Interview: Bishop T.D. Jakes Talks About the New Faith and Family Film Festival

Posted on August 1, 2013 at 8:00 am

Bishop T.D Jakes, who serves on the board of Beliefnet, has added a Faith and Family Film Festival to his inspirational MegaFest gathering, this year taking place in Dallas on August 29-31. Bishop Jakes spoke to me about why film is so important in providing spiritual enlightenment and what his plans are for this inaugural event.

What made you decide to bring movies to MegaFest?

The International Faith and Family Film Festival is one component of MegaFest, a huge event we have every year for families to come and to worship and have an opportunity to go to enrichment classes and more. This year it extends from comedy shows to Oprah’s Life Class on families and fatherhood and how we can strengthen fathers and what women can do when there is no father in the home. We’re covering a wide range of things and in the midst of that is the Faith and Family Film Festival. I’m interested in that because I have a for-profit business that produces faith and family entertainment. Some of the discussions will be about marketing within the faith-based community, the now and future of faith-based films and TV, getting your film and TV production launched, digital filmmaking distribution and marketing. And we’re going to have actors there like Anthony Mackie, Regina King, and a host of others. William Morris, the agency will be there, and Sony Pictures.

What is is about film that connects so powerfully with people?

Christ conveyed truth through the telling of stories. Today we use film to convey stories. We can do it in an entertaining way, a comedic way, a dramatic way and still be able to interject truth and faith so that people are stirred in their thinking and moved to worship and perceive God differently. I realize there are more people in the theater on Friday night than there are in the pews on Sunday morning. If you are going to reach the world, we have to go where the world is.

What films will you be showcasing?

One I am really excited about is “Black Nativity.” I’m serving as a producer on that one. It’s a star-studded cast — Jennifer Hudson, Tyrese, Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett. Jennifer Hudson will be at the MegaFest event. We’re so excited about that film, which will be out for the holiday season. We have a film about Winnie Mandela, the love story of Winnie and Nelson with the background of apartheid. Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard star in that one and it will debut at the festival. My company with Sony is working on “Heaven is for Real,” shooting now in Canada, based on the book about the child who came out of an operation and said he had been to heaven and had all of this information he would have no way of knowing. That will be out at Easter time, but there will be a sneak peek of it at the festival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzr0wUqhAz0

Why is it so hard for Hollywood to get the message that there is an audience for uplifting films?

I think they are starting to get it. But it is true that there are people in some of those top offices there who are out of touch with mainstream America. It’s an education process. But when you see the success of “The Bible,” quadrupling the ratings at the History Channel — Hollywood is starting to get the message. That begins to tug on their hearts. When people like Tyler Perry and I interweave faith into our movies, it has been very, very well-received. This is an opportunity for us to let Hollywood know that we are here. And we will develop entertainment that is suitable for the audiences who will support that entertainment.

What kind of turnout are you expecting?

This is our first event in Dallas, so we do not know, but in Atlanta we had over 290,000 people and broke all records over the two years we were there. Thousands of people from all over the world have already registered. Where else can you go in the world and see that many people with their families sharing their faith? And faith is infectious. When you see others, it stirs your faith as well.

What movie spoke to you when you were growing up?

This really dates me. “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston, sitting in front of the TV set, going “ooo” and “ahh.” I remember “Imitation of Life.” We watched it every year and my father would get teary-eyed. That was a rare thing! I would love to get the rights to do a remake. It tears your heart. It shows the importance of family. I think you learn as much from people’s struggles, maybe more, than you do from their successes. The real strength of the power of God is the struggles that we have in life and how we overcome them.

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Comic-Con 2013: Jeff Bridges, The Black Panel, Godzilla, the Winner Twins, and Irwin Keyes

Posted on July 24, 2013 at 7:35 pm

Comic-Con is all about the new and surprising, but I’ve come to look forward to some things that I especially enjoy every year. One is The Black Panel, and this year was one of the best, with Comic-Con’s best panel moderator (they should call him an “immoderator”), Michael Davis. “showcases those who are doing notable work in film, TV, comics, music, etc. The secondary focus (just as, if not more important) is to reach out to as many young creators of color (and all young creators who strive for a way in) and give them access to those who have made a contribution. It’s been mentioned above but bears repeating, Black culture IS young culture.” Wayne Brady, Orlando Jones, John Jennings, David Walker, Tatiana El-Khouri, and others talked about their pet projects and their reactions to and interactions with the mainstream media. One theme that came through even more strongly than usual this year — do not wait for anyone to give you permission (or money). Tell your story and create your art.

I always enjoy catching up with character actor Irwin Keyes, who has appeared in everything from “The Jeffersons” (six episodes) to films by the Coen Brothers and Rob Zombie. This year, he demonstrated his “horror laugh” and posed for a picture with me.

