For many child stars, the road to 'adulthood' often includes sexuality. Although Miley Cyrus may be the most extreme example of this, many Disney Channel alumni such as Zac Efron,Vanessa Hudgens, and Selena Gomez have also followed this path.
David Henrie, who played Justin Russo alongside Gomez on "Wizards of Waverly Place" and made his name as Larry on That’s So Raven, among other roles, is bucking the trend.
Recently the filmmaker of the new short "Catch," Henrie told The Christian Post last week that maturing in Hollywood did not imply that child and teen actors hoping to reshape their careers had to go to extreme lengths to alienate former fans.
"I think everyone as they transition out of a younger show wants to transition into a career of acting unless you didn't like acting and you don't want to do that anymore," explained Henrie. "You have to transition out of it and that comes with doing older, more mature roles, but that doesn't mean doing crazy things that just insult your audience. Your audience has to grow with you."
Henrie, 24, said that he had chosen to advance his career through selecting "good roles" and is currently filming a sequel to Mallcop and will be starring alongside Emily Watson and Kevin James in the World War II-themed movie Little Boy, which will be released in October. It was during the latter through which Henrie discovered his latest passion — working behind the camera.
"[While working on Little Boy] I became very good friends with this filmmaker named Alonso Alvarez Barreda and he did a beautiful short film that I loved called Crescendo and I really admired it," said Henrie. "I sort of hounded him and said, 'You know, man, I really want to make a short film. I've wanted to do this since I was little.'"
Henrie, raised Catholic, also spoke about his faith. He described his childhood faith as 'lukewarm' and said that he and his family attended church roughly once a year growing up.
"Now that I'm older, I take it more seriously," he explained, adding that a primary motivation behind the growth of his faith was "his family in the future."
"I always knew that a man was someone who would stand by something and live by something and as I got older I wanted to figure out what that was," said Henrie.
Unlike many of his more reluctant peers, Henrie said that he actively looks forward to getting married and having children.
"I think our generation especially has a weird stigma towards families, like people aren't wanting to have families and aren't wanting to have kids," he said.
The actor/filmmaker said that he realized that pursuing a Hollywood career can at times be in conflict with one's ability to prioritize their family.
"I get bummed out a lot of times with my peers because a lot of actors are running away from their families to come out here and act. They don't have the support of their families with comes with its own set of problems. If you're running away from something to pursue something else you better be a really tough cookie. You really better have a good head on your shoulders and strong moral fiber otherwise you're leaving structure to pursue something that's not structure and you're just letting your emotions take you wherever you want and if you're just living life by your emotions, you're going to blow with the wind," said Henrie.
Henrie critiqued his fellow Millennials as "the YOLO generation."
"'You only live once.' 'Do whatever you want.' 'Let your feelings guide you.' That's the worst advice ever! Let your feelings guide you - that's terrible. My feelings make me want to do crazy things all the time but no, you do what's right," he concluded.
read full article
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Crowder To Perform at Grand Ole Opry, Album Features Duet with Emmylou Harris
Crowder makes his worldwide solo-debut today with the release of Neon Steeple. Paying tribute to the folk/country influences on the new record, Crowder will make his Grand Ole Opry debut this Saturday, May 31 in Nashville.
Featuring 14 tracks and 3 bonus tracks, Neon Steeple includes a moving duet with music icon Emmylou Harris on "My Sweet Lord." The track was featured on USA Today's weekly playlist.
Critics are acknowledging the risky, innovative musical direction on Neon Steeple, and yet are praising Crowder's solo debut as a "musical tour de force."
Featuring 14 tracks and 3 bonus tracks, Neon Steeple includes a moving duet with music icon Emmylou Harris on "My Sweet Lord." The track was featured on USA Today's weekly playlist.
Critics are acknowledging the risky, innovative musical direction on Neon Steeple, and yet are praising Crowder's solo debut as a "musical tour de force."
Was This The Last Weekend A Faith Based Movie Will Be in the Top 10?
A 10th place finish by Heaven Is for Real over the four-day weekend kept Memorial Day weekend from being the first without a faith-based movie in the top 10 since February 21-23, the week before Son of God debuted in theaters.
Based on the bestselling book, Heaven Is for Real earned $2 million in its sixth week open. With a budget of $12 million, the film has thus far generated nearly $86 million.
X-Men: Days of Future Past won the extended weekend with $91.4 million.
Moms' Night Out which was heavily marketed to family audiences, fell from 10th to 13th over the weekend. The film made roughly $700,000, bringing its total haul to $8.7 million. The comedy, starring Patricia Heaton, cost $5 million to make.
March release God's Not Dead dropped out of the top 30 this week and Box Office Mojo contained no figures for the movie's financial performance. Posts on the movie' Facebook page informed viewers that Memorial Day weekend would likely be their last chance to catch the movie in theaters.
The movie is the seventh highest grossing Christian film and brought in nearly $60 million over its nine week run. The low-budget film, which cost $2 million to make, trails Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, three Chronicles of Narnia films, and 2014 hits Heaven Is for Real and Son of God.
