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Some of Mr. Anschutz’s early films flopped, but he has also enjoyed some notable successes. “Ray,” a biopic of Ray Charles that Mr. Anschutz championed against reservations from his film executives, went on to win an Oscar for its star, Jamie Foxx. During the film’s production, according to Mr. Flaherty and David Weil, who heads the Anschutz Film Group, Mr. Anschutz intervened to tone down some of the racier material to make the film more suitable for a family audience.

His biggest film hit by far has been “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which is based on the Narnia series of children’s books by the British Christian writer, C. S. Lewis. The filming of the next installment in the Narnia series, “Prince Caspian,” has finished in New Zealand and moved on to Prague; “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” will be next.

The Narnia stories are all Christian allegories. “Amazing Grace,” a current Walden film, is about one of Mr. Anschutz’s heroes, William Wilberforce, a British politician and evangelical Christian who fought the slave trade. Bristol Bay plans a film about another C. S. Lewis book, “The Screwtape Letters,” an epistolary novel about devils fighting over human souls.

I can't find much specific information about the movie plans, but I've seen independent reports of its being in the works on several websites, and it does have an IMDB page.

More on Walden Media, its family- and faith-friendly mission, and the business tycoon who invaded Hollywood to make it happen.

Is it just me, or does this music sound a smidge like a David Gray song?  It's not exact, but definitely in the same genre ...

President Bush would veto the new Iraq spending bill being developed by House Democrats because it includes unacceptable language restricting funding, White House press secretary Tony Snow said Wednesday morning.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Snow said of the bill: "There are restrictions on funding and there are also some of the spending items that were mentioned in the first veto message that are still in the bill."

Cheney was in Iraq today, speaking about the state of the nation in the U.S. Embassy, which was briefly rocked by a nearby explosion while he was there:

"I think they recognize it's in their interests as well as ours to make progress on the political front," Cheney said.

Cheney spoke less than an hour after an explosion could be heard in the U.S. embassy where he spent most of the day. Windows rattled and reporters covering the vice president were briefly moved to a more secure area.

Said Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride: "His meeting was not disturbed and he was not moved."

Meanwhile, we've only got 'til September for a turn-around:

Where, a few months ago, Giulliani beat (by 5-10 percent) and McCain beat or tied all Democratic comers, in this week's poll, Giuliani loses to Clinton by 3 percent, to Edwards by 6 percent and to Obama by 7 percent. (For a net negative turn around of 10-15 percent for Giuliani). McCain loses worse, respectively, by 6 percent, 10 percent and 13 percent.

As neither the Democratic nor Republican candidates' campaigns (nor their parties' general efforts) have been strikingly strong or weak in the last month, what these shocking shifts demonstrate is the virtual collapse of the Republican brand appeal in the face of the continuing bad news from Iraq.

Unless the numbers shift back by September, Republican congressmen will naturally assume that they are looking at the prospect of a 2008 electoral drubbing along the lines of post-Watergate 1974 or Goldwater 1964 (let us pray they don't add to that list Hoover 1932).

Assuming continuing bad news and bad polling in September, enough Republicans may well support the Democrats' inevitable "out by the spring" military appropriation to allow for a successful override of the president's certain veto. Then the president may try to challenge congressional authority in court (perhaps relying on the 1861 Food and Forage Act, if Congress doesn't exempt their cut-off from that law, which permits an army to stay in the field without appropriated monies.)

Perhaps the president will win in court. Perhaps things will be seen to be getting much better in Iraq. Perhaps fewer Republicans will cross the aisle, and instead stick with their commitment to our national security requirements. Perhaps the Democrats will so grossly demonstrate their unfitness for national leadership that they lose electoral credibility (although their growing electoral strength in the face of their already clearly grotesque irresponsibility makes one wonder what more they could do that might, finally, appall the public.) But a betting man wouldn't count on it.

Some Republicans are already planning to bail. 

I think this calls for a little statesmanship from John McCain, in one of my favorite quotes of his, upon being asked how success or failure in Iraq might affect his presidential run:

"My only answer is that I've held this position for four years. I cannot let anything to do with my political career affect my judgment on Iraq."

