Sean Hannity Jumping into Film Production with Faith-Friendly Movie Starring Kevin Sorbo

Sean Hannity has delved into filmmaking by partnering with Kevin Sorbo on a movie in which the star will play a world-renowned atheist whose beliefs are dramatically challenged.

For Sorbo, this is the second time he is playing a character in a story with atheism as the central plot point, after having starred in "God's Not Dead," the surprise hit that made $61 million domestically on a $2 million production budget and spurred a sequel, "God's Not Dead 2," which made $21 million.

The movie, "Let There Be Light," also stars Sorbo's wife, Sam, and was made on a $3 million production budget. Sorbo is still working on a distribution deal but he expects the film to open in November 2017.

Sorbo has been making Christian-themed movies for several years now, a choice that others say can limit an actor's opportunities in Hollywood.

As for Hannity, he is making his first foray into filmmaking as executive producer, but it won't be his last, as he is pursuing other projects.

read full article

Chonda Pierce to make Big Screen Debut

“Chonda Pierce: Laughing in the Dark,” a one-night only cinema event will premier in select theaters around the country Tuesday, October 27, at 7 pm.

A deeply personal glimpse into the life of Chonda Pierce, the Christian humorist and best-selling female comedian of all-time, the film chronicles a series of tragic circumstances she recently faced, including the loss of her husband. Leaning on her faith in a season of heartbreak, Pierce perseveres—her signature wit intact—hoping to inspire and encourage others with her story.

"I'm nervous! I have allowed a film crew to expose very tender and private moments in my life simply hoping to continue a dialogue about faith, depression, grief and pain to promote healing for brokenhearted people,” Pierce says. “I love the Church, but it's not perfect. I love God, but life is hard. This movie ‘shows’ it all, not just ‘tells’ it all. Mental illness is not a lack of faith and loving Jesus doesn't exempt you from pain. And being a comic doesn't mean you laugh all the time!”

Immediately following the film, theater audiences will have the opportunity to view a special post-event presentation, “Finding Light in the Darkness.” Various celebrities and public figures, including Roma Downey, Kevin Sorbo, Sherri Shepherd, Monica Crowley, Corbin Bernsen and “Duck Dynasty’s” Miss Kay Robertson, are slated to discuss the impact of Pierce’s story.

“This event really brings to light the importance of having faith through life’s most difficult times,” says John Rubey, CEO, Fathom Events. “Chonda’s ability to use humor to overcome her struggles is truly inspiring and a great lesson for us all.”

“Chonda has always been able to do the impossible,” says “Laughing in the Dark” producer Kent Songer. “She’s the best-selling female comedian in history and at the pinnacle of her career she allows her fans full access into her life. She’s an amazingly brave and talented woman, and I am proud to be a part of this unique Fathom event.”

'God's Not Dead 2: He's Surely Alive' to Star Melissa Joan Hart and Jesse Metcalf

"God's Not Dead 2: He's Surely Alive," the sequel to the $60 million grossing 2014 film, hits theaters on Easter of 2016 stars Melissa Joan Hart ("Clarissa Explains It All," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch") and Jesse Metcalf ("Desperate Housewives") and will feature a slew of cameos from well-known celebrities, including an appearance from "Duck Dynasty" star Sadie Robertson.
Robertson will follow in the footsteps of her parents, Willie and Korie, who made a cameo in the original "God's Not Dead" film.

Other cameos include Hayley Orrantia ("The Goldbergs"), Ernie Hudson ("Ghostbusters"), model Robin Givens and singer Pat Boone.

Stars from the original "God's Not Dead" film Trisha LaFache, Benjamin Onyango, Paul Kwo and David A.R. White will be returning for the second installment. The Newsboys will also have a cameo.

"God's Not Dead 2: He's Surely Alive" takes place in the fictional town of Hope Springs, Arkansas, at a high school where teacher Grace Wesley, played by Hart, faces opposition when she tries to speak about Jesus openly in her classroom.

