"The Oath" Movie

[rodheadlee]

Do I have to listen to the whole thing? I got tired of it about 5 minutes or 3 minutes in.

[Rain]

1 hour ago, Buckeye said:

I’ve lived in a few cities where sports teams - most often baseball - will have a ‘Mormon night’.  I’ve seen mild support and announcements on the ward level for those - basically flyers in the foyer and maybe one pulpit announcement. Nothing heavy handed. 

As for The Oath, my guess (pure speculation) is the church is hesitant to support an artistic take on the BoM because, as with all art, it’s subjective and may include inaccuracies. The church does its own videos of BoM scenes. Perhaps there was something concerning here in this work. 

 

 

All I know about the movie is in the thread, but I think you could probably say the same thing about The Chosen.  Not the other examples he gave though.  I don't think the church helped with The Chosen till season 2 though, right?

1 hour ago, Buckeye said:

 

Did the church ever come out in support of the animated scripture series? I don’t think so but I know lots of members who bought those (sometimes under undue pressure from sales guy) 

No, and I'm glad not.  I heard so many incorrect things in primary because of it.  I have no problem with adding the stories in - I love historical fiction, but when you focus on children with a subject you daily talk about as being true then it is really going to mix in their minds.

[Rain]

49 minutes ago, rodheadlee said:

Do I have to listen to the whole thing? I got tired of it about 5 minutes or 3 minutes in.

I do a lot of videos at 2x speed now.

[longview]

It was not clear to me but did the LDS PR guy get to see a private screening of the "epic" ?

Maybe the Church is a little more "gun shy" as a result of the Tim Ballard controversy?

[Teancum]

1 hour ago, JAHS said:

He is scheduled to speak at a Firm Foundation Book of Mormon Evidence Conference

Of course he is.🙄

[Thinking]

2 hours ago, Buckeye said:

Did the church ever come out in support of the animated scripture series?

Or "The Singles Ward?"

[Calm]

3 hours ago, ksfisher said:

"The film begins with a moody shot of a tree-canopied shoreline, then: “Legend tells of an ancient grudge.”

 

What follows is a 100-plus-minute romance between the Nephite warrior-prophet Moroni of Book of Mormon fame and a woman, played by part-Choctaw actress Nora Dale, from an enemy group known as the Lamanites. Written and directed by the Latter-day Saint actor Darin Scott, who stars as the film’s hero, “The Oath” will hit more than 650 theaters nationwide Dec. 8.

 

For Scott, the project, more than a decade in the making, represents a sacred work, one that demanded nearly everything — including, at one point, his house — from him.

 

For some scholars, who haven’t seen the movie but have viewed the trailer and read a plot summary, the resulting story is a mashup of modern conservative politics and tired stereotypes about Native Americans. The outcome isn’t just predictable, they say, but a perpetuation of racist tropes."

 

 

"Instead of big-budget battle scenes, the movie depicts the Moroni found in the scripture’s final pages, an army general and the last surviving Nephite, offering shelter to and ultimately marrying a battered woman he finds injured in the woods. Named Bathsheba, she is a runaway from Moroni’s greatest enemy, an evil king played by the actor Billy Zane.

 

Along the way, Moroni teaches Bathsheba his language, how to dress more conservatively and — after her failed attempt to seduce him — the importance of chastity. She converts to Moroni’s Christian faith and, after their marriage, becomes pregnant."

Spoilers!

So much for suspense! (Sarcasm in case anyone thinks I am serious…)

Doesn’t feel like much of a nail biter unless he decided to have Moroni to go all Jeremiah Johnson.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Calm

[pogi]

1 hour ago, longview said:

It was not clear to me but did the LDS PR guy get to see a private screening of the "epic" ?

At 2:45 he states that the PR guy did get a private screening, and then there was an "hour long post screening discussion" in which the PR guy for the church stated that "The Oath would be positive for the Church".  He then bemoans that despite this, the church has done nothing publicly to support it.    

[CV75]

34 minutes ago, pogi said:

At 2:45 he states that the PR guy did get a private screening, and then there was an "hour long post screening discussion" in which the PR guy for the church stated that "The Oath would be positive for the Church".  He then bemoans that despite this, the church has done nothing publicly to support it.    

I'm crowdfunding this production, entitled "The Oaf." 

[Calm]

 

3 hours ago, Rain said:

heard so many incorrect things in primary because of it.  I have no problem with adding the stories in - I love historical fiction, but when you focus on children with a subject you daily talk about as being true then it is really going to mix in their minds.

The only ‘arguments’ I ever had with my junior primary class was over what they picked up from the animated scriptures.  They just did not accept that certain things weren’t in the scriptures.  They accepted me as absolute authority in most everything else, but these they knew personally, some had sections memorized even (my kids memorized Princess Bride and Star Wars, neve got the chance to be hooked on those videos because I wouldn’t have the animated scriptures in the house, just the Church’s version), so I was Wrong.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Calm

[Pyreaux]

Found its playing in my town in Louisiana tomorrow. I'm going to go see it. I'm just too curious. 12:00pm and 10pm, what terrible times.

[california boy]

Having worked for an independent motion picture company for a few years doing their national marketing, I can tell you that without a major studio supporting the film, it is going to be a major uphill battle to make this film profitable. It is why many films go straight to streaming.  

