Taking the Show on the Road to Hollywood

Believing it important to bring a distinctively Catholic philosophical and theological voice into contemporary conversations regarding a variety of issues involving the media and culture, the Center on Saturday afternoon, March 8, 2008, hosted a colloquium at Family Theater Productions on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Entitled “Filmmaking in an Apocalyptic Time,” the colloquium was moderated by Center associate director Daniel McInerny and Michael P. Foley, assistant professor in the Great Texts Program at Baylor University.

After an opening lunch, some 30 industry professionals and aspirants gathered in the screening room of Family Theater Productions for the first of two colloquium sessions. In the first, “Diagnosing the Modern Malaise,” Michael Foley used an ingenious elaboration of Plato’s allegory of the cave to help the group explore the particular nature of modernity how it is reflected in contemporary film. After a coffee break, Daniel McInerny led a lively discussion on the various storytelling strategies available to Christian filmmakers looking to address the malaise of modernity.

The day ended with Mass celebrated in the chapel at Family Theater by Fr. Willy Raymond, C.S.C., national director of Family Theater Productions. The Center hopes that this splendid day was only the first of many conversations with entertainment industry professionals in LA.