Full Theaters, Protests Greet ‘Temptation’

The controversial movie “The Last Temptation of Christ” premiered to sold-out theaters and peaceful protests in Los Angeles and eight other U.S. and Canadian cities Friday.

Protesters who contend that the film is blasphemous engaged in sometimes heated arguments with counter-demonstrators and moviegoers waiting to see the picture, but there were no reports of violence. The debates generally centered on respect for religion and freedom of expression.

A number of ticket buyers told reporters that they had specifically come to see the film to counter efforts by some Christian protesters to prevent its release.

300 to 400 Protesters

Los Angeles police estimated that the demonstration here peaked Friday night when between 300 and 400 protesters paraded outside the Cineplex Odeon Cinemas in Century City, where most performances were sold out.

In Los Angeles, as in San Francisco, Washington, New York and Toronto, uniformed security guards checked the bags and purses of theater patrons and at least two Los Angeles moviegoers were ejected from the theater when they stood and shouted denunciations of the film. Yellow paint had been splashed on a theater window and over a poster for the film in Los Angeles about 5 a.m., but for the most part, people on both sides of the issue spread their message with picket signs and slogans on T-shirts. The Los Angeles Police Department reported no arrests.

New York police arrested one protester for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Washington police arrested another for crossing the line set up to keep demonstrators away from patrons entering the theater. According to Washington Police Sgt. Joe Gentile, there also was a telephoned bomb threat but security guards checked the theater between screenings and found nothing. A police dog had been used to check for bombs before the theater opened at noon Friday, he added.

The film also premiered in Minneapolis, Seattle, Chicago and Montreal. The movie had been scheduled for release in September but Universal Pictures moved up the debut last week.

In several cities the movie drew free-lance evangelists who proselytized in the crowd, and in San Francisco two counter-protesters were men dressed as women who identified themselves as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

The film, directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader, is based on the 1955 novel by Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis. Protesters--mainly evangelical Protestants and conservative Catholics--have objected to the depiction of Jesus Christ as vacillating and struggling with his role as the Messiah.

They have particularly objected to the film’s so-called “dream sequence” that depicts Satan’s final temptation of Christ: coming down from the cross, marrying and impregnating Mary Magdalene, and later, fathering children of the biblical sisters Mary and Martha. At the film’s climax, however, Jesus “awakens” from this hallucinated episode and joyfully chooses crucifixion in order to fulfill his role as Messiah.

During this episode at the first showing in Los Angeles, a man in the audience dressed in black, who identified himself as Bobby Bible of Long Beach, shouted out: “I think it’s been a pretty good movie until now but I feel that I have to say: This is blasphemous!” Bible showed up at the theater at 7 a.m. to be the first in line to buy a ticket.

‘Be Quiet’

Others in the audience said “Shhh!” and “Be quiet!” One man replied: “Well then, go see it on video.”

Security personnel moved down the aisle and quickly and forcibly escorted the man--who also had interrupted the show in an earlier outburst--out of the theater. He was not arrested.

John Franklin, a colleague of Bible who said he was “from the Valley,” was ejected at a later showing.

The 800-seat Century City theater was filled for the first showing, and when the credits for the film rolled the name of the director, Scorsese, there were cheers and applause.

Meanwhile, young girls and old women passed out Bible tracts outside the theater. Representatives of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property of Pleasantville, N.Y., handed out pamphlets at Century City and several other theaters that showed a picture of Christ with blood dripping down his neck and face.

“On the Verge of a Public Blasphemy” proclaimed the brochure.

Attended First Show

Tom Pollock, president of the MCA Motion Picture Group, the parent company of Universal Pictures, which produced the film, attended the first show in Century City in order to gauge the crowd reaction. Asked at an impromptu press conference afterward whether he thought the controversy would die soon, he replied:

“I would think that (as) more people see this movie the controversy will become less. They will see that this movie is not what others have made it out to be. It is a truly religious movie.”

Pollock indicated that the movie might move into more theaters soon. “I’ll let you know Monday,” he told reporters.

Directors’ News Conference

Earlier Friday, 14 of Hollywood’s most prominent directors held a news conference at the headquarters of the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood and defended Scorsese’s right to make the movie and called on the nation’s theater owners to resist pressure to boycott the controversial film.

“It makes me very sad, as well as frightened, to see something like this happen,” said director Sydney Pollack, whose films include “Tootsie” and “Out of Africa.” “What’s at stake is the very essence of what we mean when we talk about a free society.

“Christianity has survived 2,000 years; certainly Martin Scorsese’s $6-million movie is not a threat to it,” Pollack added.

The directors used words such as “censorship” and “dictatorial” to describe attempts by some conservative religious groups to prevent the showing of “The Last Temptation.”

“For some of these groups to foist themselves upon us as some kind of thought police is reprehensible,” “Miami Vice” creator Michael Mann said.

