Event Dubbed 'Christian Oscars' Honors Moral Movies, Inspiring TV
by Jenni Parker
March 1, 2005
(AgapePress) - Although largely ignored at the Oscars, Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ got plenty of attention at the 13th annual Movieguide Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry. | | 
James Caviezel as Jesus in The Passion of the Christ |
Gibson's scripture-based blockbuster about the crucifixion of Jesus won multiple honors at Movieguide's February 24 event, held in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton in California. The gala ceremony, sometimes referred to as "the Christian Oscars," took place just days before Sunday's 77th Annual Academy Awards presentation in Hollywood.
While the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did remember The Passion of the Christ in three somewhat marginal Oscar categories -- Best Achievement in Cinematography, Makeup, and Music (Original Score) -- Academy members gave no nod at all to producer-director Mel Gibson as the creative force behind what was arguably the year's most successful film.
At the Movieguide Gala Awards, however, Gibson's film took home the $50,000 John Templeton Foundation Epiphany Prize for "Most Inspiring Movie." Each year the Epiphany Prize is awarded to a film as well as a TV program that "greatly increases man's love and understanding of God."
Also, actor Jim Caviezel won the gala's Grace Award for "Most Inspiring Movie Performance of 2004" for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in The Passion.
The Grace Award is given for the movie performance that best exemplifies God's grace toward humanity. As Caviezel came onstage to receive the award, he received a huge round of applause from Hollywood peers at the event -- not to mention a laugh when he quipped, "This is one time you'll forgive me for saying, 'Thank you Jesus.'" And in accepting the Epiphany Prize for Mel Gibson and his PASSION co-producers, Caviezel earnestly noted, "This is a very special night for us."
Other Big Winners
Other motion pictures that did well at the Movieguide Gala Awards included Spider-Man 2 (Columbia Pictures/Sony), which got the "Best Movie for Mature Audiences" award; and Disney-Pixar's The Incredibles, which was named "Best Family Movie." Meanwhile, the "Best Movie Documentary" award went to another Disney production, "America's Heart and Soul."
Another award recipient was Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx. Before he picked up his Best Actor Academy Award for portraying singer-composer Ray Charles in Ray, Movieguide recognized Foxx with a Grace Award in the "Most Inspiring Television Performance of 2004" category for his work in Redemption: the Stan Tookie Williams Story.
The Christian event recognized several other inspiring achievements in television as well. An award for "Best TV Documentary" went to The Question of God, a program about psychologist Sigmund Freud and Christian author C.S. Lewis; and the "Happy Trails" episode of the series DOC won PAX-TV the $50,000 John Templeton Foundation Epiphany Prize for "Most Inspiring TV Program."
Also, Canadian Christian television pioneer Rev. David Mainse was given a Special Lifetime Faith & Values Crystal Teddy Bear Award for "Dedication to Redeeming the Values of the Entertainment Media." The award cited Mainse's "tireless and superior efforts over many years to redeem the values of the media in Canada and to present the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
The Baehr Facts About the Box Office
Dr. Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission and founder of Movieguide, gave his "Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry" at the Awards Gala. In the report, he noted that box office statistics prove moviegoers the world over prefer clean, morally uplifting movies that exemplify strong Christian values.
"Movies with strong moral messages, whether they were rated G, PG, PG-13, or R, consistently earn four to seven times as much on average as movies with immoral messages, according to our biblical standards," Baehr pointed out. He cited several 2004 theatrical releases that bore this out .
A study by the CFTVC found that films with "strong moral content" -- movies like The Passion of the Christ, A Cinderella Story, Miracle, National Treasure, The Polar Express, and others, earned nearly $106.7 million on average, or more than six times as much money as movies with very strong immoral, negative content, or very strong secular humanist, occult, or anti-religious content. Films of the more negative sort averaged only $16.4 million per movie in 2004.
According to the Commission chairman, the figures for films released the previous two years also echo this positive trend. The CFTVC annual study of the Top 10 Movies at the domestic box office in 2004, 2003 and 2002 shows that moviegoers are seeking out family-oriented movies with traditional moral values. And studies prove that not only do U.S. and Canadian movie audiences prefer clean, morally uplifting movies, but so do overseas moviegoers as well.
"The numbers don't lie," Baehr says. "For Hollywood, biblical morals in movies mean more money at the box office." Movieguide's founder says the statistics clearly show that it pays to put strong, family-friendly, moral content in movies.
