Facing the Giant Studios

Sorry for the delay of this post; been in meetings all day from Jim Mellado of Willow Creek Association to Chris Bueno of Carmel Entertainment. In both meetings there was a theme of how the local church can get "the message out?" The first was about influence top-down. Change the leader, change the church, change the culture. The second was about change the content, change the culture / knowing the culture, changes the content.

This second conversation was about film and distribution in the hands and context of the local church. Carmel Ent. has had a hand in the pipeline of the popular, church produced film, Facing the Giants. Chris' questions to me were about the local churches needs and how to get the word out about the heart of companies like his to facilitate content delivery. My questions for him were about content management and story integrity.

With films like, Disney's release next week of Prince Caspian, we know studios are looking for stories that will engage and enhance the bottom line while we in the church know many of the themes geared toward our message are counter-culture. Who wants to watch a film about living more godly, staying spiritually whole and struggling through virtues that come at a personal cost (Col. 3:5). In summary: Is the Christian life experience always to be reduced to good triumphing over evil when it comes to film?

What can, should or must the church do to represent our message... the "Good News" in an entertaining fashion? What responsibility do we have if we dare take our message and put it on film. And finally, what obligation do the studios have in keeping our message pure?

Your thoughts on the "late edition" of Watercooler Wednesday  are appreciated  below and check out the other ideas and comments over at Ethos.

Comments

[Jim Drake]

Dan

Great thoughts.

I think it's going to take an extra heavy wave of Holy Spirit creativity to produce some of these films and pieces. I don't think an overtly Christian message will fly... but artfully done and creatively mastered pieces have a real chance at getting in the door and making an impact for the kingdom. I for one can't wait to see that wave happen.

[mereimage]

Jim, I agree... just thinking about the challenge at cre:ate to get films and ideas into the studios because they are looking frightens me a bit because Chris was telling me their company gets fully produced films that cost millions that are so bad they can't do anything with them and as the pastor of a church that has to watch every dollar spent I hate to see such waste in the kingdom of God.

[KO]

I hope for starters that the church could somehow compete on a quality level: writing, acting, producing. Putting biographical movies out like a "Chariots of Fire" for example could be a perfect way for the church to get a message out on film. I thought "amazing grace" was fairly good. If somehow the church could reflect on screen Christian principles as was done inadvertantly in movie like "Jerry Macquire". In that film, I so appreciated the African American family portrayed as one that stayed together and cherished family. One with a strong, yet vulnerable and supportive wife. Even Jerry taking his own personal risk against the ills of greed and shallow living, etc. Obviously this film was NOT a Christian film by any stretch, but it did hit on some Biblical principles. So if the church could make films that portrays Biblical themes and Godly living in a way that Jerry Macquire did (ironically, I know, because what did not reflect Biblical stuff in that movie REALLY did not reflect it), I think we could really give the world something to think about.

[Jeff]

I often hear Christians focus on the challenges of expressing our world view in a way that is both principled and accurate.
The reaslity is that there is nothing cinematic of easy about potraying any world view, idealogy, or faith. It's easy for us, as Christians, to focus on challenges and think they are unique to us.
Good films, (or really any art, I suppose) are not about people thinking deep thoughts. (I say this as a lover of deep thoughts!) They are about people doing things. When well done, they might be about people doing things which reflect these deep thoughts, but the reason that many Christians are so mediocre is because they seem to miss this.
It's easy to think it's easier to make a movie that promotes atheism, for example. We see people doing things which reflect the values espoused by humanism, and think, "they have it so easy." but the truth is, if the humanists had made a movie as over-the-top, obvious, and finger-pointing as most "Christian" movies, it would be just as annoying as the Christian counterparts.
Well done movies don't treat their audiences like idiots. They don't close with a character serving as the mouth piece for the moral of the whole thing.

As Christians we live within a narrative structure that is incredibly rich and full of more dramatic possibilites than the humanists can ever hope for. I love that film makers are capitalizing on CS Lewis' vision of this; John Eldrdidge and Don Miller (though somewhat controversial in different ways) get this, too, and share this in a non-fiction context.

[Sara]

I think the key lies in how to make the message "entertaining". Fact of the matter is, it isn't!

Seems to me the responsibility for spreading the message lies on us as individual believers. How easy it is for us to hand over responsibility to whomever is willing to shoulder it! I fear as well that putting money toward a media presentation is a gross mis-use of money that could otherwise be used to tangibly change lives. Which, in reality, how many people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through an impersonal connection (i.e. media) versus how many come through a relationship and conversation? Media may plant a seed but it still takes people to nurture it to growth.

[Monique]

Hi there,

My name is Monique & I'm part of the PR team for Sherwood Pictures--creators of FACING THE GIANTS.
Thank you so much for supporting the movie on your blog! We wanted to keep you informed of their latest project--FIREPROOF.
It's due to hit theaters this September in theaters nationwide. You can go to www.fireproofthemovie.com to view the trailer, read the synopsis, and sign up for updates to stay up to date with all of the FIREPROOF happenings! If you're interested in learning more or need any resource, pictures, and downloads for your blog please email me at monique@lovell-fairchild.com and I will be happy to get you what you need.

Again, thanks for blogging!
Monique
Lovell-Fairchild Communications