One thing about the evil guys is that many of these JWs doing 'mean' things are doing itwith honest(?) and good intent-in that they have convinced themselves they are doing it for God. Men doing bad things in the name of God and religion make for good movies. and tv shows. Look at the Tudors, Big Love Benny Hinn (ok, he isn't a movie, but he is pretty darn sure he is a good guy, I think. My husband is Muslim and watches fascinated that people buy that crap:)
Crisis of Conscience - The Movie
by cedars 64 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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cedars
Thanks Nabeena - glad you like the idea. I also think there is more mileage in this idea than some people are giving it credit for.
I was leafing through the first couple of paragraphs of Crisis earlier today trying to review the material with my 'movie' head on, and it's surprising how much material you have if you look closely enough. Ray went through a heck of a lot BEFORE even being accepted onto the Governing Body, which would really serve as a fascinating and character-defining backdrop against the events he would get caught up in later years. He was baptised at the start of the second world war and grew up on Rutherford's rantings, he took it all really seriously and was persecuted along with other witnesses, doing time behind bars for the preaching work. After getting married he was in the Dominican Republic having audiences with a tyrant, dodging bullets among political upheaval, and struggling with his wife's illness. When reading/watching all of that, nobody can be truly sceptical as to his loyalty and zeal to do what is right and stand up for the little guy. This gives his actions in later years, where he made the ultimate stand, even more weight.
I really hope this becomes a film, whether I am involved in making it happen or not!
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cedars
This might actually happen - that's all I'm prepared to say at this stage - so please keep those thoughts and ideas coming in!
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ScenicViewer
Hello to everyone. I am a long time reader, and first time poster. I had no intention of saying anything on this forum at this stage of my Watchtower experience, but as I read this thread, something came to mind I thought I would mention. More about my personal experience and standing with the WTS at another time.
The other day I went to a movie with my daughter, and one of the previews of an upcoming movie was a baseball story. I follow MLB and I thought I recognized the main character in the trailer. He was hired by the Oakland A’s, he appeared to be the General Manager, and the A’s were a small-market losing team. But I thought, Why would anyone make a major motion picture about him?
He is virtually unknown outside baseball circles, and even most fans would not have heard of him until a book was written about him, and now this movie. Many fans would still not know who he is. I learned about him by accident while looking up another topic.
But someone in the movie business knew of him. And became fascinated by the story. And had the clout to make it happen. And a major actor was cast to play his part, Brad Pitt. If the preview is any clue, it will be an interesting movie, even to non-baseball fans.
[FYI, Billy Beane uses information to judge player talent other than the usual statistics of stolen bases, home runs hit, high batting average, and runs batted in. He recognized that other stats, such as on-base percentage and slugging percentage were meaningful too. He hired players who excelled in these catagories, and who could be had much cheaper than the big names in the game, and assembled a team that won many games in Oakland. The A’s became known as the winningest team in the game per dollar spent. Boring stuff!]
How could the story of this unknown make it so far and succeed? Great writing is a must, to produce a script that engages people in the human interest aspect of the story. Good directing is needed too, to put it on film in a way that audience interest is kept. And good acting is important.
I once heard that there was hardly a family that has not been touched by Jehovah’s Witnesses, perhaps it was in the literature or mentioned at a meeting. That is probably true in the USA and some other countries. Think of the many people that have been Witnesses and left the organization. Many, many more have studied and attended meetings. Many, many, many more have had a family member or close friend become a Witness and were impacted by it in some way, ie the relationship changed. More people have been touched by Jehovah’s Witnesses than by Billy Beane. And Ray Franz is a major figure in the recent history of the religion.
Is it unlikely a movie about Franz could be made? Probably. Is it impossible? Absolutely not.
A major figure in the movie business would have to take an interest in the story. The writing is the key factor in my opinion, and would have to be engaging in a way that appealed to people across a wide spectrum of the population. The human interest aspect of it would be paramount.
After that, good directors and good actors would be needed. The initiator of the project, the writer, and the director would all have to have been touched by Jehovah’s Witnesses in a very meaningful way to pull it off, because they would all have to get it to make it come alive to everyone else.
Certainly religion is a more difficult topic to address than baseball. But with the right group of talented people involved, it would probably work. -
OnTheWayOut
I would think that in order for this to happen, it would have to be like a Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television movie. It would probably have to be something like "Friends of Bill W."
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J. Hofer
marylin mansion as ray franz. and ice-t as gerrit lösch. keep it real!
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Anony Mous
It could become a court drama movie like "A Few Good Men":
*You want answers?*
*I want the truth!*
*You can't handle the truth!*
[pauses]
Son, we live in an organization that has Kingdom Hall doors, and those doors have to be guarded by men with bibles. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Mr. Franz? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for the publisher, and you curse the Circuit Overseer. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That publishers' deaths, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at meetings, you want me at that door, you need me at that door. We use words like Faithful & Discreet Slave, Armaggeddon, 144,000. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of God's organization that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a bible, and go out in service. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to. -
cedars
ScenicViewer - I REALLY enjoyed reading your contribution, and it's interesting that many of your sentiments echo my own thoughts about the concept. I think it's really easy to make just any old film - straight to YouTube or DVD, but that's not my idea at all, although that would still be more favourable than making no film at all.
My intention is that a truly great script is written about a truly great man, who is portrayed by a truly great actor and directed by the best director imagineable for this genre. I think if we aim high, it might not happen just the way we want it, but we would end up with something better than if we aimed low. As you point out, this film has the potential to be relevant to EVERYONE, because everyone in the free world has had some degree of contact with Jehovah's Witnesses, if only on a subconscious level. There is also a market for films that touch on religious subjects, such as the Da Vinci Code. There is a latent spirituality in everyone, and people tend to take personal ownership of material such as a film or book if it is well-written and widely acclaimed.
I really don't want to say too much at this early stage, but things have advanced very quickly since I first started the thread. In the meantime, I would really appreciate it if this thread could continue to capture everyone's thoughts and ideas about the project so that we can use the best of them. If you feel you have something meaningful to contribute to the project personally, please PM me directly.
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diamondiiz
Maybe a low budget documentary for film festival and hope it gets some attention. JW world is boring as is and majority don't care what has gone on in the past or what is going on there now. Outside of the exJW community this film would have very limited audience.
WTS would sue for anything they would deem slander which is another reason why anything that would make the film more interesting wouldn't be allowed in. There is no freedom on the inside of the cult and these assholes do their best to control the external information.
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cedars
Thanks diamondiiz - As regards the films subject-matter and potential interest in the film, I take it you don't agree with ScenicViewer?
I once heard that there was hardly a family that has not been touched by Jehovah’s Witnesses, perhaps it was in the literature or mentioned at a meeting. That is probably true in the USA and some other countries. Think of the many people that have been Witnesses and left the organization. Many, many more have studied and attended meetings. Many, many, many more have had a family member or close friend become a Witness and were impacted by it in some way, ie the relationship changed. More people have been touched by Jehovah’s Witnesses than by Billy Beane. And Ray Franz is a major figure in the recent history of the religion.
Think about it - an organisation, based in New York, with representatives all over the world engaged in a global campaign, and almost every cinema-going person in the free world will have had some degree of contact with them... and there's no market for it?
I'm not too bothered about how the Society react to it. Obviously the film would be well-researched and we would cover our backs legally. Remember the verse "trembling at men...."