"Fireproof" opens 9/26- I'll buy your ticket

I'm watching a Fireproof: Behind the Scenes 1 hour special on some religious channel (# 378, NRB on DirecTV) right now (9-10pm EST).

You're probably in this somewhere - got any pics of you on set for reference?

I'm all over the train scene and the fire scenes. Moving equipment, jacking cars, lighting fires. Anyone on a ladder was probably me. Anyone covered with soot carrying a torch might be me.

Pretty sure I wore either a Facing the Giants cap or a GRM hat. Spent the cool mornings wearing black Fenner Construction hoody. Hot afternoons wearing a GRM tee shirt. My assistant wore the same thing, but he looks like a cowboy, and I always wear shorts.

I was laying under the cars providing smoke, and inside the burning rooms providing flames (and extinguishers).

I haven't seen the final cut of the behind the scenes, so I'm not sure what to look for.

I am listed in the credits about 5 or 6 times. They call me Paul Fenner, since they don't know my real name (SVreX).

Movie opens tonight.

I've taken care of most of those tickets, but I need Mattmacklind and Midknight to get back to me.

Hope you guys enjoy the movie.

Just looked for movies on www.RottenTomatoes.com to see what's good right now. Looks like Fireproof is currently the #4 grossing movie right now. Congrats!

Only earned 50% on the Tomatometer though. Most of the critique seems to be that it is pretty decently done for a blatant message movie, but it is still a blatant message movie and is kinda preaching to the choir.

Clearly I am not the target audience for this film. Anyone from that target audience care to weigh in on it?

I would agree with that criticism.

Though, I view it less as "preaching to the choir" and more like a tool for those who can use it.

Big Chuck came out recommending your movie: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76487

I don't think you can get a bigger endorsement than that.

Walker Texas Ranger has spoken.

Some of you haven't gotten your tickets.

Contact me.

Saw it Sunday... very well done, and yes - it's a blatant message movie, but the trailer kinda gave that away anyway :)

My only beef was that the theater didn't have a poster up for it. What's up with that? Every other thing showing was on their posters outside, as well as a number of 'coming attractions'

It's not playing here so I will be waiting for the video.

GSmith wrote: Saw it Sunday... very well done, and yes - it's a blatant message movie, but the trailer kinda gave that away anyway :) My only beef was that the theater didn't have a poster up for it. What's up with that? Every other thing showing was on their posters outside, as well as a number of 'coming attractions'

Hmmm-I've no clue.

Actually, I have a bigger question on this than what the target audience thought:

I'm interested in how many people who were not the target demographic went to see this movie, and what they thought of it.

I heard an interview on NPR a couple days ago with a director/producer (I forget who) who had an experience and converted to Christianity. He has since switched over just to making religious based films.

One of the things they discussed was how, despite the obviously large audience for films with Christian messages, why they don't get made as often. One of the big things he pointed to is that most religious stories tend to stand on their own, and are difficult to serialize or reproduce. You can't make "Passion of the Christ 2". You can't even make a movie that copies it, works in the same genre, etc.

Another issue I frequently have with Christian media (movies, music, and literature) is that they tend not to be as high of quality. Partly it is fewer people making them. You don't have competition to produce quality art. All you have to do is package a few power chords with "Jesus! I love you! You're my savior! Save me! Jesus!" And people will buy it by default because it's Christian and there isn't enough well produced stuff.

I used to sing in choirs, and I love some of the old sacred music. Haydn's "Creation" was a blast to perform. Durufle's Requiem is one of my favorite classical pieces (even though it was written in the 20th century). And Mozart's Requiem is pure genius. Older spirituals are fantastic too. You can enjoy them even if you're not Christian.

Or maybe I'm just mistaken on my perception of Christian media.

Salanis:

Read the article Dr. Hess Linked to from Chuck Norris.

It's a bit of a diatribe, but it accurately portrays the sentiments in Hollywood.