Heaven Is for Real is the final well-known faith-based film in theaters until Exodus: Gods and Kings premieres in the U.S. on December 14. Christian Bale will star as Moses, Aaron Paul as Joshua, Joel Edgerton as Moses' step-brother and Pharaoh Ramses, Signourney Weaver as Tuya, Moses' Egyptian mother, and John Turturro as Seti, Moses' Egyptian foster father.
A film about the life of Mary is also scheduled for later this year.
Based on the bestselling book, Heaven Is for Real earned $2 million in its sixth week open. With a budget of $12 million, the film has thus far generated nearly $86 million.
X-Men: Days of Future Past won the extended weekend with $91.4 million.
Moms' Night Out which was heavily marketed to family audiences, fell from 10th to 13th over the weekend. The film made roughly $700,000, bringing its total haul to $8.7 million. The comedy, starring Patricia Heaton, cost $5 million to make.
March release God's Not Dead dropped out of the top 30 this week and Box Office Mojo contained no figures for the movie's financial performance. Posts on the movie' Facebook page informed viewers that Memorial Day weekend would likely be their last chance to catch the movie in theaters.
The movie is the seventh highest grossing Christian film and brought in nearly $60 million over its nine week run. The low-budget film, which cost $2 million to make, trails Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, three Chronicles of Narnia films, and 2014 hits Heaven Is for Real and Son of God.
Heaven Is for Real is the final well-known faith-based film in theaters until Exodus: Gods and Kings premieres in the U.S. on December 14. Christian Bale will star as Moses, Aaron Paul as Joshua, Joel Edgerton as Moses' step-brother and Pharaoh Ramses, Signourney Weaver as Tuya, Moses' Egyptian mother, and John Turturro as Seti, Moses' Egyptian foster father.
A film about the life of Mary is also scheduled for later this year.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Michael Phelps and Julio Jones Make Surprise Appearance During Switchfoot Performance
Rock group Switchfoot was joined on stage by 22-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps and NFL star receiver Julio Jones while performing at the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 17. While the band performed their smash hit "Dare You to Move," Phelps joined the ensemble on stage playing tambourine.
Jon Foreman (lead vocals) and Tim Foreman (bass) later tweeted:
@jonforeman: Wow! just played "dare you to move" with @Micheal_Phelps on tambourine - no joke! What a day #Preakness2014
@TimForeman: Had an impromptu jam yesterday with this guy named @michaelphelps playing some mean Tamborine. #preakness http://instagram.com/p/oJoeLwQt2K/
The Morrison Brothers Band posted video of the surprise guest on YouTube and ProVentures a pic here.
The Preakness is the second of the legendary Triple Crown horse races, traditionally occurring in Baltimore, Maryland.
Michael Phelps holds the most medals of any Olympian, earning eighteen gold medals, two silver and two bronze and in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 summer Olympics.
Jon Foreman (lead vocals) and Tim Foreman (bass) later tweeted:
@jonforeman: Wow! just played "dare you to move" with @Micheal_Phelps on tambourine - no joke! What a day #Preakness2014
@TimForeman: Had an impromptu jam yesterday with this guy named @michaelphelps playing some mean Tamborine. #preakness http://instagram.com/p/oJoeLwQt2K/
The Morrison Brothers Band posted video of the surprise guest on YouTube and ProVentures a pic here.
The Preakness is the second of the legendary Triple Crown horse races, traditionally occurring in Baltimore, Maryland.
Michael Phelps holds the most medals of any Olympian, earning eighteen gold medals, two silver and two bronze and in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 summer Olympics.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Newsboys' God's Not Dead Digital Single Certified Gold
Newsboys' "God's Not Dead (Like A Lion)" single, from its 2011 project God's Not Dead, has been certified Gold by the RIAA. Selling more than 140,000 tracks since January, the song has experienced a phenomenal resurgence fueled by the popularity of the God's Not Dead movie, in which Newsboys performs the song.
"God's Not Dead (Like A Lion)" was a No. 1 radio hit on the Billboard AC Monitored chart two years ago and has consistently been the top-selling track from Newsboys' God's Not Dead album. Yet it was the box office release of God's Not Dead, which has earned more than $59 million to date, that pushed the single over the 500,000 certified sales mark.
Consequently, "God's Not Dead (Like A Lion)" can now be counted among an elite list of Christian tracks ever to secure such status. The song is included among those by prolific artists like Bob Carlisle, Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Skillet, and Switchfoot.
"God's Not Dead (Like A Lion)" was a No. 1 radio hit on the Billboard AC Monitored chart two years ago and has consistently been the top-selling track from Newsboys' God's Not Dead album. Yet it was the box office release of God's Not Dead, which has earned more than $59 million to date, that pushed the single over the 500,000 certified sales mark.
Consequently, "God's Not Dead (Like A Lion)" can now be counted among an elite list of Christian tracks ever to secure such status. The song is included among those by prolific artists like Bob Carlisle, Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Skillet, and Switchfoot.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
What's Behind the Current Resurgence of Faith Based Entertainment?
