“Fireproof” Follow-Up

I never saw “Fireproof” but I know a few people that did and they all seemed to like it. Maybe a little too earnest and not heavy on artistry but it had a lot of good messages from what I hear. And hey, it made $33 million and it was made for $500,000 so guess what’s next? More. And that’s probably a good thing.

The makers of the surprise hit Fireproof will produce a film about fatherhood as their follow-up to the top independent movie release of 2008.
Officials for Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga.—where Fireproof and their earlier films were created–made the announcement during Sunday night’s church service, which drew Christian media members who were flown in for the event.

“The title is one word: Courageous,” said Fireproof Director Alex Kendrick, who will also direct the new film. “[It’s about] four fathers who are all in law enforcement—who protect and serve together—[and] go through a terrible tragedy. They begin looking at their role as fathers … and they begin challenging one another to fulfill God’s intention for fathers.”

I know that after “Fireproof” a lot of people said that this would change the movie industry because it made so much money. But the truth is that Hollywood’s first priority isn’t money. It’s advancing their agenda. They’ve made that clear.

So I kinda’ like the idea of just doing an end-run around Hollywood and trying to make movies and take it right to the people. It will be interesting to watch how this turns out.