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patrick457
Guest
It’s your movie after all. You’re pretty much free to pursue whatever line of interpretation you have. You’re definitely not gonna please everyone of course, but hey, as long as it’s not way out there.
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Lisa_Lavadores
Guest
As a screenwriter (unsold) and former atheist, I have pondered this often.
I have come up with many Catholic-centered plots, but no angle on a film with Jesus as the protagonist.
But I’m recently excited about an idea for a TV show, possibly called Missionaries to Mars. It would be a scifi comedy set 500 years in the future.
The backstory is that Mars would be a 400-year-old human colony. But due to a crisis in technology, it has been out of contact with Earth for over 300 years. Plus, since the colony was founded by a group of rabid atheist scientists, the descendants of the first people on Mars have never heard of Christ.
The pilot episode would begin showing daily life on Mars and end a la Apocalypto with The Catholics arriving suddenly and unannounced (Vatican science has finally solved the technology crisis).
The episodic pattern would be to have the Main Missionary tell a story from scripture (seen in flashbacks) that mirrors the conflict between the native, human Martians and the unwanted, immigrant Catholics which is taking place in that particular episode. Since it is a comedy, it would be less like Touched By An Angel and more like My Name Is Earl meets Firefly.
However, any time Jesus was onscreen for a flashback, he would truly be Jesus, not a comic character. He might get some good, straight-man reaction shots, though…
I have come up with many Catholic-centered plots, but no angle on a film with Jesus as the protagonist.
But I’m recently excited about an idea for a TV show, possibly called Missionaries to Mars. It would be a scifi comedy set 500 years in the future.
The backstory is that Mars would be a 400-year-old human colony. But due to a crisis in technology, it has been out of contact with Earth for over 300 years. Plus, since the colony was founded by a group of rabid atheist scientists, the descendants of the first people on Mars have never heard of Christ.
The pilot episode would begin showing daily life on Mars and end a la Apocalypto with The Catholics arriving suddenly and unannounced (Vatican science has finally solved the technology crisis).
The episodic pattern would be to have the Main Missionary tell a story from scripture (seen in flashbacks) that mirrors the conflict between the native, human Martians and the unwanted, immigrant Catholics which is taking place in that particular episode. Since it is a comedy, it would be less like Touched By An Angel and more like My Name Is Earl meets Firefly.
However, any time Jesus was onscreen for a flashback, he would truly be Jesus, not a comic character. He might get some good, straight-man reaction shots, though…
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
I actually made that as a joke refering to The Three James Thread I posted.It’s your movie after all. You’re pretty much free to pursue whatever line of interpretation you have. You’re definitely not gonna please everyone of course, but hey, as long as it’s not way out there.
:whacky:
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
Peter: A man not far from Jesus in age. Very impetous and hot headed.
John: Jesus’ 20 year old first cousin. Very compassionate and loving, but will get in a fight with anyone who disrespects him, his family, or his Lord.
James Z: Older brother of James. Very much like little brother in character. 2 years older than John.
James the Less: Tax collector. Brother of Matthew. 2 years younger than James the Great and about two inches shorter. Cousin of Jesus
Judas Thaddeus: Relative of James son of Alphaeus. Younger than John by at most a year.
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
So what do y’all have to say on this?Peter: A man not far from Jesus in age. Very impetous and hot headed.
John: Jesus’ 20 year old first cousin. Very compassionate and loving, but will get in a fight with anyone who disrespects him, his family, or his Lord.
James Z: Older brother of John. Very much like little brother in character. 2 years older than John.
James the Less: Tax collector. Brother of Matthew. 2 years younger than James the Great and about two inches shorter. Cousin of Jesus
Judas Thaddeus: Relative of James son of Alphaeus. Younger than John by at most a year.
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patrick457
Guest
Well, what do you want me to say to you? All I can say is, it’s your movie, as long as there’s nothing offensive or weird in it.