It is always a blast to hear about upcoming films, especially in the smaller press conferences rather than the cavernous Hall H. Sandra Bullock and director Alfonso Cuarón told us about “Gravity,” a stunning new film about two astronauts who are cut loose in space when their space station explodes. Bryan Cranston Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olson, and director Gareth Edwards talked about the challenges of green screen acting and balancing the spectacle and the story in their remake of “Godzilla.” And Jeff Bridges read a passage from The Gulag Archipelago to tell us what inspired him to join the cast of a sword and sorcery epic called “Seventh Son.”

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

We also heard about the prequel to “300,” “Rise of an Empire,” with a script co-written the original’s director, Zach Snyder. Noam Murro took over directing duties, bringing back Rodrigo Santoro and adding newcomers Eva Green and Sullivan Stapleton. This one will keep “the DNA” of the original but will focus on naval battles. Green told us she was relieved not to be playing “the love interest or a boring girlfriend” in her first full-on action role.

And I always love catching up with my friends Brianna and Brittany Winner. They are 18 now, terrifically imaginative writers with many exciting projects. They ran a writing workshop that was tremendously inspiring and very informative. And just plain fun.

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Comic-Con 2013: Costumes

Posted on July 21, 2013 at 5:10 pm

I love the costumes at Comic-Con. They are colorful expressions of enthusiasm and personality. And I believe they are what financial types call a leading indicator of the popularity of particular movies, games, and television shows.

This year, I noticed fewer Jokers and Watchmen than in the past. In honor of the big 50th anniversary celebration, there were many Dr. Whos (mostly men) and TARDIS phone booths (mostly women). And there were more minions! The “Despicable Me” characters who look like oblong marshmallow peeps are very popular. My two favorites: the harem girl superheroes (this year’s version of last year’s Playboy Bunny Avengers) and this tribute to the recent viewer favorite, “Sharknado.”

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Comic-Con 2013: In Which I Get to Hang With Two of My Heroes

Posted on July 20, 2013 at 9:50 am

harrison ford at comic-con Highlights of Comic-Con 2013 so far:

1. The bathrooms here are sponsored by “The Bates Motel” television series, so they are labeled “Norma” and “Norman.”
2. I attended cool behind-the-scenes panels with the composers of superhero movie scores and the production designers and costume illustrators, hearing great details about how movies come together and getting wonderful glimpses of coming attractions.
3. After four years of “Twilight” events, there is a new based-on-a-series saga, “Divergent,” with a new collection of gorgeous 20-something actors.
4. I got to see the Scooby-Doo van and a Batman and Joker made of Legos. I also saw Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Hader, Anna Faris, and Andrew Garfield.
5. I got to sit opposite the gentleman you see above, who was here to talk about the movie that is taking him back to space for the first time since “Revenge of the Jedi.” Major life list item checked off.
6. I didn’t think there was anything more fun than attending panels at Comic-Con, but it turns out that being on a panel is even better, when it includes the fabulous people from Rotten Tomatoes and critics like Leonard Maltin. They passed out paddles with fresh and rotten tomatoes to the audience and they got to debate us on their favorite over- and under-rated films. Then the whole group got to vote fresh or rotten. Many thanks to the amazing Matt Atchity, Grae Drake, Ben Lyons, Scott Mantz, Jim Vejvoda, Jenna Busch, Tim Ryan, and one of my idols, Leonard Maltin.

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Comic-Con 2013: Preview

Posted on July 15, 2013 at 12:00 pm

On Wednesday I’ll be back at Comic-Con! This year’s highlights will include a 50th anniversary tribute to “Dr. Who” and a farewell appearance by “Breaking Bad,” about to start its final season. There will be preview clips from a new 3D Imax concert film starring Metallica. The New York Times calls it “an exercise in controlled chaos.”

Directed by Nimród Antal, known for action thrillers like “Predators” and “Armored,” it was written by members of the band. The film combines video of a Canadian concert, in which stage props and equipment collapsed around them, with a scripted fantasy about a young roadie, played by Dane DeHaan, who skitters through what might be the apocalypse.

There will also be previews from the highly anticipated films based on hugely popular books: “The Mortal Instruments,” “Ender’s Game,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” and “Divergent.” I first heard of “Divergent” in a pre-publication appearance at Comic-Con by author Veronica Roth two years ago. I still remember her telling us that she wrote the book between classes at Northwestern.

I’m really looking forward to the “Veronica Mars” panel — this is the movie that turned Hollywood upside down by being financed through Kickstarter. I’m proud to be a funder. Another movie I contributed to on Kickstarter is “Stripped,” a documentary about comics. Of course, they’ll be there!

I might even find out more about the Lego movie! And you never know who might show up. There’s already a report that Godzilla is on his way to San Diego!

I’m packing my Comic-Con shoes. Can’t wait!

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