"I don't know and I don't care what effect it will have on my political aspirations."

Well said. Maybe he can get his fellow Republicans some spine supplement pills?

The Bush faux pas that wasn't: Queen cracks a 1776 joke.

Proof that Al Sharpton will never embarrass himself enough to shut up.

Edwards contends that helping the rich get richer will actually help the poor. Hey, when did he become a supply-sider?

This must have been a short meeting. 

AP starts unseemly demise-watch for Justice Stevens.

You know, because who among us who abhors abortion hasn't gotten the urge to give to Planned Parenthood every once in a while?

Arnold to cement eternal popularity as governor by making dang sure Paris Hilton goes to jail.

Polling data suggesting widespread distrust and hatred of President Bush usually means bad news for Republicans, but a recent (April 30-May 1) Rasmussen survey on 9/11 suspicions should actually scare Democrats even more.

Asked the question, “Did Bush Know About the 9/11 Attacks in Advance?” a shocking 35% of Democrats said “yes,” another 26% said they weren’t sure, and only 39% said “no.” In other words, a stunning 61% of Democrats believed that the President of the United States may well have collaborated in the murder of 3,000 of his fellow citizens.

This willingness among most Democrats to entertain the idea that 9/11 represented a Bush-sanctioned “inside job” demonstrates the alarming extent to which conspiracy theorists, paranoids and America-hating extremists have taken over one of our major political parties. If someone honestly believes that the Commander in Chief received advance notification about attacks on his own country (including the Pentagon), but allowed those assaults to proceed for political purposes, then this sense of alienation and betrayal will poison all his other political attitudes and judgments.

Equally important, the crazed suspicions nurtured by much of the Democratic base serve to separate America’s liberal party from the national mainstream. Among Republicans, not surprisingly, those who realize that Bush didn’t “know in advance” outnumber those who suspect he did by a margin of 7-to-1.

And among independents – those not affiliated with either party – an overwhelming majority of more than 3-to-1 (57% to 18%) decisively rejects the idea that Bush knew about the devastating attacks before they occurred.

In other words, Democratic paranoia and conspiracy-mongering pushes the party to the lunatic fringe and leftwing edge of national opinion.

Ever since the disputed Bush-Gore election of 2000, partisan Dems have viewed the President as either a monstrous and diabolical manipulator, or else a drooling idiot and simpleton, or an improbable combination of guilty cunning and dim-witted incompetence. Either way, they hate the man with a sulfurous passion that blinds them to even the most obvious realities.

If Bush “knew in advance” about the attacks, for instance, then why did he look so confused and hapless on September 11^th? Surely, if they knew the terrorist strikes were coming, his political advisors might have suggested a more Presidential or martial setting for the moment the planes struck the buildings than sitting on an undersized chair and reading “My Pet Goat” to an elementary school classroom in Florida.

Such logical questions may not trouble partisan Democrats in their obsessive rage, but they ought to concern Americans in the middle who haven’t surrendered themselves to nightmarish fantasies.

What happens to the tone and substance of American politics if one of our two great parties not only disagrees with the opposition leaders, but believes they’re guilty of participating in mass murder of innocents Americans?

Two weeks ago Bruce Bartlett suggested that, in a climate where a Republican candidate can't win the White House, conservatives should place their bets on the least-liberal Democrat -- Hillary.

As each day passes, it becomes increasingly clear that the Democrats will win the White House next year. It’s not quite 1932, but it’s getting close to a sure thing. All the energy is on their side, they are raising more money from more contributors, and there is little if any enthusiasm for any of the Republican candidates—even among Republicans.

Of course, one can never rule out the ability of the Democrats to seize defeat from the jaws of victory. But sometimes the trend in one party’s direction is so strong that even the grossest incompetence can’t keep it from winning. I think 2008 is shaping up as that kind of year for the Democrats.

If I am right, conservatives are going to have to make an important decision at some point. Do they go down with the sinking Republican ship or do they try and have some meaningful influence on the next president by becoming involved in the Democratic race?

....To right-wingers willing to look beneath what probably sounds to them like the same identical views of the Democratic candidates, it is pretty clear that Hillary Clinton is the most conservative. John Edwards is the most liberal and Barack Obama is somewhere in between.