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
Well, feedback?Well, what do you want me to say to you? All I can say is, it’s your movie, as long as there’s nothing offensive or weird in it.
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CaptJalopy
Guest
I actually had an idea I’ve been boiling over for a while now. Haven’t really written anything, but the gist of it is what I’m most interested in at the moment.
I’ve always thought it would be interesting to take the gospels, put them together, and split the chronology into a big trilogy, and not just make the movies into another stereotypical christian movie or TV series, but instead, really take big consideration into what certain events would have been like 2000 years ago and portray them in a way that’s more believable to an audience. The first movie would go on from Christ’s birth until I don’t know when, the second one from where the first movie left off up until the last supper, and the last movie would go from the passion until the resurrection, and even possibly dribble over into the first part of acts 1. Each movie would start and end the same way with a priest beginning a gospel reading at mass that would then transition to the story, and then conclude with the priest in mass again saying “The gospel of the Lord,” so in a way you’re also taken through the church’s liturgical calendar. The first movie, priest is in purple at the start, green at the end. second movie, green at the start, purple at the end. Third movie, red at the start (or purple), white at the end.
What would be most important, though, is the development of Jesus as a character in the movie. In most movies, it’s almost too obvious that he’s the Son of God. I’d set it up in a way where even the audience wonders if that was actually the Son of God. Not everyone believed him at once, neither should the audience. The way he speaks, maybe he’s more humorous about his parables and has funny quirks that make him unique. Physique? Does he have to be tall? Strong, definitely since he was a carpenter, but he shouldn’t look like a beauty pagent, probably. I don’t know, but just develop it in a way that going into the movie you see the MAN side of “God and Man” rather just the God side until the absolute very end.
One last bit: as far as plot goes, the only thing I really thought through was the third flick. The Passion has been covered really well, so what I was most interested in was covering the passion for maybe the first 10-20 minutes and then letting majority of the movie pan out over the three days until the resurrection. For the apostles, I bet that was a ridiculously sour time drenched with despair, so I bet watching those guys during that time would hit home big-time for non-believers, seeing the men closest to Jesus in serious doubt, anger, and panic. That was a testing time, I bet.
But yeah, all in all, It’s just a series of genuine Jesus movies that aren’t supposed to 100% look like Jesus movies, if you catch my drift. Great thread you started!
I’ve always thought it would be interesting to take the gospels, put them together, and split the chronology into a big trilogy, and not just make the movies into another stereotypical christian movie or TV series, but instead, really take big consideration into what certain events would have been like 2000 years ago and portray them in a way that’s more believable to an audience. The first movie would go on from Christ’s birth until I don’t know when, the second one from where the first movie left off up until the last supper, and the last movie would go from the passion until the resurrection, and even possibly dribble over into the first part of acts 1. Each movie would start and end the same way with a priest beginning a gospel reading at mass that would then transition to the story, and then conclude with the priest in mass again saying “The gospel of the Lord,” so in a way you’re also taken through the church’s liturgical calendar. The first movie, priest is in purple at the start, green at the end. second movie, green at the start, purple at the end. Third movie, red at the start (or purple), white at the end.
What would be most important, though, is the development of Jesus as a character in the movie. In most movies, it’s almost too obvious that he’s the Son of God. I’d set it up in a way where even the audience wonders if that was actually the Son of God. Not everyone believed him at once, neither should the audience. The way he speaks, maybe he’s more humorous about his parables and has funny quirks that make him unique. Physique? Does he have to be tall? Strong, definitely since he was a carpenter, but he shouldn’t look like a beauty pagent, probably. I don’t know, but just develop it in a way that going into the movie you see the MAN side of “God and Man” rather just the God side until the absolute very end.
