Leap of Faith movie and The Faith Healers book

[Caterpillar]

I watched the movie, Leap of Faith yesterday. It was recommended by Whatcha in another post. Excellent movie!

Here's the Plot Summary and James Randi connection from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_of_Faith_(film)

"Plot Summary

Jonas Nightengale is a fraudulent Christian faith healer who makes a living travelling around America holding revival meetings and conducting 'miracles' with the help of his friend and manager, Jane, and their entourage. One of their trucks breaks down in Rustwater, a town in desperate need of rain to save their crops. While waiting for spare parts, Jonas decides to hold a revival meeting in the town. The local sheriff, Will Braverman, is skeptical and tries to prevent his town and its people from being conned. However a local disabled boy, Boyd, believes Jonas could make him walk again. Events in Rustwater make Jonas examine his own faith and doubts.

James Randi, author of a book about Peter Popoff titled The Faith Healers, claims the movie borrowed heavily from his work."


About 'The Faith Healers' from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faith_Healers

"The Faith Healers is a 1987 book by magician and skeptic James Randi with a foreword by Carl Sagan, that documents Randi's exploration of the world of faith healing, and his exposing the sleight of hand trickery and deceit by its practitioners.

In eighteen chapters Randi explores the origins of faith healing and psychic surgery, and critically analyzes the claims made by AA Allen, Ernest Angley, WV Grant, Peter Popoff, Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson, and Father DiOrio for his claims of miracles at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes. Randi shows how people are tricked with magician's tricks under the guise of religion.

Randi has claimed that the 1992 Steve Martin film, Leap of Faith had "nineteen items that were taken directly from my book, and several instances of the same dialog being used that was quoted in my book."