Quality is an issue, partly because of money. Great movies cost an awful lot of money, and someone needs to fund them. Mainstream Hollywood production outlets are often biased against them.

Our second movie was shot for $75,000 (all volunteer). But it cost the distribution company more like $10,000,000 to get it in 400 theatres (a national release, but a very small one. Most major pics open in several thousand theatres). That's the cost of printing copies, advertising, general distribution.

The Passion cost $50 million of Mel Gibson's own money (because no one else would finance it), and that was considered a REALLY cut rate rock bottom price.

My cousin is the President of FX network. I've been on a TV set with him. They burn through about $8,000,000 per day. That's just TV.

So, you need deep pockets to get started, and its a gamble on the returns. Lots of stuff never gets distributed at all.

Once you have someone who HAS the money, you have to have someone WILLING to fund the message. Even though there is money to be made in Christian media, this is where it gets sticky.

A lot of professionals in the movie industry have lost their careers doing Christian film. There's a big bias, and it is very much like a black list.

We are doing the best we can with what we've got. This movie cost $500,000. That's 1% of the Passion.

The industry is about pedaling power and influence as much as it is about profits. A lot of them simply don't want to be associated with Christian Films.

Even in our case, we are fortunate, because we've got Sony's backing. Well, sort of. Sony bought Provident Music and gave them the mandate to do with distribution of Christian films what they had done with Christian music. But you won't see the name Sony on this film. They are happy reaping the profits from behind the scenes, but they hide under several layers of corporate cover to not offend the Hollywood machine.

Yes, if it's a good movie, it's a good movie. But most message movies aren't.

My problem with any "message" movie is that, the message is the primary focus. That means that being well done as good art generally takes a back seat to the message.

The "too preachy" problem comes in if the movie is more worried about preaching than entertaining. If I'm going to a movie to be entertained, I'll be unhappy if I spend more time being preached to than actually entertained.

To be entertained by a message movie, you generally have to find the message itself entertaining.

SVreX,

I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm being more negative towards your movie than I am. I'm really glad that it has done so well. It does sound like a much better movie than other similar ones. I have not seen the movie, and can't speak to it directly. I only have limited experience with similar works, and reviews to base my opinions of your movie on. But, I can say what my general perceptions of Christian media are.

I have a perception of Christian media being lower quality than other media. I'm certain many other people hold the same opinion.

Obviously a big part of this is a lack of funding. Another big issue, tied directly to that, is fewer artists and less competition and innovation within that mode.

I want there to be more good movies, and don't care too much if they're Christian or not. I actually think many of the Bible stories could make for great movies.

I'm not sure if I have quite developed a point that I want to make, but I think there's one that's about ready to come out.

I guess... is it possible to make a Christian movie with broader appeal? What would it take to do that? Why isn't it done?

I think a lot is much like how many people stay away from certain car manufacturers. There is a perception that they are lower quality and people avoid them. It takes a lot of time and effort to change people's perceptions of a certain make.

Similarly with Christian movies, most non-Christians see a blatantly religious movie and think "Oh. Great. It's a Christian movie, which means half of it will be crappy and exist to beat me over the head with a crude message."

I guess another big question is if you intend to just market a film to Christians or if you want it to have a broader appeal. There really isn't anything wrong with saying you don't care if non-Christians are un-interested in the movie. In which case, your audience just needs to be big enough to see a return on your investment (which it looks like it was).

Paul, thanks alot.

We went to see the movie last night. I thought it was a very good movie. The acting wasn't top notch, but better than I expected for a film with such a small budget. The plot was very good without being too preachy. The action scenes were done very realistically. I was on the edge of my seat during the train scene.

Of course the main reason that we wanted to see the movie was to see the SVX. Paul did a great job of creating a crash scene without damaging the car

Two very small problems I had. One was a truck pulling into the shot with a dealers decorative tag, rather than a real license plate. The second was the cost of the medical equipment, I spent most of my life in the medical equipment industry. If they spent that much on the bed and WC, they got railed.

