The Premier . . . the details

Photos: the Tyndale gals and an Oscar

Me and Mike Rich, the screenwriter

A huge poster on the street (about 10 feet tall)

"Elizabeth," "Joseph", and Catherine Hardwicke.

The details:

I landed in Los Angeles around lunchtime on Tuesday, then hauled my suitcase over to the terminal where four of the Tyndale women were due to come in. Both our flights were delayed, so it worked out great. While I sat and people-watched, I saw this one row of seats occupied by a family who looked like they might have come from Vietnam . . . three sleeping children piled on top of one another like puppies. One little boy had one shoe off and one shoe on, with his sister draped over him and Dad protectively watching over his brood. The man looked a little anxious until I caught his eye, smiled, and said, "beautiful children." Then he grinned at me.

The Tyndale gals came in and we piled into our stretch limo and headed to the hotel in Beverly Hills. I went to my room to check email (what else?) We had about an hour before we had to get dressed.

Now, none of us five girls had ever been to a Hollywood premier before. And since it was a fund-raiser for Habitat for Humanity, Karen joked that maybe we were supposed to wear jeans "with a beaded toolbelt." But who were we supposed to call to ask?

I said that the minute I said "premier" to the folks back home, the next question out of their mouths was "what are you going to wear?", so I was pretty sure we were okay in our fancy duds.

So there we were, all of us in basic black--except for one brave gal who wore magenta. :-) It was FREEZING outside (I'm a Florida girl, remember), and I did bring an evening coat (purchased at a clearance sale), but since none of the other girls had one, I figured I'd go with my chiffon wrap. Misery loves company.

I did hesitate as I got dressed--I didn't want to dress up too much, because I didn't want to look like I was trying to be a big wig (trust me, I know my place in the scheme of things), but I didn't want to look dowdy, either. So I bravely called forth my inner Brandilyn and went with a plain black skirt and a beaded top. Easy to wear, festive, and comfortable. And freezing.

We ate dinner at our hotel, then scooted out the door in taxis. (After posing for a few pictures, of course.) As we approached the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, we saw a tuxedoed mob in the sidewalk and the spangle of camera flashes. Touche! We had dressed correctly.

We got out, walked through the freezing wind, and picked up our tickets at the "will call" window. As I stood there, shivering, Gary Busey walked by. My first celebrity sighting.

How the red carpet works: The red carpet ran along the front of the building, not necessarily into the building, and some people were being pulled out so the photogs could take pictures. As we walked by, the young actor who plays Joseph was standing there, hands in his pockets, trying to look pleasant while he probably felt awkward (or at least I would have.) No one, of course, pulled us out for pictures, so we gratefully stepped into the warmth of the lobby and went upstairs to the theater.

Note: There are huge golden statues of Oscar scattered throughout the building (which immediately bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to mind), because the Academy of Arts and Sciences sponsors the Academy awards. But this isn't the same auditorium where the Oscars are given out.

The theater was full. At the end of our row--Gary Busey. (Apparently at these things you can see lots of celebrities or one celebrity lots of times.)

The director and several of the actors were there, including the man who played Mary's father, Joseph, and Elizabeth. There were probably others, but no one made any introductions. Finally the lights dimmed and screenwriter Randall Wallace, a believer (he wrote Braveheart and We Were Soldiers, among others) introduced Catherine Hardwicke, who stood up and pretty much said, "I hope you enjoy the movie."

We watched the movie--and I've already given you my impressions. I have to admit that I watched with an analytical mind, because I couldn't help but think of the scenes I'd created for the novel and I was busy comparing fiction against film. One note: You know, movies have their pluses--you can show so much so economically--but nothing beats a novel for getting into a character's head.

After the movie, people stayed until the very end of the LONG list of credits, occasionally applauding (probably for friends in the audience.) And then we all went downstairs for the food provided by Wolfgang Puck's catering service. I didn't even go near the buffet line (too crowded), but we did spy a dessert buffet and headed in that direction.

After a while, the crowd thinned out long enough for us to pick out people we wanted to meet and greet. We spoke to Mike Rich, the screenwriter, Jonathan Bock, head of Grace Hill Media (doing promotion for the film), and some others. We desperately wanted to say hello to Catherine Hardwicke, the director, because she had admired the gift book Tyndale did for the film--and the book designers were with us. So, like a black and magenta amoeba, we sidled over to where she stood talking to some friends. We have such good manners we didn't want to just jump in and grab her, but after a while it became apparent that's what we'd have to do if we wanted to speak to her at all. But then came . . . yep, Gary Busey. And we surely didn't want to interrupt him, so we waited and waited and waited . . . and finally Karen Watson touched Catherine on the arm so our amoeba could absorb her and Gary. Catherine was very kind and gracious as we went around the circle and made introductions--including Gary B., who just said, "I'm Gary."