TheWrap.com has an article on the current resurgence of faith-based programming. It notes that 90 million Americans identify themselves as evangelical Christians — “the country's largest special interest group,” as many in the Christian film industry like to say — have been traditionally underserved; there is only limited appetite for films that are marked by subpar production and story, no matter the message. As a result, the gap in the market remained in place for years, with Christian audiences flocking instead to talk radio and special television networks.
That's where the rush of technology and financing come into play.
Russell Wolfe started Pure Flix in 2005 as both a production and distribution company, putting in place a plan to gradually invest more money into his movies as their quality and fiscal return improved. The P&A costs of theatrical releases was largely prohibitive, so they stuck to DVD and streaming services, but their prolific output quickly made them a profitable industry leader.
“Our market, the family market, we feel that there's few and far between good family movies that are appropriate for all ages, so we want to service that market,” he told TheWrap, “but at the same time, we'll stick to our roots on other films that are faith affirming.”
Not every movie is a huge seller, but the sheer volume available on their site, as well as places like ChristianMovies.com and even at Wal-Mart, make for a tidy profit. And while they may not please mainstream critics — the works of Candace Cameron Bure and Haylie Duff are unlikely to land in the Criterion Collection, though there may be some cult potential around the Danny Trejo film “The Bill Collector” — they hit the right notes with the right people.
The ability to service that market was helped greatly by the rise of digital technology that has made filmmaking accessible and a much more populist endeavor. Production costs went down, so they could spend more on recognizable actors like Teri Polo, as well as bigger names like Greg Kinnear, who starred in “Heaven is for Real,” which cost Sony's Affirm Pictures just $12 million overall and has made $75 million since its release in April.
The other huge religious hit of the spring, “God's Not Dead,” was made for even less — just $2 million — and green lit after extensive research and surveys by Wolfe and his team.
“We surveyed them and asked what does the church need, what kind of message do they need to hear?” Wolfe explained. “We heard several things back, they said marriage and family and money issues and things like that. But one of the things that came back was just to reaffirm with people why they believe what they believe. So much in the media is, when they look at Christians, they go, ‘You're out there, that's just blind faith.’ And it's not blind faith, there's reasons behind it. I think one of the things that made this movie so successful is that it ended up reaffirming with individuals why they believe what they believe, almost vindicating them in their belief in the face of mainstream criticism.”
There is now an overt feeling in the evangelical community that they are being discriminated for being religious — several court battles over government prayer have rallied them to the cause — and “God's Not Dead” played into that sentiment, as well.
read full article
That's where the rush of technology and financing come into play.
Russell Wolfe started Pure Flix in 2005 as both a production and distribution company, putting in place a plan to gradually invest more money into his movies as their quality and fiscal return improved. The P&A costs of theatrical releases was largely prohibitive, so they stuck to DVD and streaming services, but their prolific output quickly made them a profitable industry leader.
“Our market, the family market, we feel that there's few and far between good family movies that are appropriate for all ages, so we want to service that market,” he told TheWrap, “but at the same time, we'll stick to our roots on other films that are faith affirming.”
Not every movie is a huge seller, but the sheer volume available on their site, as well as places like ChristianMovies.com and even at Wal-Mart, make for a tidy profit. And while they may not please mainstream critics — the works of Candace Cameron Bure and Haylie Duff are unlikely to land in the Criterion Collection, though there may be some cult potential around the Danny Trejo film “The Bill Collector” — they hit the right notes with the right people.
The ability to service that market was helped greatly by the rise of digital technology that has made filmmaking accessible and a much more populist endeavor. Production costs went down, so they could spend more on recognizable actors like Teri Polo, as well as bigger names like Greg Kinnear, who starred in “Heaven is for Real,” which cost Sony's Affirm Pictures just $12 million overall and has made $75 million since its release in April.
The other huge religious hit of the spring, “God's Not Dead,” was made for even less — just $2 million — and green lit after extensive research and surveys by Wolfe and his team.
“We surveyed them and asked what does the church need, what kind of message do they need to hear?” Wolfe explained. “We heard several things back, they said marriage and family and money issues and things like that. But one of the things that came back was just to reaffirm with people why they believe what they believe. So much in the media is, when they look at Christians, they go, ‘You're out there, that's just blind faith.’ And it's not blind faith, there's reasons behind it. I think one of the things that made this movie so successful is that it ended up reaffirming with individuals why they believe what they believe, almost vindicating them in their belief in the face of mainstream criticism.”
There is now an overt feeling in the evangelical community that they are being discriminated for being religious — several court battles over government prayer have rallied them to the cause — and “God's Not Dead” played into that sentiment, as well.
read full article
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Dancing With the Stars Finalist Candace Cameron Bure and Matthew West to Host K-LOVE Fan Awards at Grand Ole Opry
TV star and current Dancing With the Stars finalist Candace Cameron Bure and Grammy-nominated Matthew West will host the K-LOVE Fan Awards on Sunday, June 1 at the Grand Ole Opry House.
