Hi friends,
One of my favorite things to do is get in my car and drive. I love exploring new places. Once I decided to try a new route to the coast. I had a map and thought I knew exactly where I was going. Five hours and countless country roads later I found myself in Carmel. It was beautiful, but 120 miles from Morro Bay, my original destination.
When I left Carmel, I decided to take a wandering route home as well. My path took me through canyons, mountain passes, and beautiful vineyards. It was beautiful but lonely. Halfway home, I realized I hadn’t seen another vehicle for a couple of hours. I had no cell phone, and if something happened, it would be days before anyone found me.
In an exclusive interview, author Janette Oke tells us she was inspired by tales of hardships the early settlers faced. Her popular
Love Comes Softly series follows the adventures of a family moving west.
Love’s Unending Legacy, the fifth film based on the series, comes out on DVD this Tuesday.
Also new this week is
a feature-length version of the award-winning short film
Midnight Clear. From director Dallas Jenkins, it’s the poignant story of 5 strangers whose lives intersect on Christmas Eve. The cast includes some familiar faces: Victoria Jackson (
Thou Shalt Laugh The Deuce and Saturday Night Live) and Kevin Downes (
The Moment After 1 & 2,
Six,
Thr3e, etc.). It’s a great addition to your Christmas film collection.
During the craziness of this season, take the time to enjoy a good film and some popcorn with your family and friends.
From the screening room,
Angela Walker
ChristianMovieNews.comP.S. New in 200 theaters this week is the independent film “
Noelle” from Gener8xion Entertainment. With the simple yet profound message that “All is forgiven,” it’s described as a “quirky, fun, and faith-filled movie.”
Congratulations to last week's winners of
Evan Almighty and
Thou Shalt Laugh the Deuce DVDs in our drawing of 9 newsletter subscribers: Pauline, Chris, Rudy, Doug, Gary, Joanna, Dot, Gina, and Glenda.
Midnight Clear (2007) - DVD
For many people, the holidays are the loneliest time of year.
'Twas the night before Christmas in the Southwest, and for five strangers spread out across town, it's the most depressing time of the year. As the night progresses, they randomly cross paths, and in unique and subtle ways, change each other's lives forever.
Based on a story from best-selling author Jerry B. Jenkins (Left Behind series, Though None Go With Me), this is a parable for today about how random acts of kindness can, unbeknownst to us all, have a life-altering impact on others.
A film that will have an impact on the way you do Christmas this year.
Featuring incredible performances by veteran actors such as Stephen Baldwin (THE USUAL SUSPECTS), K Callan ("Lois & Clark"), and Kirk B.R. Woller (FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS), as well as newcomers Mary Thornton and Mitchell Jarvis, MIDNIGHT CLEAR is a quiet tapestry of lonely people trying to connect in the midst of pain. The film also features terrific and surprising guest work from Victoria Jackson ("SNL") and Richard Riehle ("OFFICE SPACE").
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary: Dallas Jenkins - Director, Jerry Jenkins, Wes Halula - Screenwriter
- Behind-The Scenes Featurette
Get the short film that inspired this moving motion picture.
Love Comes Softly 5-Pack - DVD
Get all 5 movies in the Janette Oke series for a great low price!
1. Love Comes Softly
Marty and Aaron Claridge (Katherine Heigl and Oliver Macready) travel west in search of new opportunity. But when tragedy strikes and Marty is suddenly widowed, the young woman must face the rugged terrain, bleak weather, and life among strangers - alone. That is until a handsome widower named Clark Davis (Dale Midkiff) suggests a platonic "marriage of convenience" until Marty can return home. As the months pass, though, Marty and Clark discover an unexpected new love where there was once only loss.
2. Love's Enduring Promise
Based on Janette Oke's best-selling novel, this poignant sequel to Love Comes Softly will draw you in from beginning to end. Missie Davis (January Jones) is devoted equally to teaching school and doing her fair share on the farm. When a handsome railroad heir (Mackenzie Astin) starts to woo her, Missie is nearly swept off her feet. That is, until a mysterious stranger (Logan Bartholomew) with a troubled past shows up. Torn between two very different men, Missie learns what is truly important in this inspiring film that the whole family will enjoy.
3. Love's Long Journey
In this compelling third installment from Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly book series, Missie's (Erin Cottrell) surprise discovery - her pregnancy - sets her on a new course that's at once thrilling and terrifying. After all the planning and dreaming, she and her husband, Willie (Logan Bartholemew), have headed west in a covered wagon, leaving behind the prairie home of Missie's parents. Now, caught between the excitement of the new adventure and the pain of not knowing when she'll see her family again, Missie copes with the challenges, and cherishes the rewards of her new homestead.
4. Love's Abiding Joy
Directed by Michael Landon, Jr., this fourth installment in Janette Oke's beloved "Love Comes Softly" series is now a satisfying, heartwarming feature. Following a treacherous journey West, Missie (Erin Cottrell) and her husband (Logan Bartholomew) have set up a homestead where they've begun to raise a family. And now that a railroad line connects the states, Missie's father (Dale Midkiff) is able to visit. But when the joyful reunion is interrupted by tragedy, the faith and love of this family is once again challenged in a story you and your family will never forget.
