Register Radio: 'Restless Heart' and Doug Keck

Ignatius Press' Anthony Ryan EWTN's Doug Keck

Scene from "Restless Heart: The Confessions of Augustine".
Scene from "Restless Heart: The Confessions of Augustine". (photo: Ignatius Press)

Due to a technical glitch, we weren't able to get the full episode of last week's Register Radio posted until yesterday morning. The show was recorded live at the Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show/Catholic Writer's Guild/Catholic New Media Conference being held in Arlington, Texas. Here's what you missed.

In the first half of the program Thom Price and Dan Burke spoke with Ignatius Press' marketing director, Anthony Ryan, about the film "Restless Heart: The Confessions of Augustine," which premiered at the Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show on August 29.

Ryan explained how it was that Ignatius Press came to obtain the distribution rights to the film, and spoke about their unique effort in allowing groups to sponsor showings of the film in theaters nationwide this fall.

"We're not a studio, so we couldn't do it the traditional way," explained Ryan. "People are putting on events themselves. It's a beautiful way to impact the culture."

Ryan said the story is powerful for several different reasons.

"It's a $20 million project, so it's not your typical made-for-TV movie," said Ryan. "St. Augustine's story is timeless. It's also a great story for men. They'll be touched by his story."

To learn more, those who are interested can visit www.restlessheartfilm.com or contact the Maximus Group at 877-263-1263 to inquire about the details for hosting a local showing of the film.

Doug Keck and 'Bookmark'

In the second half of the program, Thom and Dan spoke with Doug Keck, executive vice president and chief operating officer of EWTN, and host of the popular EWTN program "Bookmark." Keck was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Catholic Writer's Guild at the trade show.

Keck provided some history regarding his background in radio and cable television, and described how a Marriage Encounter weekend with his wife, and later a Cursillo retreat, reinvigorated his Catholic faith and eventually led him to join EWTN.

"I had worked with the Vision channel...and an adult channel that eventually became the Playboy channel. I did not work for the Playboy channel. When I shared that with Mother Angelica she laughed and said, 'I guess that's why you're here.'"

Keck also shared background on the television program "Bookmark," which he has hosted for the past 13 years - an interview show with Catholic authors about their books.

Keck admitted that he doesn't have time to read all of the books, but does a thorough skimming of the book, noting particular quotes and ideas to highlight during the interview.

"I try as much as possible to react to what the person is saying," said Keck. "I try to ask the questions that the average person might want to ask."

Asked if any programs were memorable, Keck said that he's done a number of interviews with Scott Hahn and Father Andrew Apostoli. Coming up on "Bookmark" are interviews with Father Michael Gaitley and Father Larry Richards.

Even if you missed the program, you can still listen to it at the Register Radio web page.