Voting for the K-LOVE Fan Awards is open now until Midnight ET on Saturday, May 31. Partnering with World Hope to aid in revival efforts for the city of Detroit, MI., every half a million votes cast for the Fan Awards will unlock a newly remodeled home for a family in need in Detroit, with a goal of two million votes and four homes total. The first week of voting alone eclipsed 500,000 votes, unlocking the first home.
Winners will be announced live at the awards show in the categories of music, sports, books and movies.
Last week, K-LOVE announced key performers for the award show includingy Chris Tomlin, Hillsong UNITED, Steven Curtis Chapman, MercyMe, Francesca Battistelli and many more.
This year, fans will have more opportunities than ever to see and interact with their favorite Christian music artists at the K-LOVE Fan Awards Weekend. Starting Friday night, May 30, the weekend will start with a bang at the official Weekend Kickoff Concert, featuring performances by Tenth Avenue North, Switchfoot, for KING & COUNTRY, Rend Collective and a surprise headlining artist.
All weekend, fans will be able to participate in the first ever K-LOVE Fan Zone, which will feature a variety of fan-focused events including tours of Jeremy Camp's tour bus, celebrity basketball games, autograph sessions and more. Saturday night will end with the new Songwriters Spotlight, hosted by Steven Curtis Chapman. On Sunday, Michael W. Smith will start the day off with a special Worship Service at the Opryland Resort. The events of the day will lead to the official K-LOVE Fan Awards Show nearby at the Grand Ole Opry House.
Voting for the K-LOVE Fan Awards is open now until Midnight ET on Saturday, May 31. Partnering with World Hope to aid in revival efforts for the city of Detroit, MI., every half a million votes cast for the Fan Awards will unlock a newly remodeled home for a family in need in Detroit, with a goal of two million votes and four homes total. The first week of voting alone eclipsed 500,000 votes, unlocking the first home.
Winners will be announced live at the awards show in the categories of music, sports, books and movies.
Last week, K-LOVE announced key performers for the award show includingy Chris Tomlin, Hillsong UNITED, Steven Curtis Chapman, MercyMe, Francesca Battistelli and many more.
This year, fans will have more opportunities than ever to see and interact with their favorite Christian music artists at the K-LOVE Fan Awards Weekend. Starting Friday night, May 30, the weekend will start with a bang at the official Weekend Kickoff Concert, featuring performances by Tenth Avenue North, Switchfoot, for KING & COUNTRY, Rend Collective and a surprise headlining artist.
All weekend, fans will be able to participate in the first ever K-LOVE Fan Zone, which will feature a variety of fan-focused events including tours of Jeremy Camp's tour bus, celebrity basketball games, autograph sessions and more. Saturday night will end with the new Songwriters Spotlight, hosted by Steven Curtis Chapman. On Sunday, Michael W. Smith will start the day off with a special Worship Service at the Opryland Resort. The events of the day will lead to the official K-LOVE Fan Awards Show nearby at the Grand Ole Opry House.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Francesca Battistelli Performs Alongside Carrie Underwood
Grammy Award winning female superstar Carrie Underwood took to the stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville this past weekend with a very special guest, Francesca Battistelli!
Francesca, who made her Opry debut earlier in the year, was a last-minute addition to the bill for this Saturday night's events, which also included a performance by legendary Opry inductee, Charlie Daniels (“Devil Went Down To Georgia,” “Uneasy Rider.”)
The artist quickly shared the exciting news on Twitter:
"So honored to be playing the @opry again tomorrow night! Excited to share the stage with @carrieunderwood!"
Francesca, who made her Opry debut earlier in the year, was a last-minute addition to the bill for this Saturday night's events, which also included a performance by legendary Opry inductee, Charlie Daniels (“Devil Went Down To Georgia,” “Uneasy Rider.”)The artist quickly shared the exciting news on Twitter:
"So honored to be playing the @opry again tomorrow night! Excited to share the stage with @carrieunderwood!"
Sean Astin Notes Christians Are Innovating Movie Marketing
Sean Astin stars in the just released Moms Night Out and laughs at the fact that he might now be labeled as a Christian filmmaker despite having been in many more mainstream movies.
“What's funny is the idea that I might become a paragon of Christian filmmaking because I've done two Christian films,” he said. “I'm just not going to not make films because Christians are making them if they’re good films.”
“Hollywood is antagonistic to Christian films because of forces that are hard to describe, but Christians have made things difficult for themselves by the way they approach the outside community,” he continued.
Astin said people need to forget about those “who grab the microphones and yell the loudest.” The fact is, people are hungry for family-friendly, faith-based entertainment and studios are finally starting to listen.
“The Christian ground game is presently revolutionizing marketing in filmmaking,” he explained. “It's not a subtle thing, and it's a great thing and it's not owned by the Christians. They are just getting there first because they’re tired of not being able to get their product into a wide marketplace.”
No matter your faith, Astin hopes his new movie will allow the audience to stop, breathe and reflect for a minute.