All in all, it was a lovely night and I got back to the hotel room at about ten-thirty--which was 1:30 a.m. on my internal clock. Went to bed, got up the next morning, and had breakfast with two dear pals who happen to live in CA. Spent all day yesterday flying back (delayed planes, missed connections), and finally got home at about 1 a.m. last night. The Hubster had roses waiting on my desk--flowers I didn't even see until this morning because I was so tired last night.

Enjoy these pictures! I'll have more coming in because we all promised to share the photos we snapped. And to my writer friends who are thinking about movie projects--when you have your premier, give me a call so I can come cheer you on. I have a dress. :-)

~~Angie

P.S. Tomorrow--the book of the month! (Where did November go?)

Just in from the premier

Wow. Saw the NATIVITY STORY movie and loved its elegant simplicity. You won't be disappointed.

You know what? I'm actually glad I didn't see the movie before I wrote the novelization, because I made some radically different choices for some scenes. I think it's nice to have the variety. (I'll explain why I made those choices when we have the BOM discussion.)

And the premier--wow again. Will post lots of pics when I get back into town, but I'm sitting in my Beverly Hills hotel and it's 2 a.m. my time, so I'm going to go to sleep. But I met the director, Catherine Hardwicke, Gary Busey, and got a picture of "Elizabeth" , played by Shohreh Aghdashloo. Said hello to the screenwriter, Mike Rich, and met his lovely wife.

And "Joseph" was there--trust me, he does a fabulous job in the movie. An amazing young actor.

Lots of details and pics when I get home. Stay tuned!

~~Angie

The Journey to LA

Tuesday morning, 7:13 am, Tampa airport, gate A 16. Got up at five a.m. to be here, but the eyelids are still heavy (of course that might be because I stuck myself in the eye with a mascara wand at 5:15 a.m.)

HT to Jeanne Wynn for sending me this link: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061128/D8LLRK9O0.html

Seems there's a town in Illionis (CHICAGO!) that isn't allowing The Nativity Story to play at its annual Christmas festival . . . even though the festival also includes a manger scene. (Shaking of the head here.) Behold the power of film! They don't want to offend anyone.

Ted Baehr, whom I interviewed a LONG time ago, has written an encouraging review of THE NATIVITY STORY that you can read here: http://www.movieguide.org/nativitystory/. He has also written an essay about the importance of this movie--must reading, and it's here:

http://www.movieguide.org/nativitystory/sfimages/TrueMeaningofChristmas.pdf.

I can't wait to see the movie tonight. If you haven't blocked out a time to see the film this weekend, do so. Or reserve a time for later in the month when you can take the entire family.

As Ted said: "THE NATIVITY STORY is a nearly perfect movie. It should be a movie that every Christian would want to see. It is certainly a movie that every Non-Christian should see. It testifies in every way to Jesus the Messiah and is clearly and consciously evangelistic. Such statements that this baby is the “greatest King” and “God made flesh,” that the gold is for the King of the world, that the frankincense is for the greatest priest of all, and that the myrrh is to honor the sacrifice, and many, many more pointedly proclaim the story of the Christ and the great news that there is salvation in none other."

I'm going with a tiny purse filled with tissues. Even the few snippets I've seen have opened the floodgates of tears. So invite a friend or two and see the movie!

~~Angie

Only a few hours until Hollywood . . .

So this morning I'm on the treadmill, trying not to think about the big premier tomorrow night, and instead trying to figure out how to order my day. Do I jump into my revisions of Fairlawn? Do I work on my theology paper (almost done)? Do I jump back into Fairlawn 2? Or do I just chuck the schedule and go shopping?

I have to interrupt my thoughts and the adventures of Syd and Vaughn when the phone rings. It's a reporter from WTSP, our local CBS affiliate, and they saw the article in yesterday's newspaper. Can they come by this morning to tape an interview? (Actually, last night I heard they would probably be coming. This morning we nailed down the time.)

So I showered (and was so distracted that I washed my hair with conditioner. Twice. Kept wondering why it wouldn't lather), got dressed, and put the dogs away. No time to clean the house.

