When I first heard that a film was being made of The Golden Compass, the first novel in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy -- and that it was being adapted as a family film -- I thought to myself, "Hmmm ... I wonder how they're going to pull THAT off." Then I heard the planned release date -- just in time for Christmas, 2007 -- and then I sat back and waited for the inevitable storm of controversy that would start swirling as soon as Christian groups got wind of the film and its storyline.

The other day, Fox had this story about Christian groups claiming The Golden Compass is a "stealth atheism campaign" aimed at children, which starts out, "A children's fantasy film that stars Nicole Kidman and features a little girl on a quest to kill God has some Christian groups upset over what they believe is a ploy to promote atheism to kids." The story goes on to note that New Line has taken most of the "godless" elements out of the film and that the studio has made a film that focuses on the "entertaining fantasy" elements of the story.

The opener of the Fox article is annoyingly misleading right off the bat; The Golden Compass is not a story about a little girl on a quest to kill God, it's about a little girl, Lyra (played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards in the film), on a quest to find her friend, who's been kidnapped by Mrs. Coulter (played by Kidman in the film). Lyra is never on a quest to kill God, she's on a quest to find out why children are disappearing, and in the process she becomes involved with a plot concerning her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) and Mrs. Coulter, and a mysterious substance called "dust" that may or may not have something to do with sin.

The plot involves (in the books at least) one side (the Church) trying to rid the world of sin by committing atrocious acts against children, while the other side, headed up by Lord Asriel, which is trying to stop them, are not clearly the "good guys" either. Unless someone has substantially changed the plot for the film to something that is certainly not in the book (and I doubt that, given that New Line would like this film to be marketable), saying this story is about a little girl trying to kill God is both misleading and irresponsible.

A 13th-place opening weekend doesn't sound good to most studios, but for 20th Century Fox's new Christian division, FoxFaith, it has to sound great. The Ultimate Gift made over $1 million on only 814 screens, which should be encouraging for others in Hollywood still interested in cashing in on success of The Passion of the Christ. Since Mel Gibson's 2003 surprise smash hit about Good Friday, we've seen a flop with the story of Christmas, but there are plenty more holiday origins to bring to the big screen.

Producer Ashok Amritraj is hoping audiences are more interested in the events directly following The Passion of the Christ. He has begun work on Risen -- The Story of the First Easter, which will feature the apostle Peter and his telling of Jesus' resurrection. Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment has a deal at Fox, but whether such a big project would be released by FoxFaith, or Fox at all, is not yet decided. Hopefully the film will be completed around the same time as Screen Gems' The Resurrection and MGM's Myriam, Mother of Christ so the three can have an Easter 2008 showdown. In fact, the Weinsteins might want to get in on that action, too.

Even though we were just treated to a movie about the birth of Jesus, there is another one in the works. This, in spite of the fact that The Nativity Story didn't do very well. MGM apparently thinks it can do better with Myriam, Mother of Christ. Here are some things this one has going for it: a screenplay by Benedict Fitzgerald, who co-wrote The Passion of the Christ; a title that sounds more like The Passion of the Christ; the same release date (Easter) as The Passion of the Christ. Now all it needs is for Mel Gibson to direct and for Jim Caviezel's head to be planted on baby Jesus' body, Little Man style.

Ever since The Passion made tons and tons and tons of money, Hollywood has been interested in the religious film market. Unfortunately, The Nativity Story wasn't the only attempt to attract a Passion-size audience that failed. But obviously the studios are going to keep on trying, because nobody wants to believe The Passion was a one-time occurrence.

The best horror film I've seen all year is a documentary. Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (The Boys of Baraka), Jesus Camp is about kids. They play. They talk. They love to sing and dance. And their parents want them to follow in the footsteps of the Lord. Nine-year old Rachael throws a bowling ball on an outing with her family and friends; then she crosses a few lanes and offers a Chick comic and some thoughts about God's love to an older woman at the alley. Ten-year-old Tori practices her leg-sweep dance moves to her favorite music, "Christian Heavy Metal Rock and Roll." Twelve-year-old Levi has rocker-kid hair and explains how "At 5, I got saved, because I just wanted more of life because there's just nothing that I thought was fun, that I thought was satisfying. ..."

There's no narration over Jesus Camp -- just the voices of Rachael and Levi and Tori, or people like Pentecostal children's minister Becky Fischer, or syndicated Christian talk radio host Mike Papantonio or Tori's mom, who says "Our kids are on loan to us from God, and someday we're going to have to answer to God about how we raised our children."

Everyone knows "PG" stands for Parental Guidance, but now it might also be taken to mean Pro-God. The film Facing the Giants, which was produced by a Georgia church and directed by the Reverend Alex Hendrick, may have gotten the rating because of its Christian content. Hendrick claims he was told by the MPAA the film got a PG because it was so openly religious. The movie, which will be distributed by Sony on 400 screens this fall, is about a high school football team that starts doing well after its coach seeks assistance from God.

Hendrick may be getting some free advertising with his story all over the press, but it just doesn't make sense. If you look at any of the MPAA's official rating markers for the film, it clearly states the film is rated PG for thematic elements. Sure, this could mean religious elements, but what about violent sports elements? I'm not entirely doubting the MPAA's reasons, but if they do in fact have an issue with God, why? Anyway, Hendrick should be happy. Movies rated PG attract more of an audience these days that those with G-ratings.

I was seriously wondering when this would happen. Weren't you? Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division is working on a film that continues the story of Jesus following the events in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Wait, didn't Jesus die at the end of that? Yes, but according to The Bible he returned a few days after dying on the cross, and it is this resurrection that will be the focus of Sony's film, tentatively called The Resurrection. The script is written by TV-movie scribe Lionel Chetwynd and is being produced by Reverend Tim LaHaye, co-author of the Left Behind books.

From what it looks like, Sony is going for the gold in no-brainer, easy-money film production. With little more than a release date picked out (Easter, of course) and a guarantee that Christian audiences who stormed theaters for The Passion will be back for Jesus' return, the studio is likely already counting its profits. Since this isn't a real sequel (the first was released by Newmarket Films), it is doubtful that James Caviezel will be back (and after being struck by lightning during production of the first, he should want to stay away). I also will not be surprised if Resurrection is filmed in English instead of the ancient languages spoken in Passion.

Well, I can say one thing for the film, which should go all the way and use the title The Resurrection of the Christ, and that is it should bring about less controversy. With less finger-pointing and much, much, much less violence, it should be important and enjoyable for its audience. I'll just be glad to not have that lump in the back of my dry throat I experienced while watching Passion.