“What's funny is the idea that I might become a paragon of Christian filmmaking because I've done two Christian films,” he said. “I'm just not going to not make films because Christians are making them if they’re good films.”
“Hollywood is antagonistic to Christian films because of forces that are hard to describe, but Christians have made things difficult for themselves by the way they approach the outside community,” he continued.
Astin said people need to forget about those “who grab the microphones and yell the loudest.” The fact is, people are hungry for family-friendly, faith-based entertainment and studios are finally starting to listen.
“The Christian ground game is presently revolutionizing marketing in filmmaking,” he explained. “It's not a subtle thing, and it's a great thing and it's not owned by the Christians. They are just getting there first because they’re tired of not being able to get their product into a wide marketplace.”
No matter your faith, Astin hopes his new movie will allow the audience to stop, breathe and reflect for a minute.
Moms Night Out In Top 10 at Box Office
Enough moms came out so that Moms Night Out placed in seventh place. Opening at 1,044 theaters, Moms' Night Out earned an estimated $4.2 million this weekend. While it's a fairly modest release, the success of faith-based movies this year coupled with the strong Mother's Day release date makes this number a very slight disappointment.
The problem, of course, was that Moms' Night Out was lacking any obvious faith-affirming content. In comparison, recent hits God's Not Dead and Heaven is for Real have it right there in the title.
Moms' Night Out looks like a massive success, though, when compared to Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return. The animated movie opened in 2,575 locations, where it earned a paltry $3.71 million. That's one of the lowest debuts ever for a movie at over 2,500 theaters.
In fourth place, Heaven is for Real was off a light 19 percent to $7 million. Through four weekends, the faith-based hit has brought in an impressive $75.2 million.
The problem, of course, was that Moms' Night Out was lacking any obvious faith-affirming content. In comparison, recent hits God's Not Dead and Heaven is for Real have it right there in the title.
Moms' Night Out looks like a massive success, though, when compared to Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return. The animated movie opened in 2,575 locations, where it earned a paltry $3.71 million. That's one of the lowest debuts ever for a movie at over 2,500 theaters.
In fourth place, Heaven is for Real was off a light 19 percent to $7 million. Through four weekends, the faith-based hit has brought in an impressive $75.2 million.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Crowdfunding Replacing Labels?
Many articles have been written on the impact of crowdfunding on entertainment. Has crowdfunding begun to replace labels in the Christian market? Below is a partial list of artists who've gone this route in recent years:
Artists who have been on labels fairly recently, but are now cutting out the middleman with crowdfunding:
Thousand Foot Krutch (Kickstarter)
Jars of Clay (PledgeMusic)
Disciple (Kickstarter)
Manafest (PledgeMusic)
Fireflight (PledgeMusic)
Jimmy Needham (Kickstarter)
Audrey Assad (Kickstarter)
Abandon (Kickstarter)
Hawk Nelson (Kickstarter)
Mike Farris (Kickstarter)
Seabird (Kickstarter)
33Miles (Kickstarter)
Beckah Shae (Kickstarter)
Anthem Lights (Kickstarter)
The Monks (Kickstarter)
Gungor (Kickstarter)
The Vespers (Kickstarter)
John Elefante (Kickstarter)
Steve Taylor (Kickstarter)
Guardian (Kickstarter)
Bryan Duncan (Kickstarter)
The Choir (Kickstarter)
John Schlitt (Kickstarter)
Out of the Grey (Kickstarter)
Crystal Lewis (Kickstarter)
Bloodgood (Kickstarter)
Michael Roe (Kickstarter)
Big Tent Revival (Kickstarter)
Pillar (Kickstarter)
Carman (Kickstarter)
Daniel Amos (Kickstarter)
Christafari (Kickstarter)
OC Supertones (Kickstarter)
Natalie LaRue (Kickstarter)
Cherri Keaggy (Kickstarter)
Fresh off labels:
Warren Barfield (Kickstarter)
Scott MacIntyre (Kickstarter)
Chris Sligh (Kickstarter)
Robbie Seay Band (Kickstarter)
Children 18:3 (Kickstarter)
The Sonflowerz (Kickstarter)
Benjamin Dunn (Kickstarter)
Samestate (Kickstarter)
Sevenglory (Kickstarter)
Tal & Acacia (Kickstarter)
Above the Golden State (Kickstarter)
After Edmund (Kickstarter)
Artists who have been on labels fairly recently, but are now cutting out the middleman with crowdfunding:
Thousand Foot Krutch (Kickstarter)
Jars of Clay (PledgeMusic)
Disciple (Kickstarter)
Manafest (PledgeMusic)
Fireflight (PledgeMusic)
Jimmy Needham (Kickstarter)
Audrey Assad (Kickstarter)
Abandon (Kickstarter)
Hawk Nelson (Kickstarter)
Mike Farris (Kickstarter)
Seabird (Kickstarter)
33Miles (Kickstarter)
Beckah Shae (Kickstarter)
Anthem Lights (Kickstarter)
The Monks (Kickstarter)
Gungor (Kickstarter)
The Vespers (Kickstarter)
John Elefante (Kickstarter)
Steve Taylor (Kickstarter)
Guardian (Kickstarter)
Bryan Duncan (Kickstarter)
The Choir (Kickstarter)
John Schlitt (Kickstarter)
Out of the Grey (Kickstarter)
Crystal Lewis (Kickstarter)
Bloodgood (Kickstarter)
Michael Roe (Kickstarter)
Big Tent Revival (Kickstarter)
Pillar (Kickstarter)
Carman (Kickstarter)
Daniel Amos (Kickstarter)
Christafari (Kickstarter)
OC Supertones (Kickstarter)
Natalie LaRue (Kickstarter)
Cherri Keaggy (Kickstarter)
Fresh off labels:
Warren Barfield (Kickstarter)
Scott MacIntyre (Kickstarter)
Chris Sligh (Kickstarter)
Robbie Seay Band (Kickstarter)
Children 18:3 (Kickstarter)
The Sonflowerz (Kickstarter)
Benjamin Dunn (Kickstarter)
Samestate (Kickstarter)
Sevenglory (Kickstarter)
Tal & Acacia (Kickstarter)
Above the Golden State (Kickstarter)
After Edmund (Kickstarter)
Did we forget anyone?
