We have great heroes of the faith. The well to draw stories from should be deep.
Just the martyrs under Soviet rule in the 20th Century should give enough stories for several movies. Tell the stories of the people from Rod Dreher’s “Live Not By Lies”!
It is not only a Hollywood problem, but instead primarily a theological problem.
Suffering doesn’t sell. (That isn’t “winning”).
And redemption is seen as a quick fix prayer, not as a lifelong path of repentance. That is why we get two dimensional characters. Because for many it is, unfortunately, a two dimensional faith.
Plus many evangelicals won’t go see a Catholic or Orthodox hero in a movie no matter what the story. Several evangelicals I know don’t even consider Catholics and Orthodox to be Christians, and their churches send missionary teams to Eastern Europe and Greece. That megachurch couple that you mentioned as the perfect audience may feel the same way.
It almost seems like they have no idea what they're doing - like Hollywood. We took the kids to see Homestead. It was a complete mess of a movie. Even worse, going in I had no idea that it was basically just a long commercial for a series that you have to pay for.
This is very well put. It kind of breaks my heart because I'm trying to start a publishing company for conservatives and we have our first book - and I think Christian people would love it - but I have no idea how to get the word out there.
I was a Guild member last year. Two other movies that came out during that period were "Sight" and "Sound of Hope." I think the latter especially should appeal to Mike and Jamie. Could you please comment on that?
Though I didn't participate in it, Guild members are to vote on greenlighting new projects. I would hope that that would keep Angel Studios on track to produce films and shows that appeal to Mike and Jamie. It would seem that either Guild members approve of the direction that Angel Studios is going, having greenlit these projects, or they don't have that much say after all.
Very good expose. I wasn't aware that Angel Studios and The Chosen had a split. Anyways, I'm getting really nervous about the company's direction. Cabrini really left a bad taste in my mouth and I hadn't watched a movie of theirs since but I've heard troubling things about Bonhoeffer. And the Afghan girlpower nonsense makes me wonder if this is deliberate sabotage (lol).
I had an experience with Angel Studios three years ago, and one thing that struck me was that, while their business model is innovative and sound, they can’t seem to think outside the box and gatekeep even worse than Hollywood.
I brought them a fully developed project—a crowd-pleaser designed to resonate with audiences over 30, whether centrist, conservative, heck, even non woke liberal. It was low-cost to produce and came with a teaser to showcase its potential.
Instead of recognizing it for what it was, their bureaucratic mindset took over. They dismissed it the moment they realized it was secular, claiming it didn’t “carry the light.” They even suggested I create what they call a “torch,” despite the project being more than ready for principal funding.
Fast forward to today, and I read articles like yours. Honestly, I’m not surprised. It’s a shame because there’s a massive, untapped market—untold riches just waiting to be explored—and yet no one seems willing to take the leap.
Thoughtful piece. I've watched most of Chosen, and enjoyed it. Haven't watched any of the others mostly because I have very little confidence in film by anyone. There are so many great stories to be told that don't require full frontal nudity, constant Fbombs, blood spatters or wokisms that one might think a talented group of filmsters could make a true killing. The secular world doesn't have much to offer, the field is open.
The thing about the Afghan girls movie, which is probably anodyne as far as values go, is that...it isn't a happy story anymore. I keep an ear to the ground and the Taliban has done more than prohibit women from going to school, they can't even talk to each other. I wouldn't be surprised to know any real girls that movie is based on are dead.
Angel Studios productions always feel so sterile, so careful. Sound of Freedom pushed it- though there's no discussion that these kids are deeply damaged, probably for the rest of their lives-but they've backed off that in most other things I've seen. If that story about the Afghani girls is trying to tell a true-to-life story, I don't think they've got the chutzpah. Faith-based studios get a reputation for this kind of sterility and caution even to their grittiness, a sort of unreal feeling. Some of those movies are genuinely good, but reputation matters. Many saints are martyrs, some great quests fail, some struggles leave horrible scars, and I think that's what Christian film-goers want to see because that's our experience as human beings. I think it's what has evangelical power, too. Passion of the Christ works because it didn't flinch.
What a bunch of biased garbage. Bonhoeffer was amazing. It's core message was about standing up for injustice, no matter what it costs or how hard it is. That film is extremely relevant in our current time. Homestead was about hope and faith in God and his plan. Jesus was a refugee in Egypt as a baby. Jesus preached to love our neighbors, not just the "legal" ones or the ones that were part of the prepper community in the movie. As a conservative Christian myself, I'm not sure how that is against Christian values. If you think those movies were against Christian values, I politely advise you to look again at what Jesus preached and how he lived his life.
