Cheat-Seeking Missles

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Christian-Bashing Film Seeks Distributor

How's this for a gang of film villians:
  • They harrass the employees of a business they dislike
  • They vandalize the business and the employees' property
  • They threaten to kill the business owners' daughter
  • They blackmail a prosecutor into bringing charges against the business owner
  • They ruin the business, and the business owners, who conteplate suicide
The Mafia? No, Christians. The film is Heart of the Beholder, and it's booked as "Rocky vs. The Religious Right." Fortunately, it hasn't been booked in any theaters, but the film makers are trying hard to change that.

It's the story of a couple that owns a video store that gets the attention of the Citizens For Decency, who don't like that the couple rents films like Taxi Driver, Blazing Saddles, Animal House and that awful, immoral Mr. Mom. It gets pretty bad when they protest Splash for promoting sex with animals (mermaids), but everything falls apart when the video store puts The Last Temptation of Christ on the shelves.

That's when the Citizens for Decency go to a former prostitute in their ranks for the goods on the local prosecutor, who's her former client, and ... well, you get the rest.

The story is allegedly based on a true story, but I'm having trouble finding record of such a case and the Web site provides no details to back up their claim. While there were protests against the film, can you imagine a Christian group being upset enough to demonstrate over Mr. Mom or Splash? Do you know of any Christian group ever using blackmail to bring false prosecution?
I would appreciate any info, but I doubt that this is nothing more than hate of conservative Christians in the form of an overwrought fictional screenplay.