An Anglo-Irish Convert in "the City"

Two TV biopics of Pope John Paul II in the works

The New York Times

Two Visions of the Man Who Would Become Pope

By ALAN RIDING
Published: September 28, 2005

ROME - Pope John Paul II's enduring charisma found unlikely expression here one recent afternoon. At the end of a day's filming of a new television movie about his life, Italian and Latin American extras rushed to be photographed beside the gray-haired man in papal gowns. That he happened to be Jon Voight seemed secondary. For the extras, this was as close as they would ever get to John Paul.

Mr. Voight, who at 66 persuasively evokes the older John Paul, is growing used to such reactions. After he spoke a few words about "the dignity of man" in Spanish while re-enacting John Paul's first visit to Mexico, the extras burst into spontaneous applause. And on the previous day, when the 1981 attempt on the pope's life was filmed, some of the extras burst into tears at the sight of the "wounded" pontiff.

For the movie's producers, all this is reassuring. It means that, even after the media extravaganza that accompanied John Paul's protracted death and monumental funeral, even after the pomp and ceremony of the election and installation of Benedict XVI as his successor, there may well be an audience for one more biopic retelling the story of the first Polish pontiff.

But how about two?

As it happens, two American television networks - ABC and CBS - had the same idea about the same time. Both movies are planned for this season, although no broadcast dates have yet been announced. ABC's "Have No Fear: The Life of John Paul II" will run two hours; CBS's mini-series version, with Mr. Voight, has the working title of "Pope John Paul II" and will run four hours over two evenings.

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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 5:28 PM