The (bright) future of values-friendly films — and filmmaking DeVon Franklin Dr. Jerry A. Johnson Rebecca Ver Dallas Jenkins Amy McGee Vincent Walsh Straten-McSparran A Special Report Prepared by The Washington Times Advocacy Department and Inspire Buzz Faith & Film The (bright) future of values-friendly films — and filmmaking Table of Contents Telling the story that faith is the path..................................................... 3 Breaking ground with national, DeVon Franklin multimedia ‘events’ for faith and family .............................................. 22 Spencer Proffer Values aren’t a niche ............................................................................... 6 Matthew Faraci ‘Dance’ film weaves four stories of hope ............................................. 23 Spencer Proffer Do we have faith in film? ......................................................................... 7 Dr. Jerry A. Johnson Faith. Film. And the stories we choose to tell ...................................... 24 Paul Aiello The (bright) future of faith-based films .................................................8 Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman Why Hollywood doesn’t get ‘faith’ films ............................................ 24 Dr. Larry W. Poland Viewing faith films as start-ups ..............................................................9 Harrison Powell Films help us ‘face and confront’ our core beliefs ............................... 25 Terry Botwick Storytelling and the power to change the world .................................12 S. Bryan Hickox Behind the scenes with faith filmmaking ............................................ 28 Dick Rolfe Everybody has a story ............................................................................12 Jess Stainbrook The cinema: Our country’s collective ‘cathedral’ ...............................29 Amy McGee The five categories of ‘belief’ movies ................................................... 13 Erik Lokkesmoe God loves Hollywood and so should we .............................................29 Rabbi Jason Sobel ent ‘The Ten Commandments’ at 60 years: Still timeless and true ...........16 M Brian Godawa t Adding more ‘salt and light’ into filmmaking .....................................30 R a Barry Landis P e 38 years of divine miracles .....................................................................17 d y Dr. Ted Baehr and Dr. Tom Snyder The view of a faithful consumer — and devoted dad ..........................31 C a Bryan Schwartz OC A film studies view: Let movies mirror life, dv a even if the ending isn’t neat ...................................................................18 What do Christians want from Christian movies? ...............................31 es Rebecca Ver Straten-McSparran (with Kristi Stone Hamrick) Adam Holz tIM n ‘The Young Messiah’: A daring story All in the family! .................................................................................... 32 O Hallie Todd that is worth the journey ......................................................................20 ngt Cyrus Nowrasteh HI How Hollywood is messing up faith marketing .................................. 33 Imagining ‘Joseph’ as ‘the anchor, the rock’ ........................................20 Jeremy Irion e Was Vincent Walsh tH y Did a ‘deadly sin’ play a role in faith filmmaking? ............................... 33 B ‘Christian stories can be funny — who knew?’ .....................................21 Brad Slager ed Dallas Jenkins R a P Christian films — a blessing and a ‘curse ............................................. 35 es e Dave Alan Johnson IM Breaking out of the Christian ghetto .....................................................21 PR t t Michael Leaser n O POR e NGT L R Inspire Buzz is a Los Angeles-based entertainment marketing agency specializing in delivering the values audience. Founded and led by former political strategist HI a AS CI Matthew Faraci, the company motivates audiences, like voters, to turnout for your project. Its motto: “You do the Storytelling, we do the Story-selling.” e W P e For more information, visit www.Inspire.buzz . s H a T | ​​Special thanks to Kristi Stone Hamrick, president of KSH Media, Inc., media consultant, writer, speaker and storyteller, providing clients with an ally who employs strategic thinking and campaign implementation to best share their stories with the media and new markets. Contact her at: [email protected] Cheryl Wetzstein Larry T. Beasley David Dadisman Patrick Crofoot ugust 31 • 2016 ugust SPECIAL SECTIONS MANAGER PRESIDENT AND CEO GENERAL MANAGER SUPERVISOR, GRAPHICS a Advertising Department: Thomas P. McDevitt Adam VerCammen 202-636-3062 CHAIRMAN DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING & SALES