Nov/Dec 2004
Male Matters
Walt Disney and Walden Media hope that audiences will roar when C.S. Lewis' tale The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe claws its way to the big screen next year.
The mythical world of Narnia will hit the big screen when The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe releases on Dec. 9, 2005.
The film, bankrolled by Walden Media and Walt Disney Studios, is based on Lewis' seven-book series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis, who started the series in 1939 and finished it in 1954, captured children and adult audiences alike by weaving Christian themes throughout the books.
"In my nearly 25 years at Disney, I've never seen the company so energized so early about a film," Mark Zoradi, the president of Buena Vista International, responsible for international marketing, told Screen Daily. "The film will be visually stunning and emotionally breathtaking."
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe follows four children who enter the land of Narnia through a magical wardrobe. They fight to save Narnia and its legendary creatures from rule of The White Witch, Jadis, but find they can only do so with the sacrifice of the Christ-like lion, Aslan.
Director Andrew Adamson (Shrek and Shrek 2) faces the challenge of taking audiences through the wardrobe into a land filled with mythic creatures such as the half-human, half-horse faun Mr. Tumnus, played by James McAvoy (Wimbledon). Adamson will have the design help of Rhythm & Hues Studios, which helped to bring Scooby-Doo and Garfield to life, along with Weta Workshop, which worked on The Lord of the Rings films.
"It's been a long-time dream of mine to bring these classic stories to a new generation of moviegoers and readers," Adamson said. "The Chronicles of Narnia were an important part of my childhood just as they are to millions of fans around the world. I hope to bring to the screen a movie that is as real to the audience as Narnia was to me as a child."
Filming started June 28, 2004, in Auckland, New Zealand. The children--Lucy, Peter, Edmund and Susan--will be played by lesser-known young English actors and actresses, while Tilda Swinton (who played Valerie Thomas in Adaptation) has been cast as The White Witch.
"The Lewis story is for all generations," Swinton said in The Belfast Telegraph. "Imagine, this story by theologian Lewis, which he dreamed up first as a little boy in Belfast [Northern Ireland], has sold 65 million copies around the world in 30 languages."
Walden Media and Walt Disney Studios are already thinking about filming the second book, Prince Caspian.
"We would like to do all seven," producer Mark Johnson said in an interview with New Zealand radio's Newstalk ZB. "We are certainly looking at it as a franchise, which, in Hollywood movie terms, means that we just keep churning out The Chronicles of Narnia."
Hoping to capture the success of other fantasy-film "franchises" such as The Lord of the Rings, Disney and Walden are investing sums near $170 million, according to The New Zealand Herald.
Producers are also taking steps to ensure C.S. Lewis' vision isn't declawed. Erin Mackey, director of marketing for Walden Media, points to the involvement of Lewis' stepson, Douglas Gresham, who will be responsible for ensuring that the movie stays true to his father's stories.
"Fans of the series have been waiting for generations for a film that faithfully adapts the Narnia books for the screen," says Gresham, who serves as a co-producer for the film. "Disney and Walden are a perfect match for the magical world that C.S. Lewis created, and we're as excited to see the movies as everyone else is."
"Disney has been a great friend and partner with our company on Holes, Ghosts of the Abyss and Around the World in 80 Days," adds Walden co-founders Cary Granat and Michael Flaherty in a statement.
"The combination of C.S. Lewis' visionary Chronicles of Narnia with the incredible strength and uniqueness of the Walt Disney brand and organization makes this a true dream project for us."
Whether or not audiences will feel the same way will have to be decided next year, when families will be able to see the magical world of Narnia for themselves.
ON THE FRONTLINES
Texas Fusion
FAITH
Promise Keepers' founder teams up with his son to shake the souls of 20- and 30-somethings in Dallas.
By KEN WALKER
On Nov. 13, Marc McCartney will introduce his father, "Coach" Bill McCartney, at the fusion+dallas event at the Dallas Convention Center. Marc is fueled by the same passion that his father used to drive Promise Keepers through the 1990s, but he is moving in a different direction.