Overall, I recommend seeing it. Another good indicator from me is that I didn't fall asleep. I have a history of dozing off during most movies I see in the theater, even some non stop action/adventure movies. And I was a little concerned since we were going to the 10:20 show after I spent the day swapping a 5 speed into my Legacy.

MGAMGB wrote: I never understood those that judge the movie based out of fear that it will be "too preachy". No matter how preachy a movie might be, it can't take away your free will to choose.

But it can interfere with enjoying the story. Most of the criticism (my own, and word of mouth, and even in the press) of Wall-E centered arounf how it continually bashed the viewer over the head with its message. And that's not even a religious message.

Hocrest wrote: Paul, thanks alot. We went to see the movie last night. I thought it was a very good movie. The acting wasn't top notch, but better than I expected for a film with such a small budget. The plot was very good without being too preachy. The action scenes were done very realistically. I was on the edge of my seat during the train scene. Of course the main reason that we wanted to see the movie was to see the SVX. Paul did a great job of creating a crash scene without damaging the car Two very small problems I had. One was a truck pulling into the shot with a dealers decorative tag, rather than a real license plate. The second was the cost of the medical equipment, I spent most of my life in the medical equipment industry. If they spent that much on the bed and WC, they got railed. Overall, I recommend seeing it. Another good indicator from me is that I didn't fall asleep. I have a history of dozing off during most movies I see in the theater, even some non stop action/adventure movies. And I was a little concerned since we were going to the 10:20 show after I spent the day swapping a 5 speed into my Legacy.

You're welcome, Hocrest.

Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, no SVXii were harmed in the making of this movie. We did, however, do in a Kia!

The dealer tag was intentional. The dealer's name was Jay Austin Motors, which was the name of the car dealer in our first film, Flywheel. Probably should have been on the front. I'm with you on that medical supplies thing- I know nothing about that stuff, but it sounded wrong.

Anyone catch the other car geek trivia thing yet? Hint: it's in the wreck scene, and it shows clearly in the trailer.

Salanis:

I don't think you can be accommodated. You are asking for "Christian movies with broader appeal", yet you admit you are "clearing not the target audience for this movie", presumably because of the message, and the fact that you are not entertained by this particular message.

If the "preachy" stuff was entirely gone, it wouldn't be Christian (it would probably be labeled "family oriented").

I'm thinking that we probably didn't make this movie for the purpose of entertaining you, and I'm OK with that. If you gave it a chance, I might be more interested in your criticisms, and you might find something of value in the message.

But if your viewpoint is that you are "clearing not the target audience for this movie", because you are pre-disposed to believe that the message won't be entertaining enough, then our conversation is probably over.

I offered the tickets. I'd have considered it an honor to receive your constructive criticism if you had taken me up on my offer.

SVreX wrote: I'm thinking that we probably didn't make this movie for the purpose of entertaining you, and I'm OK with that. If you gave it a chance, I might be more interested in your criticisms, and you might find something of value in the message.

Fair enough. You had a definite target audience, which I'm not a part of. You clearly did very very well with your target audience. Good on you all.

I just wanted to raise the question of, whether or not a religious (specifically Christian) movie can appeal to a broader audience and still actually be a Christian/Religious movie. As you stated, probably not.

I don't know. I still think there's a way for religious works to have broader appeal. I love sacred works of classical music. I don't think you need to be a Christian to enjoy Charleton Heston movies.

There was a good article about the film in the Macon paper last week; glad to see it's receiving good reviews.

the church i went to on sunday was using bits for their series... i knew i knew the name but couldn't recall why :)... i'll see it when it get released... look forward to seeing you're work paul :)

FWIW, I was listening to Mark Richt on AM750 last night, and the interviewer asked him what he did with UGA's off-week this Saurday. Said he saw Fireproof, and said it was great.

saw your movies banner ads listed as being good on the

"make the logo bigger blog" but I've lost the link.