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Jennifer Nelson

Christians: The people Hollywood loves to hate

The Los Angeles Times reports that Fox Home Video has created a new film division called FoxFaith.  The new studio will make about a dozen films a year, half of which will be released to theaters, with the rest going directly to DVD.  The studio is reported to be interested in tapping into the success Mel Gibson’s "The Passion of the Christ" by producing films that appeal to the nation’s Christian community.

On the heels of Monday’s night debut of "Studio 60 on Sunset Strip," this announcement is intriguing.  Fox, and Rupert Murdoch, are targeting American Christians while the rest of Hollywood is seething with anger and hatred that these people are even allowed to exist.

I enjoyed the premiere of "Studio 60" while hating it at the same time. It’s got a great cast and smart writing.  But Aaron Sorkin, creator of "The West Wing" and "SportsCenter," blows it by making the first night an assault on Christians.  If you didn’t see the show, here’s Brent Bozell’s review to check out.  Basically, take "The West Wing," switch the setting from the White House to Hollywood, Republicans to Christians and you’ve got "Studio 60."

Sorkin once again tries to soften his attack by making it clear that one of the characters–and a pretty, likeable one–is openly religious.  He did the same thing in "The West Wing," bringing on a pretty, blond Republican character to work in the midst of the bitter, angry Democrats who were fighting the good fight against the mean and hateful right wing.

But the nice and pretty Harriett (apparently based on Sorkin’s ex-girlfriend Kristen Chenoweth, also a Christian actress who once appeared on the "700 Club" to promote an album of spiritual music) doesn’t begin to provide balance for the rest of the show’s constant attack on the nation’s religious population.

My guess is that "Studio 60" will do very well in California and New York and will be widely hailed by the critics, but that if Sorkin continues the tack he took this week, it will not be a hit with regular Americans.  FoxFaith is likely to do much better with the films the studio is planning on producing.