The reporter and camera guy were very nice and put me at ease. Maybe too much at ease, because when they said they wanted to film me packing for the trip, I invited the entire watching world into my closet. :-)

In any case, if you want to watch the video, you can see it here: http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/afternoon/article.aspx?storyid=44464.

Do I really speak in incomplete sentences? I suppose I do . . .

~~Angie

Handy Woman to the Rescue

Yesterday my local paper published an article about my upcoming trip to see the Nativity Story premier. If you're interested, you can read the article here.

On to more mundane things--

A couple of days ago, the thingamagig in our attic began to vibrate every time I ran the dryer. The more I ran it, the louder the hum became, until I began to worry about a possible fire danger in the attic.

Our house is two stories and the dryer is in an inner room on the first floor. That means the dryer ducting runs up through the second floor (though a wall in a closet) and then up through the attic to the room. Because that's a long way for lint to travel, the builder installed a DBF (dryer booster fan) in the attic. It's electric, and it turns on whenever it senses hot air coming through the duct.

The DBF has worked four years without a problem, but I began to suspect that it might be dying. So I went on the Internet to first 1) identify the thingamajig and 2) figure out who to call to fix it. Should I call an electrician? A duct cleaning company? An AC guy?

I found the fan, identified it, and read that it was supposed to be cleaned every six months! LOL! This is a part of the attic I never even ENTER, let alone clean!

So I called the company who made the fans and learned that these gizmos are supposed to be installed with clamps for easy removal. Mine wasn't. It was taped into the duct line with shiny electrical tape. And the very nice man on the phone assured me that I could find a way to do this myself.

I brought the 20 foot ladder out of the garage and climbed into the attic armed with a scalpel, duct tape, a flash light, a can of compressed air, and a tiny scrub brush. Found that cutting the DBF out of the duct line wasn't as severe an operation as it seemed--in fact, the hardest thing about working in the attic is finding a place to stand--there's no flooring up there, and my husband has already fallen through the ceiling once (in another house). He doesn't do attics anymore.

So, thanks to the miracle of compressed air, scrubbing, and duct tape, I managed to clean and reinstall everything. Found that the long duct is simply sticking up throught the ceiling--next time I think I'll take it down and vaccuum the thing out. It's amazing how much lint travels a very long way from the dryer. No wonder dryers create such a fire hazard!

And now my dryer is operating normally--quietly.

God bless tech guys who can explain things over the telephone.

~~Angie

What is a Christian?

My pal Jim asked a question the other day and I'm still pondering it. He asked what I'd say if someone wanted to know if they were a Christian--how can a person tell if he or she is truly born again?

The easy answer is "well, if you believe in Jesus, you're a Christian," but that alone doesn't work for me. Even demons believe in Jesus--they know he exists and they know he's God incarnate.

There are at least three Latin words which are translated "believe," and they mean very different things. The first is noticia, from which we get our word notice--in other words, we believe something is real because it's coporeal; we can see it. (This is the kind of belief demons have.) The second is assentia, which has to do with agreement--we "believe" in someone because we agree with them. The third is fiducia (sp?), which has to do with placing something in trust (think fidicuary).

When I teach, I tell the kids that I believe in President Bush--I know he exists because I've seen pictures of him. I believed in him enough to vote for him, so for the most part I agree with his policies. But if I were taken hostage, do I believe that he'd come to rescue me enough to place my life in his hands? No.

But that's how I believe in Christ. And I think that truly being a Christian has to do with more than simple assentia or noticia belief. It means entrusting your life to him so that your life gives evidence of the indwelling Spirit: Love, joy, peace, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, the qualities we call "fruit."

I keep thinking of the parable of the four soils. Those seeds that fell on the second and third grounds--they grew up, they appeared to flourish. To the passerby, they looked like healthy plants. But ultimately they faded, and they did not bear fruit.

Jesus said that many would say to him in the last day, "Lord, didn't we do this and that for you?" and he will answer, "Sorry, I never knew you."

I think he says that to those who represent that third type of soil. I believe there are lots of people who think they believe "enough"--they walk the walk and talk the talk, but they're not following Christ, nor are they bearing the fruit of the Spirit. And when the heat of tribulation or trial comes on them, they wither and fade away.

I found a blog the other day written by people who describe themselves as "ex-Christians and ex-ministers." The blog exists solely to "debunk Christianity." I fear that these are examples of that third type of soil.

We often cultivate something in our churches I call "easy believe-ism." We tell folks to come down front, pray the prayer, and everything will be fine, they're saved and on their way to heaven. Well . . . no. Following Jesus is more than praying a prayer; it's repenting, surrendering, and living a life that results in spiritual fruit.