I predict this film will only be in the theaters about 2 weeks.  Then he better hope he can sell it to streaming.  He would have done better doing a regional release in the Mormon corridor.  If it did well there, perhaps he could expand to other markets.  650 screens nation wide is really a bad idea.  You can't effectively market a film without a huge advertising budget.  I think he might be realizing this now and without the Church stepping in to support his project he probably realizes the financial disaster he is headed for.

The movie industry is so rigged against independent movie companies having any success at the box office and is extremely risky financially.  I hope he didn't put up his house for collateral   All of this is true even if the film is an amazing film. 

[MiserereNobis]

I just watched the trailer + bonus materials (??) on imdb. I've never seen a trailer where the writer/director/actor comes on afterwards to tell me that I need to watch the film because God saved his life during the making of the film so the film could be made.

"The Oath is not just a movie. It's an empowering movement that can, with your help, change the world. This is a call to arms in the spiritual war of our time."

Dude. You made a movie and want it to be distributed like a regular movie in cinemas.

(Maybe he's hoping the Tim Ballard Sound of Freedom phenomenon will happen? Be careful what you wish for).

[Peacefully]

5 hours ago, Thinking said:

Or "The Singles Ward?"

Love that movie! 

[Calm]

10 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said:

I just watched the trailer + bonus materials (??) on imdb. I've never seen a trailer where the writer/director/actor comes on afterwards to tell me that I need to watch the film because God saved his life during the making of the film so the film could be made.

"The Oath is not just a movie. It's an empowering movement that can, with your help, change the world. This is a call to arms in the spiritual war of our time."

Dude. You made a movie and want it to be distributed like a regular movie in cinemas.

(Maybe he's hoping the Tim Ballard Sound of Freedom phenomenon will happen? Be careful what you wish for).

My mind went straight to Tim Ballard/Sound of Freedom marketing ploy…crazy successful in its approach…but has such a broader market appeal.

[smac97]

17 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said:

"The Oath is not just a movie."

For most people, it's just a movie.

[MiserereNobis]

5 minutes ago, smac97 said:

For most people, it's just a movie.

Yeah, there's a wee bit of hubris there that he's positing his film as some sort of salvation for our world's ills.

On the other hand, if everyone would just watch The Grateful Dead Movie, then we'd have paradise on earth.

YMMV.

(if you are really checking it out and want to skip the intro animation, go to 7:30. Good stuff ensues)

[The Nehor]

39 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said:

I just watched the trailer + bonus materials (??) on imdb. I've never seen a trailer where the writer/director/actor comes on afterwards to tell me that I need to watch the film because God saved his life during the making of the film so the film could be made.

"The Oath is not just a movie. It's an empowering movement that can, with your help, change the world. This is a call to arms in the spiritual war of our time."

Dude. You made a movie and want it to be distributed like a regular movie in cinemas.

(Maybe he's hoping the Tim Ballard Sound of Freedom phenomenon will happen? Be careful what you wish for).

Bearing your testimony of a product you are trying to sell someone….hmmmmm

Going with priestcraft is a bold marketing strategy.

[MiserereNobis]

24 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

Bearing your testimony of a product you are trying to sell someone….hmmmmm

Going with priestcraft is a bold marketing strategy.

Well, it worked for us Catholics for a dozen centuries. Ya'll might as well try your hand at it.

[The Nehor]

10 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said:

Well, it worked for us Catholics for a dozen centuries. Ya'll might as well try your hand at it.

Yeah, but isn’t that how you got Martin Luther?

[smac97]

https://www.cinelinx.com/movie-news/movie-reviews/the-oath-is-an-agressively-bad-historical-epic-review/

A review.

Not good.  Bummer.

[The Nehor]

10 hours ago, rodheadlee said:

Do I have to listen to the whole thing? I got tired of it about 5 minutes or 3 minutes in.

If he can’t make a heartfelt appeal interesting I have my doubts about his ability to create a movie.

By contrast here is a guy who makes quality content and who made a film and was trying to figure out how to distribute it.

Note the lack of whining and blaming other people.

Edited December 8, 2023 by The Nehor

[the narrator]

After the Sound of Freedom drama, there is no way the Church would get anywhere near a 3rd party film by another MAGA Mormon with delusions of self grandeur. Just short of three years ago Darin Scott was Darin Southam and bragging about scaling the walls of the Capitol Building on Jan 6th. Changed his name when he realized people might not want to associate with that.

[bluebell]

10 hours ago, smac97 said:

https://www.cinelinx.com/movie-news/movie-reviews/the-oath-is-an-agressively-bad-historical-epic-review/

A review.

Not good.  Bummer.

That’s too bad. And sucks that it’s going to be just another thing for nonmembers to think they know about our beliefs through a bad medium. 

[Pyreaux]

16 hours ago, Calm said:

The only ‘arguments’ I ever had with my junior primary class was over what they picked up from the animated scriptures.  They just did not accept that certain things weren’t in the scriptures.  They accepted me as absolute authority in most everything else, but these they knew personally, some had sections memorized even (my kids memorized Princess Bride and Star Wars, neve got the chance to be hooked on those videos because I wouldn’t have the animated scriptures in the house, just the Church’s version), so I was Wrong.

Like what? Anachronisms? Was it other creative liberties, like with the dialog?