Word: hollywooding
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...Ever since Mel Gibson proved with The Passion of the Christ in 2004 that church-goers are also movie-goers, Hollywood studios have tried to tap into the faith market. Disney's Chronicles of Narnia films have gained traction with Christian audiences, but no filmmakers have scored with the devout as consistently and economically as the Kendricks have. Fireproof is their third profitable Christian film. The monies they have earned have gone toward building an 82-acre community sports park in Albany...
...sees the light. Flywheel got a local theatrical release and a pickup by Blockbuster Video, and went on to sell more than 200,000 DVDs. But it was Sherwood Pictures' second film, Facing the Giants, a 2006 parable of football and faith, that earned the Kendricks notice in Hollywood. Produced for $100,000, the movie was dismissed by mainstream critics as too earnest and heavy-handed. But due to the recommendations of pastors and Christian publications, the film went on to earn more than $10 million at the box office, and it sold 1.6 million DVDs...
...Kendricks' business model is hardly one a major studio could replicate. Unlike a typical Hollywood set, on a Sherwood set, Cameron says, "You don't have people walking around saying 'They don't pay me enough to do this,' cause nobody's getting paid anything." The filmmakers relied on a team of 1,200 volunteers, plus a handful of technical crew members working below rate. They also secured a donated train, hospital wing and fire trucks. Rather than the usual TV spots and billboards, Fireproof's marketers invited Christian publications on set and screened the film early for pastors...
...result was a movie that, in box office terms, held its own with A-list Hollywood stars and directors. "Hollywood is gifted at high production quality and acting," says Alex. "But their morals and life perspectives are so different from the rest of us. New York and California seem to have one type of culture and then there's the rest of America. We're trying to make movies that speak to what we believe the American family struggles with - communication, financing, intimacy...
...loved to use sports metaphors, but now they can combine the two national past times even further. In the midst of a historically awful week in the stock market, OneSeason.com, a new website that allows users to trade virtual shares of sports stars, made its debut. Sites like the Hollywood Stock Exchange have offered a similar market for actors and movies, and now the concept is trying to take root in the sports world. And while your cash isn't actually funding King James - don't expect a dividend check from his highness - the profits or losses are very real...