Weekend Links

 Some links that caught my attention:

 Encyclopedia Britannica Goes Out of Print After 244 Years

Also, Rest in Peace Britannica

5 Things a Pastor Should Never Say

Advance Review of "Blue Like Jazz: The Movie" 

Who Are the Greatest Preachers?

Blue Like Jazz: The Movie:

Years ago I wrote about the possibility of a movie version of Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz. Well, guess what? The rumors were true and the movie is being made.



Considering the subject matter, and that it is produced by Steven Taylor, I expect this will be one weird, wild and wonderful flick!

Hat Tip: Thinking Out Loud and Euangelion

Scripting Your Life

Donald Miller's Book Blue Like Jazz is being turned into a movie! He talks about the process of having his life turned into a movie script at Be. Do. Write in Christianity Today,

Miller's newest book - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - covers this in more detail.

You see, this book is (ostensibly) about the process of turning Jazz into a movie. Two filmmakers come calling, Miller agrees to have his life scripted for the screen, and the three men collaborate on a screenplay. It's a chance for Miller to "edit his life," to make it more structured, compelling, and, well, movie-like. Does his life, like Casablanca, have purpose in every scene and every line of dialogue? Will his life leave observers with a beautiful feeling as the credits roll?

These questions stand at the heart of A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, which is essentially a stream-of-consciousness meditation on story, how our lives are like stories, the theory of narrative, God as a writer, and so on. It's a movie-like book about a book becoming a movie. The prose alternates between episodic, cinematic "scenes" and philosophical ruminations about story. It's all very meta and postmodern and layered in an Adaptation sort of way.

Pardon me while I break off to go edit my life.

Jazz Gets the Blues?

Here's an update at Christianity Today Magazine on the proposed movie version of Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz.

See Interviews: Jazz Gets the Blues | Christianity Today Movies

"Blue Like Jazz" Movie?

Christianity Today reports that Steve Taylor is working on a movie version of Donald Miller's Blue like Jazz. Interesting book - but how do you convert a series of autobiographical essays and thought experiments into a movie script? Hope it works!