Chapter 247 246. The biggest cultural dispute in history, the prelude to war begins

Religion, or faith, is said to be the strongest and most unbreakable thing in the world.

It is an existence that is more rooted in the human heart and deeper into the soul than any other emotions such as family, love, friendship, etc.

Even after experiencing the most painful torture, devout believers still refused to repent. There are countless such examples in history.

But at the same time, conflicts between faiths are often the most brutal, and many wars in history were triggered by religious beliefs.

Even in the new century, there are still a large number of countries in the Middle East that combine politics and religion.

Saudi Arabia still uses Islamic law to regulate laws, and conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites continue.

More than a decade ago, Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" caused a sensation in countries that believe in Jesus.

He portrayed Jesus as a somewhat fleshed-out person who went through numerous trials and ultimately achieved enlightenment and transcendence. The traitor Judas was also reconstructed into a tragic hero who endured humiliation.

Old Martin may just want to make a movie that expresses his own ideas, but the reshaping of religious history is not allowed.

As a result, public opinion pushed him to the forefront, and all kinds of criticism and abuse made Martin Scorsese feel suffocated, and he could only keep apologizing.

The distributor Universal Pictures also failed to withstand the pressure and did not dare to expand after a small-scale screening.

The movie ultimately grossed just over 8 million U.S. dollars. Even if it had been released a dozen years ago, the ending could only be described as a disastrous failure.

For more than a decade, Hollywood has only touched upon religious themes in its films and has not explored them in depth, but Mel Gibson has clearly gone too far this time.

Eric felt very good after watching the finished film some time ago. It is very good because it has no religious overtones. It is purely from an artistic perspective and it makes people feel very touched after watching it.

Although Eric claimed to the outside world that he believed in Catholicism, it was all a smokescreen. He used his mother as a cover to fool fools.

In the United States, it is much easier for theists to gain market share than for atheists because religious belief is equated with faith.

If you don't believe in religion or God, in the eyes of many people you have no faith, that is, you are a terrible person who has no ambition and no moral constraints.

Although atheists account for only 0.2% of prisoners in prison, their belief does not prevent them from killing, raping, robbing, stealing, and trafficking in people.

Although George W. Bush is also a Christian, he is not at all ambiguous when it comes to launching a war. He uses religious beliefs as a card to win votes.

Although most celebrities say they are religious, they are willing to have sex and have sex with women, and they don't even blink when taking drugs. In this respect, Hollywood and politics are exactly the same.

It is the dirtiest circle in the world, but also the circle that "believes" in gods the most.

Now that The Passion of the Christ has emerged, it faces a very different environment.

The Internet is more developed and information is transmitted more conveniently, which also destined it to become the most sensational religious film after "The Last Temptation of Christ".

In Chile, on the set of "Inception", everyone arrived one after another to prepare for today's filming.

Neil handed a notebook to Eric and said worriedly, "Boss, the situation doesn't look good. Many people are firing."

"Only one day has passed, and word of mouth has already come out so quickly?"

"It was very fast, as if it was planned. I think they must have had the manuscript in their hands for a long time, waiting to release it immediately after the movie is released."

"That's right. No matter how good the movie is, it's useless because in the eyes of many people, its appearance is an original sin."

"But there is some good news. The first day box office has been released. The Passion of the Christ took in $33 million. I was stunned when I learned this data."

Eric smiled and said, "That's because there are advance sales. The movie is so hyped that many people have booked their tickets in advance."

"Boss, do you think there will be a steep decline in the future?"

"No, it will definitely decline, but the drop should be small because it is indeed an excellent work if you don't look at it with tinted glasses."

As they were talking, Nicole and Theron also came over, and Eric saw that they were smiling.

The two women are also quite strange. Sometimes it feels like they are competing with each other, and sometimes it feels like they are chatting and laughing like best friends. I don't understand.

"My great director, I bet you're reading the reviews of The Passion of the Christ."

"Yes, the domestic entertainment section has been taken over by this movie, and no one is discussing the Super Bowl incident."

Neil obediently gave up his place. Having been with Eric for more than a year, he was very observant and understood that the two women must have some unclear relationship with the boss.

