Mandie and the Secret Tunnel

The producers of The Sugar Creek Gang movie series are now producing movies based on the popular Mandie book series. "Mandie and the Secret Tunnel," now in post production, stars Dean Jones (The Love Bug) and Lexi Johnson (Sugar Creek Gang).

Now Available: The Heartwood Dagger DVD

Many will remember this movie from the 2006 SAICFF. What you may not know is that the producers re-edited the movie to cut out bad acting and strengthen the film overall. I have to tell you that this version is much improved over the original! It's a good story and a solid message.

The Heartwood Dagger is available at BiblicalWorldviewMedia.com and ChristianBook.com. More retailers will be carrying this film soon.

Changing the film industry

I found an interesting article about George Escobar and what he is doing to change the film industry by training up a new generation of Christian filmmakers. His upcoming movie, Come What May is premiering at Patrick Henry College on September 6th.

Movie with a Message
by Chris Graham

It’s not just slasher movies and "American Pie." I think conservatives have a point that the movies that we see playing at the multiplex every weekend are pushing the envelope quite a bit. Even supposedly family-friendly movies feature language and situations that I don’t know that I feel comfortable exposing to kids, inured as they might be given what they can access on the cable or satellite at home.

Which is why I admire George Escobar for what he’s trying to do. Because every time I hear from a conservative friend about “the liberal media” or what they perceive as the heathenistic Hollywood, my response is something along the lines of, Pick up your mat, dust it off, and dedicate yourself to doing something about it.

“There are legions of Christians in the film industry and television industry, but we’re just not breaking into the ranks of the big-budget movies that Hollywood can entrust us with. And the only folks to blame there are us Christians. What is it that we’re doing that is not allowing us to get there?” said Escobar, the principal in the startup Advent Film Group based in Purcellville that produced a stirring first feature film, “Come What May,” which follows the story of a young Patrick Henry College student debater and his lawyer mother as each prepares for their own cases involving parental-notification laws.

Read the rest of the article here.

Review of Pilgrim's Progress movie

I just came across an insightful review of the new Pilgrim's Progress movie. The reviewer was Ethan Ledden of Filmweavers. I must say this looks like an interesting movie that might be worth watching. Take special note of what he says about the movie trailer.

Here are some excerpts from the review...

The film isn't an attempt to tell the whole Pilgrim's Progress story directly from the book but more to communicate the same basic story drastically cut down and still have it make sense. The format uses a combination of narration and acting which...I felt fit quite nicely what they were trying to do. It also uses a modern twist on the environment which I was skeptical of to be honest but in the end it really didn't come across "cheesy" as I thought it might.

...let me say if you saw the trailer and were turned off by it you might consider giving it another chance. The trailer was in my opinion pretty bad. It looked grade C. (cheesy) It may have lowered my expectations so much that when I saw the film itself I liked it. I'm not sure. Bottom line is the trailer didn't do it justice.

Cinematographer James Burgess pulled off some pretty nice camera work and lighting for this film. Once again let me say the trailer didn't do any of his work justice. The HVX200's color representation abilities come through very nicely. In addition the color grading on the film which Burgess also did make it all pretty nice to look at.

Read the rest of the review here.

"The Other Son" short film in production

The makers of The White Handkerchief and Angel of Love are producing a short film called The Other Son. The idea was to tell a modern version of the Prodigal Son parable from the perspective of the other son who stayed at home (hence the title).

Check out the official movie website and production blog!

A New Chapter

A new chapter in my career is now beginning. This is the first week of my internship with Franklin Springs Family Media, the producers of quality, God-honoring films for the family.




From their website...

Our vision here is focused squarely on producing original films that provide a picture of the exciting reformation that's happening in families across the country. It's a world of courageous servant/leader fathers, nurturing mothers who embrace the nobility of raising children, and children who embody the joyous adventure of being raised in a unified family.

It will be an honor and a pleasure to assist Franklin Springs Family Media with the distribution and marketing of their films!

For those who may be wondering, I'm not abandoning any of my current duties at SEM Distribution or Biblical Worldview Media. I'll still be here to assist filmmakers with distribution, and to provide quality, biblical worldview resources for Christian families.

