We want to apologize that Hollywood Uplink has gone out a little late this month.  These columns are normally written by our Chairman, Dick Rolfe.  However, he has been busy completing an update to our landmark study that was released in January of 1999 called “The Profitability Study of MPAA Rated Movies.”  The new study is to be released in early June and we are excited about the results!

In place of Dick’s column, we have chosen to present you with a recent interview conducted by Dove’s Associate Editor, Bradley Klinge.  Brad reviewed two recent docudramas released by Grizzly Adams Productions called “The Da Vinci Code Deception” and “Breaking the Da Vinci Code.”  After his reviews, Brad interviewed Grizzly Adams Producer, David Balsiger.  Here are some of the excerpts of that conversation.

An Interview with Grizzly Adams Producer, David Balsiger

With his contradictions of church doctrine in "The Da Vinci Code," Dan Brown has created many controversies, especially in the Christian community.  His claim that the novel is entirely fact has caused experts in various fields, such as theology, archeology and art history to challenge his facts.  Grizzly Adams Productions has gathered these experts together to disprove Brown’s theories.

Why challenge Brown’s novel?  There are people reading it who may be contemplating Christianity, basing their decision mainly on the content of the novel.  Also, those who still have questions about their faith could find the book conflicting.  Grizzly Adams’ producer David Balsiger believes their videos have adequately addressed the flaws in Brown’s novel.  “I think our show sets that record straight significantly, in so many different areas”, Balsiger states.

The videos use twelve experts, all of whom have written books on The Da Vinci Code, to disprove Brown’s theories.  One may think twelve experts are a lot, but Grizzly Adams likes to be over-thorough in their research.

I had originally explained in my reviews of “The Da Vinci Code Deception” and “Breaking the Da Vinci Code,” that one was for rookies to this subject, and the other for those with prior knowledge.  I stand corrected.  Balsiger explained to me that one is the secular version, while the other is Christian.  Grizzly Adams always produces these two versions of their shows.  The Christian version uses a well known host in the Christian community, and the secular one includes either no host or a Network host.  Approximately six to eight more versions; such as foreign, international and text book, of each show are produced and are “spin-offs” of the original two.

Much of the public response to the videos has been positive.  Foreign distributors have been lining up to get this video for their country; even places where Grizzly Adams has never licensed before, such as France.  “Da Vinci will be one of the biggest productions we’ve done in five years.” Balsiger explains, “It is such a hot topic, distributors want it out there.  They like that we go into the book and sort it out.”

Since this is such a controversial topic, I asked Balsiger what kind of responses they have received from viewers.  “I think we got a negative response or two, but with anything we produce, we may receive a letter or two.  Dan Brown has been our real outspoken critic.”  I can understand that; it’s sort of like telling Tony the Tiger his Frosted Flakes aren’t “Grrrrrreat!”

Balsiger acknowledges these types of productions have done better in recent years.  “There has been more interest in Christian and faith based shows in the last couple years; probably because of (the film) ‘The Passion of The Christ’.  We’ve been producing these types of shows for years, now we have a chance to widen our distribution.  We’ve produced eighty-eight of these shows among our five-hundred”

Grizzly Adams Productions focuses on family friendly fare, not just Christian.  In fact, their past shows have generally not been faith based.  They aren’t looking for a Christian viewpoint, but want to be able to support their claims scientifically.  This bodes problems for people in Dan Brown’s position, because it’s awfully difficult to dispute science.