February 14, 2004

Dear Most Rev. Emilio S. Allué, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, MA; Most Rev. David Arias, Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, NJ; Most Rev. Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln, NE; Most Rev. J. Kevin Boland, Bishop of Savannah, GA; Most Rev. Raymond J. Boland, Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO; Most Rev. Robert Brucato, Auxiliary Bishop of New York, NY; Most Rev. Daniel M. Buechlein, Archbishop of Indianapolis, IN; Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke, Bishop of La Crosse, WI (Archbishop-designate of St. Louis, MO); Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson, Bishop of Sioux Falls, SD; Most Rev. Francis J. Christian, Auxiliary Bishop of Manchester, NH; Most Rev. Eldon Curtiss, Archbishop of Omaha, NE; Most Rev. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Denver, CO; Most Rev. R. Daniel Conlon, Bishop of Steubenville, OH; Most Rev. Thomas V. Daily, Retired Archbishop of Brooklyn, NY; Most Rev. John M. Dougherty, Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton, PA; Most Rev. Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee, WI; Most Rev. Joseph A. Galante, Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas, TX; Most Rev. Victor Galeone, Bishop of St. Augustine, FL; Most Rev. Jose H. Gomez, Auxiliary Bishop of Denver, CO; His Eminence Francis George, Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, IL; Most Rev. Joseph J. Gerry, Bishop of Portland, ME; Most Rev. Roberto O. Gonzalez, Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico; Most Rev. Thomas J. Gumbleton, Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, MI; Most Rev. Daniel R. Jenky, Bishop of Peoria, IL; Most Rev. Basil Losten, Ukrainian Eparch of Stamford, CT; Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino, Bishop of Scranton, PA; Most Rev. John McCormack, Bishop of Manchester, NH; Most Rev. Michael Saltarelli, Bishop of Wilmington, DE; and Most Rev. Donald W. Trautman, Bishop of Erie, PA,

I am writing to inform you about the outcome of our campaign to release the movie “One Man’s Hero” in Irish theatres, and to re-release it domestically in four markets in which the movie had never played in theatres. To recap, “One Man’s Hero” portrays the story of the St. Patrick’s Battalion (a.k.a. the San Patricios), a group of Irish Catholic immigrants who defected from the United States to fight with Catholic Mexico during the Mexican-American War (1846-48). They felt betrayed by an America that persecuted them for their faith during their service as U.S. soldiers, and they were ready to die so that their brother and sisters in Christ in Mexico would not endure similar treatment via a U.S. conquest. One Man’s Hero” was produced by two Catholic filmmakers, Lance and Conrad Hool, American citizens who grew up in Mexico where their father served as a diplomat. There they learned the story of the San Patricios. For Lance Hool in particular, the making of “One Man’s Hero” was a 20-year passion. While the movie is currently available on DVD, we hoped a limited release in Ireland and a limited re-release in the United States would make the movie better known, with MGM benefiting from both ticket sales and increased DVD sales.

On December 15, 2003, we mailed our petition with your signatures to Chris McGurk, Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of MGM-United Artists. That week, Mr. McGurk delegated the matter to Ms. Janet Janjigian, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications. After several interactions with Ms. Janjigian and her staff, Ms. Janjigian told me on Monday February 2 that MGM would not be releasing the movie, nor selling the rights to it. In response to my arguments that MGM had an anti-Catholic bias regarding the film, Ms. Janjigian told me that this was not the case and referred me to Mr. McGurk for further comment.

After speaking with one of Mr. McGurk’s assistants February 3, Mr. McGurk emailed me February 4. He informed that “I am the COO of MGM and ultimately responsible for release decisions.” After reaffirming the movie’s availability on DVD, Mr. McGurk added the following:

“Our decision is purely an economic one and has absolutely nothing to do with the film’s subject matter. As a Catholic of Irish descent, I am particularly distressed at your inference to members of our management team that our decision reflects an ‘anti-Catholic bias.’ Nothing could be further from the truth and I would ask you to refrain from making such uninformed and misleading comments to anyone in the future.”

Given Mr. McGurk’s decision and strongly worded comments, the campaign thinks a response is needed to clarify some matters. Orion Pictures originally owned the distribution rights for “One Man’s Hero” in English-speaking countries. Orion planned to distribute “One Man’s Hero” in the manner it had done with two other films it had successfully released: “Platoon” and “Dances with Wolves.” But then MGM purchased Orion. And with the purchase came many films, including the distribution rights to “One Man’s Hero” in English-speaking countries. Mr. McGurk became the COO of MGM in May in 1999 and therefore has always had the final say regarding the release of “One Man’s Hero.” The movie was given a very limited release in the United States in September 1999, debuting in about 60 theatres, all in the southwest.