"With the principal and superintendent teaming up with a zealous civil liberties group represented by an attorney with no love lost for God, Grace faces an epic court case with the help of sympathetic and charismatic defense lawyer, that could cost her the career she had always dreamed of — and expel God from the classroom once and for all," reads a description of the film.

While the first "God's Not Dead" film dealt with an antagonistic atheist professor, the new film will address the freedom of religion, a topic that has become even more prevalent since last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made state-level bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

"God's Not Dead" is arguably one of the most successful faith-based movies of all time. The film cost just $2 million to make, and grossed over $60 million at the the box office.

Kevin Sorbo, who played an atheist professor in "God's Not Dead," the film's main antagonist, boasted about the film's success after it was released on DVD in September.

"'God's Not Dead,' dollar for dollar, has been the most successful movie this year by far and the most successful faith-based movie," said Sorbo.

The film also debuted at No.1 on the Nielsen Christian Videos Sales Chart, and No. 2 Nielsen VideoScan First Alert and Blu-ray Disc sales charts in August of 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.

Faith-Based Movies: In Hollywood To Stay?

Deadline has a nice overview of the recent faith-movie trend:

After the strong staying power of this weekend’s God’s Not Dead and the stronger than expected opening of Noah following on the heels of the surprise opening of Son of God earlier this year, is there any doubt anymore Hollywood that if you build it, they will come? That’s three for three … but wait, actually there’s more. Back in 2008, the Kirk Cameron-starring Fireproof took a lot of people by surprise. On a $500,000 budget raised by Sherwood Baptist church, the faith-based picture ended up grossing $33.4M when it was released. They did it again in 2011, when on a $2M budget, Courageous opened to $9.1M and went onto make $34.5M. Before that, in 2004, the Mel Gibson-directed The Passion of the Christ opened to $83.8M domestically and went on to gross $611M worldwide.

“I think that is a smart assumption,” Megan Colligan, president of domestic marketing and distribution for Paramount told Deadline. 

The next heavenly story up will be Heaven Is For Real, based on the 2010 book written by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. The book debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times best-sellers list and then rose to No. 1. Sony purchased rights to the book in 2011 and Randall Wallace (Braveheart) is directing. The movie stars Greg Kinnear (As Good as It Gets). Unaided awareness for the film is pretty low at the moment two weeks out, but with the right marketing campaign, Sony could pull off the fourth faith-based film to open decently.

Affirm Films, which typically gears its features toward evangelical Christians, has the family comedy Moms’ Night Out starring Patricia Heaton, Sean Astin and Trace Adkins opening on May 9, Mother's Day Weekend.  Affirm made $43.9 million stateside with the $18 million-budgeted Soul Surfer in April 2011. On October 3, the Nicolas Cage action film Left Behind about a commercial airline pilot steering his plane in the aftermath of the rapture will be released.  Then on December 12, Fox releases Exodus, which is more along the lines of the big-budget Noah. The Biblical tale in Exodus is that of Moses as played by Christian Bale who leads the Israelites out of Egypt to a safe haven. Will it be epic? It’s a Ridley Scott movie.

So will there be more of these Biblical/faith-based films, and can they be sustainable past their first opening weekends and, more importantly, churn a profit for the filmmakers and distributors? “It’s a good question and I don’t know the answer to that,” said Fox’s Chris Aronson. “As far as sustainability and profitability, it’s hard to say because of the differences in the budgets. There are plenty of examples of faith-based films that have been smartly marketing and targeted to a faith-based audiences that have been successful. It proves that there is an appetite for it, but I think that credibility is an issue as well.” He notes that filmmakers and distribs must be involved in catering toward faith-based audiences. “You can’t pull the wool over the faith-based audiences eyes because they will see it and reject it. And I think (Son of God producers) Mark Burnett and Roma Downey had ultimate credibility because they went directly to the opinion makers in the faith-based community and showed that they had the goods.”

Usually, the way these pictures perform is that they open strong and then fall off. That was the case for Son of God which dropped about 60% in its second weekend, but despite that, this re-edited film from History's The Bible series footage, has grossed $57.9M as of this weekend. 

