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.
November 18, 2009 at 4:02 am
Fireproof is really popular around here, especially for "Marriage Enrichment" workshops. Personally, I'll probably never see it… we get to watch so few movies, we don;'t have the time to waste on "Earnest, Well-intentioned, and as well-made as an after-school special."
What I'd like to see is more really great scifi that deals with deeper issues….. So we "Enrich our Marriage" by watching Babylon 5, and now (finally!) Firefly. 😉
But if they want to make another movie, more power to them. I tend to agree with Barbara Nicolosi on these things though— if you're making something good and true, why not take the time and make it BEAUTIFUL, too?
November 18, 2009 at 5:04 am
$500K doesn't buy a lot of BEAUTIFUL these days.
November 18, 2009 at 1:43 pm
It was a sweet movie, and I'm glad I watched it (checked it out from the library). The surprise at the end (and I'm not talking about the part where the husband and wife reconcile and recommit to each other) put a lump in my throat. Low-budget though it may be (and those made-for-TV movies do come to mind while watching it), I consider it worth seeing. That said, I don't feel the need to own a copy. There are precious few movies I will actually buy (and then keep for years and years afterward). This one I might rent again if someone wanted to see it with me, but otherwise, it was an enjoyable one-timer.
November 18, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Deirdre,
I agree with Sarah L. It's worth a watch, if only when you're up with your spouse with a newborn. If you can get it through a library, it's worth a couple of hours (and there are some real funny moments- "TOMATO JUICE!?!")
November 18, 2009 at 10:22 pm
The problem with Fireproof is that artistically it wasn't very good. Better than their first effort, which was basically a sermon filmed. Yes it had solid messages, but Christians should not be promoting something just because it has a good message. It just leaves us in an artistic ghetto that does not make us seem very serious. Kurt Cameron God bless him does his best, but he has made some really bad Christian films.
The Passion of the Christ was great because it was great art. Meaning well is just not good enough for Christian filmmakers – they must be artists first who can craft a story excel at their craft.
November 21, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I liked Fireproof. My husband will be the first to admit I "subjected" him to having to watch it but I had heard so many good things about it that I really wanted to see it. He thought it was as good as the amount of money they put into it, but otherwise, it has good messages that follow many aspects of marriage. HOWEVER… it focuses heavily on the man and what he did in the marriage but does NOTHING about the woman. So when you're trying to fix a marriage, it's not always good to just make one person fix himself in order to fix the marriage, it takes both. And that's the only serious issue I had a problem with for the movie.