Hollywood, CA (LifeNews.com) — Bella, the pro-life themed movie that has the potential to change hearts and minds on abortion, opened solidly with $1.3 million over the weekend in a limited release in just 31 cities. Though other movies achieved higher gross sales, they needed significantly more theaters to do so.The film stars Eduardo Verastegui as a former soccer player who learns the value of human life and helps a pregnant waitress, played by Tammy Blanchard, appreciate the value of the baby she’s carrying.

The number one movie this weekend, according to initial figures, was “Saw IV,” a Holloween horror flick that took in $32.1 million.

The movie had the highest per theater average of any in the top ten with $10,087 per theater over 3,183 theaters across the nation.

Bella firmly established itself in second place with $7,784 on average at each of the 167 theaters where it opened this weekend.

That’s well ahead of the projections for any of the other movies in the top ten that played at 10-20 times more theaters such as Disney’s romantic comedy “Dan in Real Life,” the horror movie “30 Days of Night” or Disney’s other top movie “The Game Plan.”

In fact, Bella boasts a higher opening screen average than previous Latin releases this year such as “El Cantante” which generated $1,993 per theater at 540 cinemas and “Ladron que roba el ladron” which grossed $1,393 per theater from 340 across the country.

A third movie geared towards Hispanics, “Feel the Noise,” only took in $1,110 per engagement from a whopping 1,015 theaters.

Bella opens in another 12 cities on November 9, including Albuquerque, Des Moines, Duango, Colorado, El Paso, Green Bay, Honolulu, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh and Tucson.

The sales figures could prompt its distributor to move to a larger release in the coming weeks.

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I have been doing some work recently on Catholic media organizations, their size, and scope. I’d visited Grassroots Films two months ago and came across some info on a project they had in the pipeline called “The Human Experience”. It seemed intriguing, but there wasn’t enough info to know what I was really dealing with.

Well, I’m trying to finish up the work and I journeyed back to Grassroots Films. I am glad I did. What I found there touched me. They have the trailer for the film up and it seems truly amazing (if they don’t still have it on their front page, you will find the page devoted to the film on their Human Experience page).

It is a documentary film on the journeys of two brothers as they travel the world and experience (you guessed it) the human experience.

The film will be screened in several locations, mostly in New York, through December couple of weeks and once in Belgium.

The trailer is captivating and the music is haunting and you owe it to yourself to go and give this a look.

Tags: News, Catholic Media, Grassroots Films | 2 Comments »

I received an interesting press release today. It details a ‘new’ venture Jerry Usher (most notably host of Catholic Answers Live) is starting. It is an independent Catholic radio service company called Third Millenium Media.

After nearly 30 years in broadcasting and over a decade on Catholic radio, Jerry Usher has teamed-up with experts from around the radio industry to create Third Millennium Media, a for profit company that aims to provide products and services to Catholic radio stations, ministries, apostolates and others requiring a range of services from voice talent to production and programming training, with products that match their individual needs.

Catholic radio has been notoriously slow to adopt the rational model of using consultants. The difficulty seems sometimes to be an attitude of “I can do it myself” even if they can’t. The most prevalent reason, however, is the belief that everything in Catholic radio should be provided for free. The strange thing about this belief is the ones who seem to preach it the loudest are paid to work for Catholic radio. Catholic radio is really is a tough nut to crack.

Designed as a “hub and spoke” type company, Third Millennium Media has created a dragnet of professionals across the country that will provide service, on demand, using a “just-in-time” model. The company’s operational headquarters is in Omaha, NE, where Third Millennium Media’s John Lillis will coordinate sales, staff and resources for the entire country. Other members of Third Millennium Media will work with Jerry from the San Diego branch, while still others are spread about the country.

This appears to be a rebranding of NEI Radio occasioned by the partnering with Jerry Usher. NEI was an organization with very much the same mission as that of Third Millennium Media. John Lillis was the president of NEI which is also located in Omaha, NE. It will be interesting to see where this partnership goes.

The rise of Third Millennium Media is the culmination of years of work by Jerry Usher, who, behind the scenes, has been creating alliances across the industry as well as planning the acquisition and merger of many individuals and previously created institutions, respectively. Jerry’s vision is that together, the new Third Millennium Media can reach more stations and groups, more effectively and affordably.

Third Millennium Media has a tough road ahead. However, when I first read this announcement it occurred to me that is anyone could crack the Catholic radio nut, it’s Jerry Usher.

UPDATE: I received this email from John Lillis:

Jerry Usher, Program Director for Catholic Answers and long-time host of Catholic Answers Live, America’s finest and longest running apologetics radio program, will remain on the job and at his post for Catholic Answers while overseeing his new venture. Third Millennium Media’s day-to-day operations will be handled by Jerry’s new Director of Operations, John Lillis..

Tags: News, Catholic Media | No Comments »

Something important reared its seemingly ugly head last Wednesday and apparently I was asleep at the wheel. While poking around today, I got a peek at it.

From what I can piece together from Mark Shea’s and other blogs (and here) is this: Mark Shea was a guest on one of Relevant Radio’s shows (which one, I don’t know). The conversation turned to torture. Is it allowed? Is it ever appropriate? Etc. To Mark Shea’s surprise he found himself having to justify the Catholic Church’s teaching that torture is wrong. The host appeard to be equivocating on whether torture was allow according to Catholic moral teaching.