Needtobreathe Performs 'The Heart' on VH1's "Stop/Watch"
Last time Needtobreathe was in New York City they were invited into VH1 for a Stop/Watch performance. The mission was to record one of their songs in just 60 seconds - take a peek at our condensed version of "The Heart" below, or at VH1.com.
UP Launches New Acoustic Performance Series with Top Christian Artists
UP recently launched a new acoustic performance series, Revealed, which promises to showcase unique performances by top Christian acts including MercyMe, Kutless, and Scott Stapp of Creed fame.
USA Announces Development of Religious Drama Executive Produced by Jodie Foster
USA Network announced today 5 programs in development including “Brand.” The show is executive produced by Jodie Foster and follows a charismatic man who found his way out of addiction and lawlessness when he was born again into the Christian faith of his youth, joining his brother ministering a small, local church. Consumed with reaching the unsaved “by any means necessary,” his obsession grows when confronted by a brand new mega church poised to crush his ministry. The series is from FremantleMedia North America in association with Landscape Entertainment. Foster is signed on to direct the pilot.
HGTV Pulls Upcoming Show Over Its Hosts' Beliefs
A recently green-lit reality series has been canceled by HGTV before its fall 2014 premiere after controversy erupted surrounding its hosts’ Christian viewpoints on issues like gay marriage and abortion.
Twin brothers Jason and David Benham were scheduled to appear on “Flip It Forward,” a renovation show that was set to feature them helping families make improvements to their homes.
But when some left-leaning media outlets began digging into their backgrounds and personal perspectives, everything changed.
HGTV quickly responded to media coverage earlier this week surrounding the Benham brothers’ views against gay marriage and abortion, among other issues, by first announcing a review of their arrangement with the brothers and then, within just a few days, axing the show altogether.
This information apparently led HGTV to cut ties with the brothers.
“HGTV is currently in process of reviewing all information about the Benhams and we will provide an update as soon as possible,” the network wrote on its Facebook page Tuesday evening after apparently learning about the controversy.
By Thursday the network had decided to completely cancel their arrangement with the Benhams, writing, “HGTV has decided not to move forward with the Benham Brothers’ series.”
According to an official description of “Flip It Forward,” the brothers, both fathers and real estate entrepreneurs, were set to put their sibling rivalry on display while they helped families transform fixer-upper homes.
Noting that his family didn’t try to hide their views from HGTV, Flip said that all parties knew controversy could end up erupting.
Read full article
Twin brothers Jason and David Benham were scheduled to appear on “Flip It Forward,” a renovation show that was set to feature them helping families make improvements to their homes.
But when some left-leaning media outlets began digging into their backgrounds and personal perspectives, everything changed.
HGTV quickly responded to media coverage earlier this week surrounding the Benham brothers’ views against gay marriage and abortion, among other issues, by first announcing a review of their arrangement with the brothers and then, within just a few days, axing the show altogether.
This information apparently led HGTV to cut ties with the brothers.
“HGTV is currently in process of reviewing all information about the Benhams and we will provide an update as soon as possible,” the network wrote on its Facebook page Tuesday evening after apparently learning about the controversy.
By Thursday the network had decided to completely cancel their arrangement with the Benhams, writing, “HGTV has decided not to move forward with the Benham Brothers’ series.”
According to an official description of “Flip It Forward,” the brothers, both fathers and real estate entrepreneurs, were set to put their sibling rivalry on display while they helped families transform fixer-upper homes.
Noting that his family didn’t try to hide their views from HGTV, Flip said that all parties knew controversy could end up erupting.
