Hugh Winder Nibley was an American scholar and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a prolific author, and wrote apologetic works supporting the archaeological, linguistic, and historical claims of Joseph Smith. He was a member of the LDS Church, and wrote and lectured on LDS scripture and doctrinal topics, publishing many articles in the LDS Church magazines.
National Treasure is a 2004 American action-adventure heist film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Jim Kouf and the Wibberleys, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub. It is the first film in the National Treasure franchise and stars Nicolas Cage in the lead role, Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Justin Bartha and Christopher Plummer. In the film, Benjamin Franklin Gates, a historian, along with computer expert Riley Poole and archivist Abigail Chase, search for a massive lost Freemason treasure, which includes a map hidden on the back of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Mickey Blue Eyes is a 1999 American romantic comedy crime film directed by Kelly Makin. Hugh Grant stars as Michael Felgate, an English auctioneer living in New York City who becomes entangled in his soon-to-be father-in-law's mafia connections. Several of the minor roles are played by actors later featured in The Sopranos.
Mormon cinema usually refers to films with themes relevant to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The term has also been used to refer to films that do not necessarily reflect Mormon themes but have been made by Mormon filmmakers. Films within the realm of Mormon cinema may be distinguished from institutional films produced by the LDS Church, such as Legacy and Testaments, which are made for instructional or proselyting purposes and are non-commercial. Mormon cinema is produced mainly for the purposes of entertainment and potential financial success.
The R.M. is a 2003 comedy film about the experiences of a returned missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "RM" is an LDS initialism for "returned missionary". It was written by Kurt Hale and John E. Moyer and directed by Hale.
Anti-Mormonism includes people and literature that are critical, or opposed to, the adherents, institutions, or beliefs of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement as a whole. It may include physical attacks, discrimination, persecution, hostility, or prejudice against Mormons and the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB), originally called the Hotel Utah, is a social center located on the corner of Main Street and South Temple in Salt Lake City. It is named in honor of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. It previously housed several restaurants and also functioned as a venue for events, although it was closed in 2023 for extensive renovations, expected to be completed in 2025. Several levels of the building have also been administrative offices for departments of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, such as FamilySearch. On January 3, 1978, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Hotel Utah.
Charles Wilson Nibley was a Scottish-American religious leader, businessman, and politician. Nibley was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as the fifth presiding bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1907 and 1925 and a member of the church's First Presidency from 1925 until his death. He was also a businessman and was involved in various industries, such as lumber, sugar, and railroads.
The Freshman is a 1990 American crime comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bergman, and starring Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, Bruno Kirby, Maximilian Schell, Penelope Ann Miller, and Frank Whaley. The plot revolves around a young New York film student's entanglement in an illicit business of offering exotic and endangered animals as specialty food items, including his being tasked with delivering a Komodo dragon for this purpose. The film received positive reviews from critics.
Smokin' Aces is a 2006 American action thriller film written and directed by Joe Carnahan. The film centers on the chase for Las Vegas magician turned mafia informant Buddy "Aces" Israel, on whom a one-million-dollar bounty is placed. The ensemble cast includes Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Common, Andy García, Alicia Keys, Taraji P. Henson, Ray Liotta, Chris Pine, and Matthew Fox, all co-starring as the various individuals attempting to either capture, kill or protect Israel.
September Dawn is a 2007 Canadian-American Western film directed by Christopher Cain, telling a fictional love story against a controversial historical interpretation of the 1857 Mountain Meadows massacre. Written by Cain and Carole Whang Schutter, the film was a critical failure and box office disappointment.
John Moyer is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor and film producer. Moyer co-wrote the screenplays for The Singles Ward, The R.M., and The Home Teachers. He also wrote, produced, directed, and acted in Mobsters and Mormons.
Gregory Scarpa Sr., nicknamed the Grim Reaper and the Mad Hatter, was an American caporegime and hitman for the Colombo crime family, as well as an informant for the FBI. During the 1970s and '80s, Scarpa was the chief enforcer and veteran hitman for Colombo boss Carmine Persico. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for three murders in 1993 and died the following year.
8: The Mormon Proposition is an American documentary that examines the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its support of California Proposition 8, stating that the church has been actively involved in the denial of LGBT human rights. The film was written by Reed Cowan, directed by Cowan and Steven Greenstreet, and narrated by Dustin Lance Black. It was released on June 18, 2010, by Red Flag Releasing.
Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and culture of individuals and denominations belonging to the Latter Day Saint movement, a religious movement associated with the Book of Mormon, though not all churches and members of the Latter Day Saint movement identify with the terms Mormon or Mormonism. Denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest, as well as the Community of Christ (CoC) and other smaller groups, include some categorized under the umbrella term Mormon fundamentalism.
The Saratov Approach is a 2013 American dramatic thriller film written and directed by Garrett Batty. It depicts the 1998 kidnapping of two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Saratov, Russia. It began a limited release on October 9, 2013, solely in Utah. Subsequently, the film was released throughout the Mormon Corridor. On January 10, 2014, the film began an expanded limited release throughout the United States.
The Fighting Preacher is a 2019 drama film written and directed by T. C. Christensen and starring David McConnell and Kenna Dawn.
Garrett Batty is an American film director, writer, and producer known for his film The Saratov Approach. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and a native of Park City, Utah. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his films are part of Mormon cinema, but with a more general audience. He has written, directed, and produced four full-length films, including Freetown (2015) and Out of Liberty (2019), and will begin work on a fifth in 2020. For Freetown, he was awarded the 2015 Ghana Movie Award for Best Screenplay alongside Melissa Leilani Larson.
The 1998 kidnapping of Mormon missionaries in Saratov, Russia involved the abduction of two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Andrew Lee Propst and Travis Robert Tuttle, on March 18, 1998. One of the kidnappers had a friend invite the missionaries to his apartment in Saratov, Russia. Upon entry, they were hit in the head, driven to a separate location, and photographed as part of the kidnappers' demand for $300,000. A ransom note was left at the house of a local member of the LDS Church. The missionaries were released on March 22 after four days in captivity, without the ransom being paid. It was the first major incident involving foreign missionaries to occur in the "Russian heartland."