One last bit: as far as plot goes, the only thing I really thought through was the third flick. The Passion has been covered really well, so what I was most interested in was covering the passion for maybe the first 10-20 minutes and then letting majority of the movie pan out over the three days until the resurrection. For the apostles, I bet that was a ridiculously sour time drenched with despair, so I bet watching those guys during that time would hit home big-time for non-believers, seeing the men closest to Jesus in serious doubt, anger, and panic. That was a testing time, I bet.
But yeah, all in all, It’s just a series of genuine Jesus movies that aren’t supposed to 100% look like Jesus movies, if you catch my drift. Great thread you started!
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patrick457
Guest
Okay, my feedback would be in the form of a question: how are you planning to develop the characters across the series? Will you give all an equal amount of character development, or are you going to just pick one or more out of the Twelve?
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
Maybe I’d focus on all of the Twelve, primarily the other guys. In movies, people like Peter, James and John get all the screen time. Maybe a different approach would be better.
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
In the book of Baruch, doesn’t it speak of the pagan priests praying bareheaded?
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
So any feedback on this scene?
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JMartyr73340
Guest
I personally think it is impossible to get the character correct because everyone has their own idea of what Christ was like:
“…Now, each of these explanations [of who Jesus was] in itself seems to me singularly inadequate; but taken together they do suggest something of the very mystery which they miss. There must surely have been something not only mysterious but many-sided about Christ if so many smaller Christs can be carved out of him. If the Christian Scientist is satisfied with him as a spiritual healer and the Christian Socialist is satisfied with him as a social reformer, so satisfied that they do not even expect him to be anything else, it looks as if he really covered rather more ground than they could be expected to expect.”
- Chesterton
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
No offense to Jesus, but He isn’t my favorite at the movies.
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
Also I hate how John is portrayed as a wet blanket in Jesus movies. Although we know John as a Son of Thunder, which would mean he had a fiery personality aside from his youth, a lot of movies portray him as a soft guy.
BBC’s The Passion has the best portrayal of the sons of Zebedee along with Jesus of Nazareth, (although in that movie, James is almost absent from the film.)
And aside from Jesus being portrayed as a sexy Caucasian dude, John is ALSO a sexy dude as well!
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GEddie
Guest
I’d represent Saint John as a lot younger than our LORD, as a kid, even: the “baby brother” HE never had.
ICXC NIKA
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crai7
Guest
I would add texture and dynamism, by opening with a scene in ancient Babylon - where Daniel gives his prophecies about Jesus, and then rapidly MOVE the scenes through a whirlwind of conquests - each briefly shown (Persia, Greece, the 4 succeeding Greek states, then finally Rome) until we eventually reach Roman Judea. I would also show what happened immediately after Jesus death, 70AD destruction and then skip to Council of Nicae.
This would show that there was prophecy preceding Jesus and link him to the OT. It would also let the audience know that the bible is inextricably linked to the history of the world.
I think the movies get bogged down in two much detail about Jesus life - remember He was around BEFORE and AFTER His appearance on earth. In fact he indicates that He will return in future, not meek and mild but as a ruler. ‘Meek and mild’ was actually part of His sacrifice in a way, because He really didn’t have to be that way, but voluntarily did it to save us.
This would show that there was prophecy preceding Jesus and link him to the OT. It would also let the audience know that the bible is inextricably linked to the history of the world.
I think the movies get bogged down in two much detail about Jesus life - remember He was around BEFORE and AFTER His appearance on earth. In fact he indicates that He will return in future, not meek and mild but as a ruler. ‘Meek and mild’ was actually part of His sacrifice in a way, because He really didn’t have to be that way, but voluntarily did it to save us.
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GEddie
Guest
Humbly disagree with bolded part.
Every religion has one or more “spiritual divinities.” Where Christendom is unique lies in having one who is also indubitably a HUMAN BEING, with detail to His life.
The difficulty lies of course In most of those details ending up being guesswork.
ICXC NIKA.
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
Yeah, also in Orthodox Tradition, John was a nephew of Jesus.
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JB_Brother_4446
Guest
So, Patrick?
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