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‘Hail Satan?’ is a Fascinating Look Inside The Satanic Temple

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Hail Satan

Documentary filmmaker Penny Lane has covered everything from sea monkeys to Richard Nixon in her acclaimed career. In her latest film, Hail Satan?, she trains her lens on The Satanic Temple, its history, and its cause.

Founded during the Bush administration, The Satanic Temple was meant to be seen as a religious organization that was somehow repugnant to the administrations “values,” such as they were.

They hit upon the idea of Satan as “the adversary” and in no time, they had formed their organization using as their centerpiece the Baphomet iconography with a mission to strengthen the separation of church and state and the idea that freedom of religion is freedom for all religions.

Lane’s expertly interweaves the story of the groups creation with interviews from members across the country who have taken up the cause of TST, and two things become almost immediately clear.

  1. The members of The Satanic Temple often find their way to its symbolic doors while in search for meaning and belonging to a group of people that holds them up and supports them for who they are.
  2. They are also almost immediately energized with an activist’s spirit, ready to fight for the rights of other who have felt similarly lost and shut out of the system.

This seems especially true in Lucien Greaves, the public face of the organization and a man who somehow comes across as both charismatic and reserved simultaneously. One moment he boldly speaks to religious leaders and conservative news anchors, and the next he nervously reads and re-reads notes for a speech that he’s prepared to give in order to make sure he says exactly the right thing.

Lucien Graves Hail Satan

Lucien Greaves in HAIL SATAN?, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

Greaves and the Temple’s high council gave the filmmaker almost unfettered access to the group while filming, and as such, she is able to take her viewers inside both organizational meetings and group ritual observances some of which may shock some viewers, not because of their nature–though some definitely run to the extreme–but more by the all too mundane quality of some.

In fact, it is the meetings in backyards and on beaches where we get a real glimpse of the membership of The Satanic Temple as a diverse, wholly accepting group of people who just want to make the world a better place without relying on some all-powerful deity to tell them the way they should do it.

These are not terrifying people. They aren’t making sacrifices to Satan. In fact, the majority of the membership does not believe in “Satan” as an actual being to whom they pray.

Rather, largely, they are atheists and humanists who have taken on Satan as a symbol of defying those who seek to take away freedoms and force their beliefs on others.

Not only is Hail Satan? illuminating, however, it is also educational.

The Satanic Temple have made a name for themselves opposing the inclusion of Ten Commandments monuments in courthouses and on other state-funded and owned properties. They do this, cleverly, not by demanding that they be taken down, but by asking that their own rather impressive statues of Baphomet be included alongside them.

When opposed, they bring up the point that not including other religious iconography sets up Christianity as a more legitimate religious belief. This gets their foot in the door to discuss the separation of church and state.

Baphomet Hail Satan

Baphomet monument in front of the state capitol building in Little Rock, AR featured in HAIL SATAN?, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

One of the most revealing bits of information to come out of this, however, is that many of these monuments were actually gifted to various states when Cecil B. DeMille was promoting his religious epic, The Ten Commandments.

Lane even includes footage of Charlton Heston performing a little gifting ceremony, unveiling one such monument at a press event.

Through all of this, the director includes footage of conservative, fundamentalist religious news anchors, pastors, and more talk as they about the fictitious evils of the organization and its followers. She dives into the Satanic Panic of the 80s and how the fantastic, and false, stories written about “Satanists” actually reflected the abuses that were going on in more traditional religious organizations.

There are so many things to pick apart and to discuss as the credits roll on Hail Satan? which is the mark of any good documentary really.

What’s more, the organization itself was recently granted status as an official church by the IRS in the United States adding a layer of legitimacy in their arguments.

Hail Satan?, distributed by Magnolia Pictures, will screen in an exclusive engagement Friday, May 10, 2019 at Landmark’s Hillcrest Cinemas before moving to wider distribution. To learn more about the film, visit their official website.

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

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Original Blair Witch Cast Ask Lionsgate for Retroactive Residuals in Light of New Film

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The Blair Witch Project Cast

Jason Blum is planning to reboot The Blair Witch Project for the second time. That’s a fairly large task considering none of the reboots or sequels have managed to capture the magic of the 1999 film that brought found footage into the mainstream.

This idea has not been lost on the original Blair Witch cast, who has recently reached out to Lionsgate to ask for what they feel is fair compensation for their role in the pivotal film. Lionsgate gained access to The Blair Witch Project in 2003 when they purchased Artisan Entertainment.

Blair witch
The Blair Witch Project Cast

However, Artisan Entertainment was an independent studio before its purchase, meaning the actors were not part of SAG-AFTRA. As a result, the cast are not entitled to the same residuals from the project as actors in other major films. The cast doesn’t feel that the studio should be able to continue to profit off of their hard work and likenesses without fair compensation.

Their most recent request asks for “meaningful consultation on any future ‘Blair Witch’ reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc., in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.”

The blair witch project

At this time, Lionsgate has not offered any comment about this issue.

The full statement made by the cast can be found below.

OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of “The Blair Witch Project”):

1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.

2. Meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc…, in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.

Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far un-utilized secret-weapon!

3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making theirfirst feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.

A PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTORS & PRODUCERS OF “THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT”:

As we near the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, our pride in the storyworld we created and the film we produced is reaffirmed by the recent announcement of a reboot by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan.

While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.

We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.

Sincerely, Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello

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