Johnny Lingo on DVD – How to Influence Hollywood
By Thomas Baggaley
May is a month for video/DVD releases in the LDS market. Already this month, The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey has come out as well as Christian Vuissa’s award-winning film Unfolding. Scheduled for the beginning of June is the video/DVD release of Halestorm Entertainment’s latest production, The Home Teachers. And to all of this, we can add the recent DVD/video release of a film which is not technically an LDS market film – after all, none of the characters in the film are LDS and the film is based on a widely-known short story by a non-LDS author – but certainly it holds an important place in Latter-day Saint culture. The film, of course, is The Legend of Johnny Lingo.
Produced by Latter-day Saints John Garbett (The Other Side of Heaven) and Jerry Molen (Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, The Other Side of Heaven) and directed by first-time LDS director Steven Ramirez (film editor for The Other Side of Heaven), The Legend of Johnny Lingo grossed over $1.6 million during its theatrical run, roughly the same as The Book of Mormon Movie took in, but well short of the mark set by their previous collaboration, The Other Side of Heaven, which had a larger budget, received a nationwide release and had the good fortune of having one of its lead actors (Anne Hathaway) become a recognizable star just in time to boost attendance figures (thanks to her role in Disney’s The Princess Diaries).
Set in the South Pacific (like The Other Side of Heaven), the film features Joe Folau (who played Feki in the previous film) as Tama, an orphan who, as a boy, sailed away from his island home, promising his only friend, a girl named Mahana who, like he, was also an outcast, that he would return for her someday. Eventually, Tama ends up in the home of Johnny Lingo (played by George Henare), a wealthy trader and becomes his apprentice and eventual heir. Meanwhile, eight years have passed and Tama feels he must find a way to keep the promise of long ago. Obviously, there is more to this story than the part which is familiar to most Latter-day Saints who have seen the 1968 Brigham Young University Production based on the same story. Still, it is a heart-warming story, and the whole episode surrounding Tama’s return and the bargaining for a wedding dowry is especially satisfying.
Just as I thought when I reviewed the film for its theatrical release, Folau seemed much more at ease as Feki than he does in this role, and the roles played by children in the beginning of the movie suffer the usual challenges associated with child acting multiplied by the fact that these children speak with Polynesian accents. However, George Henare is very good as the older Johnny Lingo and Alvin Fitisemanu is delightful as Johnny Lingo’s right-hand man and chief steward. Ramirez makes some of the usual first-time director mistakes, and I was particularly bothered by the music-video-like nature of some of the montages and sequences – but then those were my nine-year-old daughter’s favorite parts, so this may not be so distracting for some viewers.
Probably the most refreshing part about this film is that it simply tells a good story and manages to do so in a clean, wholesome, family-friendly way. With all of the recent attention on movie editing services and technology like CleanFlicks and ClearPlay and the unreliability of the MPAA ratings system, here is a film that doesn’t need any editing before you can feel good about watching it with your entire family – it is most definitely a G-rated movie. Such films are far too rare these days, and the fact is that Hollywood seems to have decided that family-friendly films only sell on video and DVD as witnessed by the way that the few such films that are made (such as Blair Treu’s Little Secrets, another family-friendly film that is highly recommended) have been quickly pushed out of theaters and onto video shelves or are never given a theatrical release at all.
Although, as mentioned before, this is not technically an LDS market film, the LDS market still is an important part of its potential audience, and the filmmakers have recognized that by authorizing a special LDS edition of the film through Deseret Book. The LDS edition includes the new full-length feature film “The Legend of Johnny Lingo,” as well as special bonus footage of a restored and digitally mastered version of the 1969 “Johnny Lingo” and a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the BYU film, entitled “8 Cows-Millions of Hearts.”
Most online sites are promoting only the MGM release because MGM has exclusive online distribution rights. The Deseret Book LDS edition is available in LDS bookstores, or can be ordered over the phone.