Most of the directors attending the press conference had not seen the film. Actor-director Warren Beatty said he resisted the urge to see the film before lending Scorsese his support, noting that his views on the film itself were beside the point.

20 Signed Statement

The 14 directors at the press conference were among 20 who signed a statement of support for Scorsese. They also included Peter Bogdanovich, Oliver Stone, James L. Brooks, John Carpenter, Richard Donner, Clint Eastwood, Randa Haines, Walter Hill, John Milius, Mark Rydell, George Sidney, Elliot Silverstein, Billy Wilder and Robert Zemeckis.

Throughout the nation Friday there were long lines of ticket buyers and determined groups of protesters as the movie debuted.

In mid-Manhattan, moviegoers had to withstand two- to three-hour waits to enter the theater, accompanied by occasional heckling from the 100 or so peaceful demonstrators, plus sweltering humidity and 90-degree heat.

None of these factors seemed to deter the enthusiasm of the viewers, and the 1,200-seat theater was sold out for all four performances.

Call for Repentance

The protesters sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “When the Saints Go Marching In” and a variety of hymns, providing background against the call for repentance by men wearing red capes and blaring from bullhorns.

A small band of demonstrators gathered in Chicago’s muggy, 90-degree heat hours before the first showing. By late afternoon the group had swelled to 400 protesters, who vowed to stay until midnight.

The largest identifiable group was Greek Orthodox. Members walked round and round feverishly shouting, “Stop the blasphemy!” and “Jesus Christ was not a sinner.”

Bob Sherman wore a hat that said “atheist and proud.” It was pulled off his head by one of the religious demonstrators who ran off with it.

Meanwhile, inside the crowded theater, another controversy was brewing. Technical difficulties delayed the film and problems with the sound during the first 20 minutes.

Calm Demonstration

In Washington, about 100 sign-toting protesters and a mannequin-on-wheels dressed as Christ milled around in front of the Circle Avalon Theater in a calm, orderly demonstration.

Demonstrators began arriving about two hours before show time, and many said they planned to spend the afternoon and evening picketing. About 20 police stood on the sidewalk outside the theater and several guards, hired by the theater, were positioned inside.

Protesters said they objected most to what they said was an inaccurate portrayal of Christ as weak and self-doubting.

“It does not depict the truth about Christ,” said Mary Gormley of Woodbridge, Va. “If it depicted the truth, that would be fine. Christ was not a weak, wimpy man, as the movie suggests. . . . This is totally out of the realm of reason.”

Free-Speech Rights

But counter-demonstrator Steve Thoren of Kensington, Md., said the issue was the movie-maker’s right to free speech.

“It’s the basis of our country,” he said. “People who are protesting have to understand that they have the right to their beliefs only because of the same rights that protect the movie company.”

The 600-seat theater was about three-quarters full for the premiere and many of those who saw the film said afterward that they could not understand what all the controversy is about.

Greg Procaccino of Washington said: “I don’t think this is going to shake anybody’s faith in Jesus if they have a real one. . . . It’s not worthy of controversy at all.”

About 650 moviegoers attended the 800-seat theater in Minneapolis for the 7 p.m. screening while 300 protesters milled outside in a cordoned-off area. There were no arrests or incidents reported there or at the screening in Seattle, which a reporter described as “very calm.” Several hundred protesters passed out Bible tracts and leaflets to a less-than-capacity line waiting to enter the Cinerama theater, she said.

In San Francisco, performances were sold out and a band of about 50 protesters were present at the first showing at the theater at the foot of Fisherman’s Wharf.

Shouted Their Views

Screenings were running almost an hour behind schedule because of delays by private security guards checking handbags and knapsacks. Several knives were found, but police would not speculate on whether anyone intended to slash the screen.

Some protesters sang, some recited the Rosary and others shouted their views, but there were more onlookers than protesters. The theater is in the center of a tourist area, and operators of tour buses, trolley cars and horse-drawn carriages were explaining to passengers why the crowds were gathered.

Although there was no serious trouble Friday, there were many examples of the passions generated by the movie.

For example, a small crowd gathered outside the Century City theater when Redge Piefer got into a shouting match with a woman using a bullhorn to proclaim: “I don’t want to know your Jesus!”

“You’re a witch . . . involved in the occult,” Piefer yelled at Ysatis De Saint-Simon.

Earlier, De Saint-Simon said she was protesting the protesters because “the Constitution is very dear to me.”

On a similar note, Lucy Busch, a producer and actress, said she came to view the movie “to support Universal, Martin Scorsese and America.”

But another young man waiting to enter the theater carried this message on his tee shirt: “Relax, It’s Only a Movie.”

Times staff writers Mark Lawrence in Washington, Todd J. Gillman in San Francisco, Guy Aoki, Nina J. Easton, Guy Maxtone-Graham, Kristin Olson, Tammy Sims and Paul Vargas in Los Angeles and researchers Eileen V. Quigley in New York, Ruth Lopez in Chicago and Norma Kaufman in San Francisco also contributed to this story.