"What Would Jesus Buy?" film faces tough sell

By Randall Mikkelsen

SILVER SPRING, Maryland (Reuters) - The makers of "What Would Jesus Buy?" have a problem -- how do you sell a film documenting performance artist Rev. Billy and his Stop Shopping Gospel Choir on a guerrilla U.S. tour against consumerism?

The film follows the white-suited, big-haired Rev. Billy and his 35-member choir as they hit the road in two biodiesel-fueled buses in December 2005.

They invade shopping malls, megastores and Starbucks coffee shops with a message preached in mock-religious fervor that there is evil -- a looming "shopocalypse" -- at the heart of U.S. consumer culture.

Rev. Billy tries to "exorcise" discount chain Wal-Mart's home office in Arkansas. He is arrested in Disneyland on Christmas Day after marching with his red-robed choir and denouncing the Walt Disney Corp. for outsourcing merchandise production.

In an outlet of lingerie shop Victoria's Secret, known for its blizzard of catalog promotions, Rev. Billy exhorts, "O Victoria, we know your secret -- we don't need a million catalogs a day to have our sexual fantasies."

The movie has received early praise and has solid credentials, including executive producer Morgan Spurlock, who scored big with "Super Size Me," a movie targeting McDonald's fast food.

But director Rob VanAlkemade said the movie's message makes it a tough sell to potential distributors.

"Major distributors have backed away because Wal-Mart pushes half of their DVDs," VanAlkemade said after a sold-out screening of the movie on Sunday at the Silverdocs documentary festival near Washington.