Sponsored by the Rightnow Campaign, a group based in Plano, Texas, fusion+dallas is an event aimed at 20- and 30-somethings who want to make a difference.
After appearances at "Passion" and other conferences tailored for college-age audiences, fusion+dallas marks Rightnow's first major rally. It will feature music by worship leaders Shane Barnard and Shane Everett; and speakers such as Erwin McManus, author of Seizing Your Divine Moment; and Bill McCartney, who led Promise Keepers for 13 years before resigning in 2003.
In the next three years, the Rightnow Campaign seeks to enlist 5,000 young adults to take the gospel to more than 50 countries around the world. The organization has partnered with several agencies, which offer a wide variety of international-ministry opportunities. Each opportunity is unique: It might be church planting in Argentina for two weeks, or working in a publishing house in Kyrgyzstan for two years.
The brainchild of 25-year-old Brian Mosley, Rightnow has in the last year sent 1,500 candidates to mission agencies and connected about 500 others with mission opportunities.
Marc McCartney, 31, director of events for the Rightnow Campaign, said that the purpose of the fusion+dallas is to connect people "to their passions, skills, desires and callings God may have on their lives."
"We have a generation that learns through experience, and we're going to take the experience to them," McCartney said.
McCartney projects attendance of only 2,000--a far cry from the packed stadiums his father saw during his many years of ministry to men. But the smaller, intimate atmosphere reflects college-age adults' desire for deeper relationships, McCartney said.
So why did organizers choose Bill McCartney, age 63, to be the keynote speaker at an event geared toward Gen-Xers? "There's a huge misnomer that people have that the younger generation ... doesn't want to hear from the older generation. That's simply not the case," Marc said.
Bill, who recently launched a new ministry to Messianic Jews called Road to Jerusalem, shares his son's excitement.
"God has given me favor with young people for a long time," Bill told New Man. "I'm eager to talk to them because I think they need to be challenged."
For more information about fusion+dallas log on to fusionconferences.com.
FITNESS
Confronting the 'Silent Killer'
By Eric Tiansay
A prostate-cancer survivor takes us inside his battle with the disease.
What do Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, presidential candidate John Kerry, pioneering medical doctor Benjamin Carson and actor Robert DeNiro have in common? Answer: All of them are battling prostate cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in men.
It is estimated that 230,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed in the United States in 2004. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), an estimated 29,000 men will die of the disease this year. But men are fighting back, raising awareness about this "silent killer."
Marvin A. McMickle, a minister who has led 1,000-member Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland since 1987, recently penned a book concerning his experience with the disease.
McMickle, 55, who underwent surgery to remove his prostate gland, decided to write Battling Prostate Cancer: Getting From "Why Me" to "What Next," in which he offers medical and spiritual advice to men with the disease. New Man talked with McMickle, who is now living cancer-free, but monitors his condition with quarterly blood tests.
New Man: What can you tell us about your diagnosis.
McMickle: I was diagnosed as a result of an annual physical exam with my doctor. He performed the digital rectal exam, which seemed normal. However, the blood test revealed an abnormally high PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level of 5.2. These days anything above 2.5 raises concerns. I had a biopsy as a precaution, and one of the six samples taken in the biopsy revealed the presence of cancer.
New Man: Take us inside the disease. What was it really like?
McMickle: There was absolutely no pain attached to my diagnosis whatsoever. That is the danger of prostate cancer; it does not hurt until it is already spread outside of the gland and has moved into neighboring tissue and organs. At that point, the condition can still be treated to limit the speed with which it will continue to spread, but it can no longer be healed. Many men use the absence of pain as grounds for not being concerned. That is a big mistake.
New Man: What was your initial prayer to God after your diagnosis?