Mr. Shea was apparently so disturbed by the experience, he wrote an extensive blog post expressing how “appalled” he was by the experience. After Relevant Radio came back to Mr. Shea and informed him that the show would not play since they had always planned to use it as a demo, he pulled down his letter from his blog.

However, you will find Mark Shea’s original post copied at Maior Autem his est Caritas. You will also find Mark Shea’s thoughts on the experience here (look for the entry entitled “Where’d the Relevant Radio post go?”).

If anyone can shed any additional light on this, I’d appreciate hearing it. I’d also like to get your thoughts on this matter.

Tags: Catholic Media, Relevant Radio, Controversy | 2 Comments »

There is a pretty good index of Catholic media at CatholicTuner.com. It lists Catholic podcasts, TV and Radio, Catholic artists, and blogs.

The podcast section is pretty comprehensive. The site provides iTunes subscriptions links as well as the rss feed. There is not, however, a click-and-listen option.

The Catholic artist section is an interesting concept, though it only lists nine artists. The blog section is likewise sparse, though the page states it is under construction.

The TV/Radio page is very different. It is amazingly comprehensive. There are links to the tv and radio webpages, there are click-and-listen options, and more. The page can be overwhelming due to the amount of information contained on it.

The long and the short of it is the page is worth a visit. It is worth bookmarking and visiting if you are looking for sources of Catholic media.

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Someone sent this video to me. I don’t know if anyone will who did not go to Franciscan University of Steubenville will find this funny or not, but I just had to share it.

My wife and I met at Franciscan. This is just so on the mark.

Tags: Catholic Media, Franciscan University of Steubenville | 1 Comment »

I very much enjoy Lino Rulli’s program on Sirius Satellite Radio. Getting satellite radio is just not in the cards so I was pleased to find the ‘Lino at Large’ radio show available as a Podcast.

This is what his website has to say about the show:

“This is the show which gave Lino his “start” - and some would say his “end” - in radio.

Brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the show is broadcast around the country on Catholic campuses, various radio stations, online channels, and Sirius Satellite Radio…

You can also find podcasts of the show on iTunes and Podcast Alley.

“Lino at Large” is radio for those who enjoy listening to Lino - but only in very small doses.

We call those people smart.”

If you’re looking for a Lino ‘fix’, you have now found it my friend.

Tags: Podcast, Catholic Media, Lino Rulli | 4 Comments »

I’ve been speaking to the folks at CatholicOnline for a few months (that reminds me, I need to check-in with them) about there upcoming Catholic Media initiative at Catholic Online - Media Home Page.

There’s a whole lot of media. It is worth a look. I am very curious as to your take on the site.

Let me know.

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Denver, Aug 15, 2007 / 02:01 pm (CNA).- On September 1, the digital world will see the launch of a new Catholic media initiative called Insidecatholic.com. The new website is the latest effort of the Morley Publishing Group (MPG), perhaps best known for its magazine Crisis, to remain on the cutting edge of media communication.The media group sees their soon-to-be-unveiled website as helping their audience of “engaged active Catholics” to evangelize the culture, defend the Church, and live as authentic Christian witnesses in our secular culture. The goal of MPG’s newest venture is to become a more influential Catholic voice in the arenas of politics and social issues.

InsideCatholic.com plans to produce material that utilizes all of the tools of the internet. Each day, “written and filmed content will be published, including original articles and columns, the Inside Blog, Inside Videos, Special Reports, and weekly e-mail blasts. In addition, the website will host a digital version of Crisis Magazine, the Morley Institute, an archive and a store.”

The major attraction of the site will be its ‘Inside Blog,’ which MPG hopes will serve as a major draw for visitors. According to a press release from MPG, “[their] Blog will be an online diary where ten faithful Catholics from different political and social perspectives debate and discuss the issues of the day. Since many of the bloggers are insiders in the Church or politics, the blog will serve as the forum where they break our exclusive stories.”

The website will also offer a professionally produced video on a weekly basis, “Inside Alert” emails, major projects, which will consist of several articles centered around a particular theme, and Deal Hudson’s weekly email called, ‘The Window.’

Tags: Catholic Media, Convergence | 2 Comments »

Just a quick posting today. I have been trying to clean up some messes I made in iTunes (naming, logo, descriptions, and more!) and I decided to search on Catholic Media in iTunes. I get my only podcast, something on a-thiesm, and one entitled ‘Catholics and the Media’.

The podcast is hosted by David Hains. I had listened to his other program ” The Catholic News & Herald” but just didn’t care for that show as much, and didn’t subscribe. I decided to ‘try him again for the first time’. I’m glad I did. Mr. Hains has a great voice, the show has solid content, and the pacing is super.

The show is about the intersection of Catholicism and major media. Mr. Hains is a media professional of almost 25 years, and has a lot to teach and share. It’s definately worth a listen.

RSS: http://tvdave.libsyn.com/rss

Website: http://tvdave.com

Tags: Podcast, Catholic Media | No Comments »