My first two posts at this site addressed the topic of so-called “Christian” films in Hollywood. In my first post, I opined that the increased interest in Christian films by Hollywood execs hasn’t necessarily been a good thing because films with a faith theme are being sent to the small, low-budget faith divisions of the studios and marketed nearly exclusively to Christians. In my second post, I gave what I consider the reasons that most Christian films are so bad. Even though I’m an evangelical Christian, I had to admit that the films made by my brethren, intended for audiences like me, were typically very poorly done.
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So…I was faced with a few realities. Hollywood wanted more Christian films. As a Christian, I wanted more Christian films that were actually watchable. I’d publicly and condescendingly bemoaned the fact that Christian films usually weren’t good. I’m a Christian. I’m a filmmaker.
So I decided to make a Christian film. I’d made a few films already, and all of them had a faith-based perspective, but they hadn’t been all-out, crowd-pleasing, explicitly Christian films geared towards the church crowd. It wasn’t really what I came to Hollywood to do. But I figured that part of being a successful filmmaker was being a smart businessman, and not only that, I genuinely wanted to make a Christian film that was GOOD. Obviously, there’s somewhat of an artistic ceiling when you’re working within the constraints of a particular genre, not to mention working with a very low budget, but that doesn’t mean one can’t push the limits of those constraints and succeed artistically.
So I took a shot. I partnered with a company (Pure Flix) that specializes in films for the church market in a particularly cost-effective way, came aboard a project they were developing that fit my sensibility, and went to work. Let me take you through the issues faced when doing a Christian film intended to make money, serve a higher spiritual purpose, and succeed artistically.
First, the requirements. To qualify as a film that will appeal to the CORE Christian church crowd (those who don’t see too many movies because of the crassness of Hollywood), there are a few rules that you really shouldn’t ever break. One, it must be clean. NO rough language, and that includes the lesser ones like the d-word, h-word, and crass locker room phrases (I’m holding to these rules even in this article, in case it gets reprinted in Christian circles or if my Mom reads it). Women shouldn’t be dressed provocatively, and there can be zero lustful moments–even kissing should be tame (tongues were made for tasting communion bread and juice) and preferably limited to married Christian couples. Two, bad behavior must be presented as if it is indeed bad behavior, with consequences. Three, there should be at least one scene where the message of “the Gospel” is presented in some way, preferably by showing a character come to salvation or faith.
This is not to say that these audiences don’t enjoy films that don’t hold to these rules, but if it’s marketed as a “Christian” film, to be sold in Christian bookstores or played in church, it better live up to these standards.
Second, the limits. It’s extraordinarily difficult in today’s Hollywood to make money on a film unless it’s a big budget studio film. Movies like Paranormal Activity are miraculous and even more rare than they used to be. Independent films have largely been squeezed out of the marketplace, so to reduce risk, one needs to aim for as low a budget as possible. We had a very, very low budget by Hollywood standards and only 15 days to shoot the film, which is borderline psycho. The average Hollywood film has three times that.
With these boundaries, what am I hoping to achieve, and what can I bring to the table that might allow me to make a film that is actually good? And even though I understand that the target audience is the Christian market, I’m convinced that everyone likes a good movie, Christian or not. A good movie isn’t preachy or false, and unfortunately, most Christian films are both. I hope to be neither, and if I can achieve that, maybe the film can be good on its own merits with the “Christian” factor being a bonus, and maybe even have mainstream appeal.
To do this, we had to get a good script that presents the Christian experience with the wit and groundedness that most Christian films lack. Check. Veteran screenwriters Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman delivered a charming, compelling script that I was genuinely excited about, and the Christian stuff was interesting and organic to the story. This helped in getting good actors, which is important step #2–get solid actors who can portray this delicate material with audience-friendly charm, but also with realism, knowing you can’t afford Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie but hoping you can find recognizable names who are looking for good material. Check. Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, John Ratzenberger, and up-and-coming Disney star Debby Ryan all loved the script. They weren’t cheap, but for an independent film, actors with their experience and charm were worth it, and they’ll also help tremendously when we’re out there selling the film.
Did I succeed? Don’t know yet, we’re still in post-production. But I documented my attempt and tried to make it as educational as possible. Every day on set, and once every couple weeks during post-production, I’ve filmed a “diary” along with some behind the scenes footage. I’ll continue to film these diaries all the way through the release of the film. If the film succeeds, this can perhaps be a “how-to” guide on how to do it again; if it fails, then it’ll at least be an exhibit of what to avoid (like writing an article about bad Christian films before making one). I tried to gear the videos to appeal to all levels of film interest or experience, so if some moments feel too basic to you, I apologize, but for the most part, it’s just an honest look at the film-making process. I discuss the different jobs on a set; explain how things come together for the shoot and editing, acknowledge the bad days, and as we get into the marketing, I’ll show how a film is publicized and go behind the scenes of our attempts to sell the film to as many people as possible.
All the videos, pictures, and text updates are at What If… The Production Blog, starting in order from the bottom up. Warts and all.