- The Work and the Story
- Gary Rogers' The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey
- Best Two Years
- The Saints of War

Plus, Kirby is also scheduled to appear in "The Home Teachers" - the next Halestorm Entertainment production which is due to be released in January.

PEARL AWARDS COMING UP: The 2003 Pearl Awards will be presented in a gala black-tie ceremony on Friday, June 20 in Salt Lake City at Cottonwood HS. This is the sixth annual awards gala from the Faith Centered Music Association, and it will be taped on June 20 for broadcast on KTVX ABC4 on July 13, 6 p.m. The Grammys-like awards show highlights excellence in [LDS] faith-centered music. Scheduled to appear this year are Tal Bachman, Maren Ord, Jericho Road, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Kenneth Cope, Kirby Heyborne, Heather Beers, and many more. To reserve (free) General Admission tickets send an email to FCMA@pearlawards.org with your name, email, phone, address, and how many tickets you would like. You'll be contacted if tickets are still available. This is a black-tie event, and the audience is part of the "cast," since it is being taped for TV broadcast. Audience members will need to be in their seats by 6:45 p.m.

VUISSA/ROOTS & WINGS ARTICLE: The Daily Univese (BYU's newspaper) published an article (http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/44552) about Christian Vuissa's award-winning short film "Roots & Wings." The article discusses some of the inspiration from Vuissa's own background which went into making the film. It mentioned that this was only the second film ever (after "God's Army") to receive the AML Award for Film. The article mentioned that "Roots & Wings" would be competing in the Thunderbird Film Festival this year and was expected to take home an award. The article also mentioned Vuissa's next project, the LDS-themed feature film adaptation of the novel "Baptists at Our Barbecue."

THE HUMAN TORCH: LDS? Greg's Previews in the Yahoo! movie website features details and discussion about preparations for the upcoming "Fantastic Four" feature film, based on the foundational Marvel comic book. Interestingly enough, both actors being talked about as top choices to play the Human Torch are Latter-day Saints. The Torch, whose name is Johnny Storm, is a handsome blonde hot-head whose cosmic radiation-derived super powers allow him to burst into flame without harm, and generate devastating heat and fire. According to Greg's Previews, 11/11/02 (http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808403967): [QUOTE] Talking to MTV recently, screenwriter Doug Petrie revealed that his dream cast would be Charlize Theron as Susan, John C. Reilly as the voice of the Thing, Paul Walker as the Human Torch... [Greg's dream cast is] George Clooney as Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Teri Polo (Meet the Parents) as Sue Storm (The Invisible Girl), Ryan Gosling (The Believer, Murder by Numbers) as Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), James Gandolfini as Ben Grimm (The Thing)... [END QUOTE] At this point, considering the fact that Paul Walker turned down the role of Superman, it seems unlikely that he will be offered the role of the Human Torch, or accept the role if it were offered to him. (Although, you've got to admit, Walker is a dead-ringer for Johnny Storm.)

WRITERS AT WORK WORKSHOP COMING UP:

June 22-27, 2003 on the Campus of Westminster College

Writers @ Work (W@W) is holding a week long screen writing Master
Workshop with Georgia Jeffries.  Jeffries credits include:

Writer/Producer Cagney and Lacey (CBS, 14 Emmy Awards)
Supervising Producer China Beach (ABC)
Award-winning script for How to Stay Alive in Viet Nam
Confessions (Universal Pictures)
Nobody's Fool (Gold Award for Best Screenplay, Houston Film Festival)
Screenplay adaptation of Bebe Moore Campbell's novel Your Blues Ain't
Like Mine, Tin Wife (USA Network)
Co-scripting of Iron Jaws Angels (HBO 2003)
Original drama, The Good Soldier (HBO)

For more information contact Aaron Syrett, Producer Services Executive, Utah Film Commission, asyrett@utah.gov or go to:
www.writersatwork.org

