Publication date: February 19, 2024
Some of Hollywood’s biggest actors want to see more faith-based projects
By Movieguide® Contributor
Variety Spirituality in Entertainment Breakfast brought together some of Hollywood’s biggest names to discuss why the industry needs more faith-based projects.
“Religion and faith are highly politicized,” said Brooke Zaug, executive director of the Faith & Media Initiative. “People feel so uncomfortable or nervous to say, ‘I’m a believer, I’m a person of faith,’ that they don’t talk about it. So people think that this is actually important to them. I think there are very few.It has become a quiet story.”
There is currently a huge, but underserved, market for faith-based content. Currently, Hollywood is ignoring this area, but things can change in an instant, and it’s important that Christians lead these projects.
“If you are not prepared to deal with us, [faith], the industry will be left behind and someone else will actually seize this opportunity…this is a new frontier. “This shouldn’t be a new frontier, but it’s actually an area where we need to invest more time, focus and energy,” said Dritan Nesho, CEO of HarrisX.
With a renewed awareness of interest in faith-based content, a revival is already beginning to occur in the entertainment industry, with new projects around overtly Christian stories being formed. Rather than eschewing religion and slipping through the cracks, Christianity is becoming a major storyline in several current projects.
Actress Tamera Mowry-Housley said, “It’s more fun to play someone who is flawed.” “You could use a little more creativity. For me, that’s something that you can relate to, whether you’re a Christian or not. Christians aren’t these perfect people. The reason we need God is… Because we are imperfect.”
Ordinary Angels star Hilary Swank believes the Christian aspects of her film are what make it relatable and fun to watch.
“I love Sharon. She’s a true tour-de-force of an imperfect human being,” Swank said. “She’s flawed, and she struggles to cope with loss and keep her faith in the midst of her loss.”
“She lost her son and he wanted nothing to do with her. How did she find her faith again after that? After finding her faith again, how did your faith help you get through it? How can it help?” Swank continued. “The power of church and community and how communities come together to help each other is also portrayed in such a beautiful way in this film.”
Some believe that while faith has always been important in Hollywood, only recently has it been explicitly recognized as a Christian faith. Therefore, Christians in this industry should jump at the opportunity to create faith-based content. Because we don’t know how long the benefits will last.
“There’s a fine line between creating content that is universally understood and being able to make it available to different brands, different distributors, different studios, but at the heart of that is a faith-based discipline. is also important,” said Shakina Bolden, vice president of digital revenue. At Will Packer Productions. “Being able to cross that, having that thread is very important. The underlying message is that we all have universal laws, we all have universal principles. It means that it is.”
Meanwhile, Devon Franklin believes that faith will always remain in fashion, but it may not come in the package you expect.
“I’ve worked on everything from ‘PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS’ to ‘FLAMIN’ HOT,'” Devon Franklin said. “When you look at the power of faith, sometimes people only see it through a religious lens. For me, the greatest faith-based movie of all time is ‘Star Wars.’ That power is faith.”
It’s encouraging to see so many people in the entertainment industry burning for the Lord and dedicating their time and resources to creating faith-based content. This space has made great strides in his year with the success of films such as JESUS REVOLUTION, SOUND OF FREEDOM, and of course the continued success of THE CHOSEN. The prevalence of faith-based content continues to grow as more and more projects prove that there is a wide audience hungry for more.
Movieguide® previously reported:
The success of faith-based media in recent years proves that Jesus still has the power to reach a large audience.
Media such as “THE CHOSEN,” “JESUS REVOLUTION,” and “THE SOUND OF FREEDOM” attracted larger audiences than mainstream Hollywood expected.
Experts who had expected the popularity of Christian content to decline as Christianity declined in the United States are perplexed by the recent success of faith-based media. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of American adults who identify as Christians has declined from 78% in 2007 to 63% in 2021. Meanwhile, the audience for faith-based films is only growing.
“There is a very powerful movement toward Jesus right now that most people are not aware of,” said Dr. Ted Behr, founder of Movieguide®. “Human nature is hostile to Christianity and salvation. But more and more people in Hollywood are going in a different direction.”
The current surge in interest in Jesus across the United States is driven in large part by existential questions facing younger generations.
Now more than ever, we are exposed to the dark side of media, film, and television. Movieguide® has been fighting back to promote uplifting, positive content within Hollywood for nearly 40 years. We are proud to have worked with some of the top players in the industry to influence and redeem Yes entertainment. Still, you are the most influential person in Hollywood. The person who sees it.
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