November 11, 2002
End of the world just keeps coming
___By Clint O'Connor
___Religion News Service
___LOS ANGELES (RNS)--The end of the world apparently goes on for quite some time.
___The phenomenal success of the "Left Behind" book series about the apocalypse, the rapture and end times has created a flurry of spinoffs--CDs, children's books, graphic novels, a new TV series and motion pictures.
___"Left Behind II: Tribulation Force" already is in video stores. It has yet to appear in theaters, under the standard marketing plan of distributor Cloud Ten Pictures. Cloud Ten will not release the film until Dec. 31, when it simultaneously will land in theaters and churches nationwide.
___The latest film stars Kirk Cameron (of "Growing Pains" fame), Chelsea Noble and Brad Johnson, all back from the original "Left Behind: The Movie." They play members of the Tribulation Force. After hundreds of millions of people vanish from the Earth, those left behind continue their battles with United Nations President Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist.
___The 10 "Left Behind" adventure novels have sold more than 35 million copies since 1995. The series is based on a premillennial dispensationalist reading of the last book of the New Testament, Revelation. Book sales jumped 60 percent after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, part of a boom in websites and chat rooms devoted to end-times prophecy.
___Peter Lalonde, co-founder and CEO of Cloud Ten, said the company's strategy of releasing the film first on video is to let word of mouth build in the Christian community for two months, making for bigger box office on New Year's Eve. Churches will get the film for a licensing fee of about $350 and either charge admission or solicit donations.
___No Hollywood studio releases movies on videos and DVDs before debuting in theaters. But the upside-down strategy worked in October 2000, when "Left Behind: The Movie" landed in video stores. In its first week, it outsold such industry heavy hitters as Disney's "Toy Story 2" and Warner Bros.' "The Green Mile." The video eventually sold more than 3 million copies. Its subsequent splash in theaters and churches made about $4 million--and boosted video sales.
___The "Left Behind" films are a combination of fear, paranoia, faith, ancient Scripture and modern packaging and marketing. (At the end of the first video, Cameron appears to plead with the audience to go see the theatrical release and tell "literally everyone you know" as a way of "sending a wake-up call" to Hollywood.)
___With four more books already planned, there could be 14 "Left Behind" movies and an untold number of sequels and prequels. But if the hook is that it's the end of the world, doesn't it actually have to end at some point?
___"Yes," said Lalonde with a laugh. "The subtitle of the next one will be, 'And We Really Mean It This Time!'"
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