We often define grace as "God's riches at Christ's expense," but living for Christ will cost you something, too--your right to call the shots. Oh, I know we all slip into the driver's seat occasionally, but when the Spirit dwells inside a person, that driver's seat isn't comfortable for very long.

So--how do we know if we're true Christians? We are actively following Christ and seeing the work of the Spirit in our lives.

I just think we need to spell it all the way out.

~~Angie

Delaware, Nativity, and Christmas!

Wow, we're already into the Christmas season! I have a zillion things to do--when do we find time to do the cards and the decorating?

A couple of news items: first, the photo today is of me and Judy Arthur, who I met at the Delaware Book Festival. Judy and I discovered that we have loads in common--mainly our children, who are twenty-something. Need I say more? If you've been there, you'll know what I mean.

Gary Soulsman, of the News Journal in Wilmington, wrote an interview article you can read here.

I also read a review of The Nativity Story movie with which I strongly disagree--and I haven't even seen the film yet! But (as you can tell from my comments after the review) the reviewer takes this film to task for using traditional elements while he applauds The Passion, which used even more traditional elements than the Nativity movie. It's apparent from some of the other comments that people who think they know the nativity story would do well to read the Scriptural account more closely. We have assumed so many traditional things are true . . . when it's quite possible they're not.

I'll be amplifying and explaining these statements next week, when The Nativity Story will be the Book of the Month. I can't wait to tell you all about it because I am really excited about this movie and the book! And the premier--I'll be heading to Hollywood on Tuesday, going to the premier on Tuesday night, and home later to tell you all about it!

~~Angie

Thanksgiving

Photos: The Food. The Red-haired Cousins. The dessert table. Daughter and hubby.
Yesterday, hubby, daughter, and I drove over to the annual family reunion in a small town in central Florida--a town so small that all I had to do was enter the name of the town in my GPS, and the talking woman took us straight there.

I thought I'd share some pictures--there were new babies this year, new faces, and dear, familar ones, too. And we were very grateful to be alive, together, and blessed. I wish I'd taken more pictures, but I quickly began talking and soon forgot all about my camera.

I hope your Thanksgiving was warm and wonderful!

~~Angie

I baked

This picture is from my kitchen where last night I --drum roll--baked! A cherry cobbler, a Kentucky Derby pie, and a hash brown casserole. (How to you bake with two mastiffs sniffing at your countertops? Very watchfully!)

My relatives always gather at this women's club in a little town in central Florida. The aunts always bring the turkey and dressing, and the cousins always bring side dishes. There's no organization to it other than that, yet we always seem to have tables groaning with all kinds of goodies.

The Daughter came home yesterday and we went shopping--again, for the elusive thing to wear on the red carpet at the Nativity premier. I keep expecting someone to pinch me and tell me it was all a mistake, but so far, so good--we found something to wear and I have my travel reservations. (The other "thing to wear" didn't work when I tried it on. The skirt was too big, so back to the store it went.)

I've always tried to live according to that proverb that says it's better to sit at the low table and be invited up to the head table . . . than to sit at the head table and be asked to move to the low. In other words, I keep my expectations low, that way I'm not disappointed. (Aside: I've met so many authors who go, for instance, to their first book signing or their first booksellers' convention and are CRUSHED when there aren't lines out the door of huge posters emblazoned with their names and faces. "Keep your expectations low, sweetie," I always want to say, "and then if something nice does happen, you can be amazed and grateful."

I know, I know--I'm not a natural born promoter. (VBG) But that's why I keep expecting to go to the movie premier and be slipped in the back door rather than be allowed to walk down the red carpet. If anything else happens, I'll be stunned and grateful.

Speaking of gratitude, in all the holiday hubbub, be sure to stop and count your blessings today. One thing I'm grateful for? A couple of weeks ago, hubby and I were at Home Depot when hubby saw a woman he recognized and they chatted. Later she came up to him and said, "I hope I didn't commit a faux paus?"

Gary said, "What?"

"When I saw you at Home Depot," she went on. "I guess you were with your new wife--you know, that young woman?"

Gary laughed. "I don't have a new wife--I'm still making do with the old one!"

~~Angie

P.S. Kentucky Derby Pie is sort of like a chess pie--made of eggs, sugar, evaporated milk. I'll let you know how it tastes!