God’s Not Dead had the third-highest per screen with around $7,714 per screen in its second weekend; third only behind Noah ($12,335) and Budapest Hotel ($9,007). Its per screen average is also above the second weekend of Lionsgate’s franchise in the making Divergent ($6,732). It only fell 1% in its second weekend out. Easter is around the corner. So will it do well through Easter or was this second weekend a fluke? Was it helped by the power of Duck Dynasty (with stars Willie and Korie Robertson) who made an appearance and helped to promote the film?

The lesson to studio heads and marketers is — whether its Noah, God’s Not Dead, Son Of God, Fireproof or Courageous – there is an audience for Biblical films. Perhaps, it takes a thoughtful approach to pull it off. Son of God played well across the country, but Roma and Mark had and took the time to meet with church leaders and listen to them and then incorporate marketing and distribution strategies to open the film to the particular audience.

Tapping into the faith-based audience means speaking directly to these infrequent moviegoers in a way that is credible on a budget that is reasonable. They have proven to be bankable. So, say, a major star anchors one of these — instead of a Kevin Sorbo or Kirk Cameron — and makes a financially-responsible deal for all parties involved, it could prove a new audience for that star and also a nice sum for all profit participants. Also at the same time, these pictures give exhibitors the kind of lower-end budgeted movies that are often more profitable than the Hollywood tentpoles.

These individuals may be infrequent moviegoers for mainstream movies, but they are frequent moviegoers for Biblical and faith-based films. And as Fortune 500 companies have found in developing new products for a new market, there are pitfalls, yes, but if and when you hit it’s a goldmine of loyal customers. And for a star, it could be their biggest openings to date, which was the case for Russell Crowe this weekend in Noah. Combining its marketing to faith-based and to mainstream action audiences, Paramount pulled it off. And Crowe and the studio can thank, in no small part, Emma Watson and her team for her strong social media footprint (and savvy on how to utilize it).

Aronson sums it up nicely: “What this shows is that there is an appetite for these type of movies and that there is a particular segment of the population that is being terribly under-served and if you give them the product they want to see, they will come.”

read full Deadline article

What Low-budget Hit 'God's Not Dead' Says About Christians and Hollywood

It may be “The Year of the Bible” in Hollywood, but American moviegoers are still startling the industry with their robust enthusiasm for faith-filled films targeting the tastes of the faithful.

This weekend, the small-budget “God’s Not Dead” took in more than $8.5 million Friday through Sunday – a surprising fifth-place in this weekend’s box office numbers.

Even more startling, say observers, is the fact that the movie, aimed toward Evangelical Christians, was shown in only 780 theaters – far fewer than those ahead of it, each of which were showing on more than 3,000 screens.

“While this huge opening may be a surprise to the industry, it is not so much to us,” said Mark Borde, co-president of the film’s distributor, said over the weekend. “The in-house tracking, the legitimate one million Facebook fans, the very high trending on Twitter and Fandango, among many other platforms, and the huge positive reaction from the hundreds of screenings over the many past months, gave us hope for a significant opening.”

While not a blockbuster of biblical proportions, the small film’s significant success this weekend comes at a time when Hollywood has been trying to capitalize yet again on the faith-based market, which also made a hit out of “Son of God” earlier this month. The film was condensed from the History Channel’s smash TV hit, “The Bible,” and has taken in nearly $56 million since its release Feb. 28.

But “God’s Not Dead” is a very different kind of film, many observers say. It has a deep resonance in the Evangelical subculture, which often feels mocked and demeaned by the nation’s media and entertainment elites.

“There's a negativity towards Christians in Hollywood,” said Kevin Sorbo, the actor who plays the atheistic philosophy professor. “And a negativity towards people who believe in God.”

“The silent majority is starting to get annoyed with what’s going on,” the Christian actor continued. “I think more people need to start speaking about it instead of just sitting there and taking it.... It’s happening; you’re getting attacked; you need to stand up for yourself and your beliefs.”