The two of them sat on Eric's left and right, opened the website and read the reviews. Overall, it was a mixed bag, not as bad as Neil said.

ABC TV interviewed Donahue, the president of the Catholic League, who said frankly that the film was very well made and that it was a good movie that truly reflected religious history.

"The Passion of the Christ is the most sincere and touching movie I have seen in many years. It follows the guidance of the New Testament and presents that period of history truthfully to people, allowing everyone to understand the greatness of Jesus."

"Mel Gibson is not only an excellent actor, but also a great director. Many people cried in the cinema."

"Weep for the suffering of Jesus, and weep for the compassion of Jesus who redeems us all."

"This is a great movie and I will encourage my followers to watch it together."

At the same time, Kerry Simpson, a spokesperson for the Protestant Union, was also interviewed and also praised the film.

"There is no doubt that The Passion of the Christ is a wonderful and sincere film. We booked a theater to watch it, and it turned out to be worthwhile."

"The actors' performances were wonderful, and James Caviezel's portrayal of Jesus was so lifelike that it was said that he was struck by lightning twice during the filming, but remained unscathed."

"You know what? It must be God's blessing on him. Monica Bellucci's Maria is also great. The movie deserves to be seen by more people."

In addition, the Orthodox Association in the United States, which has fewer believers, also praised the film, and many film critics also gave it positive reviews.

"This is director Mel Gibson's masterpiece. When everyone thought that Braveheart was hard to surpass, he came up with The Passion of the Christ. Hollywood needs this kind of profound director, and the audience also needs profound and good movies."

“An incredible film, with dialogues in Latin and Aramaic throughout, and few people would have understood what the actors were saying if it weren’t for the English subtitles.”

"You know, Americans don't read subtitles, but The Passion of the Christ can keep everyone staring at the big screen quietly for two hours. It's a miracle."

"After "Monica Bellucci", Monica Bellucci finally contributed impressive acting skills again. It seems that all she lacks is a good director and a good script."

However, where there is great praise there is also great hatred. A spokesman for the Jewish Association strongly criticized the film, saying that it was too cruel and deliberately distorted history.

In particular, the film blames the Jewish church for the death of Jesus, which is a strong anti-Semitic expression. It is inciting social emotions and calling on everyone not to watch the film.

Many film critics also criticized the film for its excessive promotion of violence and its deliberate torture of Jesus for an hour on the big screen in order to attract attention.

A few people also called for a ban on Mel Gibson and the entire cast, and for them to be kicked out of Hollywood forever.

"It doesn't look too bad. There are still a lot of people supporting it."

"Not necessarily. After all, Hollywood is a gathering place for Jews. Mel Gibson has angered the public this time."

"Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, Judaism, it seems so complicated. Why are they hostile? Because of Judas?" Theron asked curiously.

Eric looked at Nicole and said, "You should ask Nicole. As a Catholic, she should know clearly."

Nicole waved her hands awkwardly: "I was lying. How many people in Hollywood really believe in religion?"

"Haha. Then let me give you a brief introduction."

“In fact, although these four sects are very separate here, they are collectively referred to as Christianity in countries where religious influence is weak, and people don’t care at all.”

"The first of the four sects to emerge was Judaism. The Jews in the Middle East were surrounded by powerful enemies, so they began to pray to God."

"The Jews believe that there is a God in heaven, and God will send a savior to earth to save them. The savior is called the Messiah, that is, Christ."

"But no one knew when Christ would come, and the Jews could only wait in vain."

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"Later, a man named Jesus began to claim that he was the Christ, the messenger of God, and asked everyone to believe in him."

“Thus Judaism began to split, and those who did not believe in Jesus continued to wait for the coming of Christ and adhered to Jewish teachings.

"Those who believed in Jesus founded Christianity, so Christianity was actually a branch of Judaism in the beginning."

"The Bibles of both sides also began to differ. Judaism talks about the various covenants between the Jews and God, which is the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible."

"The Christian Bible contains more stories about the Jews and Jesus, which is the New Testament."

"Because the Christian doctrine is to save everyone, the number of believers increased rapidly, and then it was established as the state religion of the Roman Empire."

"Later, the Roman Empire split into Western Rome and Eastern Rome, and Christianity also split into two."

