G Whiz

A study released in 2005 by the Dove Foundation -- a Grand Rapids, Mich., nonprofit that promotes "family friendly entertainment" -- found that between 2000 and 2004, R-rated movie production dropped 12 percent, while G-rated film production was up 38 percent. During that time, the average profit for an R-rated film was $17 million. The average G movie hauled in a $92 million profit.

From 2000 to the end of 2005, G, PG and PG-13 movies went from 56 percent of ticket sales to nearly 80 percent, according to statistics compiled by Nash Information Services.

Part of the rise in PG-13 movies can be attributed to stepped-up enforcement of the rating system, Fithian said. In 2000, a national policy of checking IDs at the box office was instituted by the theater owners.

"We have seen many studios cut scenes out of their movies in order to get a PG-13. They can simply sell more tickets that way," Fithian said.

Dozens of family-oriented production companies have sprung up in recent years to ride the conservative cultural wave, including a new label at Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Faith. The Weinstein brothers, Harvey and Bob, former heads of Miramax, announced last week that they, too, are getting into the Christian film business. (We'll overlook for a moment "Black Christmas," an R-rated slasher flick from the Weinstein Co. that opened on Christmas Day.)

This discernible shift in Hollywood values has probably happened for many reasons, including a faith-based presidency that has emboldened conservative Christian groups to play a more public role in defining what family fare ought to be. But money is also a prime motivator.

The profitability of directly appealing to religious moviegoers was brought vividly to Hollywood's attention in 2004 by the enormous success of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," which grossed more than $600 million worldwide, and the Christian-undertoned "Narnia," which now ranks among the top 25 biggest moneymakers of all time.

The wave has been pushed along by Christian-rooted cultural arbiters such as the Dove Foundation and Focus on the Family. Dove now issues a seal of approval for movies that pass certain family-friendly requirements, an imprimatur many studios seek out before they release their films, hoping such groups will help generate positive buzz.

In several recent releases, including Twentieth Century Fox's "Everyone's Hero," filmmakers have made changes in their movies to appease Dove critics. Fox has signed a deal to have the Dove seal displayed on all the DVDs that pass the foundation's muster.

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Granat and Flaherty, both 38,would probably be just another two well-intentioned guys without much clout if their ambitions hadn't dovetailed with Anschutz's own desire to clean up movies -- and the money to make a stab at it.

The man behind the Walden curtain is worth $5.8 billion, which puts him 65th on Forbes's list of the richest people in the world, having made separate fortunes in oil, railroads and telecommunications before taking on Hollywood.