The next time your cell phone rings, it could be Mel Gibson-or at least the soundtrack from his The Passion of the Christ-calling.
Los Angeles-based AG Interactive is making three snippets of the movie's soundtrack available to download as ringtones for cell phones, as well as 12 “premium images” from the film.
The images include several of Jim Caviezel playing Jesus and Maia Morgenstern playing Mary. One scene features Jesus carrying his cross, but none of them shows the brutal flogging or crucifixion scenes.
Bryan Biniak, senior vice president of AG Interactive, predicted a strong demand, noting that images of the Virgin Mary are among the top five most popular images available through Univision Mobile, a partner company that targets the Hispanic market.
Biniak said his firm worked closely with Gibson's Icon Productions to select images from the film that would be the “most appropriate.”
“If somebody's going to be looking at something every time they're picking up their phone, what kinds of images are they going to want to see?” he said. “Images of pain or suffering, or images that evoke the spirit of the movie? We weighed more heavily on the spiritual side.”
The ringtones-alongside the company's other offerings of everything from “7th Ave. Carjack” to the “SpongeBob SquarePants” theme song-are drawn from the score composed by John Debney.
The downloads are available for 13 cellular service providers, including Cingular Wireless/AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Each download costs $1.95. They are available at www.midiringtones.com.
Religion News Service