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Lifetime Pitches 'The Red Tent'
Another bible-themed longform project is heading to the small screen. Lifetime is going into production with The Red Tent, a two-night miniseries adaptation of the best-selling novel by Anita Diamant published in 1997. The White Queen star Rebecca Ferguson, Minnie Driver (About A Boy) and Homeland alumna Morena Baccarin lead the cast of the four-hour mini. Co-starring in the project, which begins production this month in Morocco, are Game Of Thrones‘ Iain Glen and Will Tudor as well as Debra Winger.
The Red Tent tells the story of Dinah (Ferguson), the daughter of Leah and Jacob, who is only briefly referenced in the Old Testament. The miniseries begins with Dinah’s happy childhood spent inside the red tent where only the women of her tribe are allowed to gather and share the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhood.
“The Red Tent brings premium and popular elements to a unique and timeless story,” said Lifetime EVP Rob Sharenow. “It perfectly articulates our vision for Lifetime as the destination for epic movie events.” The Red Tent mini has been in development at Lifetime since 2011. Its green light coincides with a great interest in longform TV project with biblical themes following the the blockbuster success of The Bible miniseries on Lifetime sibling History and its feature offshoot Son Of God. A Bible sequel is in the works at NBC, National Geographic Channel has mini Killing Jesus coming up, WGN America has greenlighted 10-part event series Ten Commandments, and Fox just put in development Nazareth, an event series about Jesus’ formative years.
The Red Tent tells the story of Dinah (Ferguson), the daughter of Leah and Jacob, who is only briefly referenced in the Old Testament. The miniseries begins with Dinah’s happy childhood spent inside the red tent where only the women of her tribe are allowed to gather and share the traditions and turmoil of ancient womanhood.
“The Red Tent brings premium and popular elements to a unique and timeless story,” said Lifetime EVP Rob Sharenow. “It perfectly articulates our vision for Lifetime as the destination for epic movie events.” The Red Tent mini has been in development at Lifetime since 2011. Its green light coincides with a great interest in longform TV project with biblical themes following the the blockbuster success of The Bible miniseries on Lifetime sibling History and its feature offshoot Son Of God. A Bible sequel is in the works at NBC, National Geographic Channel has mini Killing Jesus coming up, WGN America has greenlighted 10-part event series Ten Commandments, and Fox just put in development Nazareth, an event series about Jesus’ formative years.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Heaven Is For Real #3 at Box Office and Four Faith-Related Movies Sit in Top 20 for the Year
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was amazing in its opening weekend grossing $92 million.
Meanwhile, Heaven Is for Real, which finished third, beat expectations that had originally predicted the movie might make $40 million, upping its domestic total to nearly $66 million. Starring Greg Kinnear, it has passed Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's film by over $5 million.
Low-budget film God's Not Dead has continued to generate a steady profit following its March 21 release. The movie, which features Kevin Sorbo and Shawn Harper, has finished in the top 10 every weekend with the exception of the last.
For the second weekend in a row, it also finished higher than Darren Aronofsky and Russell Crowe's Noah. Domestically, God's Not Dead has made $55.56 million total.
Five months into 2014, the four faith-related movies sit in the top 20 of top grossing movies of the year with Noah in eighth, Heaven Is for Real in 12th, and Son of God in 16th respectively.
Meanwhile, Heaven Is for Real, which finished third, beat expectations that had originally predicted the movie might make $40 million, upping its domestic total to nearly $66 million. Starring Greg Kinnear, it has passed Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's film by over $5 million.
Low-budget film God's Not Dead has continued to generate a steady profit following its March 21 release. The movie, which features Kevin Sorbo and Shawn Harper, has finished in the top 10 every weekend with the exception of the last.
For the second weekend in a row, it also finished higher than Darren Aronofsky and Russell Crowe's Noah. Domestically, God's Not Dead has made $55.56 million total.
Five months into 2014, the four faith-related movies sit in the top 20 of top grossing movies of the year with Noah in eighth, Heaven Is for Real in 12th, and Son of God in 16th respectively.
Friday, May 2, 2014
'Inside Edition's Megan Alexander on Faith and Abstinence
"Inside Edition" host Megan Alexander is no stranger to giving the inside scoop to the public, but now she is telling her own personal story of how her Christian faith influenced her decision to remain a virgin until marriage.
"I claimed my faith for myself in about junior high," Alexander told Fox News. "I think we should never just do what our parents tell us to do. We should find our faith and claim it for ourselves. So I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in about 7th grade and made that decision myself and that's been the best thing I ever did."
Alexander wanted to share her faith with a younger audience, so she wrote a special article for WHOAwomen Magazine. In it she wrote of her faith and her decision to abstain from sexual relationships until marriage.
"I decided to speak out, because I feel like young people today, specifically teenagers and millenials in their 20s and 30s, there's so much pressure to just get involved [physically] and to think that that's normal. I wanted people to know hey, there's another option. This is the option that I chose and it can work for you too," she explained.