Indeed, the film leaps headlong into the culture wars, striking back against famous atheists, referencing the views of Stephen Hawking, Noam Chomsky, and others.

The film also has a number of subplots that reference real-life issues that chafe many Evangelicals. A journalist, described as a radical vegan, conducts ambush interviews with “Duck Dynasty” star Willie Robertson and his wife, who play themselves. It also follows the story of a young Muslim woman, who converts to Christianity and secretly listens to podcasts of the evangelist Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham. Her enraged father violently kicks her out of the house. There is also a subplot about a local pastor struggling with his faith, the vegan journalist who later discovers she has cancer, and the philosophy professor’s mistress, who becomes a Christian.

“I’m so glad a film like ‘God’s Not Dead' is bringing to the public the very real culture clash going on in American public life, especially in education,” e-mails Mitch Land, professor and dean at the School of Communication & the Arts at Regent University, an Evangelical school in Virginia Beach, Va. “We have a right and obligation to express our faith without fear of discrimination or reprisal.”

But responses to the film are as stark as red and blue.

Scott Foundas, chief film critic at Variety, called it a “ham-fisted Christian campus melodrama,” saying its depiction of the college professor was “rather like the Jews in the wartime Nazi propaganda films.”

And so far, some 2,000 ratings on the site imbd.com reveal a divide as wide as it could possibly be. On Monday morning, about half of the arm-chair critics on the site rate the film a "Citizen Kane"-level 10 out of 10 stars (46.3 percent). A full third, however, give it a rock-bottom, "Ishtar"-level 1 star out of 10 (32.8 percent). There's no shades of gray for those who see this film.

Still, others see it in a far less conflict-laden context.

“The success of 'God’s Not Dead' shows at least three things,” says Paul Levinson, media critic and professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York: “Big budgets are not necessary to make popular movies, there is a significant part of the population that cherishes faith-based movies, and students like narratives about arrogant professors who get their due.”

read full article

God's Not Dead Is America's Fifth Most Popular Movie This Week

At just 780 locations, God's Not Dead earned an incredible $8.56 million. That ranks seventh all-time among faith-based movies, and ranks first among those opening in fewer than 1,000 theaters. It's a bit below Courageous ($9.1 million), but above Fireproof ($6.8 million).

The PG-rated film about a college student who is challenged by his professor to prove God's existence was driven by solid advance ticket sales and by church-based outreach. Kevin Sorbo and Dean Cain starred and Duck Dynasty's popular Willie and Korie Robertson made a cameo which was used in the marketing push.

God's Not Dead had a grassroots marketing effort targeted specifically at Christians, who often feel neglected by Hollywood. In addition to the Duck Dynasty stars, popular Christian band Newsboys (who have an album titled "God's Not Dead") were also featured in the film. At least as important was its intriguing story, which centered around a devout Christian college student's philosophical battle with his atheist professor (Kevin Sorbo).

Distributor Freestyle Releasing is looking to expand the movie next weekend. With good word-of-mouth, this could ultimately earn over $30 million total.

Kevin Sorbo: Morals are Falling but Biblical Films are on Rise

Modern society may be in moral decline, but Hollywood seems to be warming up to telling Biblical tales.

"Morals are declining and I don't care if you're religious or not. Morals are declining," Sorbo told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV. "The country is going under. We're getting worse and worse and everything is okay according to half the population in this country. Not everything is okay."

In his new movie, "God's Not Dead,” Sorbo plays a college philosophy professor who demands that his freshmen students accept that God is dead. If that seems like a far-fetched premise, Sorbo says there have been dozens of court cases that have dealt with such situations.

"The atheists are stirring up. You know, I find it interesting that people who don't believe in something get so angry about it," Sorbo said. "You've got extremes on both sides and I get it and I understand it."

Sorbo said that Hollywood may be coming around to Christian-themed movies, in part because they have proven money potential, and because the quality has improved.

""Blindside' was the kick off point," Sorbo said. "[Hollywood executives] said, "you know what, there's an audience out there we're not serving.'"

