9th Annual MOVIEGUIDE ® Awards Gala

9TH ANNUAL MOVIEGUIDE® AWARDS GALA CELEBRATES HOLLYWOOD’S BEST FAMILY AND INSPIRATIONAL MOVIES

The 9th Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Awards Gala will celebrate Hollywood’s best family and inspirational movies and TV programs March 21 at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. Known as “the Christian Oscars,” the Gala will tell Hollywood what Christian families like to see at the Multiplex and on their TV screens at home.

“We represent what is possibly the largest family audience in the country—the more than 135 million Americans who go to church each week,” said Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and chair­man of the Christian Film and Television Commission and MOVIEGUIDE®, a family magazine, radio program and TV show which reviews all movies from a biblical perspective.

Besides showering Hollywood’s creative elite with awards for the best family and inspi­rational movies and TV programs, an important part of the Awards Gala will be Dr. Baehr’s annual Report to the Entertainment Industry.

This Report is an extensive, probing and news making analysis of the past year’s films and television programs. The report describes new trends in popular entertainment; in­sights into the business of entertainment; box office averages; the impact of religion, gov­ernment and technology on the industry and on society; and, all the facts and figures to support his analysis of the movies released in 2000, as well as projections for 2001.

“The Report to the Entertainment Industry shows these entertainment leaders that someone is watching, counting and analyzing their work,” Dr. Baehr said. “In the process, it shows that families and Christians are intelligent consumers and not merely passive fodder for the entertainment publicity mill. The Report presents carefully researched statistics which dispel the myth that sex and violence sells best… and shows that worthwhile, re­demptive movies prosper. Each year, this Report inspires many of these decision-makers to change their values and improve the products they produce.”

Dr. Baehr added, “The 9th Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Awards Gala and Report to the Enter­tainment Industry is an extremely important opportunity to reach the top people in the entertain­ment industry. Judge Bork once said, ‘The media creates the culture and the culture elects the politicians.’ So, if we want to change the culture, we need to reach people in Hollywood with the Truth and the concerns of families and the Christian community. That’s what we will do at the Gala, and we do it in a positive way by commending the good.”

Dr. Baehr founded MOVIEGUIDE® and the Christian Film & Television Commission more than 16 years ago after it became abundantly clear that the new ratings system instituted by the movie industry in 1969 has been a failure in helping to protect families and in producing worthwhile movies that children can see.

“When we started,” Dr. Baehr noted, “only 6% of the movies were aimed at families; by 1998, 40% of the movies released in theaters were aimed at families. Those family films grossed an average 200% better than movies aimed at the adult marketplace. Also, in 1985, 81% of the major movies released were rated R, but by 1999 only about 54% of the major movies released theatrically were R-rated.”

One of the biggest reasons for this change is the number of families attending church, Dr. Baehr believes. “They are the nation’s biggest demographic and marketing secret,” he declared.

“They represent 40 percent of all Americans. My message is that if you put more overt redemptive content–like Jesus Christ’s powerful teaching from the Sermon on the Mount, for instance–and more positive content from a Christian perspective, these movies will do so much better at the box office.”

He said his message to the Christian church is:

“That there is good out there and you need to choose the good and that the good does better at the box office, so you can have more influence on Hollywood by choosing the good and being positive in your choices. By doing this, you can be instrumental in redeem­ing the culture and cleaning the screens. We don’t have to shirk from Hollywood. There is plenty of good stuff to support with our entertainment dollars.”

The MOVIEGUIDE® event, which always commends the good in Hollywood, will feature awards to the Ten Best Movies for Families and the Ten Best Movies for Mature Audiences.

It will also include the presentation of MOVIEGUIDE’S® $25,000 Epiphany Prizes, donated by philanthropist Sir John Templeton.

“The purpose of the Epiphany Prizes,” Sir Templeton said, “is to encourage the produc­tion of feature films and television programs which are uplifting, inspirational and acknowl­edging of God, His love, His mercy and His grace. We hope that by honoring these movies and television programs, millions of people will be uplifted and inspired to be enthusiastic about the further study and worship of God.”

“As Jesus told us,” Dr. Baehr added, “we should first support the Kingdom of God and seek God’s justice and goodness.”

The 9th Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry will also present the Grace Prizes for Most Inspirational Acting, sponsored by Morgan H. Grace, Jr. The Grace Prizes are presented annually to two actors, each of whom, through his or her performance, best exemplifies God’s grace and mercy toward us as human beings. The prizes include a cash award as well as an art-sculpture trophy.

“This is a new show with a new flavor,” Nathan Novero, director of the Gala, said. “There will be a new look this year to the awards show. We hope those who attend and those who see it on television will enjoy the new things we’ve got planned.”

For more information about MOVIEGUIDE®, its Annual Awards Gala in Hollywood to encourage filmmakers around the world, Dr. Baehr’s MEDIA-WISE FAMILY speaking engagements and seminars, and/or the work of the Christian Film and Television Commis­sion, please call (800) 899-6684, or write to P.O. Box 190010, Atlanta, GA 31119, USA.