5. Love's Unending Legacy
Two years have passed since the tragic death of Missie LaHaye's husband Willie. Ultimately unable to work the land on her own, Missie (Erin Cottrell) and son Maddie leave Tettsford Junction for the security of her father's ranch and the hope of a new life. New adventures await as Missie takes in reluctant orphan Belinda (Holliston Coleman) who hides a secret. A new home also brings the possibility of romance… if Missie can manage to put the past behind her. Dale Midkiff and Victor Browne also star in this touching story of faith and love.
Read our exclusive interview with Michael Landon Jr.
Industry Interview
Christian in Cinema: Janette Oke
by Angela Walker
With more than 75 books written and more than 23 million copies sold, Janette Oke is one of the most prolific writers of Christian fiction. Her stories set in earlier historical times still reach the hearts of readers today because they can identify with the emotions experienced by her characters. 5 of the 8 books in her Love Comes Softly series have been made into films which promise to be as popular as her books.
I had a few moments to talk with Janette about her books, the inspiration for her stories and her personal faith. She's a very gracious and kind lady whose husband and sons were the models for many of the male characters in her books.
CC.com: What inspires you – where did the idea for the series come from?
Janette: It’s a little hard to pinpoint. For a writer, ideas come from everywhere and you never know when one’s going to catch you by surprise. For that particular series, I went way back in my own personal history.
About 250 years ago, when my forefathers were in Eastern Canada, they were part of a little group of new settlers. The first winter came and a supply ship that was due did not come in. Over the winter, a number of people did not survive. Immediately there was the formation of new family units in order to survive.
It made me wonder, with the opening of the west, they must have faced the same problem. It was a very harsh world, and oftentimes you would lose your mate. Then what do you do? These pioneer women had come out west and lost their husbands. There was usually no way home. What were their resources? What were they to do?
This sparked the idea about a young woman being left on her own. Of course, often what resulted was a marriage of convenience. It was really the only way you could continue on with life. So that was the beginning spark.
From there, I lived with the characters for several months while designing the book mentally. I began to live through these characters; the life that perhaps would have taken place in such a situation.
CC.com: When you look at today’s society, do you think there are people who embody the characteristics of the characters in your books?
Janette: Yes. I still live in a farming community in Western Canada, and I believe much of that is still reflected. Perhaps in the larger cities it would be shown a different way. But all through the ages of mankind, the basic needs are still there for every individual.
We all have the need of belonging, being loved, beyond the physical food, clothes, and shelter. We’re still that basic human package with personal needs. Our situations differ that’s the only change. So I feel readers today can relate maybe not to the incidents, but to the emotions.
CC.com: Do you strongly identify with one of the characters? Feel a kinship with them?
Janette: Each character is a compilation of many individuals I know. I can rather see in Marty many characteristics of my own grandmother. She’s a solid, wonderful giving woman. I think the thing that is a little different for me in my books is the male characters.
I was a daddy’s girl and was blessed with super brothers. I have a wonderful husband and 3 sons that take care of me. So to me the men in my life have been very important and strong, and someone to really lean on. They make you feel good about yourself by caring for you. So I was trying to show this strong man who was committed to this needy woman. She certainly was in need at this particular time.
He’s still going through hurts of his own after losing his own wife, so it takes some time for him to get past that. It was a commitment more than an attraction that drew these two people together. Of course it developed into a very strong love relationship, but that took time.
So probably in writing these books I was thinking more of the male characters than the female. I wanted to present that kind of man, because a lot of women are looking for that kind of man. In fact, they write me asking, “Where can I find Clark?”
I had another reader who wrote and asked me for the names and addresses of Royal Canadian Mounted Policemen, because I had featured some in another series.
I think that the male character is very important, and that there are still some of them out there. I got one.
CC.com: Your books (and the films) are filled with your faith. Did you grow up in a Christian home?
Janette: I did. I had a wonderful Christian mother. My father was a very moral man, but it wasn’t until close to his death that he accepted a personal faith of his own. But my mother raised us in the faith, and he always supported her in that. So of course that was very important to me.
My personal faith does reflect in my writing, and I hope it reflects in my entire life. I feel it is very important particularly in our world where things don’t go the way we want them to. I look at our world today, and it’s kind of on shaky ground in many areas. I feel it’s very important to have that solid faith, and I don’t know what I would do without it.
We’ve had some very tragic things to deal with in our personal lives over the years, and that’s the thing that holds us steady.
CC.com: Can you tell us about your family?
Janette: We have 3 sons, 1 daughter and 16 grandchildren. We lost one as a 2 1/2-month old baby to SIDS, so now we have 15. Two of them are adopted from Russia, and are a wonderful addition to the family. My husband and I have been married 50 years.
CC.com: What do you like to do to relax?
Janette: Of course read. I enjoy flower gardening now. I don’t do very much with vegetables any more, but really enjoy the flowers. Of course, I’m very involved in our church, and that takes a lot of time.
My very favorite thing is family events. 3 of our 4 children live in Indiana, so it means a little bit of traveling. It’s wonderful to spend time with family.
CC.com: What are other destinations do you enjoy traveling to?
Janette: We have done quite a bit of traveling. The biggest portion has been with cruises. I think we’ve taken 10 cruising trips. For our 50th celebration, we took a cruise that started out in New Zealand and ended up in Japan. It was wonderful to visit all those different countries and experience the different cultures.
©2007 ChristianCinema.com
