Paramount, MTV Doing Bong Hits 4 Jesus
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington meets Half Baked.
Good news, schoolchildren of America: Getting suspended is now a viable ticket to cinematic immortality.
Provided you earn your suspension in a suitably outlandish fashion, that is. And fight it on First Amendment grounds in front of the Supreme Court. Do all those things, and you could find yourself in the position of Joseph Frederick, the Alaskan high school student who took his battle for, um, freedom of expression all the way to the highest court in the land. From Variety:
Frederick already had a contentious relationship with the school principal when he got suspended for 10 days for displaying a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" message on a 14-foot sign outside the school. The principal felt the banner promoted drug use. The case made national headlines, and Frederick became a poster boy for the First Amendment, but in a split decision, the Supreme Court upheld the principal's right to suspend the student.
Bong Hits 4 Jesus is now, Variety reports, the title of a Paramount/MTV Films production which will be produced by Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher. The story, to be written by Mark Poirier, will revolve around Frederick's suspension -- and the effect it had on his family. From the article:
"The heart of this story is the relationship between a father and son," Shamberg said. "Frank Frederick was an insurance adjuster facing the loss of his job if his son didn't back down."
Frederick, who'd often discussed the importance of First Amendment rights with his son at the dinner table, would not force his son to drop the case, and he was fired from his job. Father and son now teach English in China.
Shamberg, whose previous collaborations with Sher have included the similarly ripped-from-the-headlines Freedom Writers, World Trade Center, and Erin Brockovich, describes Bong Hits 4 Jesus as being similar to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, saying it's "about a young man standing up for his rights."
Source: Variety
Provided you earn your suspension in a suitably outlandish fashion, that is. And fight it on First Amendment grounds in front of the Supreme Court. Do all those things, and you could find yourself in the position of Joseph Frederick, the Alaskan high school student who took his battle for, um, freedom of expression all the way to the highest court in the land. From Variety:
Frederick already had a contentious relationship with the school principal when he got suspended for 10 days for displaying a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" message on a 14-foot sign outside the school. The principal felt the banner promoted drug use. The case made national headlines, and Frederick became a poster boy for the First Amendment, but in a split decision, the Supreme Court upheld the principal's right to suspend the student.
Bong Hits 4 Jesus is now, Variety reports, the title of a Paramount/MTV Films production which will be produced by Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher. The story, to be written by Mark Poirier, will revolve around Frederick's suspension -- and the effect it had on his family. From the article:
"The heart of this story is the relationship between a father and son," Shamberg said. "Frank Frederick was an insurance adjuster facing the loss of his job if his son didn't back down."
Frederick, who'd often discussed the importance of First Amendment rights with his son at the dinner table, would not force his son to drop the case, and he was fired from his job. Father and son now teach English in China.
Shamberg, whose previous collaborations with Sher have included the similarly ripped-from-the-headlines Freedom Writers, World Trade Center, and Erin Brockovich, describes Bong Hits 4 Jesus as being similar to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, saying it's "about a young man standing up for his rights."
Source: Variety
Related Items
| Movie: | Freedom Writers |
| World Trade Center | |
| Erin Brockovich | |
| Celeb: | Michael Shamberg |
| Stacey Sher |
(1-16 of 16 posts) | Reply
 on Oct 22 2007 08:02 AM MTV productions huh, I can see this shot in the same style as their crappy reality series (The Hills, Laguna Beach, must I go on?). (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 22 2007 09:44 AM Excellent related link. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 22 2007 11:05 AM I followed this issue. I was not at all about standing up for one's rights. It was about a kid who was looking for trouble and found it...but tried to masquerade as a proponent of personal rights. I'll be the last guy to stand up against an individual's rights, but I'll also be the last to sympathize for someone who asks for trouble and gets it. Count me out, I'm not at all interested in another attempt to glorify an established troublemaker. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 22 2007 11:07 AM In reply to this comment (#1214660) Excuse me, I meant to type "It was not at all about standing up for one's rights." (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 22 2007 11:09 AM i only vaguely followed this case, but reading it now, im thinking the real story isnt behind the kid, its with the dad. why did he get fired from his job? why didnt he sue his employers for wrongful termination or something? If parents could get fired from their jobs for stupid stuff their kids had done, then everybody would be out of a job. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 22 2007 11:14 AM MTV....television for idiots. (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 22 2007 01:32 PM How's Brittany Spears doing these days? (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 22 2007 01:52 PM I heard she hows found religion and is going back to school...nah nah im jp (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 22 2007 01:53 PM In more important news... Go to RADIOHEAD.COM get the new album for free! I can't believe it took a week to find this out. RT should have dismissed all other news for this, the most important story of the YEAR! (Reply to this) |
 on Oct 22 2007 02:08 PM In reply to this comment (#1214833) she's fine, for a ***** slut who is a drug addict and is a worse mom than her singing!! she's hopefully nearing anna nicole critical mass!! (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 22 2007 02:39 PM The new radiohead album is pretty good from what i have heard.. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 22 2007 06:21 PM In reply to this comment (#1214660) I followed the bong hits issue because I live in the same town as the student that got suspended. I do believe that the student was not looking at getting in trouble but rather proving a point of freedom of speech being on the same lines as freedom of religion. He clearly stated that he researched the freedom of speech laws before creating the banner. There were many articles written by the Juneau Empire if you would like to research them yourself. www.juneauempire.com (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 22 2007 10:05 PM Why would anyone wanna make a movie about some modern day hippie wannabe.This kid was just being a punk,nothing more. (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 23 2007 01:09 AM What the hell is the relationship with World Trade Center?? (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 24 2007 12:40 PM I just want to say that I grew up in Juneau and went to high school with joe, and he is a total LOSER drug addict, but I have to disagree with the court's decision. He wasn't even on school property, he was ACROSS THE STREET, and the only reason why JDHS is making such a big deal out of it is that he was on national television holding the sign that clearly said BONG HITS FOR JESUS as the olympic torch went by. That's the only reason why. BECAUSE IT WAS ON TV. If it wasn't im sure that stupid school would have suspended him, not expelled him, and not made a big fuss about this. JDHS is full of self righteous teachers who think that juneau is a christian community and the principle at the time is a total power tripper, who just has something against joe anyways. shes crazy. WHY DIDNT THE REST OF THE KIDS HOLDING UP THE SIGN GET IN TROUBLE? (Reply to this) |
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on Oct 24 2007 12:43 PM oh yeah. And jesus probably smoked pot anyways. It was fairly common in those days, only they called it something else. I think they called it "lotus" REALLY. It's in the bible. Joe was stating a true fact, although maybe jesus didn't smoke out of a "bong" (Reply to this) |
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