McMickle: To have the cancer removed. I wanted God to keep me from going through this experience. I was very much like Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:8 when he asked God on three separate occasions to take the thorn out of his flesh. I asked God to remove the cancer after the initial diagnosis, again after the biopsy and a third time leading up to the surgery itself. It was only after I had exhausted the possibilities of 2 Corinthians 12:8 that I had to move on to the next verse, which says, "My grace is sufficient for you."
New Man: What advice would you give men struggling to get past the "why me" question?
McMickle: Do not linger too long on that question. There is no shame in asking it as an initial response, but there is no answer. As I say in the book, the far better question is "why not me?" If sickness and suffering are a part of this human journey, then why should I expect to be exempted? If some pain, sorrow, sickness, loss or hardship touched every single character in the Bible, why should I think that God ought to excuse me from these trials? The even better question is this: "What next?"
New Man: How can men who are diagnosed rely on God?
McMickle: The first step is to shift their thinking away from viewing God as someone who should have kept them from cancer, and start viewing God as the power and grace that can and will sustain them through the whole experience, from diagnosis, to treatment, then recovery.
Eric Tiansay is a regular contributor to New Man magazine.
Prostate Cancer Resources
American Cancer Society:
800-ACS (227)-2345, cancer.org
Cancer Information Service:
800-4-CANCER (226237)
American Foundation for Urologic Disease:
800-828-7866, afud.org
American Prostate Society:
1-410-859-3735, ameripros.org
Prostate Cancer Resource Network: 800-915-1001.
Run Like a Bull
High-energy beverages have a coffee-like kick, but the taste doesn't always match the buzz.
Throughout America and Europe, high-energy beverages, usually in a slender tin can, are giving people a coffee buzz at a designer price. Retailing for as much as four times the cost of a can of soda, these high-voltage drinks are winning fans with promises of "increased concentration" and "improved performance, especially during times of stress." Many consumers shrug off the motivational hype and gulp down the drinks for one reason: that triple-espresso-like jump-start when you're feeling sluggish. According to pharmiweb.com, the key ingredients in any energy drink are caffeine, in a variety of forms, and sugar. Among the myriad of other ingredients, from ginseng to vitamin B-12, the most common is taurine, which supports brain function and strengthens heart function. Other ingredients include riboflavin, niacin and B-6, and "astonishingly vivid colorants," pharmiweb.com reports. What puts the best energy drinks at the front of the herd is simple: taste. The best energy drinks taste more like soda than medicine. Before you shell out your hard-earned cash for a bullish buzz, check out bevnet.com, which features hundreds of tasty beverage reviews. To get you started, here's the lowdown from bevnet.com on some popular energy drinks on the market today:
Red Bull Energy Drink
Packaging: 8.3-fl-oz can
First concocted in Austria in 1987, Red Bull can be found just about anywhere that you can fit a mini-fridge. It definitely gives you a nice boost, but it falls short on taste. "It is truly painful to drink," bevnet.com reports. Still, Red Bull has amazing brand power, opening the market to the other 150-plus products currently crowding the shelves.
SoBe Adrenaline Rush
Packaging: 8.3-fl-oz can
Featuring a sweet and refreshing passion-fruit flavor, this energy drink has a pleasant flavor. "We were pleasantly surprised by this beverage," bevnet.com explains. "In addition, this beverage does not have the bubble-gum/caffeine flavor that we have come to expect from energy drinks."
Cranberry-Grape XS Energy Drink
Packaging: 8.4-fl-oz can
This is a zero-carb energy drink that has only eight calories. Good news for consumers who cannot deal with the sugar or the calories--but what about taste? "The flavor is a bit rough," bevnet.com says. "If you really need to get a boost you're better off heading down to the local vitamin shop and popping some pills."
Raw Dawg Sports Energy Drink
Packaging: 16-fl-oz can
This product uses horny goat weed, an ancient Chinese herb that legend says goats used to eat before mating. (Some experts claim it can juice up your sex life too!) Most importantly, though, the product tastes great. The sweet cherry flavor had the New Man editors barking for more. Bevnet.com concurs, "This is one of the few 16-oz energy drinks that our panel would be able to consume the entire can of."
