Cliff Graham's Blog, page 4
April 1, 2010
Release the Kraken!
Clash of the Titans opens this weekend, and like every other movie-going male I am excited. How could I possibly be excited about a blood and guts telling of ancient Greek mythology, you might ask?
Because it looks like it's just drenched in awesome.
It might be corny, it might not have the best plot or nuanced dialogue, but I bet when Perseus flies on Pegasus to do battle with the Kraken, it's epic. And that's why we'll go see it.
I'm also excited about this movie because it demonstrates an inc...
Because it looks like it's just drenched in awesome.
It might be corny, it might not have the best plot or nuanced dialogue, but I bet when Perseus flies on Pegasus to do battle with the Kraken, it's epic. And that's why we'll go see it.
I'm also excited about this movie because it demonstrates an inc...
March 31, 2010
New teaser
Preview for Book 3, SONG OF WAR
"And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory." 2 Samuel 23:11-12
The fortress of the Jebusites has never been conquered. It sits on a mountain in the central hill country of Israel...
"And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory." 2 Samuel 23:11-12
The fortress of the Jebusites has never been conquered. It sits on a mountain in the central hill country of Israel...
March 30, 2010
Amalekites
I saw some new concept art for the Amalekites, sent to me by the filmmakers, and I was thrilled with it. They are making them out to be a personification of evil, which makes sense because God basically calls them that and orders Saul to wipe them out.
One of the fun parts of this process is seeing how my vision for the books and their vision for the movies comes together. They are following the essential skeleton of DAY OF WAR, but adding their own cinematic flair to it. The result will be a ...
One of the fun parts of this process is seeing how my vision for the books and their vision for the movies comes together. They are following the essential skeleton of DAY OF WAR, but adding their own cinematic flair to it. The result will be a ...
March 18, 2010
Death by a thousand cuts
I think a lot of why this LION OF WAR concept is resonating is because it is different than other things like it. Sure, it stands on the shoulders of Braveheart and Gladiator and John Eldredge books, but it is markedly different because it does not present easy answers. Sure, we would all love to die as valiantly as William Wallace. But what if that is not possible? What if what eats away at us as men is the monotonous, every-day life that just seems to go nowhere? We'd love to battle lions i...
March 16, 2010
Where is the blood and dirt under fingernails?
I spent some time today browsing the Christian Fiction section at a Barnes and Noble. I was frustrated and encouraged.
Frustrated because there is a vast audience that is being missed by the CBA (Christian Book Association). I don't fault the publishers; female readership makes up most of what pays their bills. If it has a bonnet, it sells. If it is about prairie homes or family Christmases, it sells. Simple as that.
There have been attempts by male authors to break it into the modern CBA audie...
Frustrated because there is a vast audience that is being missed by the CBA (Christian Book Association). I don't fault the publishers; female readership makes up most of what pays their bills. If it has a bonnet, it sells. If it is about prairie homes or family Christmases, it sells. Simple as that.
There have been attempts by male authors to break it into the modern CBA audie...
March 13, 2010
Why do I keep calling him a "warlord"?
I've been using the term so frequently that I can forget how much it takes people off guard. The term "warlord" has a vicious undertone, and it doesn't fit with David's baby-faced and innocent image that many have.
David was a rough man. He never stopped being so. Carefully reading the text leads us to believe that this was not necessarily bad because he had tasks to complete that were given by God, but any doubt as to his warlike nature is put to rest when one reads 1 Chronicles 28:3, where D...
David was a rough man. He never stopped being so. Carefully reading the text leads us to believe that this was not necessarily bad because he had tasks to complete that were given by God, but any doubt as to his warlike nature is put to rest when one reads 1 Chronicles 28:3, where D...
March 5, 2010
Difficult choices
It's a season of change for my family and I. We moved to a new state in January where we did not know anyone, which has been both exciting and exhausting. Much has been happening that is mentally draining, namely activities on the movie front and the current status of this series. All is going very well and I am extremely encouraged by the progress of everything, but I feel like the Lord is leading me to a crossroads that I have been dreading. It is the right thing to do, but difficult.
I am r...
I am r...
March 4, 2010
Skiing as a metaphor for life
Okay, that's a little lame. I am taking my three year-old skiing today, but it's a stretch to say it will be anything other than fun for dad and confusion for him. He keeps asking me to go play on the playground, but he doesn't realize that a day of skiing is much more fulfilling than a day at the playground.
As frequently happens, I am noticing a parallel between a simple observation in my own life and events in David's life. It might be a stretch to compare my son's lack of enthusiasm for sk...
As frequently happens, I am noticing a parallel between a simple observation in my own life and events in David's life. It might be a stretch to compare my son's lack of enthusiasm for sk...
March 2, 2010
Olympic fever
Some thoughts from our trip to Vancouver last week.
First, Vancouver is really beautiful. Really. I'm not a city person, but it had me at hello.
Second, there were a lot of people there. Hundreds of thousands in the streets. When the first Canadian guy won a gold medal, you would have thought Elvis had been resurrected.
Third, it reminded me of how vast the world really is. So many people from so many countries. The spiritual part of me saw it as an awesome example of what heaven will be like...
First, Vancouver is really beautiful. Really. I'm not a city person, but it had me at hello.
Second, there were a lot of people there. Hundreds of thousands in the streets. When the first Canadian guy won a gold medal, you would have thought Elvis had been resurrected.
Third, it reminded me of how vast the world really is. So many people from so many countries. The spiritual part of me saw it as an awesome example of what heaven will be like...
February 24, 2010
David and combat stress
As we have proceeded with the early stages of marketing this series, there has been some renewed focus on a theory that I have been working from in order to give a possible explanation for David's eventual downfall.
As we all know, no one falls apart overnight on the level that David fell apart. The seeds of his destruction were sown early, and whether we like it or not, the Bible never really presents him as fully heroic. It simply says that the Lord was with him, and that he was a man after ...
As we all know, no one falls apart overnight on the level that David fell apart. The seeds of his destruction were sown early, and whether we like it or not, the Bible never really presents him as fully heroic. It simply says that the Lord was with him, and that he was a man after ...
