{"id":121072,"date":"2014-04-15T20:23:53","date_gmt":"2014-04-16T00:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/?p=121072"},"modified":"2014-08-29T14:28:05","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T18:28:05","slug":"what-he-said-yes-hollywood-wants-more-christian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/04\/what-he-said-yes-hollywood-wants-more-christian\/","title":{"rendered":"What he said! Yes, Hollywood wants more Christian $$$$"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/iframe>\n<\/p>In this morning\u2019s email newsletter from the folks at Religion News Service, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.religionnews.com\/author\/kevineckstrom\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">editor Kevin Eckstrom<\/a> raised his eyebrow high (no, honest, you can sense it in the copy) and quipped:<\/p>\n<blockquote>Pretty sure we\u2019ve seen about 5,429 versions of this story already.<\/p>\nRight. We get it. Hollywood is trying to lure Christian audiences to the cineplex. Again. Meanwhile, it other news \u2026 <\/p><\/blockquote>\nWell, <a href=\"http:\/\/latimes.com\/entertainment\/movies\/moviesnow\/la-et-mn-faith-based-films-20140413,0,2154438.story\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cthis story\u201d<\/a> was the new feature in The Los Angeles Times<\/em> that ran under an oh-so-predictable double-decker headline that proclaimed:<\/p>\n<blockquote>Hollywood tries to win Christians\u2019 faith<\/strong><\/p>\nWith the box-office success of \u2018Son of God,\u2019 \u2018God\u2019s Not Dead\u2019 and the controversial \u2018Noah,\u2019 more faith-based movies are in the works. But experts warn not to treat Christians as a monolithic audience.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNow, the only part of Eckstrom\u2019s quip that I question is that very precise number \u2014 5,429. <\/p>\nDon\u2019t get me wrong, he may have done the hard work online and in LexisNexis and come up with a list of 5,429 previous urgent mainstream news reports ever since 1965 (I picked that date because of the breakthrough release of \u201cThe Sound of Music\u201d that sent legions of evangelicals rushing to theaters to see a movie about a nun) describing the various ways Hollywood producers have tried to understand the Christian audience and get it to show up on cue.<\/p>\nI don\u2019t doubt that there have been that many stories. Trust me on that.<\/p>\nStill, I sent Eckstrom this email reply in which I focused on a more symbolic total.<\/p>\n<blockquote>I was going to say 666 versions of that story and just let it go at that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nBut one more time, let\u2019s roll out the epic language for the obvious:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote>Recent faith-based and Bible-inspired films such as \u201cNoah,\u201d \u201cSon of God,\u201d and \u201cGod\u2019s Not Dead\u201d have galvanized Hollywood with robust showings at the box office. One analyst dubbed 2014 \u201cthe year of the biblical movie.\u201d But with the surge of major movie studios, marquee stars and prestige filmmakers lining up to shoot faith-based projects, Hollywood is finding it isn\u2019t always easy to usher viewers from the church pew to the multiplex.<\/p>\nReligious moviegoers may be actively searching out more spiritually engaging content, but they remain on high alert for perceived distortions of biblical doctrine or any attempt at a bait and switch. \u2026<\/p>\nNevertheless, persuading religious leaders to talk up the movies in a church setting as a means of sparking larger conversations about spiritual uplift has become a top priority in creating the kind of pre-release awareness that can lead to massive ticket sales. The strategic marketing and publicity firm Grace Hill Media has applied that tactic to marketing films as diverse as \u201cThe Blind Side,\u201d \u201cDolphin Tale\u201d and \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d to the faith community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nWell, I\u2019m glad that the article mentioned \u201cThe Blind Side,\u201d because the Los Angeles Times<\/em> did ion fact produce a lengthy feature about Christian issues linked to the success of that film. But there have been so many other campaigns of this kind, leading to articles of precisely this kind.<\/p>\nWere there articles about this phenomenon back in the days of \u201cBen Hur\u201d and \u201cThe Greatest Story Ever Told\u201d?<\/p>\nThe first time I can remember major coverage on this topic \u2014 in secular and religious press \u2014 was for \u201cChariots of Fire.\u201d <\/p>\nThen, obviously, you had the explosion of ink surrounding the \u201cThe Passion of the Christ.\u201d And what about \u201cThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe\u201d? And \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d? And \u201cBruce Almighty\u201d? And \u201cA Walk to Remember\u201d? <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gracehillmedia.com\/pastprojects\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">And on and on<\/a>. I am not even including the whole church-people making their own movies phenomenon, with \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Georgia+church%2C+movie%2C+football&oq=Georgia+church%2C+movie%2C+football&aqs=chrome..69i57.14798j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8#q=Georgia+church%2C+movie%2C+Facing+the+Giants\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facing the Giants<\/a>,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Georgia+church%2C+movie%2C+football&oq=Georgia+church%2C+movie%2C+football&aqs=chrome..69i57.14798j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8#q=georgia+church+movie+fireproof\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cFireproof\u201d<\/a> and others.<\/p>\nHelp me out here, folks. What are the other obvious crossover movies that I am forgetting that have inspired, one after another, stories of this kind. At the very least, isn\u2019t it time to include basic background paragraphs in these stories to acknowledge the fact that this is not a news story, but a story that has been unfolding over several decades?<\/p>\nJust saying.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this morning\u2019s email newsletter from the folks at Religion News Service, editor Kevin Eckstrom raised his eyebrow high (no, honest, you can sense it in the copy) and quipped: Pretty sure we\u2019ve seen about 5,429 versions of this story already. Right. We get it. Hollywood is trying to lure Christian audiences to the cineplex. 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