When a film has an obvious Catholic audience, a studio normally and logically markets the film to a Catholic audience, e.g., through the Catholic media and prominent Catholic groups. (“The Passion of the Christ” is the most recent instance of such a film.) MGM has never marketed “One Man’s Hero” to the Catholic media or Catholic groups. Not when it released the movie theatrically in 1999; not since the movie has gone to video and DVD. For the record, one can purchase mailing labels for 1,500 Catholic media outlets for only $150 from the Catholic Press Association (CPA). That’s a small price to pay—in addition to other modest, associated mailing costs—to generate a lot of goodwill among Catholics and also stimulate sales. One can certainly understand that a studio might not want to risk millions of dollars in television ads for a major theatrical release, but when a studio doesn’t even try to market the movie to its obvious Catholic audience, even inexpensively when the movie goes to video and DVD, I submit that a charge of an anti-Catholic bias is not unreasonable.

But there’s significantly more. In Ireland, the movie previewed to packed theatres and standing ovations in both Dublin and Belfast. The Irish media received it well. Members of the Catholic Church in Ireland received it well. The Irish government, which honors the St. Patrick’s Battalion every March 17, was also favorably disposed to the movie. From a “purely economic” standpoint, the movie was destined to make money for MGM in Ireland, even if the studio invested little or nothing in advertising. Indeed, the movie should have been released purely on economic grounds. Considering that Mr. McGurk is a Catholic of Irish descent, the movie’s release should have been a cinch. One would think that an Irish Catholic studio head would love to have his faith portrayed positively on the big screen in Ireland, affirming the faith of his fellow Catholics while making money in the process.

Yet, Mr. McGurk refused to release the film, much to the disappointment of the Irish people. Indeed, MGM’s decision not to release the movie in Ireland in 1999 is the saddest chapter in the “One Man’s Hero” saga. Given all of the facts regarding what took place in Ireland in 1999, I think it is very reasonable to conclude that MGM and Mr. McGurk have a bias against the very Catholic faith that Mr. McGurk professes, because an argument based “purely” on economics cannot be sustained. I am sadly reminded of American politicians who publicly profess Catholicism, yet often act contrary to it in carrying out their professional duties. I do not say this lightly, nor I do say it happily. Having examined various movies that Mr. McGurk has released during his tenure as MGM’s COO, it is clear that his Catholic faith is often not the highest consideration in informing his cinematic release decisions. In fact, various movies that MGM has released under his tenure contain gratuitous content that contributes to the undermining of morality, particularly regarding the Sixth and Ninth Commandments. Even PG movies like “Agent Cody Banks” have such content (see Catholic film reviewer Steven Greydanus’ analysis at http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/agentcodybanks.html). As MGM’s COO, Mr. McGurk has the power to have such problematic content edited out.

With regard to our current campaign, Mr. McGurk continues to argue that MGM will not release the movie for purely economic reasons. His argument is very difficult to accept, given, first of all, that Catholics in Ireland would undoubtedly welcome a theatrical release at long last. Like most films, “One Man’s Hero,” is a much better viewing experience in a theatre than in front of one’s television set. Unfortunately, Irish Catholics will most likely never get that theatrical opportunity, save a periodic fund-raiser screening that MGM might allow. Here in the United States, our campaign had targeted four markets—Denver, Chicago, Boston and New York—in which we (had) at least one bishop sign our petition. We only asked that the movie be shown in one or two theatres in each of those markets. MGM would have gotten a lot of free publicity with the support of the Church, and the media coverage attendant to the release in Ireland and re-release in the United States would have furthered DVD sales and goodwill toward MGM among many Catholics. Anticipating that MGM might decline our modest proposal for the stated fear of losing money in implementing it, we proposed further that the studio could sell the distribution rights for the movie—even limited, temporary rights to the aforementioned U.S. (and Irish) markets. In the latter scenario, MGM would have had no money to lose. Indeed, even the prints of the movie to be used in a theatrical release/re-release were made several years ago. Consequently, the “purely economic” argument is not credible. Nevertheless, Mr. McGurk did not even provide the opportunity to buy limited, temporary rights. He had the opportunity to generate a lot of goodwill for MGM with the Catholic Church, and to do so in an economic manner, but he regrettably chose to do otherwise.

