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CNN Live At Daybreak

Passion Premieres: Predawn Showing

Aired February 25, 2004 - 06:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And on this Ash Wednesday morning a decision, orange juice and a Danish at the movies instead of popcorn and a soda? Moviegoers will have their choice at a predawn premiere of "The Passion of the Christ." A suburban Dallas businessman has bought out a 20-screen multiplex for a showing of the Mel Gibson movie.
Reporter Cynthia Vega of CNN affiliate WFAA is outside of that theater in Plano, Texas.

How much did he pay for this?

CYNTHIA VEGA, WFAA-TV REPORTER: Unbelievable. It's difficult to hear you, but the fellow that you are talking about actually spent $42,000 of his own money in order to buy up tickets and reserve this movie theater so that people could come in and see the movie throughout the day. It actually made its debut at midnight. There were about a hundred people who made it in for that show. There was another show this morning at 3:00 and the next one begins at 6:30 this morning.

One of the people who lucked out and got one of the tickets bought by that financial planner from Plano is Christen Bone. And she joins me now. She is going to be attending the 6:30 showing.

And we thank you for being with us, Christen. You are 17 years old. You are here with your family. Tell me what is on your mind as you head into this film?

CHRISTEN BONE, MOVIEGOER: I am a little bit concerned about the gore. I don't think it will be too much, but I think that it will give me a realization of what Jesus really went through. And that, to me, that's exciting.

VEGA: Is that what lures you mostly, the curiosity?

BONE: It is. I want to see -- I have always said that if I could visit an event in history it would be this. And now I feel like I have been given that chance. And that is really what pulls me to this. I am excited to have a realization of what Jesus did.

VEGA: Is this because you come from a position of faith? Is that what you bring to this as you step inside?

BONE: Yes, it is. I believe that Jesus is my Savior and that He died for me. VEGA: One more question for you, I know this is a family affair. I saw your brothers in tow, your parents, they are much younger than you even. Any concerns as a family that this is going to be too violent for them?

BONE: A little bit, but I think that it will be something that they can learn from and that I don't think it will bother them. I think it will be more a learning experience.

VEGA: All right. Well thanks for sticking around and telling us your thoughts.

BONE: No problem.

VEGA: That showing, again, at 6:30 this morning. As many as 6,000 people expected to turn out here throughout the day to take in this movie.

At the same time, worth noting, critics have certainly dealt a heavy blow to this movie. They have said it's too bloody, that it's a little heavy handed in terms of the portrayal of Jesus' -- portrayal of Jesus and also that it's unfair to Jews. But regardless, viewers are talking about this movie, they are buzzing about it and they are all talking about one thing, faith.

Live in Plano, I'm Cynthia Vega. Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you very much, Cynthia.

We want to talk more about "The Passion" within the Christian community. The movie is hitting all the right notes, but are Christians being used?

Joining us live now, Kevin and Taylor from 104.7 "The Fish" here in Atlanta. That's a Christian radio station.

Welcome.

KEVIN AVERY, 104.7 "THE FISH": Hey, Carol.

TAYLOR SCOTT, 104.7 "THE FISH": Thanks for having us.

AVERY: Yes, thanks.

COSTELLO: Well we appreciate your being with us. Mel Gibson's production company has sent churches across the country copies of this movie. Is this a perk or is it a marketing strategy?

AVERY: Well I think Mel is passionate about having people see his movie. It's a movie that he has made as a labor of love using, I've heard, like 30 -- is it $30 million of his own money. So I think he is passionate about "The Passion" and getting people to see a movie that...

COSTELLO: Well you know I understand that, but he is sending copies to churches across America. The churches are urging their parishioners to go see the film. I mean this is a good marketing strategy by Mel Gibson, is it not?

AVERY: I think it's probably a good idea, yes, to get a sample of your product in the hands of people that are likely to use it, sure. But I don't think that there is anything devious about that. I think he is just trying to get folks to see a movie he is passionate about.

SCOTT: One thing that's kind of neat to see is some of the churches that have bought out theaters have actually taken separate donations from the parishioners. It's not coming from the general church fund, it's a separate thing that people are spending their money on, so.

COSTELLO: Interesting. I know that you have a call-in show. How much excitement out there is there in the Christian community about this movie?

AVERY: Well to use the over word -- overused word again, people are very passionate about "The Passion." Yesterday we talked on our -- on our morning show about age appropriateness for seeing "The Passion." And we were just flooded with calls non-stop and then all day long e-mails. So you know people are pretty excited about it.

COSTELLO: Well what are they saying about the question of age appropriate, because it is very violent?

SCOTT: It is. And a lot of our listeners had some great insights. Many of them were calm about it, you know not caught up in the media hype, and said you know what, this movie is going to be around for a long time. It's going to come out on DVD. If you think your kids are too young to see it now, wait. Wait until it comes out and wait until they are older and can really handle the violence. And that way, too, when it comes out on DVD, you can hit pause, you can discuss it with your kids and you can fast forward parts of it that you think are too heavy for them to handle. So they -- that's...

COSTELLO: So you guys really think that this movie will become an educational tool, maybe not only for parents but for churches across America as well?

AVERY: Sure. I think it has beyond just today's obviously you know there's a lot of attention on today's release and on the next week. But beyond this for years to come, sure, people will have it in their homes and watch it with their kids. That's what I have a 12- year-old son, Carol, and that's what I plan on doing is getting the DVD when it comes out you know in a year or so and watching it with him in our -- in our own home.

COSTELLO: Got you. Kevin and Taylor from 104.7 "The Fish" here in Atlanta, thank you for joining us live on DAYBREAK.