I caught you on Isaac Simpson’s podcast, really good convo. I’m curious about the size of the guild when Sound of Freedom was made, compared to after it’s success. Seems like the bigger the guild grew, the harder it became to get consensus on good projects (or almost impossible). It would be interesting to know the guild’s demographics. I wonder how many members are from churches that fly rainbow flags and care most about inclusivity. I can’t help but think it’s been infiltrated by libs.
Very good article overall, but you have some problems. Sound of Freedom has proven to be a false "true story". The real Tim Ballard has been indicted by the Feds for trafficking himself. Further he has a cocaine and alcohol problem. Bonhoeffer conspired to kill Hitler? Where is your proof of that? Bonhoeffer had some tertiary knowledge of the plot but was not involved in anyway in it. The Bonhoeffer family has denounced the film as false history and a smear of Bonhoeffer himself. I agree we need more Christian theme films, but not garbage that Angel has been pumping out.
I think what is happening here is that they’re not sticking to their brand or they don’t even know what their brand is. Do they serve God or do they serve the main stream? Who’s their message for? If they think that any form of feminism or something that touches on it is something that God wants, they haven’t been paying attention. TV has been filled with all girl stuff (kick the guys out), and it doesn’t work for a reason because they alienate half of their audience. I’m a woman and I positively detest remakes where women replace men. Does nobody have any type of ingenuity where they can come up with a new plot, a new scenario, a new story?
Well said. I have avoided movie theaters for years. But this year I have gone to see both the Bonhoeffer and Homestead films. I did this based on Sound of Freedom and the Chosen series.
Your description of them is entirely correct. Having suffered through the pushy racism theme of Bonhoeffer, and the badly written Homestead, we decided to skip Cabrini and the Muslim girl power flick.
Angel Studios must either recover a love for their base audience or they will of necessity abandon them and go mainstream in the hopes their 😇 name will not hinder them in future endeavors.
A sad but not unexpected state of affairs. Most people and organizations fail to remain true to their core values around the money and influences of Hollywood.
Bonhoeffer should have been a slam dunk.
We have great heroes of the faith. The well to draw stories from should be deep.
Just the martyrs under Soviet rule in the 20th Century should give enough stories for several movies. Tell the stories of the people from Rod Dreher’s “Live Not By Lies”!
It is not only a Hollywood problem, but instead primarily a theological problem.
Suffering doesn’t sell. (That isn’t “winning”).
And redemption is seen as a quick fix prayer, not as a lifelong path of repentance. That is why we get two dimensional characters. Because for many it is, unfortunately, a two dimensional faith.
Plus many evangelicals won’t go see a Catholic or Orthodox hero in a movie no matter what the story. Several evangelicals I know don’t even consider Catholics and Orthodox to be Christians, and their churches send missionary teams to Eastern Europe and Greece. That megachurch couple that you mentioned as the perfect audience may feel the same way.
Its true. Catholic and orthodox heroes aren't really going to sell to an evangelical audience.
It almost seems like they have no idea what they're doing - like Hollywood. We took the kids to see Homestead. It was a complete mess of a movie. Even worse, going in I had no idea that it was basically just a long commercial for a series that you have to pay for.
This is very well put. It kind of breaks my heart because I'm trying to start a publishing company for conservatives and we have our first book - and I think Christian people would love it - but I have no idea how to get the word out there.
I was a Guild member last year. Two other movies that came out during that period were "Sight" and "Sound of Hope." I think the latter especially should appeal to Mike and Jamie. Could you please comment on that?
Though I didn't participate in it, Guild members are to vote on greenlighting new projects. I would hope that that would keep Angel Studios on track to produce films and shows that appeal to Mike and Jamie. It would seem that either Guild members approve of the direction that Angel Studios is going, having greenlit these projects, or they don't have that much say after all.
Sound of hope was awesome. Sight was the worst movie I’ve ever seen.
I definitely think there’s still something there to build on.
Very good expose. I wasn't aware that Angel Studios and The Chosen had a split. Anyways, I'm getting really nervous about the company's direction. Cabrini really left a bad taste in my mouth and I hadn't watched a movie of theirs since but I've heard troubling things about Bonhoeffer. And the Afghan girlpower nonsense makes me wonder if this is deliberate sabotage (lol).
I had an experience with Angel Studios three years ago, and one thing that struck me was that, while their business model is innovative and sound, they can’t seem to think outside the box and gatekeep even worse than Hollywood.
I brought them a fully developed project—a crowd-pleaser designed to resonate with audiences over 30, whether centrist, conservative, heck, even non woke liberal. It was low-cost to produce and came with a teaser to showcase its potential.