Please pray that God would work mightily through my weakness, and that His name would be glorified as I walk in this new adventure!

Blu-ray Sales Up 300%

In the first half of 2008, BluRay discs have sold over $200 million. Here's a recent article on the subject...

Blu-ray Sales Up 300%
July 23, 2008 | by Gordon Jones

First the bad news - the U.S. economy ain't all roses lately. The good news? Home entertainment spending is rolling right along with over $6 billion spent on DVD on Blu-ray discs alone. Add in rentals and that number climbs to over $10 billion. That's quite a relief for industry execs who had braced themselves (and the Blu-ray format) for a rough ride through 2008.

Why the success? Experts suggest that given the high cost of going out (dinner, drinks, movies) the home theater experience has become more attractive and certainly more frugal. "It's a bit reminiscent of the last recession during the '90s, when consumers were also not going out as much and wanted a home entertainment experience," says Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "I think it's extraordinary that the business is holding up this well, given how much of consumers' dollars are being sucked up by increases in gas and food."

Read the rest of the article here.

New Widow's Might website!

Y'all might want to head on over to the new website for The Widow's Might! I know you'd expect me to hype this, but I have to tell ya that it's gonna be a must see movie! Trust me on this one...

John Moore recently revealed this website to his newsletter subscribers. At this point, it's still a work in progress. The official launch of the site will be next week.

John Moore featured on Prime Time America

Moody Radio's Prime Time America recently featured Doug Phillips, who shared his vision for the SAICFF and the Christian Filmmaker's Academy. Prime Time America also brought John Moore into the discussion about Christian filmmaking and the SAICFF. Click here to listen to the program.

John shared about the feeling of community that is fostered at the SAICFF. Filmmakers aren't in bitter competition; they come together and show support for one another. I can personally attest to this fact. It has been delightful to co-labor with John Moore, Colin Gunn, and others in the burgeoning Christian film industry.

Now for an interesting bit of trivia. Did you know that John Moore is the narrator for my film, A Defense of God's Law? Yes, that was "before he was famous." :-)

Top 5 Most Influential People

Have you ever stopped to think about the most influential people in your life? You can tell a lot about a person by looking at who has influenced him or her. Here's a list of some of the people who have influenced me in my Christian walk, my theology, and my business philosophy. I could give you a much longer list, but here's the top 5:

1. My father
2. Doug Phillips
3. William Einwechter
4. Geoff Botkin
5. Ken Ham

I don't know all these men personally, but they have all influenced me in many ways. Who are your top 5?

Heartstrings is still climbing!

Over the past several weeks, I have been watching Siblings: Heartstrings slowly climb the bestseller list at ChristianCinema.com.

In the "Family-Friendly" category, Heartstrings is now #3... right above Facing the Giants!!!

Further comments about Prince Caspian

A few weeks ago, I posted some of my thoughts about the Prince Caspian movie. You can read my comments here.

First of all, I know my position is radical. I realize that many people will not understand my position, and I'm ok with that.

Not surprisingly, my controversial position stirred up some good discussion. I'd like to followup on my previous comments and clarify some things.

My intention in writing that post was simply...

1. To discuss the problems I see with the movie, and
2. To give my reasons for not watching it

My intention was NOT...

1. To condemn everyone who has seen the movie, nor
2. To convince everyone to avoid the movie (though I hoped some would avoid it)

I think the director, Andrew, son of Adam, made some serious mistakes with the film. Because of that (and my current priorities), I don't intend to watch Prince Caspian anytime soon. (That doesn't mean I'll never watch it, by the way.)

Perhaps the main reason I don't want to watch Prince Caspian at this time is because I don't want my hard-earned dollars being used to fund the Hollywood system. I don't want to buy Hollywood films, and I don't want to work with Hollywood at any level.

I know this will be a hard conviction to live by, and there may be times when I'll make an exception to the general rule, but I'm committed to doing everything I can to replace Hollywood with an independent industry.

Finally, I should mention the fact that - despite our difference of opinion on PC - I still consider Josiah to be a close and dear friend. I'll let him speak for himself, but I'm sure we're still good friends.

Thanks for reading!