Ratings Update
A few months ago, I wrote about the inconsistency of the MPAA ratings system, an article that received quite a few responses from readers. At the time I mentioned that the LDS cinema film Saints and Soldiers had received an R rating from the MPAA. Since then, Saints and Soldiers was reedited (one official said that a mere “few seconds” had to be cut out) and resubmitted to the MPAA and was given a PG-13 rating. For its DVD/video release, The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey was also reedited and received a PG rating. During its theatrical release, the film was given a PG-13 rating, prompting me to call that film “the tamest PG-13 movie since that rating was added to the system back in the 1980’s.” Presumably, The Book of Mormon Movie had received this rating because of some blood that spattered on Nephi’s face as he decapitated Laban (although you don’t see the actual decapitation) and although I have yet to see the video/DVD version, I assume this has been removed.
One reader wrote a particularly interesting response to me, and with this reader’s permission, I am passing on her experience:
After reading this article, I clicked on the link in the story for the MPAA. After looking and not finding any “contact us by email” link, I finally located their mailing address and phone number. I called the MPAA and my call was directed to the head of the ratings review board, Scott Young. We had a nice chat and I was able to voice my concern about the rating Saints and Soldiers received. I also mentioned the poll done at the Gloria Film Festival. He had not heard of the poll and was interested in the results. I asked that the board reconsider their decision. He did mention that the filmmakers are still working with the board in trying to receive a PG or PG-13 rating.
We also discussed other movies of which I felt the board had missed the mark. First among those were the two Austin Powers movies that received PG-13 ratings. I told him I felt the board had let parents everywhere down with those ratings and that both movies in this series deserved an R rating. Mr. Young admitted that they had received several phone calls about those movies’ ratings and agreed that the sexual innuendo in the movie was more than most parents expected and that the board did miss the mark on those.
We also discussed a few movies that were rated R and probably should have received the NC-17 rating, which he admits that the board is wary to use for whatever reason. While I didn’t see the movie, Eyes Wide Shut was one that I knew (from reviews and previews) was at the far extreme of R and probably should have received NC-17. He admitted the seemingly reluctance of the board in giving this rating. I told him I didn’t feel that justice is being served in giving the same rating to Saints and Soldiers and to Eyes Wide Shut. Mr. Young agreed. I urged him to help the board use ALL the ratings available.
I believe that this is one area that we might have some influence in. Should you not agree with a rating that the MPAA Board of Reviewers assigns, whether for good or bad, let them know. I found Mr. Young very agreeable and open to hearing the opinions of parents. However, I am not naive enough to believe that my lone voice will be enough to make a difference. I encourage you all to let the MPAA know your feelings on these matters and on films in the future.
T. Stelly
Elko Nevada
This should serve as a wonderful reminder to us all that Hollywood’s production companies and studios are businesses and they do rely on their audiences for their support. True, their behavior does not always reflect this. (How many times have people pointed out that releasing edited versions of their films would actually increase their sales or that R-rated films do not typically perform as well in the box office as other films, yet they keep making them more than any other rating?) But members of the church can and do have a voice that will be heard if enough people speak up.
It should be interesting to note that not long ago there were several industry articles pointing out that the studios were becoming more and more willing to release a film with an NC-17 rating. There are, of course, two sides to that coin. It is a sad comment about our society that Hollywood feels that the NC-17 rating would no longer be a kiss of death to a film’s financial success. On the other hand, perhaps this means that the MPAA will not be as reluctant to give a film an NC-17 rating when it really deserves it.
How to Influence Hollywood
The problem is that it has seemed for a long time that American families do NOT have a voice in Hollywood. The films released each year seem to push the envelope further and further. Many have stopped going to see films altogether, because, basically, there is nothing there that they want to see. And from a financial standpoint, you would think that as people stopped going to see films, the message would get through to filmmakers. I have long maintained that there is a HUGE audience in mainstream America that has stopped going to the theaters because Hollywood has lost touch with them. These people would rather see Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music – or even The Legend of Johnny Lingo – but quality films of that nature just are no longer being made, and they feel it’s just too much work to weed through all the junk films to find those one or two real gems. Hollywood makes the situation worse by releasing supposed family films that are either low-quality films that cater to two-year-olds and totally ignore their parents or are salted with profanity and disgusting references to bodily functions (or both).
