Titans of the faith-based filmmaking industrial complex they helped to create, Kingdom Story Company founders Andrew and Jon Erwin built their brand on the Christian rock biopics “I Still Believe” and “I Can Only Imagine,” ultra-benign stories of faith, loss, and profit that rely on powerful songwriting to compensate for sermon-like storytelling, and frame their subject’s artistic success as both a testament to their faith and a megaphone for the word of Jesus Christ. Absent the rigor or artistry of secular comps like “Love & Mercy” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (but also absent the Wikipedia-driven ghoulishness of more recent examples like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”), these movies are happy to function as feature-length commercials for the musicians they were made to honor, just as they’re happy to offer halos to the people who inspired them.
That’s a key feature of cinematic evangelism,...
That’s a key feature of cinematic evangelism,...
- 4/25/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Oddly, April is going to be a month full of genre films, but it’s also a month that might make some wonder whether any of the new movies can open with more than $20 million, putting theaters back into the place they were back in January and February. Read on for Gold Derby’s April 2024 box office preview.
“Civil War” (A24 – April 12)
Considering how Alex Garland‘s previous films “Men” and “Annihilation” were received, it’s hard to believe that his edgy political apocalyptic thriller could be one of the biggest movies of this month, but it’s also likely to be A24’s first movie to hit #1 on the weekend after 10 years of releases. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons and Wagner Moura, Garland’s latest premiered at the SXSW Film and TV Festival, where it received mostly positive reviews. With the timeliness of the topic,...
“Civil War” (A24 – April 12)
Considering how Alex Garland‘s previous films “Men” and “Annihilation” were received, it’s hard to believe that his edgy political apocalyptic thriller could be one of the biggest movies of this month, but it’s also likely to be A24’s first movie to hit #1 on the weekend after 10 years of releases. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons and Wagner Moura, Garland’s latest premiered at the SXSW Film and TV Festival, where it received mostly positive reviews. With the timeliness of the topic,...
- 3/28/2024
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Lionsgate has picked up Kingdom Story Company’s Unsung Hero, the directorial debut of Joel Smallbone, one half of the Christian music duo For King + Country.
The drama centers on the Smallbone family, which also includes For King + Country member Luke Smallbone and singer-songwriter Rebecca St. James, as they come to America from their native Australia after the collapse of their father’s successful music company.
The movie also follows the family’s mother, Helen Smallbone (Daisy Betts) as she uses her faith to hold the family of nine together by turning struggles into an adventure for her children. The title for the film comes from a For King + Country song of the same name that was dedicated to the parents of Joel and Luke Smallbone.
Joel Smallbone stars as his father, David Smallbone, with other cast including Kirrilee Berger, Jonathan Jackson, Lucas Black, Candace Cameron Bure, Terry O’Quinn and Hillary Scott.
The drama centers on the Smallbone family, which also includes For King + Country member Luke Smallbone and singer-songwriter Rebecca St. James, as they come to America from their native Australia after the collapse of their father’s successful music company.
The movie also follows the family’s mother, Helen Smallbone (Daisy Betts) as she uses her faith to hold the family of nine together by turning struggles into an adventure for her children. The title for the film comes from a For King + Country song of the same name that was dedicated to the parents of Joel and Luke Smallbone.
Joel Smallbone stars as his father, David Smallbone, with other cast including Kirrilee Berger, Jonathan Jackson, Lucas Black, Candace Cameron Bure, Terry O’Quinn and Hillary Scott.
- 8/1/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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