CANDLELIGHT MEDIA EXPANDS PRODUCT LINE: Candlelight Media's website indicates it is preparing a major expansion of its product line. The Utah County-based film production and distribution company has previously offered only a handful of films, most of which were made in part by recent BYU film school graduates. It's catalog has included Chris Bowman's "The Wrong Brother" video, the "About Brothers" DVD (featuring "The Wrong Brother" as well as "Freedom on the Water", a short film produced at Candlelight by company executive Brian Brough and directed by Ryan Little), the "Road to Riches: A Journey to Financial Freedom" video (also produced by at Candlelight by Brough), and the "Treasured Stories of the Golden Rule" video (featuring two short BYU student films produced by Brough: Alisa Anglesey's "In Time of Need" and Ryan Little's "The Last Good War," as well as Anglesey's "Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath"). Recently Candlelight began distributing "Empower Yourself: Women's Self-Protection," instructional self-defense video directed by Steve Lee in 1996. In recent months Candlelight also began distributing its first film made by non-Latter-day Saints: "The Book and the Rose" (on DVD and video), a short film directed by Jeffrey Bemis based on a book by Max Lucado, a member of the Campbellite/Restoration Movement denomination the Church of Christ.

The Candlelight website now lists enough DVDs to double the six video/DVD titles that it has offered up until now. These new titles are being released in June and July 2003, and all are being labelled on the cover as part of the "Treasured Stories Collection." Candlelight's previously available DVDs "About Brothers" and "The Book and the Rose" area also feature the "Treasured Stories" collection label. All of the films on these new DVDs are short films which were made by Latter-day Saint filmmakers and which were previously available for purchase. But some of them have never before been available on DVD. The new Candlelight titles are:

- Defining Moments DVD: Featuring 3 films directed by Martin Andersen for NuSkin: Turning Point; Navigate Your Destiny; Soaring to New Heights (previously titled "Soaring to Nu Heights). This collection has previously been available from another distributor on a DVD titled "Turning Point."

- The Light Within DVD: Featuring 2 films directed by Martin Andersen for NuSkin: Journey to Harmony; Follow Your Heart. This collection has previously been available from another distributor on a DVD titled "Journey to Harmony."

- Beyond Barriers DVD: Featuring 2 films directed by Martin Andersen for NuSkin: Walls; Reach for the Stars. This 2 films, along with "Quest for a Go-Getter," have been available from another distributor on a DVD titled "Walls."

- The Go-Getter DVD: Featuring the film "Quest for a Go-Getter," which was directed by Martin Andersen for NuSkin. This film has previously been available on the "Walls" collection described above.

- Love One Another DVD: This DVD features 2 short films previously distributed by Candlelight on the "Treasured Stories of the Golden Rule" video, plus one other film, "The Good Samaritan": In Time of Need (directed by Alisa Anglesey); The Good Samaritan (directed by Anglesey); The Last Good War (directed by Ryan Little). All of these were BYU student films. This is the first time any of these three films has been sold on DVD.

- Women of Faith DVD: This DVD features 1 film previously distributed by Candlelight on the "Treasured Stories of the Golden Rule" video: "Elijah & the Widow of Zarephath," a BYU student film directed by Alisa Anglesey. It also features 2 short films which have previously been distributed only by BYU Creative Works: "The Touch" (a BYU student film directed by Adam Thomas Anderegg, the director of "Jack Weyland's Charly") and "Sisters of Bethany," directed by BYU theater and film department instructor Elizabeth Hansen. All 3 of these films were funded with an LDS Motion Picture Studio grant. This is the first time these three films have been sold on DVD.

All of the films on these new DVDs from Candlelight have previously been available as stand-alone videos as well. It is worth noting that despite Candlelight's dog-ugly DVD covers, all of the films on these new DVDs (except "In Time of Need") exhibit high quality, professial-level production values. (I like "In Time of Need" quite a bit. It stars Lincoln Hoppe, Paige Hoppe and Ruth Hale and has a nice little story "Mouse and the Lion" type of story. It was simply shot using lower-quality video and lighting equipment compared to the others, so it doesn't look as good visually.)

All of these films feature a narrative story but are intentionally inspirational, conveying specific uplifting or ethical messages. All of them are non-denominational in nature.