And be sure to join us for a special "CNN PRESENTS" "The Mystery of Jesus." You can see it at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, 5:00 p.m. Pacific. That's right here on CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com








Aired February 25, 2004 - 06:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And on this Ash Wednesday morning a decision, orange juice and a Danish at the movies instead of popcorn and a soda? Moviegoers will have their choice at a predawn premiere of "The Passion of the Christ." A suburban Dallas businessman has bought out a 20-screen multiplex for a showing of the Mel Gibson movie.
Reporter Cynthia Vega of CNN affiliate WFAA is outside of that theater in Plano, Texas.

How much did he pay for this?

CYNTHIA VEGA, WFAA-TV REPORTER: Unbelievable. It's difficult to hear you, but the fellow that you are talking about actually spent $42,000 of his own money in order to buy up tickets and reserve this movie theater so that people could come in and see the movie throughout the day. It actually made its debut at midnight. There were about a hundred people who made it in for that show. There was another show this morning at 3:00 and the next one begins at 6:30 this morning.

One of the people who lucked out and got one of the tickets bought by that financial planner from Plano is Christen Bone. And she joins me now. She is going to be attending the 6:30 showing.

And we thank you for being with us, Christen. You are 17 years old. You are here with your family. Tell me what is on your mind as you head into this film?

CHRISTEN BONE, MOVIEGOER: I am a little bit concerned about the gore. I don't think it will be too much, but I think that it will give me a realization of what Jesus really went through. And that, to me, that's exciting.

VEGA: Is that what lures you mostly, the curiosity?

BONE: It is. I want to see -- I have always said that if I could visit an event in history it would be this. And now I feel like I have been given that chance. And that is really what pulls me to this. I am excited to have a realization of what Jesus did.

VEGA: Is this because you come from a position of faith? Is that what you bring to this as you step inside?

BONE: Yes, it is. I believe that Jesus is my Savior and that He died for me. VEGA: One more question for you, I know this is a family affair. I saw your brothers in tow, your parents, they are much younger than you even. Any concerns as a family that this is going to be too violent for them?

BONE: A little bit, but I think that it will be something that they can learn from and that I don't think it will bother them. I think it will be more a learning experience.

VEGA: All right. Well thanks for sticking around and telling us your thoughts.

BONE: No problem.

VEGA: That showing, again, at 6:30 this morning. As many as 6,000 people expected to turn out here throughout the day to take in this movie.

At the same time, worth noting, critics have certainly dealt a heavy blow to this movie. They have said it's too bloody, that it's a little heavy handed in terms of the portrayal of Jesus' -- portrayal of Jesus and also that it's unfair to Jews. But regardless, viewers are talking about this movie, they are buzzing about it and they are all talking about one thing, faith.

Live in Plano, I'm Cynthia Vega. Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right. Thank you very much, Cynthia.

We want to talk more about "The Passion" within the Christian community. The movie is hitting all the right notes, but are Christians being used?

Joining us live now, Kevin and Taylor from 104.7 "The Fish" here in Atlanta. That's a Christian radio station.

Welcome.

KEVIN AVERY, 104.7 "THE FISH": Hey, Carol.

TAYLOR SCOTT, 104.7 "THE FISH": Thanks for having us.

AVERY: Yes, thanks.

COSTELLO: Well we appreciate your being with us. Mel Gibson's production company has sent churches across the country copies of this movie. Is this a perk or is it a marketing strategy?

AVERY: Well I think Mel is passionate about having people see his movie. It's a movie that he has made as a labor of love using, I've heard, like 30 -- is it $30 million of his own money. So I think he is passionate about "The Passion" and getting people to see a movie that...

COSTELLO: Well you know I understand that, but he is sending copies to churches across America. The churches are urging their parishioners to go see the film. I mean this is a good marketing strategy by Mel Gibson, is it not?

AVERY: I think it's probably a good idea, yes, to get a sample of your product in the hands of people that are likely to use it, sure. But I don't think that there is anything devious about that. I think he is just trying to get folks to see a movie he is passionate about.

SCOTT: One thing that's kind of neat to see is some of the churches that have bought out theaters have actually taken separate donations from the parishioners. It's not coming from the general church fund, it's a separate thing that people are spending their money on, so.

COSTELLO: Interesting. I know that you have a call-in show. How much excitement out there is there in the Christian community about this movie?

AVERY: Well to use the over word -- overused word again, people are very passionate about "The Passion." Yesterday we talked on our -- on our morning show about age appropriateness for seeing "The Passion." And we were just flooded with calls non-stop and then all day long e-mails. So you know people are pretty excited about it.

COSTELLO: Well what are they saying about the question of age appropriate, because it is very violent?

SCOTT: It is. And a lot of our listeners had some great insights. Many of them were calm about it, you know not caught up in the media hype, and said you know what, this movie is going to be around for a long time. It's going to come out on DVD. If you think your kids are too young to see it now, wait. Wait until it comes out and wait until they are older and can really handle the violence. And that way, too, when it comes out on DVD, you can hit pause, you can discuss it with your kids and you can fast forward parts of it that you think are too heavy for them to handle. So they -- that's...

COSTELLO: So you guys really think that this movie will become an educational tool, maybe not only for parents but for churches across America as well?

AVERY: Sure. I think it has beyond just today's obviously you know there's a lot of attention on today's release and on the next week. But beyond this for years to come, sure, people will have it in their homes and watch it with their kids. That's what I have a 12- year-old son, Carol, and that's what I plan on doing is getting the DVD when it comes out you know in a year or so and watching it with him in our -- in our own home.

COSTELLO: Got you. Kevin and Taylor from 104.7 "The Fish" here in Atlanta, thank you for joining us live on DAYBREAK.

And be sure to join us for a special "CNN PRESENTS" "The Mystery of Jesus." You can see it at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, 5:00 p.m. Pacific. That's right here on CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com