FAITH & FAMILY: Kendrick brothers heat up faith-based films

Stephen Kendrick, the film's senior producer and co-writer with his brother Alex, who also directed, downplays the financial success. “When the audience personally experiences what they see on the screen … When people walk out of the theater saying, 'I know what I need to do,' for us, that's success,” says Stephen. “We love people. If we cared about money, we'd make our movies another way.”

But low-budget Fireproof did make money—more than $30 million at the box office, becoming one of only six movies made with a budget of $500,000 or less to reach that figure. (Others include Benji and Napoleon Dynamite.)

And Fireproof's star, Kirk Cameron, has described his role as a Georgia firefighter “the best work of my life.”

Stephen agrees. “Kirk has got a great heart; he's professional and a truly humble gentleman—really a perfect fit for Fireproof.”

Cameron plays a firefighting hero who would never leave a partner behind—except when it comes to his marriage. The film shows how he uses some Christian principles to save his marriage from divorce.

Fireproof was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on DVD Jan. 27, and there was a waiting list for the collector's edition, available exclusively through Christian retailers (Family Christian, LifeWay, Parable) and online outlets (ChristianCinema.com, Christian Book Distributors).

The Kendrick brothers' previous DVD, the 2006 film Facing the Giants, sold out in the first few hours at Wal-Mart and Target. The Facing the Giants DVD topped all Christian entertainment product sales in 2007, and Sherwood Pictures sold 8,500 site licenses for church showings.

The film also did well in theaters. “The production budget ran $100,000 in donations, and the movie made $10.17 million,” Stephen says. “That's a return of 100 times each dollar invested.” The story of how a losing high school football team and its coach (played by Alex Kendrick) learned that “with God, nothing is impossible” also received a No. 1 ranking among limited theatrical releases.

“When people see our movies at the theater, or buy the DVD and watch it, they become compassionate ambassadors,” Stephen explains. “They go back and buy 10 more DVDs to give to friends. Churches buy our movies by the case. Now the DVD has been translated into 14 languages and distributed to 57 countries worldwide.”

The Kendricks, whose production company is an offshoot of the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., are believers in the “nothing is impossible with God” story line of Facing the Giants.

When hopes for a theatrical release of their first film, Flywheel, seemed out of reach, a local theater in Albany premiered the freshly burned DVD.

“Alex and I hadn't even seen the whole film until that night in the theater,” Stephen remembers. “When people got up to leave, they were crying and shaking our hands. The next week, a buyer at Blockbuster saw Flywheel and placed it in stores.”

Facing the Giants, their second film, might have gone straight to DVD. But the Kendricks needed the approval of Provident Label Group to use a Third Day song in a key scene. Though planning to refuse their request, Provident president and CEO Terry Hemmings in Nashville agreed to screen the first 20 minutes on his lunch break, Stephen says. Hemmings ended up watching the entire film, then immediately booked a flight to Albany.

Provident's affiliated company, Sony Pictures Entertainment, recognized the movie's potential, submitted it to the MPAA and planned openings in 441 theaters. A controversy resulted when the board rated Facing the Giants PG, thought to be a caution for its strong faith content. Many in the Kendrick camp thought the film warranted a G. Consequently, Christian media and family groups were motivated to get the word out about the film. Hundreds of support teams bought out early showings, prompting 100 additional openings.

With the success of Giants, and now Fireproof, Stephen and Alex remain modest. “We're just a couple of kids who borrowed a techy neighbor's camera to make home videos instead of writing papers in school,” Stephen says.

Their interest in film led them to create Sherwood Pictures. “In 2001, when we came to serve with senior pastor Michael Catt at Sherwood Baptist in rural southwest Georgia, the soil was just right for a new outreach ministry,” Stephen explains. “The next year, pollster George Barna rated movies and music in the Top 3 ways to influence people, so we knew we had to make a film.”