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After blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ," Hollywood tries to appeal to Christian market

NewsMax.com

Thursday, July 21, 2005 9:40 a.m. EDT

Hollywood Finds Jesus

Following the tremendous success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" - which took in $370 million at the domestic box office - mainstream Hollywood is adjusting to what it perceives to be a rising religiosity in America.

Directors, studio executives and marketing experts have been seeking to entice an audience that made its power felt with "Passion," according to a report in the International Herald Tribune.

"Mel Gibson did us a service," said Bob Waliszewski, a media specialist with Focus on the Family, an evangelical group.

"The Hollywood elites' eyes widened big time. They said, 'I thought the church was dead. Is it possible that we don't know what's happening in state after state.' And the answer is a resounding yes."

There are an estimated 30 million evangelical and fundamentalist Christians in the U.S., and Hollywood -- mired in a prolonged slump at the box office -- is making a concerted effort to mollify and attract that audience.

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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 8:02 PM