Special Sections are multipage tabloid products that run in The Washington Times daily newspaper and are posted online and in PDF form onits website. Sponsors and advertisers collaborate with The Times’ advertising and marketing departments to highlight a variety of issues and events, such as The Power of Prayer, North Korea’s Wednesday • Wednesday Nuclear Threat, Gun Rights Policy Conference and Rolling Thunder Memorial Day Tribute to Veterans. Unless otherwise identified, Special Sections areprepared separately 2 ADVOCACY/SPECIAL SECTIONS and without involvement from the Times’ newsroom and editorial staff. Telling the story that faith is the path... as a person of faith who watches a lot of entertainment and reads a lot of enter- taining things, the connection is critical and very important. For me, if I didn’t really understand it, or if I didn’t connect to it, then it’s a very hard project to advo- cate for — for anyone to advocate for. So I felt a connection to their story, their journey, and that’s what motivated me to want to help bring their story to the big screen... I felt it would be a great story to inspire people with the revela- tion that miracles are real, and miracles are all around us and we have to look for them. Sometimes we are looking for the By DeVon Franklin quote, unquote big miracle. But a miracle of any size is a miracle nonetheless. And Film producer, author and motiva- we would be surprised how many of tional speaker DeVon Franklin has helped them are around us if we would just look. bring several inspirational films to global And I thought that story did an awesome audiences, including this year’s “Miracles job of putting that idea out there. From Heaven” and 2014’s “Heaven is Q : The movie carried authenticity For Real.” He recently spoke with Cheryl — I know I and others in the audience Wetzstein, manager of special sections at believed the people and believed the The Washington Times, about the future of story... faith-based filmmaking. Going to your point about quality, so This interview was edited for space and much of my background comes from T BY PREPARED REPORT A SPECIAL clarity. being a former studio executive and Q : With successes under your belt, having worked with some of the great- and thinking about the inspirations est minds in entertainment. And having for these kinds of films, what do you learned from them, I try to apply what see coming down the pike ? I have learned to (1) how the story is I go back to the Bible and look at the crafted, (2) what production values we “MiraCLES FROM HEAven” iMAGES COURTESY stories in the Bible, and I see how those have infused in the movie, (3) how the OF SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT. stories have endured the test of time. movie is cast and put together, and (4) And what that tells me is that people are how the movie is ultimately marketed happiness, it’s the path to peace, it’s the never tired of stories of faith and stories and distributed. path to miracles. And I believe that when that can inspire them on a personal level My goal is to continuously treat films we believe that, we will see the impossi- and a spiritual level. of faith with the integrity and with the ble happen in our life. And I like to speak HE W So for me, when I look at the future, care that they deserve. Our stories are on that topic, so that whoever is listening ashington it’s amazing and incredible at the op- big stories. Our stories are stories that will hopefully be motivated to begin to portunities that will be afforded us to be can change the world and do change the apply faith in a more dynamic way and able to make more stories that can reach world. So I always want to approach our see more dynamic results that God has people and inspire people in their faith. stories with the most quality possible and already ordained. T I think the goal is to find stories that bring in as much attention and awareness Q : Thank you — last question. IMES can organically do that. And, those and care that we possibly can to them. We often have favorite Bible verses A THE WASHINGTON TIMES THE WASHINGTON stories — whether they are modern, Q : I have heard you speak about we turn to throughout our lives. Do D V whether they are period or whether they the next generation and the impor- you have a favorite Bible verse that ocacy are futuristic — if there’s an authentic- tance of “building a path to true you keep reflecting on at this stage of ity and a connection inherent in those success.” How does that guide you, reason, so many times, I come across so your life? D stories, I believe they will become a plat- especially when picking vehicles for many believers who have dreams and Yes! It’s probably the Bible verse that epartment form in which people can be reached. film? aspirations that