180 Energy Drink
Packaging: 8.2-fl-oz can
One of the better energy beverages, the sweet orange-citrus flavor of 180 Energy Drink tastes more like soda. "A near perfect level of sweetness and carbonation," bevnet.com raves. "We must say, it's quite nice to see companies ... launching energy drinks that don't have a horrible medicinal flavor (like many of those out there today)."
Blue Ox Energy Drink
Packaging: 8.4-fl-oz can
Blue Ox Energy Drink is a brightly colored energy drink that has a light bubble-gum flavor. But, bevnet.com warns: "When you try this product you'll find something that is mediocre at best. The flavor is nothing more than your basic bubble-gum/caffeine flavor. We'll pass on this one next time."
US Energy Drink (Series II)
Packaging: 16-fl-oz can
An improvement over the original US Energy Drink, this citrus taste is quite refreshing and has that soda-like flavor, bevnet.com says. The packaging is cool--a slick black and gold design with a "biker" theme to it. Perfect for those times when you need to rev up for an important meeting or a quick, lunch-hour workout at the gym.
Jones Energy
Packaging: 8.4-fl-oz can
Filled to the brim with energy supplements, this is a simple, yet brightly colored, concoction that resembles a citrus flavor. "Like any energy drink, the large quantity of supplements gives it a bit of a rough finish, but, overall, we like it," bevnet.com says.
Savings in the Bank
With $53 million in deposits and 69 salvations in its first year, Riverview Community Bank is helping customers find spiritual security.
By BOB GRAWEY
People cashing checks and opening loans at Riverview Community Bank in Elk River, Minn., are also finding spiritual security, thanks to the efforts of two Christian businessmen.
Located 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis, the financial institution began when Duane Kropuenske left a position managing a small mortgage company to pursue his dream of opening a bank defined by Christian principles. He persuaded his friend Chuck Ripka to leave a mortgage loan officer position at another bank to co-found the venture. Together, they sought God's direction, and within two weeks, investors who liked the idea began calling about the $5.5 million needed to start the bank.
Riverview opened its doors in March 2003 and took in more than $53 million in deposits during its first year of operation, beating Kropuenske's three-year projections. The number of spiritual transactions taking place at the bank has been even more surprising, with 69 people making personal decisions for Jesus Christ.
Kropuenske's first occasion of praying with a customer came when a doctor, closing on a loan, requested prayer for her clinic and staff.
"I envisioned we would operate a bank with Christian ethics; I never expected to be as open talking about Christianity in the workplace" Kropuenske said. "I've been a Christian, but had never prayed with a customer in almost 30 years of banking--until I came here."
There are many Christians in the marketplace, but believers often feel pressured into leaving their faith at the door. Additionally, Christian businessmen are often afraid to speak out about their faith, fearing that they will offend employees and alienate customers.
The employees at Riverview are encouraged to share their faith and offer prayer to those who want it. Ripka said he has never received any complaints about this, and that it has actually attracted new clients.
"We have people calling to ask if this is the bank that prays with people," he said. "Some come in specifically for prayer, and when we pray for people, it is in the confines of our offices. So far we have never had problems."
Responsible for many of the prayers for salvation taking place in the bank, Ripka sits behind his desk, covered with tidy islands of paperwork and spills out story after story about people he has prayed with at the bank.
"I have a real sense of the Holy Spirit, knowing when to pray and when not to," he said.
Of the 69 who prayed to receive Christ, nine are employees, along with some spouses and parents. "Some employees I welcome [on their first day] and pray for immediately because I sense they are open to it," he said, "but there are others I have never prayed with."
Although Jay Bennett, CEO of Dunkley and Bennett P.A. in Minneapolis, agrees that spiritual sensitivity is essential for Christian businessmen, he cautions about risks they face as employers.
