Movie 'Passion'

Cathie Firestone cries while waiting for her family after seeing the Mel Gibson movie "The Passion of the Christ," Feb. 25, 2004, in Gainesville, Fla.

Those attending an advance screening of "The Passion of The Christ" at Beaucatcher Movie Theater in Asheville, N.C., Feb. 24, 2004, take part in a prayer service after the showing.

Arch Bonnema speaks to reporters before a 6:30 a.m. showing of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" at a Tinseltown movie theater in Plano, Texas, Feb. 25, 2004. Bonnema purchased 6,000 tickets for members of the Prestonwood Baptist Church.

Abraham Foxman, national Director of the Anti-Defamation League, speaks to reporters at ADL's office in New York after he saw the Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" for the second time, Feb. 25, 2004. He said he was still worried about reactions to the film when it comes out in places like Argentina and Europe, where there's been less debate about its content.

A member of the East 91 Street Christian Church displays her tickets as she prepares to enter a private screening of the film "The Passion of the Christ," at the United Artists Galaxy 14 theater in Indianapolis, Feb. 23, 2004. The Indianapolis church purchased 2,400 tickets for three pre-screenings of the movie.

After seeing the movie "The Passion of the Christ," Michael Palmisano, 14, left, is counseled by Beth Salcedo of First Baptist Church of Folsom near the Holiday Square Cinema in Covington, La., Feb. 25, 2004. Salcedo was one of the many people on hand in The Passion Tent, set up in a parking lot near the theater, to counsel people with questions about the movie and its meaning.

Although the show didn't sell out, 303 people packed into the Liberty Theater in Wenatchee, Wash., Feb. 25, 2004, for the opening of the emotional and graphic movie, "The Passion of the Christ."

Justin Fairbanks, 14, left, Rob Rouwhorst, 15, center, and Brandon Schultz, 15, react after watching Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" at Cinema Carousel in Norton Shores, Mich., Feb. 24, 2004. "It was unbelievable," Rouwhorst said about the film. "I've never cried this much in a movie."

Kim Galbreath, left, wipes her eye as her husband, Kory Galbreath, collects his thought and speaks about watching "The Passion of the Christ" in Plano, Texas, Feb. 25, 2004.

People view "The Passion of the Christ" at Cinema Carousel in Norton Shores, Mich., Feb. 24, 2004. Most viewers will find little familiar in the ancient language spoken by Jesus and other Jewish characters in the movie. But for an estimated 250,000 Chaldeans and Assyrians in the United States, Gibson's film is an unprecedented chance to hear their native tongue - Aramaic - on the big screen.

Colleen Gasser, left, and Khristina Gorman, right, try to hold back tears after leaving a private screening of the film "The Passion of the Christ" at the United Artists Galaxy 14 in Indianapolis, Feb. 23, 2004. The East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis purchased 2,400 tickets for three pre-screenings of the movie and gave them away to church members.

Rev. James F. McIntire, pastor of the United Methodist Church of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., conveys his opinion after seeing Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" at the Bridge Theater in West Philadelphia, on the nationwide opening, Feb. 25, 2004. "They were like comic book characters the way they were portrayed," McIntire said of the movie's leading players.

Pastor Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelical Christians, left, defends Mel Gibson's intentions in the making of the film "The Passion of The Christ," comparing it to a Michelangelo masterpiece, while Rabbi Marvin Hier listens during a press conference at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, Feb. 24, 2004.

Rabbi Avi Weiss, of the Coalition for Jewish Concerns stands outside the City Reading Cinemas theater showing "The Passion of the Christ," after holding a press conference to express his reaction to the film, Feb. 25, 2004, in New York.

Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, left, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, William A. Donohue, center, president of the Catholic League, and James Loughran of the Graymoor Catholic Ecumenical Institute, hold a news conference after seeing "The Passion of the Christ," Feb. 25, 2004, in New York.