Instead of recognizing it for what it was, their bureaucratic mindset took over. They dismissed it the moment they realized it was secular, claiming it didn’t “carry the light.” They even suggested I create what they call a “torch,” despite the project being more than ready for principal funding.
Fast forward to today, and I read articles like yours. Honestly, I’m not surprised. It’s a shame because there’s a massive, untapped market—untold riches just waiting to be explored—and yet no one seems willing to take the leap.
We should connect.
Sure. Feel free to touch base at, philg.film at the Gmail dot com
Marcellino, this was good. Did you see my essay about Angel and their marketing last year? https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/angel-studios-hype/
Looks like the site is down. Can you send to me in doc form or something? I'd love to read it.
Sorry, our hosting company is having issues this afternoon. Should be back up soon.
Thoughtful piece. I've watched most of Chosen, and enjoyed it. Haven't watched any of the others mostly because I have very little confidence in film by anyone. There are so many great stories to be told that don't require full frontal nudity, constant Fbombs, blood spatters or wokisms that one might think a talented group of filmsters could make a true killing. The secular world doesn't have much to offer, the field is open.
The thing about the Afghan girls movie, which is probably anodyne as far as values go, is that...it isn't a happy story anymore. I keep an ear to the ground and the Taliban has done more than prohibit women from going to school, they can't even talk to each other. I wouldn't be surprised to know any real girls that movie is based on are dead.
Angel Studios productions always feel so sterile, so careful. Sound of Freedom pushed it- though there's no discussion that these kids are deeply damaged, probably for the rest of their lives-but they've backed off that in most other things I've seen. If that story about the Afghani girls is trying to tell a true-to-life story, I don't think they've got the chutzpah. Faith-based studios get a reputation for this kind of sterility and caution even to their grittiness, a sort of unreal feeling. Some of those movies are genuinely good, but reputation matters. Many saints are martyrs, some great quests fail, some struggles leave horrible scars, and I think that's what Christian film-goers want to see because that's our experience as human beings. I think it's what has evangelical power, too. Passion of the Christ works because it didn't flinch.
What a bunch of biased garbage. Bonhoeffer was amazing. It's core message was about standing up for injustice, no matter what it costs or how hard it is. That film is extremely relevant in our current time. Homestead was about hope and faith in God and his plan. Jesus was a refugee in Egypt as a baby. Jesus preached to love our neighbors, not just the "legal" ones or the ones that were part of the prepper community in the movie. As a conservative Christian myself, I'm not sure how that is against Christian values. If you think those movies were against Christian values, I politely advise you to look again at what Jesus preached and how he lived his life.
What about Angel Studios's other venture: Dry Bar Comedy?
I caught you on Isaac Simpson’s podcast, really good convo. I’m curious about the size of the guild when Sound of Freedom was made, compared to after it’s success. Seems like the bigger the guild grew, the harder it became to get consensus on good projects (or almost impossible). It would be interesting to know the guild’s demographics. I wonder how many members are from churches that fly rainbow flags and care most about inclusivity. I can’t help but think it’s been infiltrated by libs.
Very good article overall, but you have some problems. Sound of Freedom has proven to be a false "true story". The real Tim Ballard has been indicted by the Feds for trafficking himself. Further he has a cocaine and alcohol problem. Bonhoeffer conspired to kill Hitler? Where is your proof of that? Bonhoeffer had some tertiary knowledge of the plot but was not involved in anyway in it. The Bonhoeffer family has denounced the film as false history and a smear of Bonhoeffer himself. I agree we need more Christian theme films, but not garbage that Angel has been pumping out.
Sad.
I think what is happening here is that they’re not sticking to their brand or they don’t even know what their brand is. Do they serve God or do they serve the main stream? Who’s their message for? If they think that any form of feminism or something that touches on it is something that God wants, they haven’t been paying attention. TV has been filled with all girl stuff (kick the guys out), and it doesn’t work for a reason because they alienate half of their audience. I’m a woman and I positively detest remakes where women replace men. Does nobody have any type of ingenuity where they can come up with a new plot, a new scenario, a new story?
Well said. I have avoided movie theaters for years. But this year I have gone to see both the Bonhoeffer and Homestead films. I did this based on Sound of Freedom and the Chosen series.
Your description of them is entirely correct. Having suffered through the pushy racism theme of Bonhoeffer, and the badly written Homestead, we decided to skip Cabrini and the Muslim girl power flick.
Angel Studios must either recover a love for their base audience or they will of necessity abandon them and go mainstream in the hopes their 😇 name will not hinder them in future endeavors.
A sad but not unexpected state of affairs. Most people and organizations fail to remain true to their core values around the money and influences of Hollywood.