Hillary?!?!?!   You've got to be kidding.

Townhall.com readers took to the streets -- they didn't actually riot, but whole lot of email flew my direction over the column.   I'm sure Bruce Bartlett got an earful from readers as well.

Enough that he decided that one column a week wasn't enough for a proper dialogue with conservatives so he's started his own Townhall Blog called Bartlett's Notations.

I have no doubt that the good people of Guam faced great adversity during the Japanese occupation, and I wish we could have liberated the island sooner than 1944. But, I cannot figure it out for the life of me, why our government should be giving these residents a check as an apology for something that we didn’t even do.

I am especially opposed to this idea when one considers that our national debt is nearing $9 trillion. Our budgetary deficit is $337 billion. Medicare's trust fund is projected to be completely exhausted in 12 years and Social Security is slated to be broke by 2041.

It does not take a CPA to realize that these are very stark figures that need to be addressed. We need to prioritize spending not just continue throwing money at everything that comes across our desk.

If you knew someone who …

… Supported taxpayer funding of abortion

… Said the Republican Party should “get beyond issues like (abortion)”.

… Gave money to Planned Parenthood

… And spoke at a NARAL “Champions of Choice” Lunch

You wouldn’t say he was Pro-Choice.

... You’d say he was an Abortion Rights Advocate.

Foiled by the One-Hour Photo, thank God:

It began when a man walked into a photo shop and asked to convert a tape to a DVD, two law enforcement officials said.

The tape contained scenes of men conducting weapons training in anisolated area of the Pocono Mountains in New Jersey, using handguns andrifles and firing live ammo, senior law enforcement officials said.

It was intended for training purposes and to recruit more members to the group's cause, according to those officials.

The technician making the dub from tape to DVD saw the contentand notified authorities. The case was passed from regionalcounterterror officials in New Jersey to the Philadelphia FBI JointTerrorist Task Force.

Attacking a military installation instead of a civilian target seems odd for terrorist operations, doesn't it? Wonder if they're independent operators or part of a group. No one has claimed it yet.

Reports say the suspects are radicals from former Yugoslavia, Jordan, and Turkey. Three are illegal aliens. The border-as-security-issue topic will get a lot of attention this week from the second-tier Republican candidates who will bash the front-runners' "comprehensive" plans, and from pundits who want to push the Republican front-runners into harder-core stances. I'm interested to hear the front-runners' discussions of how comprehensive plans are well-suited to deal with these kinds of threats. I'm not being snippy. The week oughtta be an interesting discussion.

The suspects, identified as Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka, Shain Duka,Mohamad Shnewer, Derdar Tatar and Agron Abdullahu, have been chargedwith conspiring to kill U.S. government employees. Separately, the Dukabrothers have been charged with being illegal aliens in possession offirearms.

The Dukas, believed to be Islamic radicals, are in theUnited States illegally, while Shnewer is a U.S. citizen born inJordan, according to the Justice Department.

Tony Snow's claiming no evidence of ties to international terrorist groups:

"They are not charged with being members of an international terrorismorganization," Snow said. "At least at this point, there is no evidencethat they received direction from international terror organizations."

The would-be attackers, ethnic Albanians who had been undersurveillance by the FBI for months, practiced by shooting paintballguns and real weapons in a rural area of the Poconos, one source said.They also allegedly watched jihadist videos in which Osama bin Ladenurged them toward martyrdom.

"They were prepared to die," said the law enforcement source. "Webecame increasingly convinced this was for real and these guys wereready to roll."

Also, Confederate Yankee gives the plot a name: "I formally move that we call this the "Duka, Duka, Mohammed Jihad."

They wanted to kill 100 soldiers. Thank goodness for the video store employee who reported them and two brave informants who infiltrated the group:

"I don't want to exaggerate, and I assure you that you can hit anAmerican base very easily," one of the men told an informant, accordingto a recounting of the conversation provided in the court documents."You take a map and draw it, and then you calculate that there areareas where there are 100 to 200 individuals and you should allocatesix to seven persons for this alone."In addition to viewing videos andfootage of men shooting weapons and shouting Islamic slogans, membersof the group conducted surveillance of several potential militarytargets; obtained semi-automatic weapons they could use in an attackand rented a house in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania to train ata nearby shooting range, the charging documents show.

