Protests Aided ‘Temptation,’ Foes Concede

Evangelists who led public opposition to the showing of “The Last Temptation of Christ” conceded Saturday that their protests had given the movie a boost of free publicity and that Universal Pictures seemed to have won the first round at the box office. But they vowed to continue the fight.

Ticket buyers have far outnumbered protesters in each of the nine U.S. and Canadian cities where the film opened Friday. A number of movie patrons told reporters they came to the film either out of curiosity generated by the protests or specifically to defeat calls to boycott the film. As a result of the controversy, the movie’s premiere, which had been unexpectedly moved up about one month by Universal, received far more news coverage than studio publicists could have dreamed of under usual circumstances.

Protests Abate

Concerns about violence and vandalism at theaters in Los Angeles and elsewhere dissipated Saturday. Moviegoers Saturday nearly filled many of the theaters and the number of protesters dwindled.

“It has to be a decisive victory for Universal,” said Tim Penland, an evangelical film consultant who was hired by Universal to act as liaison with conservative Christians over the film, but then quit to help lead the protests. Detractors of the movie contend that it is blasphemous because of its portrayal of Jesus as self-doubting and struggling with lustful temptations to give up his call as Messiah and marry, have sexual relations, and father children.

“The appeal to stop it (from being screened) failed. What we did created at least $10 million in free publicity,” Penland said.

But he added: “That was just round one. This has unified the Christian community in such a way that never again will they be apathetic about what’s going on in the media. It has touched off a movement to hold Hollywood accountable about what it will do in the future.”

Other leaders of the protest made similar comments. Several said the spotlight the film has put on the figure of Jesus has created a golden opportunity for evangelism. And one indicated that Universal and its parent company, MCA Inc., had unleashed “a national firestorm of protest” that would be “translated into the most effective boycott against a film industry in history.”

‘Anger’ of the Religious

The Rev. Larry Poland, who heads Mastermedia, an evangelical ministry to film and television leaders in Hollywood and New York, spoke of “an intense anger” in the religious community by Universal’s decision to release the film, based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ 1955 novel, despite vociferous objections.

“There’s a much broader war going on than just releasing the film,” Poland said. “Universal has suffered an incredible defeat. It blew the cover of the film industry in its anti-Christian bias. Even those who don’t agree with our position agree Hollywood wouldn’t have squared off against any other religious or ethnic or minority group and rubbed their nose in it.”

Poland, who helped Penland advise Universal Pictures, also said: “From this point on, the entire (film) industry is going to have to deal with its own employees, many of whom have been very, very deeply offended, from the mail room to the board room.”

Some Christian leaders have urged MCA stockholders to sell their shares and to boycott all Universal and MCA-related goods and services.

The Rev. Donald Wildmon of Tupelo, Miss., prominent in opposing the film through his American Family Assn., agreed that the publicity generated for Universal by the protests will backfire.

“Sure they got the publicity, no question about it,” he said. “That may be helpful up to a point, but there comes a point where the publicity becomes damaging. They have arrogantly disregarded the feelings of millions of Christians.”

Bill Bright, founder-president of Campus Crusade for Christ, said the massive attention focused on the film had created “millions of opportunities to talk about Christ.”

“I’m no less distressed, and even more greatly impatient with the individuals who would perpetrate something like this . . .,” Bright said from his home near San Bernardino.

‘Lemons to Lemonade’

“But . . . the Lord has a way of turning lemons to lemonade. Three days after the original crucifixion he was raised from the dead. The celluloid crucifixion of Jesus, ‘The Last Temptation of Christ,’ will, I believe, result in the greatest spiritual harvest in the history of our country.”

Bright said he would step up showings of Campus Crusade’s Warner Brothers-distributed movie, “The Jesus Film,” which he contends is “the biblical, historical account of Jesus.”

Mother Angelica, a Roman Catholic nun in Birmingham, Ala., who heads the Eternal Word religious television network, refused to admit even partial defeat.

“For everyone who goes to that movie I think we’ve kept five back,” she said. “Universal has not won anything. They have merely brought upon the people of this nation a great chastisement and they have endangered their own souls.”

Meanwhile Saturday, outside the theaters where the movie is showing in Los Angeles, some protesters erected an altar near the ticket booth and prayed. “We’re hoping that through our prayers we can change other people’s minds about the movie,” said Jose Olivares of Eagle Rock.

But Bill Ripper, who drove in from Orange County for the noon showing, said the controversy attracted him to the film. “No one is going to tell me what I can or can’t see,” he said.

Times staff writers Barbara Koh, Shawn Smith, Hector Tobar and Ken Yamada contributed to this story.