These people often have families and save money by catching the few films they watch in the dollar movies or even more likely, on video, where they can fast-forward through any less-than-appropriate content or even turn off the film if need be. If they watch any television at all, it’s Nick at Night or Turner Classic Movies – content they feel they can trust because it comes from a day when censor was not a swear word. The audience is there. The financial viability of companies like CleanFlicks and ClearPlay attest to that. No one seems to argue that point, but Hollywood shows little interest in tapping into that gold mine, and so the voice of that audience gets lost.
Why? Because Hollywood does not consider them part of their potential audience. They have stopped going to theaters. Hollywood is busy making films for people who do go to theaters – the ones who pay to see a film in its first weekend. This includes teenagers and single people in their 20’s. They are the ones who have the most discretionary income – money which can be spent on entertainment instead of keeping a roof over their families’ heads and food for their children’s mouths. So Hollywood does most of their market testing with this group and the result is that the big budgets go to making effects-driven, often violent spectacle, because that’s what will bring in that audience and that’s where the studios make the greatest profit.
From Hollywood’s point of view it makes sense. If you ask someone who doesn’t go to movies what he wants, who’s to say if he’ll shell out the money for a ticket once you’ve made that film? There’s a much greater chance of getting someone to watch your movie if they go see movies all the time.
There is another aspect of this to consider as well. Families, especially LDS families that tend to be large, usually wait until a movie hits the bargain (or “dollar”) theaters before they will go see it (if they even see the films in theaters). It’s simple economics. A family of five going to a first-run theater has spent around $40 (depending on where you live) just to get in. That same family can see a film in the budget theaters for the price of a single ticket in a first-run theater. The problem is that the studios and production companies make the most profit off of the first two weeks of a film’s theatrical run. Relatively, they make almost nothing from the budget theaters. Those first two weeks are crucial in the life of any film, because they essentially determine that film’s future in terms of promotion, video release, etc. If a film does not have the potential to do well in the first two weeks of a nationwide release, it doesn’t get made. If it happens to get made and distributed by a studio and it doesn’t do well during those first couple of weeks, it quickly disappears from theaters, because studios aren’t going to waste time and money promoting it. Put these two factors together and you can see why the family film has almost become a dinosaur – at least in the theaters.
Families do buy and rent videos and DVDs. That’s because you pay one price and the whole family gets to watch. Disney has found this out. That is why they keep producing sequels to their animated features and releasing them direct-to-video. As long as this is the case, family-friendly films will not die out completely. On the other hand, direct-to-video productions do not get the big budgets of a theatrical release. What is the point of spending the extra money for a special effect that will hardly be noticed on the small screen television in people’s homes? Even with the rising popularity of home theater systems, this stigma will limit a direct-to-video film’s budget, and the fact is that as far as Hollywood is concerned, even family-friendly films like The Legend of Johnny Lingo that get a limited theatrical release are just direct-to-video films in different clothing, because where family films are concerned, video and DVD sales are where the money is.
So what can be done? The key is getting Hollywood’s attention and letting them know there is a sizable audience that is being missed – and that this audience will attend first-release theaters if they can just trust the content of films. Writing to studio and production company executives can certainly help. Writing to lawmakers and asking them to put pressure on the entertainment industry will also turn some heads – that is if Hollywood figures out that lawmakers are only going to get involved if there are enough of their constituents who feel strongly about it and realize the potential of capturing that audience. Most effective would be to attend good quality family films when they are released during their first couple of weeks in the theaters. After all, movements like LDS Cinema HAVE been noticed in Hollywood. I’d suggest trying all three whenever possible. The worst thing would be to do nothing if you care about this. Because unless something is done to change it, the market forces are all in place to bring out more of the same – and worse.