"Workplace evangelism is like a rheostat on a wall which controls a light," he explained. "The more an employer 'turns the knob' by evangelizing, the greater the risk that some employee will find the behavior objectionable."
He explained that evangelistic zeal must be coupled with common sense. "For those employers who are moving boldly in this arena by having the courage to reach out to those who are open and interested, the real key is sensitivity. The knob can be dialed up in proper settings, but it also needs to be dialed down [at times]."
Kropuenske said that Christian businessmen must learn to balance professionalism and evangelism within the context of a business atmosphere: "It's just a matter of being sensitive to your profession, yet alert for people to give signals they want to talk about Christ."
Kropuenske and Ripka continue to think of new ways to reach their community with the gospel. The bank's quarterly business luncheons provide more opportunities for the men to share their beliefs. Started in Oct. 2003, the last luncheon drew nearly 300 attendees.
"God continues to expand our thoughts and imaginations of what He wants to do," Ripka concluded. "I believe the Lord has called our bank to be a model to other banks and businesses of what He can do in the marketplace if you just let Him."
Bob Grawey is a freelance writer who lives in Oak Grove, Minnesota.
Board Meeting
Snowboarder Dave Downing knows how to drop off a 20-foot cliff of fresh powder ... and when to drop his faith into a conversation.
By CHAD BONHAM
Dave Downing loves a challenge. In the summer, you might find him combing the beaches of Southern California for the perfect wave. During the winter, he'll likely trade his surfboard for a snowboard as he tackles the daunting slopes of Tahoe. Downing said that action-sports enthusiasts can learn a lot about snowboarding from surfing.
"When you're snowboarding down a mountain, you're adapting to the terrain in the same way that you adapt to different parts of the wave when you're surfing," he said. "Surfing is a lot harder because of the waves moving, and there are a lot more elements changing."
Downing, 36, grew up in Redondo Beach, Calif., where he started surfing at a young age and went on to compete in the sport. He began his professional snowboarding career at the age of 21 and has performed at a high level for 10 years now. Never big into the competitive side of the sport, he spends most of his time starring in action films that promote snowboarding.
Snowboarding, a sport that grew exponentially during the 1970s and 1980s, became a symbol of rebellion for a time, as many major ski resorts banned it from their slopes. But with the advent of the X Games in the 1990s and the addition of snowboarding events to the 1998 Olympics, it has exploded into an industry that accounts for more than 50 percent of all winter-sports activities.
Downing said that the film aspect of snowboarding is also big business. He routinely works with Standard Films and also spends time behind the scenes at Burton, a company that makes snowboarding equipment and serves as one of his official sponsors.
"In snowboarding, competition's not as important as filming," Downing said. "There's not really a governing body over professional, competitive snowboarding, no world champion. All of the snowboarding companies are relying on the film companies to make these films to get people fired up at the beginning of the year to go out and snowboard."
Even though Downing isn't competing for a score or a trophy, the intensity remains high. "The focus is still the same for a rider," Downing said. "Going out and filming every day, I still have to be really focused. It's still like a competition because you're still competing with other snowboarders to get in the video."
Downing accepted Christ at the age of 12 while attending a youth camp on Catalina Island. He and his three sisters grew in their faith by attending "a pretty cool Presbyterian church."
"[My faith] really saved me," Downing said. "Going through high school, I was pretty oblivious to the whole party thing. I wasn't even into it. All I wanted to do was go surfing. I just didn't care about all of that stuff."
Downing has relied on his faith even more since joining the professional snowboarding ranks. His sheltered life as a teenager ultimately kept him out of trouble later in life.
"I'm very fortunate because I was a Christian before I was a snowboarder," Downing said. "It definitely would have been harder. The snowboard lifestyle can be pretty difficult for a lot of people. They're all trying to be cool and trying to have a good time, and they get distracted by a bunch of stuff."
