Showing posts with label Facing the Giants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facing the Giants. Show all posts

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Millions of Christians Send Clear Message to Hollywood

Sean Astin in 'Woodlawn'
Sean Astin in 'Woodlawn' (YouTube)



Millions of Christians Send Clear Message to Hollywood


It's not often that a film centered on the power of prayer breaks big box-office numbers. But that's exactly the case with War Room, a new movie that tells the story of a marital crisis overcome by prayer. War Room, made for just $3 million, has now raked in more than $50 million after capturing the No. 1 spot earlier this month.
And War Room, from the creators of CourageousFireproof and Facing the Giants, is not alone. An influx of family-friendly, faith-based films is hitting the big screen this fall, including Captive, featuring the Emmy-nominated David Oyelowo and Kate Mara. The two star in the faith-based crime drama that opened on Sept. 18, where Oyelowo plays a killer on the run and Mara is his drug-addicted hostage. But underneath the gritty storyline, faith plays a significant role.
Then next month, the football drama Woodlawn, starring Academy Award winner Jon Voight and Sean Astin, follows a remarkable true story about how love and unity, fueled by spiritual revival, overcame racism and hate in Alabama in the early 1970s. Opening Oct. 16, the film is already creating buzz.
American Family Association, which often champions for family-friendly entertainment, says the attention to faith-based films this fall is evidence that Christian moviegoers are sending a message about the kind of entertainment they want to see in Hollywood. AFA adds that these faith-based, "good news" films will have an indelible impact on kids, families and society.
"American Family Association takes on many heavy issues in society, but we like to go to the movies too," said AFA President Tim Wildmon. "When entertainment, however, tears down our society and is a negative influence on our kids, we feel we must step in. At the same time, when there are wonderful options for families to watch together, we want to bring these films to the attention of everyone. For decades, the big screen has been dominated by violence, sex, drugs and crime. But this fall, there is a bit of light, and families whose dollars are driven by their values will have some great movie picks this fall. Hopefully, this trend is a glimpse of things to come and our culture will show some evidence of the impact."
Likewise, AFA's own film debut, Summer Snow, went international this summer, with screenings in several countries around the world, including Spain, Brazil, Germany and Turkey, with interest from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia and more. Released in the summer of 2014 by American Family Studios, a division of AFA,Summer Snow saw great success in the theater, on DVD and in its television debut on UPtv.
Starring David Chisum, Cameron Goodman, Garrett Backstrom, Brett Rice and Rachel Eggleston, Summer Snow tells the story of 8-year-old Hallie Benson (Eggleston), a small girl with a very big heart. Whether baking cookies for a grumpy neighbor or selling toothbrushes to help a friend, Hallie always thinks of others. Unfortunately, her "creative" ways of helping people often leave her father, Dan (Chisum), with a mess to clean up. Dan struggles to keep it all together after his wife's death. He doesn't cook, do hair or know how to help his three children without his beautiful wife and her unshakeable faith in God.
This past weekend at Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., where several AFA representatives were featured speakers and moderators, attendees had the opportunity for a sneak peek of Woodlawn, as well as Beyond the Farthest Star, which tells the story of a Democratic senator who burns a courthouse nativity and brings the national spotlight to a forgotten Texas town and a once-famous preacher.
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Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Why 'War Room' Is a Must-See Movie - J. Lee Grady

Why 'War Room' Is a Must-See Movie




'War Room' is a must-see Christian movie.
'War Room' is a must-see Christian movie. (Facebook )
Fire in My Bones, by J. Lee Grady
I'm not a big fan of Christian movies, mainly because low budgets often result in bad acting and cheesy scripts that make even the most gracious churchgoers cringe in embarrassment. But today Hollywood insiders are admitting that the quality of Christian filmmaking is improving—and the newly released War Room is likely to take the genre to a new level.
Don't expect your typical nose-in-the-air film critics to give War Room good reviews. Its faith message is not subtle. People actually pray—out loud!—on screen, and the name of Jesus is mentioned numerous times. One of the main characters gets on his knees and asks God for forgiveness, while another walks out on her back porch and commands the devil to go to hell.
If all that religion isn't enough to drive the Hollywood elite crazy, the actors in this film talk with thick Southern accents. Even popular Bible teacher Beth Moore shows off her Texas drawl in a cameo role.
The reason for the Southern flair is that War Room was created by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, Baptist brothers from Georgia who gave us Facing the GiantsFireproof and Courageous. Those films were panned by Hollywood, but their financial success made a few leaders in the movie business curious. They discovered that evangelical Christians have an appetite for wholesome entertainment that reinforces their beliefs. That's why Fireproof was the top-grossing independent film of 2008—and whyWar Room ended up with a stunning $11.4 million last weekend when it opened in theaters.
I won't be surprised if War Room breaks all previous records for the Kendrick Brothers. They have outdone themselves with this one. You need to see it. In fact, you should take your friends and see it as a group.
The story revolves around a middle-class couple struggling in their marriage. Elizabeth Jordan (Priscilla Shirer) is a real-estate agent who is mad at her busy husband, Tony (T.C. Stallings), because he's stressed out and angry at her most of the time. When Elizabeth takes on the job of selling the house of an elderly woman named Miss Clara (Karen Abercrombie), she begins a remarkable spiritual journey that transforms her family.
War Room gets its title from the small closet Miss Clara uses for prayer. She challenges Elizabeth to let go of her anger, submit fully to God and begin her own prayer life. "You are a warrior," she tells her young friend. Elizabeth reluctantly cleans out the walk-in closet in her bedroom and begins to fight for her marriage—at the same time that her husband is considering having an affair. By the end of the film, Miss Clara has not only mentored Elizabeth in prayer; she has also taught all of us why we need to go to war on our knees.
I don't know of any film that portrays the power of prayer like War Room. Abercrombie (who has appeared in numerous TV shows including Alley McBeal and Judging Amy) steals the show as Miss Clara, but Priscilla Shirer, who is the daughter of Dallas pastor Tony Evans, brings unexpected acting talent to the screen—especially in the scene when she decides she won't let the devil have her family or her marriage.
This movie is unabashedly Christian and might as well be rated P-I for politically incorrect. There is no profanity (Miss Clara does declare in one scene that the devil's butt has been kicked) and no sex—although a woman Tony meets at work invites him to her apartment. And the only violence occurs when a man wielding a knife confronts Elizabeth and Miss Clara. You guessed it—the old lady rebukes her attacker in the name of Jesus.
Miss Clara's bold approach to faith is what I liked most about War Room. This brave saint doesn't care what anybody thinks—she is going to pray whether you like it or not. She gets in Elizabeth's face and confronts her bad attitudes, and she gets in the devil's face and commands him to stop destroying Elizabeth's marriage. By the end of the film she's kneeling in her new prayer room in her son's house, praying up a storm for America.
This is exactly why director Alex Kendrick says he made War Room. He told Entertainment Weekly: "This movie calls people to make prayer a priority, and we believe that it's something our culture and our nation really needs — to turn back to God and to seek him in prayer."
War Room may do more than shatter box office records. It could actually inspire a fresh movement of prayer in our prayerless nation.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of The Mordecai Project. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. Check out his ministry at themordecaiproject.org.
For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!
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