Friday, January 31, 2014

Oscars Revoke Christian Song - Joni Eareckson Tada

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose the low-budget Christian movie Alone Yet Not Alone for its first-ever revocation of an Oscar nomination on ethical grounds.  The nomination of the film's title song, performed by quadriplegic Christian singer and leading evangelist Joni Eareckson Tada, has been criticized for associations with "anti-gay" personalities.
"If the academy is just hoping they can keep quiet and this story will go away, they need to find a different strategy."
-- Daniel Diermeier, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management
For background, read Poll: Gay Agenda Complete when Christians Muzzled and also read Sen. Ted Cruz Says Gay Agenda Ends Christian Liberty



Click for Fox News' Megyn Kelly interview of Joni Eareckson Tada (2/10/14)

-- From "Oscar nod revoked for 'Alone Yet Not Alone'" posted at The Columbus Dispatch 1/31/14

The academy discovered that composer Bruce Broughton emailed members of the group’s music branch during the voting period to make them aware of his submission.

Broughton is a member of the music branch’s executive committee and a former governor for the academy.

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said Wednesday that using a position within the organization to promote one’s Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Voices rising amid 'Alone Yet Not Alone's' removal from Oscar running" by Steven Zeitchik and Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times 1/31/14

. . . the action has prompted criticism that the academy has cracked down on a small movie that can't compete with big-budget Oscar campaigns mounted by studios. "Alone Yet Not Alone," from a film of the same name about 18th century Colonists in the Ohio Valley, is a low-budget, faith-based movie that features an iconic quadriplegic pastor.

Veteran awards consultant Cynthia Swartz says she doesn't understand how Broughton's email was different from any number of other things that the academy allows during campaigning for Oscar nominations. Producers and studio executives, she notes, routinely send email invitations to friends for screenings of their movies, events that also include refreshments.

In an interview, pastor Eareckson Tada said she was unsure what to make of the academy's decision.

"If it was for reasons connected with a faith-based message, it shouldn't surprise us that Hollywood would shun Jesus," she said. "Jesus has been shunned by much weedier characters."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Academy Disqualifies Joni Eareckson Tada's Oscar-Nominated Song from Christian Movie" by Kate Tracy, Christianity Today 1/30/14

Since nominations were announced, the song—performed by quadriplegic Christian author and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada—drew criticism and confusion from Hollywood for beating out musicians featured in more popular films. The latest news stokes the debate even further, given that Oscar lobbying and campaigning are arguably common practices.

The nomination has received negative reactions not for its quality, but for the film's endorsements by James Dobson, Rick Santorum, and Josh Dugger, executive director of Family Resource Council Action, among others. Film.com framed the movie as endorsed by "anti-gay hate group activists," while the Boston Globe headline reads, "The Oscar nomination that stinks to heaven." Hitflix writes: "There were audible gasps and chuckles when Cheryl Boone Isaacs began reading the list of nominees in the category, and first off the bat was "Alone Yet Not Alone" from, er, Alone Yet Not Alone…It doesn't seem a stretch to call this Christian drama the most obscure feature film nominated for an Oscar this year."

. . . The film will be released in theaters nationwide this June.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
 
From "Singer of un-nominated Oscar song issues statement" posted at Asheville Citizen-Times 1/30/14

“I was grateful for the attention the nomination brought to this worthy song and the inspirational film behind it,” said Tada, who is founder and CEO of Joni and Friends International Disability Center.

The nomination brought attention to “the ongoing work of Joni and Friends to people affected by disabilities,” she said. “The decision by the Academy to rescind the nomination may well bring even further attention, and I only hope it helps to further extend the message and impact of the song.”

A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then 17, a quadriplegic, without the use of her hands. During her rehabilitation, she learned how to paint with a brush between her teeth, and she has since become a well-known artist. She is the author of an autobiography, “Joni,” which was made into a feature film in 1979, with Tada playing herself.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Joni Eareckson Tada: I hope Oscar award revocation brings ‘further attention’ to dignity of disabled" by Ben Johnson, LifeSiteNews.com 1/31/14

The nomination of Alone Yet Not Alone surprised many, since the film, which details how the Christian faith sustained a family captured by the Delaware Indians during the French-Indian War, had a limited release before a tiny audience. It will be released in full later this year.

“Regarding the reasons for the nomination being rescinded, it is not my place to speculate as I have no insights into the workings of the entertainment industry,” she said. “If it were for reasons connected with the faith-based message of this film, we shouldn’t be surprised that Hollywood shuns Christ and His message. He was shunned by weightier adversaries than those in the field of entertainment.”

The nomination of a song by a singer with 51 percent of her lung capacity showed the possibilities inherent in any disabled person, she said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read about Hollywood's Disproportionate Attention to the Gay Agenda as well as Study Claims Media Bias FOR Gays is Christians' Fault