“Miracles from Heaven” is the latest attempt by Hollywood to reach an audience that historically has been either ignored or, in some instances, insulted: moviegoers who are devoutly Christian.
These so-called “faith-based” movies are now coming out a little more regularly. Some of the titles — most notably, Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” — have been hugely successful at the box office.
The latest entry in the genre is “Miracles from Heaven.” The movie, based on a real story, stars Jennifer Garner as the mother of a young girl who may be dying from a stomach ailment. But when the girl falls and is knocked unconscious, she has some sort of religious experience.
The movie grossed an estimated $15 million in its opening weekend, a very solid debut for a movie that cost about $13 million to make.
“Miracles from Heaven” was produced by Devon Franklin, a former studio executive at Sony, which financed and distributed the film. Franklin spoke with The Frame's John Horn.
Interview Highlights:
How do your job as a preacher and your job as a Hollywood producer complement one other?
So much of the foundation of our faith is based upon storytelling. You look at how Jesus ministered, so much of his ministry was through parables, which are stories. So that foundation is sometimes overlooked and, for me, it's really about if I'm preaching a sermon or I'm writing a book or I'm making a film, at the end of the day it's like, What's the story you're involving in? How can they see themselves in the story and how is the resolution going to impact them when they leave? They're a lot more intertwined than they may seem on the surface. For me, if was really about not feeling like I had to choose ... The more I began to embrace who I was, I began to find the power in blending it all together.
How did you find your way in this business that's known to be hostile to religion?
It began, first and foremost, about being passionate about being in film. When I was 18 years old I got an internship for Will Smith at his management company. I wanted to make films, I wanted to be a producer, and what I realized in that internship was that in order for me to be successful, I have to serve. It was an unpaid internship at the time, no one was paying me any attention, I'm just the little intern from USC. But what I realized was, if I can create value for the people who I'm working for, then I will have an opportunity to get more in exchange from them. I would make sure I remembered coffee orders, I would go around and ask people what did they have to file. So the more that I practice service, the more opportunity I got. The more opportunity I got, I was able to get further in the business. Once I got to the studio, that same service mentality is what helped me ascend ... The more I did the job, the commitment to service and the quality of the work is what made people open to embracing where that came from, which is my commitment to my faith.
Why is it considered unpopular to be open about faith in Hollywood?
So much of faith in Hollywood is viewed through a political lens. But at the end of the day, faith in and of itself is not political. Because it's viewed politically, it's not popular if you say you have faith because the perception is that means you're evangelical, you're a right-wing person, you're a Republican, and that's not true at all. Part of the challenge and the opportunity for me was doing the work, making sure that I was being a student of entertainment and trying to be of service, and owning who I was. The first movie I worked on for Sony was "Pursuit of Happyness." I created a marketing campaign on how to take that message of inspiration and translate it to a core faith audience that would receive that message. The movie came out and it ended up doing $160 million domestic, almost as much as "Casino Royale" that year, it was almost like the business plan of authenticity and owning who I was was proof. So it was a combination of all those things that laid a foundation for me to feel good about being who I was and not being afraid of that.
You observe the Sabbath, meaning you don't work from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. So what if there's an issue on [a movie] set Friday night? Do you just not show up?
I will not come. Every job that I've taken, Sabbath observance is very important to my faith, so Friday night at sundown to Saturday night sundown I don't work. And every job, before I take it, I let them know about the commitment. If ever there's been a conflict, it's not really a conflict, because I just say I can't do it. Every movie that I've worked on as an executive, the grosses come out Friday night. I turn off my phone. I don't know what happens until I turn my phone back on Saturday after the sun goes down. I don't compromise. If you don't set boundaries about what's important, especially in this industry, you won't have any boundaries ... I tell people, If that means losing the job, then [so be it]. I don't need it that badly.
What are your thoughts on the term "faith-based movies?"?
I'm so glad you're bringing this up. The faith-based idea, or title or whatever you want to call it, it's something I always struggle with. The stories that I'm drawn to are good stories, they do involve faith, but "Star Wars" involved faith. What has happened now is that "faith-based" has been kind of molded into a genre, it's like code for lower-budgeted Christian material that seems to preach to the choir. So I look at faith very broadly, and my desire and passion is to make stories that are universal and accessible that can still be authentic to their roots.