"I certainly wish it [sex] was a little better represented in television and movies and they gave us a couple different scenarios instead of just the one of jump into bed immediately," Alexander noted. "I want to encourage the next generation to take their time, to value their bodies, and to realize that it's okay to wait if you want to. And for me, it worked out great and I believe that other people need to hear that message and know that it's just fine to take their time."
Alexander eventually met husband Brian Cournoyer. She shared her decision with him, and the two agreed to set boundaries within their relationship, with the ultimate boundary being no sexual interaction until they were married.
"Because we were friends before and he knew what I stood for, what I was all about, what I believed in and I did in him. I knew that he was a Christian, I knew that he found his faith later in life, but I knew that that was also important to him. We had a really good relationship first. I say that we never really had that awkward first date because we were always really good friends. But I do remember us saying, 'Okay now that we're dating, let's set our boundaries,'" Alexander explained.
One thing that helps Alexander stand firm in her beliefs is the marriage Sunday school class she and Brian attend together. The two have attended for some time and Alexander equates its it to having a regular "checkup" with a marriage counselor or pastor. Alexander also encourages young women to stand firm in their own beliefs and not cave into the pressure of intimacy placed on them by peers and the Hollywood ideal.
"Be bold; dare to be different; and be proud of who you are and what you have to offer," Alexander wrote in WHOA. "It is never too early to prepare for your future marriage. Value yourselves and treat your bodies like temples. Look beyond the physical for someone who will be your best friend and biggest cheerleader."
"I claimed my faith for myself in about junior high," Alexander told Fox News. "I think we should never just do what our parents tell us to do. We should find our faith and claim it for ourselves. So I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in about 7th grade and made that decision myself and that's been the best thing I ever did."
Alexander wanted to share her faith with a younger audience, so she wrote a special article for WHOAwomen Magazine. In it she wrote of her faith and her decision to abstain from sexual relationships until marriage.
"I decided to speak out, because I feel like young people today, specifically teenagers and millenials in their 20s and 30s, there's so much pressure to just get involved [physically] and to think that that's normal. I wanted people to know hey, there's another option. This is the option that I chose and it can work for you too," she explained.
"I certainly wish it [sex] was a little better represented in television and movies and they gave us a couple different scenarios instead of just the one of jump into bed immediately," Alexander noted. "I want to encourage the next generation to take their time, to value their bodies, and to realize that it's okay to wait if you want to. And for me, it worked out great and I believe that other people need to hear that message and know that it's just fine to take their time."
Alexander eventually met husband Brian Cournoyer. She shared her decision with him, and the two agreed to set boundaries within their relationship, with the ultimate boundary being no sexual interaction until they were married.
"Because we were friends before and he knew what I stood for, what I was all about, what I believed in and I did in him. I knew that he was a Christian, I knew that he found his faith later in life, but I knew that that was also important to him. We had a really good relationship first. I say that we never really had that awkward first date because we were always really good friends. But I do remember us saying, 'Okay now that we're dating, let's set our boundaries,'" Alexander explained.
One thing that helps Alexander stand firm in her beliefs is the marriage Sunday school class she and Brian attend together. The two have attended for some time and Alexander equates its it to having a regular "checkup" with a marriage counselor or pastor. Alexander also encourages young women to stand firm in their own beliefs and not cave into the pressure of intimacy placed on them by peers and the Hollywood ideal.
"Be bold; dare to be different; and be proud of who you are and what you have to offer," Alexander wrote in WHOA. "It is never too early to prepare for your future marriage. Value yourselves and treat your bodies like temples. Look beyond the physical for someone who will be your best friend and biggest cheerleader."
The Afters Blanket TV
Since The Afters have burst on the scene, their music has been a popular choice for TV. They seem to be inescapable on TV these days.
You'll hear their "Moments Like This' during NHL playoff coverage, 'This Life' in the new promo for ABC's Grey's Anatomy, and earlier 'Moments Like This' was used in NBC's “We Create Moments” promo campaign and during the Winter Olympics.
You'll hear their "Moments Like This' during NHL playoff coverage, 'This Life' in the new promo for ABC's Grey's Anatomy, and earlier 'Moments Like This' was used in NBC's “We Create Moments” promo campaign and during the Winter Olympics.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Needtobreathe Makes Acting Debut
Last Friday, one of Needtobreathe's songs from "Rivers In the Wasteland" appeared in The CW's "Hart of Dixie".
The excitement continues as the band physically appears on the show this week on May 2nd. Back in February the band performed their latest single, "The Heart" at a local restaurant in the show, the Rammer Jammer, where the show's cast often hang out. Hart stars Cress Williams, Wilson Bethel, Scott Porter and Rachel Bilson.
The excitement continues as the band physically appears on the show this week on May 2nd. Back in February the band performed their latest single, "The Heart" at a local restaurant in the show, the Rammer Jammer, where the show's cast often hang out. Hart stars Cress Williams, Wilson Bethel, Scott Porter and Rachel Bilson.
Honesty Breaks into Top 15
Francesca Battistelli's new release, If We're Honest, debuts at #13 on the Billboard 200. It's her third release and the closest she's come to cracking the Top 10.
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