Downing was also helped by his relationship with wife Shannon Dunn-Downing. The two have been married for five years and have a 2-year-old son named Logan and a second son due at the end of 2004. Dunn-Downing is a world-class snowboarder in her own right. She won a silver medal in the halfpipe event at the 1998 Olympics and also competed in 2002.
"She's super competitive. She's the opposite of what I am," Downing said. "She loves to compete and better herself and have a goal in mind. Watching her compete in the Olympics was cool, but it was stressful for me just watching."
Downing plans to be involved with snowboarding for many years to come. He is already active in working behind the scenes with his sponsor, Burton, in marketing and product development. Downing also looks forward to partnerships with ministries such as Eternal Riders (eternalriders.com) that reach out to snowboarders on the professional and amateur level. In his personal life, Downing has already experienced the positive effect of letting his light shine.
"I have seen a few snowboarders come to Christ," Downing said. "I don't know if that's because of me or not. I think a lot of pro snowboarders are looking for something. They get over the whole party thing. It's short-lived and then they're looking for something else. Fortunately, a few of them have found Christ."
SPORTS
Hot Gear for the Cold Winter
Dave Downing is one of the most sought-after snowboarders for action-sports films. With his world-class credentials, recreational riders might be wise to listen to his advice on what gear he plans to use this winter season:
The Burton Custom is the best-selling snowboard in the world for the last 10 years. It is very versatile and can be used in many conditions, such as the backcountry, snowboard parks, halfpipe and just crazing around the ski resort. I am also going to be riding the Malolo, a board designed to be ridden in deep snow.
P1 bindings are the most comfortable I have ever used, the straps and highbacks are great because there are no pressure points. I wear the SL-7 boots--super-light, low-profile boots unique because their upper half is totally separate from the lower, providing for a smooth flex.
For clothing and gloves I mostly wear the AK line from Burton, this is the highest quality materials and best design for being in the elements. They use the best waterproof, breathable fabrics and Gore-Tex. I use Anon Figment goggles.
7 Hot Spots for Ice Fishing
Find your own frozen adventure at one of these pristine lakes.
1. Oneida Lake, Cleveland, N.Y. The village of Cleveland sits on Oneida Lake, the largest inland lake in New York state. A nearby New York State Department of Environmental Conservation fish hatchery down the road releases thousands of walleye each year. App's Landing bait shop will rent an auger and fish house: 1-315-675-8542.
2. Big Wood Lake, Jackman, Maine. Surrounded by 250,000 acres of woodlands and only 506 residents, Jackman has a great history of ice-fishing holes that the old-timers frequent. The local Chamber of Commerce will give you tips on where to start: 1-888-633-5225.
3. Lake Temagami, Temagami, Ontario. Isolated far north of Lake Heron and south of Hudson Bay, Lake Temagami is a large, isolated slab of killer ice fishing. Bring your long underwear and your best Canadian accent. Call Northern Ontario Fishing Guide Service: 1-705-569-3870.
4. Georgetown Lake, near Philipsburg, Mont. This 3,000-acre mountain lake is located 6,000 feet above sea level and surrounded by mountains. Stay at the historic Broadway Hotel in Philipsburg to get directions to ghost towns nearby: 1-800-877-4436.
5. Kenai River, Soldotna, Alaska. With a location in south central Alaska, winter temperatures along the Kenai rarely drop below zero and provide for dog-sledding trips and lively king salmon fishing. Contact Alaskan Fishing Adventures Inc. for lodges near the river: 1-907-262-9683.
6. Lake Gogebic, Lake Gogebic, Mich. Covering 14,000 acres of Michigan's upper peninsula, Lake Gogebic is a hot spot for winter fishing around the region. Contact Tom Blooming Guide Service to find the best spot for jumbo perch: 1-906-932-2216.
7. Gull Lake, near Brainerd, Minn. Gull Lake provides some of the best ice fishing in northern Minnesota, and Cragun's Resort and Hotel has been setting up ice fishers since 1940: 1-800-272-4867.
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