"The Western Roman Empire is Catholic, and most people in Western Europe believe in it. The Eastern Roman Empire is Orthodox, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and other countries believe in it."

"A few hundred years later, the Catholic Church became increasingly corrupt, so Martin Luther split from the Catholic Church again and founded Protestantism."

"So the four sects each have their own conflicts, but because Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism are all split from Christianity, when facing Judaism, the three of them can share the same hatred and unite to face the enemy."

"Because of the conflict in doctrine, Judaism joined forces with the Roman Empire to execute Jesus. This plot is clearly recorded in the New Testament."

"Mel Gibson put this history on the big screen, which was equivalent to roasting the Jewish people. Of course, Judaism hates him."

Theron's eyes revealed admiration: "Eric, you know so much, it seems like nothing can stop you."

Eric chuckled and gladly accepted the admiration, not mentioning the fact that he had consulted about it out of curiosity after the internal preview.

Making your significant other admire you can actually help enhance your relationship.

"Director, I still don't quite understand. Even if Mel Gibson doesn't make a movie, this incident will still exist. It's been thousands of years. What's there to hate?" Neil frowned.

Eric shook his finger: "No, these are two different things. In the eyes of Christianity, Judaism is the sinner who killed the savior Jesus."

"But in the eyes of Judaism, what I did was absolutely correct. Jesus was a criminal who deceived people with lies and should have been killed. I did nothing wrong."

"The craze for watching The Passion of the Christ is like throwing dirty water on itself in the eyes of Judaism. It is slander."

"You say you are right, and I say I am right. Religion is subjective, and there is no evidence. We can only listen to whoever has the loudest voice."

Nicole smiled and said, "Neil, did you steal my money yesterday?"

Neil Blomkamp's face changed and he shook his head hurriedly: "What! What are you talking about! How could I steal money!"

"You stole it!"

"I didn't. Oh, I understand."

"Haha. Although I have no evidence to prove that you stole it, as long as I say it out loud, guess what the crew will think of you."

Neil sighed, “I became Jewish.”

For five consecutive days, the box office of "The Passion of the Christ" continued to rise.

It grossed $83.8 million in the first three days of its first weekend, ranking seventh in film history. The first place was the first week of "Transformers".

The box office in the first five days reached a staggering 145 million, directly ranking third in film history, second only to "Transformers" and "The Lord of the Rings 3".

The amazing explosive power stunned everyone, including the producer Mel Gibson's company. BOX also continuously adjusted its box office expectations, from the initial US$95 million in North America to the current US$330 million in North America.

Movies like "Havana", "Club of Death" and "50 First Dates" are not enough to compete with it. "The Passion of the Christ" has booked itself as the box office champion in the next few weeks.

Fortunately, "A Quiet Place" was released a week earlier, otherwise it would not have won the weekly box office championship. Now these two movies occupy the first and second places.

However, the soaring box office was countered by increasingly fierce criticism, not only from Judaism and some media, but also from social organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Anti-Discrimination Society, which came out to fiercely oppose the film.

There have been signs of marches and rallies in New York, Seattle, New Orleans and other places, and the impact of the incident has exceeded the Super Bowl incident not long ago.

Some Conservative MPs once again expressed their opinions, calling for restrictions on film and television creation and additional censorship procedures.

Even MGM, which had remained silent, was implicated. As long as a serious investigation was conducted, everyone knew that AK Films was MGM's white glove. This time it was exposed, and the stock price, which had been rising continuously, suddenly stagnated and even began to fall.

However, Eric was not worried about this. After all, the money was actually in his pocket. Once the public opinion storm was over, the stock price would naturally go back up.

While some people were selling, he told Maikou and several women to eat as much as they could and wait for the appreciation so that they could make a profit.

Early in the morning, Eric yawned. He had dealt with Charlize Theron last night, and then went on a date with Nicole, so he didn't get enough sleep again.

But the scenes in Chile are almost over, and I will return to the United States after finishing the filming in the next few days.

He picked up his phone and saw a text message from Carol, so Eric called back.

"What's wrong Carol?"

"Boss, Disney, Universal, Sony, Paramount, Fox and Warner have jointly requested us to ban Mel Gibson!"

(End of this chapter)