WIP Update

I haven't said much about it, but my WIP this week and last was the nonfiction project I'm doing with Mandisa, the fabulous girl who was a finalist on last season's "American Idol." I met with Mandisa last week in Nashville and was very impressed by her sweet spirit, her talent, and her surrender to the Lord. We are going to be working on her book from now until the end of January, ping-ponging the manuscript back and forth until it's everything it's supposed to be.

But tomorrow I'm taking the day off to hit the grocery store, bake a couple of dishes to take to the family reunion, and to start decorating for Christmas! I've found that it's harder to work up the old Christmas decorating desire once the kids are grown. And time flies so quickly these days, it feels like I just took all the Christmas stuff down! But I since I have to work on Friday, I think I'll snatch the minutes I can to hang some holly and pull out the stockings.

I wish you all a calm, peaceful, and blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Drive safely if you'll be on the road!

~~Angie

National Bless an Author Day

Mary deMuth has done a really lovely thing by establishing National Bless An Author Day. Visit this link and leave a comment to bless an author who has touched your life!

~~Angie

It's a . . . Bananaphone!

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/badgerphone.php

Okay, so it's a cold (45 degrees!) and rainy day here--the perfect day to visit the above link and sing about your banana phone!

I don't make this stuff up. I just report it.

Angie

All together, now! ring, ring, ring, ring, banana phone!

How To Read a Novel . . .

I am a sucker for book reviews. No, not the ones that sprout like mushrooms on the Internet, but those from more reputable sources like Bookmarks, PW, the New York Times, and People Magazine. (Hey, don't knock People--Francine Prose reviews for them, and she's brilliant. You need to read her book, Reading Like a Writer. It's wonderful.)

Trouble is, I read all these reviews of books that look interesting, then I go to Amazon.com and click away. Result? A sizeable monthly bill and stacks and stacks of books on my library shelves. I could lose electricity tomorrow and be unable to work (forget the longhand), but I'd have enough to read.

Yesterday I read a review of HOW TO READ A NOVEL: A USER'S GUIDE by John Sutherland. It looked so good I've just ordered a copy, and I have to pass on this tidbit from the author: the McLuhan Test from Marshall McLuhan (and I have no idea who that is). McLuhan says: "Turn to page 69 of any book and read it. If you like that page, buy the book. It works."

Ha! Maybe that's another way of saying "If the author has found a way to defeat the Sagging Middles problem, you'll know it by page 69," but I think it's hilarious in any case.

And I can't help thinking of all the effort we novelists put into our first line, first paragraph, and first page. Maybe we should all start applying that effort to page sixty-nine? (To be fair, we should be applying that effort to every page, but you know what I mean.)

So I've ordered the book. I'll let you know if it's all as good as the page 69 advice.

(Aside: ever since Al Gansky and Jack Cavanaugh taught me to format my manuscripts like a printed book page, I can actually predict where page 69 might land. Thanks, guys!)

~~Angie

P.S. Just got a note from Amazon.com that says my Alias Season Five DVDs have shipped. Whoo-hoo! Something new for the treadmill!

Is it that time of year already?

Yesterday I went to run errands on my usual errand-running day. Went to Target, PetSmart, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx (and there you have 'em--my favorite stores!)

Found bumper-to-bumper traffic at every place. The aisles were so crowded we could barely move in the stores, and once I had to stop and direct traffic around the shoe aisles at Marshalls.

Clearly, Christmas shopping has begun. Obviously, I will find another day to run errands.

I usually take Saturdays as my sabbath and I do no ordinary work on that day. I'm thinking from now until January 2007, I'm going to start taking Fridays instead. Maybe even Thursdays.

It's not that I don't like people or Christmas, but I don't like crowds. I'm a fast-paced browser who counts burning many calories as one of the health benefits of shopping. I walk fast, I shop fast, I can pull out that charge card like Marshall Dillion handling a six shooter. But Christmas crowds are not my favorite thing.

As I left Winn Dixie yesterday, the woman at the Salvation Army kettle called out "Merry Christmas." I answered in the same way, but I was thinking, Please let's just get through Thanksgiving first, okay?

Four weeks of Christmas rush is enough. Why must we extend it to six?

I have a feeling I already know the answer.

~~Angie

We haven't given up on Alias yet!

http://video.movies.go.com/rambaldi/

Okay, all you Alias fans! The link above takes you to an online game that promises to give you all the answers to your unsolved Alias questions . . . plus the game's a lot of fun. It's all to promote the sale of the new Alias DVD collection--all five seasons in a keepsake Rambaldi box.