Sorbo said that faith and politics don't have to be divisive issues, but he sees hypocrisy on how people approach them.

"I don't vote with anger. I vote with my head and my gut and my heart," Sorbo said. "I look at the person, I look at what they stand for and what they believe in, and I just know, during the last two elections, if you didn't vote for Obama, you're considered a racist and I said "what does racism have to do with it?'

"I have white actor friends who said "I'm going to vote for him because he's black, it'll be cool to have a black president.' I said, "but that's racist.' If I said I'm going for McCain because he's a white guy, you'd call me a racist. But it's such a weird reverse thing. No matter if you say anything negative about anybody nowadays, they want to play the race card and it's insane. I just don't believe in his politics."

Sorbo said that regardless of belief, the ability to turn personal hardships into inspiration has been key to his personal success. At the end of his "Hercules" run Sorbo suffered three strokes, the result of an aneurism, that impacted his balance and vision and took years for him to recover from. He has since become a health and fitness advocate; he is a spokesman for antioxidant measurement product Fluitec and he said that simply stretching before going to sleep at night can have positive long-term health benefits.

"You've got to make tragedies comedies real quick in your life otherwise you're in for a long life," Sorbo said.

Read full article

Trailer Released for Controversial "God's Not Dead"

New trailer for God's Not Dead film starring Kevin Sorbo, Dean Cain and the Newsboys.

Kevin Sorbo To Star in God's Not Dead

Kevin Sorbo is starring in a new film "God's Not Dead" which also features the Newsboys, presumably performing their hit song of the same name.

In the interview below, Kevin speaks to what he's begun starring in Christian films and the need for more family friendly entertainment.

Soul Surfer Riding High in Its Second Week

Soul Surfer rode the wave into fourth at the box office this weekend, falling a slim 30% from last weekend to finish with $7.4M, according to estimates, bringing its total to $20M. A final gross in the area of $40M is possible.

Soul Surfer Makes a Splash at the Box Office

The inspirational drama "Soul Surfer" exceeded expectations and debuted in fourth with an estimated $11.1M. Posting the best screen average among the new films, the PG-rated true story of a teen surfer who gets her life back on track after a shark bites off her arm averaged a good $5,014 from 2,214 screens. Overall, “Soul Surfer” came in fourth, but lost the #2 spot only by a nose to “Hanna,” which banked $12.3m on 300+ more screens, and the “Arthur” remake, which played on 1,000+ more screens but took in only $12.6m. Per screen, “Soul Surfer” beat “Arther” by $1,200. No small thing, especially since surfing movies tend to wipe out.

Nikki Finke reports that Sony was hoping for $10 million and is obviously very happy with the results: “If we do 10 million this weekend (or close to it), it would be a home run for Sony and Film District.”

The movie earned mixed reviews from critics, but "Soul Surfer" earned an A+ grade from CinemaScore which is rare these days so word-of-mouth should help the pic to play well for the rest of the spring season especially with the Easter holiday still to come. So the $15 million production should prove to be quite profitable.

Exit polls showed that a whopping 80% of the crowd was female and 56% was under 25. Moms and daughters made up a big portion of the audience.

“Soul Surfer,” which is based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a young surfer whose Christian faith and family help her to overcome a shark attack that cost her an arm, stars AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. Thanks to some very good marketing to the teenage crowd in general and to the Christian market specifically, what Hollywood has here is one less excuse to keep ‘em coming.

Surfer’s Tale of Strength and Faith Portrayed in ‘Soul Surfer’

Bethany Hamilton was little known outside the competitive surfing community until a tiger shark took her arm off along the coast of Kauai when she was 13 years old.

That moment and that loss do not define Bethany Hamilton. They merely galvanize who she already was. And she doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her, because she certainly doesn’t.

“Ultimately, I hope that my struggles and what I went though can hopefully be encouraging,” says Hamilton, now 21. She’s out promoting the film Soul Surfer, based on her autobiography and starring Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany.

The movie, which opens today, captures not only that fateful shark encounter, but also her return to the ocean and the family and faith that ground her.

READ MORE.