Nonetheless, UA hedged its bets with a limited release on May 28. Further expansion hinged on box office performance. It passed the test. Was Dannelly nervous? Hell, yes. ''I chain-smoked my way through that first weekend,'' he says. ''I'll be smoking my way through the next.''

In the meantime, he's polishing his next script -- ''Runner-Up,'' a comedy about a beauty pageant at a women's prison, again cowritten with Urban -- and bolstering his hopes for ''Saved!'' with the knowledge that his isn't the only film feeling the wrath of touchy fundamentalists. ''I was listening to Christian radio and they were talking about how evil Harry Potter is,'' says Dannelly. ''I guess we're in good company.''

Originally posted Jun 18, 2004 Published in issue #770 Jun 18, 2004 Order article reprints
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