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[[Image:The-passion-of-the-christ.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The Passion of the Christ theatrical poster.]]

[[Image:The-passion-of-the-christ.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The Passion of the Christ theatrical poster.]]

'''The Passion of the Christ''' was a movie produced by [[Mel Gibson]] and bankrolled with his own money.  The film is based on the last 12 hours of the life of [[Jesus]], as read in the [[Gospels]].  Gibson felt that God wished him to make this movie as a "repayment" for the forgiveness of God. {{fact}}

'''The Passion of the Christ''' was a movie produced by [[Mel Gibson]] and bankrolled with his own money.  The film is based on the last 12 hours of the life of [[Jesus]], as read in the [[Gospels]].  Gibson felt that God wished him to make this movie as a "repayment" for the forgiveness of God.

Gibson was not even able to find a major distributor for his film.{{fact}} For a year before the movie was even released, and well before it was first previewed or seen, attacks on the movie began starting with a New York Times story attacking Mel's father in March 2003.  This turned out to be coupled with personal attacks on Mel Gibson with such titles as "Krazy Mel" and more attacks on his father and Mel's choice of church to worship. Calls to Mel to denounce his father for his views, most famously in the Diane Sawyer television interview, were ignored by Mel.{{fact}} The New York Times continued with an ongoing campaign against Mel Gibson and his family.{{fact}}

Gibson was not even able to find a major distributor for his film.  For a year before the movie was even released, and well before it was first previewed or seen, attacks on the movie began starting with a New York Times story attacking Mel's father in March 2003.  This turned out to be coupled with personal attacks on Mel Gibson with such titles as "Krazy Mel" and more attacks on his father and Mel's choice of church to worship. Calls to Mel to denounce his father for his views, most famously in the Diane Sawyer television interview, were ignored by Mel.  The New York Times continued with an ongoing campaign against Mel Gibson and his family.

Nevertheless, the movie went on to be a blockbuster grossing over 370 million in the U.S. and over 600 million world wide<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passionofthechrist.htm</ref>, an especially unheard of showing for the time of the year it was released.  Cries of [[anti-Semitism]] were largely silenced as people saw the movie.  With so many critics denouncing the movie without having seen it, Mel did an end around and went directly to church pastors, who were almost unanimously supportive and told their congregations.{{fact}} The movie had more pre-ticket sales than any film in history.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345/trivia</ref> Monetarily, it was the most successful Christian film ever.<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passionofthechrist.htm</ref>   

Nevertheless, the movie went on to be a blockbuster grossing over 370 million in the U.S. and over 600 million world wide<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passionofthechrist.htm</ref>, an especially unheard of showing for the time of the year it was released.  Cries of [[anti-Semitism]] were largely silenced as people saw the movie.  With so many critics denouncing the movie without having seen it, Mel did an end around and went directly to church pastors, who were almost unanimously supportive and told their congregations.<ref>http://www.sharethepassionofthechrist.com/links/Endorsements.pdf</ref>. The movie had more pre-ticket sales than any film in history.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345/trivia</ref> Monetarily, it was the most successful Christian film ever.<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passionofthechrist.htm</ref>   

For Mel Gibson it was a personal affair.  Thick skinned by the nature of the business, he still did not expect the virulent attacks.  For the star Jim Caviezel, it meant being blackballed.  While blockbusters usually make people's careers, for Jim it has been hard to find anything more than minor roles.

For Mel Gibson it was a personal affair.  Thick skinned by the nature of the business, he still did not expect the virulent attacks.  For the star Jim Caviezel, it meant being blackballed.  While blockbusters usually make people's careers, for Jim it has been hard to find anything more than minor roles.