Also, thank goodness the NYT didn't see fit to write about exactly how the FBI places informants in suspected militant Islamic organizations, you know, during the investigation. You know, for the public good and all.

Allah is, of course, updating all day. Check with him for the very latest, as he's the fastest on the 'Net.

Michelle Malkin notes that many ethnic Albanians made their homes near Fort Dix after they were welcomed there as refugees from Kosovo. Gives lie to the idea that we provoke our attacks...we provoke them, all right, with the imperialistic indignity of three hots and a cot for the downtrodden. Gotta love the gratitude from this little group.

Update: Here's the run-down on the Fort Dix Army installation:

Fort Dix consists of 31,065 acres of land, of which 13,765 acres are range and impact areas and 14,000 are cIassified as contiguous maneuver area. The remainder of the installation is the cantonment area. Fort Dix training areas are bordered by the Lebanon State Forest (26,000 acres), Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Center (2,100 acres) and selected Wildlife Management Areas (34,900 acres) which enable this installation to simultaneously support combat, combat support, and combat service support training.

I just don't understand why the revelation that Rudy donated to Planned Parenthood is receiving so much attention.  We already know Rudy is Pro-Choice, and in fact, in favor of taxpayer funded abortion.

It's not that I think giving to Planned Parenthood is a good thing.  But, in my mind, giving his own money to the pro-abortion cause is actually less startling than taking the taxpayer's money to support something they don't believe in ...

Update - 11:55 AM:  One of our commenters, Frog, makes a very good point:

It's a big deal because ... he always says he's "personally" opposed to it.  Well, if he's "personally" opposed to it, WHY IS HE DONATING MONEY TO SUPPORT IT?

Gallup shows Rudy has a 61 percent Favorable rating.

Politico's Jonathan Martin reports that Rudy gave to Planned Parenthood.

Richard Cohen has a piece about Rudy (and the debate) in the WaPost.

Condaleezza Rice missed an opportunity to speak with the Iranian Foreign Minister because her devout Muslim counterpart considered a violinist in a red dress “un-Islamic.” At an international conference on Iraq in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the Iranian diplomat refused to enter the banquet hall where he had been assigned a seat next to the Secretary of State after the sight of a Ukrainian musician performing in a sleeveless gown offended his “Islamic sensibilities.” Just days later, Palestinian militants also pronounced the judgment “un-Islamic” on a UN sponsored end-of-term school festival in Gaza at which boys danced and performed gymnastics in the presence of girls. The holy activists expressed their displeasure by attacking the school with hand-grenades and gunfire, seriously wounding two schoolchildren and killing an adult body-guard. Some religious Muslims, in other words, denounce evening dresses and school celebrations as “un-Islamic,” but see no faith-based reason to protest when some of their most idealistic young people blow themselves up, or murder innocent women, children and old people. They even proudly accept a bizarre version of Mickey Mouse (known as “Farfur”) who appears in kiddie programming on Hamas-sponsored Al Aksa TV, urging children to “embrace death” and to kill “Americans and Jews” for the Fatherland. A quick look at elements of life considered “un-Islamic” (violin music, elegant dresses, festive celebrations at UN schools) alongside those considered praise-worthy as sanctifications of Allah (suicide, murder, mutilation) indicates the appalling degradation at the heart of fundamentalist Islam.

As you may know, the other week, Mitt Romney said his favorite book was Battlefield Earth (I don't think I wrote about it, at the time).

... Now, The New Republic is suggesting he may have confused France's marriage contract with a Science Fiction novel. 

I've emailed my friend in Paris and asked him if marriages in France are really contracted in 7-year terms (as Romney suggested).  If he says, "no," I'm going to assume that Mitt's really into Science Fiction!

Update:  My friend in Paris sent me this email: 

Where did he get that ? It is totally false ! Mariage is mariage until you divorce or die !

Best,

Alexandre

... So I guess Romney just sort of invented this 7-year contract thing?