HT to Kelli Standish for pointing me to the game. Once I got started, I couldn't quit until I'd solved all four levels. Try your memory, skill, and luck! And let me know how you do!

(HT also to Kelli for the cool Alias font in the picture!)

~~Angie

For What Shall it Profit a Man to Win the World and Lose . . . His Soul?

On November 15, the St. Petersburg Times reported that Gerald Fraller of Tampa is selling his soul. Really. The notion rose from a phone conversation with the man's only friend. Gerald was so miserable, he was willing to sell his soul in order to change it. A great idea . . . if he could figure out how to advertise this unique sale.

So he spent two months outlining an online sweepstakes. The grand prize? His soul. On Monday, the day after his 28th birthday, he quit his job as a computer technician and launched a web site: http://winmysoul.com.

For each dollar donated, you get one entry. The lucky winner will get a real lifelong contract entitling the owner to benefits including:

• a percentage of Fraller's taxable income for the rest of his life, guaranteed minimum of $500 per year.
• The power to choose the first name of all his children
• The power to make his new year's resolutions
• plan his wedding day
• and write the inscription on his tombstone.

Fraller says that since he's spent most of his life alone (he doesn't know his bio father, his mother couldn't care for him, he was in and out of foster care, his only marriage ended in divorce), he likees the idea of being bound to another person for as long as he lives.

By the second day of his soul-sale, he had gathered $404 in donations. By January 30 he'll set a date for the drawing, which will happen before Nov. 1, 2007. Oh, and he's also looking for a wife, if you're interested.

I don't know about you, but this is the kind of news story that spurs story ideas in me. What if a man really could sell his soul? What if the devil wins his sweepstakes? I could see a thriller, a chick lit, a romance, all stemming from this single idea.

But I find it sad to think that this man would sell his soul to someone for a dollar. Is that what he thinks his soul is worth? I also find it interesting that he wants to preserve his free will--unfortunately, that's what far too many of us want to do. We give our souls to Jesus, but boy, we only want to give him control over a few select things. Yet, if he is Lord, shouldn't he be Lord over all of our lives?

So . . . want to take a chance at winning a man's soul? You can find anything for sale these days.

~~Angie

One more time

Again blogging over at Charis: http://charisconnection.blogspot.com. Part 2 of yesterday's bit.

~~Angie

Skip on over to Charis

Blogging today over at http://charisconnection.blogspot.com. Visit me there!

~~Angie

What Does Google Think of You?

Ever think that all these computers are spying on you? They may be! I know that if you use gmail (I do), webbots are constantly scanning the contents of your email and placing appropriate ads on the page where you view your mail.

In any case, this is interesting. Visit http://www.googlism.com to see what Google thinks of you! You can enter your name or the name of whomever, even a place or thing. It's fun! (Hint: don't use quotation marks in your search term.)

I'm in Nashville Monday and Tuesday, doing work for my nonfiction WIP. More details to come later. It's rainy and gray here, and I'm suddenly very grateful to live in the land of almost-constant sunshine.

~~Angie

The Nativity Story to Premiere at Vatican

Nov 10, 8:35 AM ET

A movie about Christmas by the company that produced the Oscar-winning "The Lord of the Rings" will make its world premiere at the Vatican this month.

"The Nativity Story," which opens in the United States and Italy on Dec. 1, will be screened at the Vatican's Pope Paul VI Hall on Nov. 26, Vatican officials said Friday.

It was not yet known if Pope Benedict XVI would attend the screening, said Claudia Di Giovanni, from the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Producers said in a statement that 7,000 people would be invited to the premiere, and that proceeds from the event would go toward the construction of a school in a village in Israel about 25 miles from Nazareth, the town of Jesus' childhood. The statement said that the village, Mughar, has a diverse population, including Christians and Muslims.

Mughar is one of the towns hit by rockets fired by Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerrillas over the summer.

Di Giovanni said that the screening would be preceded by a reading from the Gospels and a prayer "to give a spiritual aspect" to the event.

The movie stars Australian-born Keisha Castle-Hughes, of "Whale Rider" fame, who plays the role of Mary, and Oscar Isaac, who stars as Joseph. "The Nativity Story" is directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who did "Lords of Dogtown."

Di Giovanni said that while some made-for-TV movies have had their premieres at the Vatican, it is believed that "The Nativity Story" will be the first feature film to have its premiere there.

Note: this is not the premier I'll be attending. Lord willing, I'm heading to LA on the 28th.

~~Angie