Now that I've recovered...

...from the nasty stomach flu last week, let's get back to writing.

Today, let's look at an email from a faithful reader:

I was greatly distressed to learn last week that the young woman who portrays Jean Groberg in "The Other Side of Heaven" has just made a movie (not released yet) which has scenes where she is nude, involved in perverted sex, and uses drugs. I am so disappointed in her.

That is why the CHURCH is so careful in choosing the actors/actresses for its films. The CHURCH tries its best to see that wrong associations can never be made.

Had you already heard about this?

That would be Anne Hathaway, star of "Ella Enchanted" and both "Princess Diaries" movies in addition to her small role as Elder Groberg's future wife in "OSH". The movie in question is most likely "Havoc" which has completed filming but still does not have a definite release date. From a May interview in CosmoGIRL!: "It was really important for me that my character in 'Havoc' be nude...People have me pegged in a certain way, and I have a lot of conservative fans who'll probably be mildly offended. But ultimately, it'll make people rethink me a bit."

First response? If Ms. Hathaway's career decision(s) cause enough disappointment and outrage that people avoid watching "The Other Side of Heaven" because of it--Hallelujah!

A more serious response? Well, since OSH came out years before "Havoc" was even cast it's hard to see how the OSH filmmakers could have done anything differently. It's not like they could have (or should have) made her sign a contract at the beginning that said: "After appearing in this movie as Jean Groberg, you will be required to act like Jean Groberg for the rest of your life..." They could have only considered temple-recommending church member actresses for the role, but even then there would be no guarantee that sometime in the future that sister wouldn't have a role in some movie/play or some real life incident that compromised her 'squeaky clean' image.

Should that even matter, anyway? Would Ms. Hathaway be now incapable of doing another 'family' movie after appearing in "Havoc"? The suitability of the one isn't affected by the unsuitability of the other... Does Robin Wright Penn having appeared in a number of R-rated movies make "The Princess Bride" any less of a family movie? Or Angelina Jolie having taken her clothes off in any number of other movies making the PG "Sky Captain..." from September less appropriate or enjoyable? I don't see 'boycotting' the clean movies--past or future--of an actor/actress merely because of the existence of unclean ones, any more than you would 'boycott' a movie because the actor's offscreen personal life isn't 'G rated'. I think movies should be looked at as self-contained entities without regard for what's going on in the actors' lives behind the scenes.

Ahh...but are the rules different for CHURCH movies, though? That's the real question... To me, I don't see Church movies as being different from non-Church ones in terms of requiring actors of 'good moral character'. Val Kilmer's past and future roles in other movies--or his personal life--don't matter to me if he's cast as the Prophet Joseph Smith--only his specific portrayal of the prophet in the movie. True...there is a "Caesar's wife" principle to consider in Church films more than others since public image is important to the Church's progression, but as for me personally--I don't think it matters. It's not like Anne Hathaway is tied into the Church so closely through OSH (a lot of her film bibliographies don't even mention it) that it would turn into a PR problem for Elder Groberg or the Church any time in the future anyway... Let her do whatever she wants.

(Now...if there is a disturbing aspect to this, it's that kids sites are mentioning (and more or less advertising) her upcoming role in "Havoc" without any indication that it is most definitely not a kids movie. (see here) That's probably a whole other issue, though...)