In summary, Mr. McGurk’s arguments cannot be sustained. Mr. McGurk is a very talented man, and we hope and pray that he and MGM become forces for cinematic reform in a Hollywood that is much in need of it.

Thank you very much for your support of our campaign. Many Catholics have learned about “One Man’s Hero” as a result of it. We have received media coverage from both Catholic News Service, which disseminated two stories to Catholic periodicals throughout the country, and the National Catholic Register. Despite our significant disappointment with MGM, we are sincerely grateful that Mr. McGurk and his studio have continued to make the movie available on DVD, although it is sad that non-MGM entities are doing more to promote the movie to a Catholic audience than the studio. (The movie is also periodically shown on cable and satellite television, if one knows to look for it or providentially comes across it.) So please spread the word about “One Man’s Hero.” The movie can be purchased through Ignatius Press by calling (800) 651-1531, or online at www.ignatius.com.

Mr. McGurk noted that his decision was “final.” Perhaps out of consideration to you bishops and the Irish people, he might yet change his mind regarding Dublin and Belfast, if not regarding the aforementioned U.S. markets. The people of Ireland would be very grateful.

May God abundantly bless you all (cf. Jn. 10:10).

Sincerely in Christ,

Thomas J. Nash

cc: Chris McGurk, Chief Operating Officer, MGM-UA
cc: Alex Yemenidjian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MGM-UA
cc: Erik Lomis, President, Theatrical Distribution, MGM Distribution Co.
cc: Kirk Kerkorian, Board of Directors, MGM-UA
cc: Janet Janjigian, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, MGM-UA
cc: Lance Hool, Producer/Director, “One Man’s Hero”
cc: Conrad Hool Producer, “One Man’s Hero”
cc: Tom Berenger, Cast, “One Man’s Hero”
cc: Patrick Bergin, Cast, “One Man’s Hero”
cc: Joaquim de Almeida, Cast, “One Man’s Hero”
cc: Daniela Romo, Cast, “One Man’s Hero”
cc: Rick Nicita, Creative Artists Agency
cc: Martin Baum, Creative Artists Agency

What follows is a summary regarding the petition 29 U.S. Bishops signed and had sent to MGM COO Chris McGurk.

Twenty-nine U.S. Catholic Bishops have signed a petition "respectfully exhorting" MGM to provide a domestic re-release of One Man's Hero and a first release of the film in Ireland. The signed petitions were received on Tuesday, December 16 by Chris McGurk, MGM's Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. The petitions were accompanied by a letter in which the bishops and other supporters of the film specified their requests to MGM:

• A domestic re-release in one to two theaters in the following four U.S markets: New York, Boston, Chicago and Denver. If the movie performs well, other markets were asked to be considered.
• A first release in one or two theaters in both Dublin and Belfast.
  

If MGM chooses not to re-release/release One Man's Hero itself, the studio was asked to sell the distribution rights for the aforementioned markets at a fair price. A decision by MGM is hoped for by the end of December or early January so that a re-release/release could be achieved for the weekend or two before St. Patrick's Day 2004.

The letter to Mr. McGurk was cc'ed to various people, including several MGM executives, all 29 bishops, and the principal OMH players: Lance and Conrad Hool (producers) and four of the main performers in the film: Tom Berenger, Daniela Romo, Joaquim de Almeida and Patrick Bergin.

We ask your prayers for this effort. Thank you very much.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is an assembly of the hierarchy of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands who jointly exercise certain pastoral functions on behalf of the Christian faithful of the United States. The purpose of the Conference is to promote the greater good which the Church offers humankind, especially through forms and programs of the apostolate fittingly adapted to the circumstances of time and place. This purpose is drawn from the universal law of the Church and applies to the episcopal conferences which are established all over the world for the same purpose.

The bishops themselves constitute the membership of the Conference and are served by a staff of over 350 lay people, priests and religious located at the Conference headquarters in Washington, DC. There is also a small Office of Film and Broadcasting in New York City and a branch office of Migration and Refugee Services in Miami.

The Conference is organized as a corporation in the District of Columbia. Its purposes under civil law are: "To unify, coordinate, encourage, promote and carry on Catholic activities in the United States; to organize and conduct religious, charitable and social welfare work at home and abroad; to aid in education; to care for immigrants; and generally to enter into and promote by education, publication and direction the objects of its being" (www.usccb.org/whoweare.htm).