Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Visual Bible International Struggles

I am sorry to see that the Visual Bible International company, who made Matthew and the recent Gospel of John, are still in difficulties. This is from the Globe and Mail:

Drabinsky, Gottlieb roles in firm probed by RCMP
By PAUL WALDIE
The RCMP are looking into the roles of Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb in a Toronto-based film company to determine whether they have violated the conditions of their bail.

Mr. Drabinsky and Mr. Gottlieb have been involved since 2002 in Visual Bible International Inc., whose shares trade in Canada and the United States. Both men were hired as consultants to produce the film The Gospel of John, which made its debut last year.

Mr. Drabinsky and Mr. Gottlieb were released on bail in 2002 after each was charged with 19 counts of fraud related to their involvement in defunct theatre company Livent Inc. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

One of the conditions of their bail was that they could not serve as a director or officer in any public company.

In a lawsuit filed last month, Visual Bible's former chief financial officer, Harold Kramer, alleges that Mr. Drabinsky and Mr. Gottlieb are in "de facto control over the business and affairs of [Visual Bible]" and exercise "power and authority as if they were directors or officers." Mr. Kramer also alleges their role has not been fully disclosed to securities regulators . . .
The news is not good for the projected Gospel of Mark film, something I'd have very much liked to see:
Visual Bible has struggled recently with poor sales, mass resignations and a flurry of lawsuits, including one from a former company chairman.

The company once boasted a high-profile board that included former Ontario premier Mike Harris, former broadcaster Pamela Wallin, architect Moshe Safdie and media mogul Moses Znaimer. All have since left the board, along with several others.

The company planned to sell videos and DVDs of The Gospel of John and produce another film based on the Gospel of Mark. But sales have been sluggish and the second film is on hold. Last week, the company reported it lost $5.8-million in the second quarter of 2004, compared with a loss of $2.2-million a year earlier. Total sales were $2.5-million.
It needs to be added that videos and DVDs of The Gospel of John are available (official web site; Amazon marketplace), though at the moment only in North America. I've not seen any sign of a British release, either theatrical or on DVD / Video.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

John DVD . . .IS Available . I have a copy to prove it .Go to you local Christian Book shop and ask for it thats what i did. Alternatively go to http://www.visual-bible.co.uk/home.htmin Uk Re availability of the John DVD american web site tells u they dondt have a distributer in europe but. . .see above

Anonymous said...

Yes you can get John in the UK.

I am an actor and worked on the original concept. I played Judas and we filmed it out in Morocco. Sadly after 6 months the filming was stopped and we were all sent home. The filming was then started a new with a whole new team. If any one knows how I might get my hands on some of the rushes or the original add that was shown in Canada using yours truely it would come in handy for my show reel. All help greatly recieved. Thank you in advance
Anthony
anthony@anthonystyles.com

Anonymous said...

Yes I know that one can get the John DVD, but what I am after is the rushes from the original filming which got closed down after six months.They used some of it in an add in Canada of which I have a rough copy, but not good enough quality for a showreel.

If anyone knows where I might find more of the original material or a copy of the add, I would be most appreciative.