Between Hollywood and Godlywood: The Case of Walden Media

353 Pages·2015·2.051 MB·English

by  Nathalie Dupont

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This book sheds new light on the relationship between conservative h
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Christianity and Hollywood through a case study of Walden et
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Media, which produced The Chronicles of Narnia franchise. ae
Financed by a conservative Christian, Walden Media is a unique se
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American company producing educational and family-friendly o

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films with inspiring, moral, redemptive and uplifting stories.

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However, there is more to Walden than meets the eye and the ll
y
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company reflects wider trends within contem porary American w Hollywood
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society. Drawing on film industry data, film study guides and no
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marketing campaigns targeting mainstream and conservative
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Christian audiences in the United States and abroad, this book d
a Godlywood
reflects on Walden Media’s first ten years of activity as well ian and
as on the relationship between Hollywood and conservative d
Christians, notably evangelicals, at the dawn of the twenty- G
first century. Though both worlds are still wary of one another, o
The Case of
d
this study shows that Walden Media films, and particularly
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The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, have tread a workable y
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path between Hollywood and ‘Godlywood’, albeit within the Walden Media
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constraints of the now global film business.
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nathalie dupont is Associate Professor in American Studies at
the Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale, France. Her research focuses
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on the relationship between cinema and society in the United States.
a
t
She has published articles on the Hollywood film industry and co- h
a
edited an issue of InMedia titled ‘Cinema and Marketing’ (April 2013). li
e
She co-founded the research group CinEcoSA <http://www.cinecosa. D
u Nathalie Dupont
com>, which brings together academics working on the cinema and
p
o
television industries in English-speaking countries.
n
t
With a Foreword by Terry Lindvall
ISBN 978-3-0343-1817-4
Peter Lang
www.peterlang.com
tB
This book sheds new light on the relationship between conservative h
e
Christianity and Hollywood through a case study of Walden et
cw
Media, which produced The Chronicles of Narnia franchise. ae
Financed by a conservative Christian, Walden Media is a unique se
e
n
American company producing educational and family-friendly o

fH Between
films with inspiring, moral, redemptive and uplifting stories.

w
o
al
However, there is more to Walden than meets the eye and the ll
y
d
company reflects wider trends within contem porary American w Hollywood
e
society. Drawing on film industry data, film study guides and no
mo
marketing campaigns targeting mainstream and conservative
ed
Christian audiences in the United States and abroad, this book d
a Godlywood
reflects on Walden Media’s first ten years of activity as well ian and
as on the relationship between Hollywood and conservative d
Christians, notably evangelicals, at the dawn of the twenty- G
first century. Though both worlds are still wary of one another, o
The Case of
d
this study shows that Walden Media films, and particularly
l
The Chronicles of Narnia franchise, have tread a workable y
w
path between Hollywood and ‘Godlywood’, albeit within the Walden Media
o
constraints of the now global film business.
o
d
nathalie dupont is Associate Professor in American Studies at
the Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale, France. Her research focuses
N
on the relationship between cinema and society in the United States.
a
t
She has published articles on the Hollywood film industry and co- h
a
edited an issue of InMedia titled ‘Cinema and Marketing’ (April 2013). li
e
She co-founded the research group CinEcoSA <http://www.cinecosa. D
u Nathalie Dupont
com>, which brings together academics working on the cinema and
p
o
television industries in English-speaking countries.
n
t
With a Foreword by Terry Lindvall
Peter Lang
www.peterlang.com
Between Hollywood and Godlywood

Between Hollywood
and Godlywood
the case of walden media
Nathalie Dupont
PETER LANG
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014959293
Cover image: ‘Narnia lamppost’ © Robert Matzken. <http://www.waldmark.com/narnia/
winternarnia.html>. Reproduced with permission.
isbn 978-3-0343-1817-4(print)
isbn 978-3-0353-0699-6 (eBook)
© Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2015
Hochfeldstrasse 32, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
[email protected], www.peterlang.com, www.peterlang.net
All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without
the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming,
and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.
This publication has been peer reviewed.
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Terry Lindvall
Foreword ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1
Hollywood and Conservative Christians:
An Uneasy Relationship 9
Chapter 2
Walden Media and Hollywood 61
Chapter 3
The Walden Touch 107
Chapter 4
Releasing Walden Media Films in America 147
Chapter 5
Exporting Walden Media Films 205
Chapter 6
Walden Media: Between Hollywood and Godlywood 247
vi
Conclusion 295
Bibliography 309
Index 331
Figures and Tables
Figures
Figure 1 Yearly admissions by age group (1981–2010). 62
Figure 2 Top 20 films by rating (2000–2010). 89
Figure 3 Source material for top ten films at worldwide box
office (1995–2005). 111
Figure 4 US and international box office shares of global film
box office (2001–2012). 207
Tables
Table 1 Top Fifteen Foreign Markets for Hollywood
Studios (2003) 211