Fireproof movie Garners Multiple Endorsements from Marriage Advocates
ALBANY, Ga., March 27, 2008 - "Fireproof," the new action/relationship film from the creators of "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel," releases this September from Sherwood Pictures and Provident Films. Already the movie is uniting marriage advocates from across the U.S.
National groups such as Focus on the Family, Outreach, FamilyLife, The Marriage CoMission, America's Family Coaches, AMFM, Marriage Alive Communications, and MarriageToday endorse the movie and are urging their constituencies to see it. Influencers such as marriage expert Gary Smalley and Bubba Cathy of Chick-fil-A are also working to spread the word.
It's no secret that U.S. marriages are in crisis. The U.S. Census Bureau and marriage organizations vary on the stats but agree that nearly half of all weddings lead to divorce—with rates highest in the Bible belt. Some 25 percent of U.S. adults divorce at least once; and given the abundance of poor marriages, many couples skip it outright.
"Fireproof" mirrors the problems of many marriages, in this case through a firefighter whose high-stress job spills into his home life. Hitting on pain points common to married life—from indifference to insults to emotional affairs and internet porn—the story opens with a couple's disintegration.
"Most movies are about relationships that lead to marriage," Michael Catt, of Sherwood Pictures said. "'Fireproof' picks up seven years into a marriage headed for divorce. And the question is: Can a cold marriage revive? Why stay together?"
Given that firefighters have one of the nation's highest divorce rates, "Fireproof" also has the support of many firefighters and related organizations. John White, former head of the Los Angeles Fire Department's Search & Rescue Team, is urging firefighters across the country to see it.
A Sampling of Endorsements...
Bubba Cathy, Chick-fil-A:
For more information about "Fireproof," how individuals and organizations can get involved, and in what theaters the movie will open, stay current with www.FireprooftheMovie.com
National groups such as Focus on the Family, Outreach, FamilyLife, The Marriage CoMission, America's Family Coaches, AMFM, Marriage Alive Communications, and MarriageToday endorse the movie and are urging their constituencies to see it. Influencers such as marriage expert Gary Smalley and Bubba Cathy of Chick-fil-A are also working to spread the word.It's no secret that U.S. marriages are in crisis. The U.S. Census Bureau and marriage organizations vary on the stats but agree that nearly half of all weddings lead to divorce—with rates highest in the Bible belt. Some 25 percent of U.S. adults divorce at least once; and given the abundance of poor marriages, many couples skip it outright.
"Fireproof" mirrors the problems of many marriages, in this case through a firefighter whose high-stress job spills into his home life. Hitting on pain points common to married life—from indifference to insults to emotional affairs and internet porn—the story opens with a couple's disintegration.
"Most movies are about relationships that lead to marriage," Michael Catt, of Sherwood Pictures said. "'Fireproof' picks up seven years into a marriage headed for divorce. And the question is: Can a cold marriage revive? Why stay together?"
Given that firefighters have one of the nation's highest divorce rates, "Fireproof" also has the support of many firefighters and related organizations. John White, former head of the Los Angeles Fire Department's Search & Rescue Team, is urging firefighters across the country to see it.
A Sampling of Endorsements...
Bubba Cathy, Chick-fil-A:
"Since I had the privilege of visiting the 'Fireproof' set, I've been this movie's biggest fan. On top of a powerful message and the potential to change lives and marriages, this is one great movie!"Scott Evans, Founder and CEO, Outreach, Inc:
"We all know marriages inside and outside the church are in trouble. Fireproof the movie finally provides the church a powerful and relevant way to address the need and provide hope and healing through Jesus Christ. I would encourage every church to do a Fireproof Your Marriage message series and outreach."Dr. Jeff S. Fray, Chair, The Marriage CoMission:
"The time has come in America when the devastating impact of divorce and the breakdown of the family are un-masked. [This movie's] challenge to 'never leave your partner behind' brings to us a dramatic experience of the power of sacrifice and forgiveness in restoring hope for a strong, lifelong marriage. I expect this film will save marriages that are faltering, enrich good marriages, and give all viewers more confidence that great marriages can be a reality."Bob Waliszewski, Director, Focus on the Family's Plugged In
"[After] a few days of filming, I was most impressed with how [directors] Alex and Stephen [Kendrick] began the day with prayer and a short teaching from the scriptures. The clips have gotten me excited about the potential of this film, first, to present the Gospel, second, to give hope to struggling marriages. And third, to say to those struggling with addictions that the cycle can be broken."Dennis Rainey, President, of FamilyLife
"'Fireproof' is going to do more than entertain and stir hearts when it comes to movie theaters (this fall). This is a movie that will impact couples in a profound way for decades to come."Sherwood's aim to "reach the world from Albany, GA" rides on first-rate entertainment packing powerful messages. Its first movie, "Flywheel," explored business integrity. "Facing the Giants" tackled personal fear and failure. Now "Fireproof" asks what makes a true hero. "This movie is about fireproofing your most important earthly relationship," Executive Producer Jim McBride said. "Our hope and prayer is that people will be touched by the story of Caleb and Catherine and commit to fireproofing their marriages—no matter what state those marriages are currently in."
For more information about "Fireproof," how individuals and organizations can get involved, and in what theaters the movie will open, stay current with www.FireprooftheMovie.com
Comments
My name is Monique & I'm part of the PR team for Sherwood Pictures--creators of FACING THE GIANTS.
Thank you so much for supporting the movie on your blog! We wanted to keep you informed of their latest project--FIREPROOF.
It's due to hit theaters this September in theaters nationwide. You can go to www.fireproofthemovie.com to view the trailer, ready the synopsis, and sign up for updates to stay up to date with all of the FIREPROOF happenings! If you're interested in learning more or need any resource, pictures, and downloads for your blog please email me at monique@lovell-fairchild.com and I will be happy to get you what you need.
Again, thanks for blogging!
Monique
Lovell-Fairchild Communications
Would you post "Sparking Interest" on Godtube so I can embed it on my blog and share with others.
Thanks
Craig
on:
If non-Christians are the target audience then I'm baffled as to what on earth the producers
think is going to be the appeal here.
If Christians are the audience then I'm baffled as to what on earth the producers think is
going to be the appeal here.
The promoters of this film are constantly sending out e-mails BEGGING people to buy hundreds
(or thousands) of tickets so that the movie will have a good opening weekend. I suppose they realized that this thing ain't gonna sell itself. Churches have better things to spend money and time on than paying for otherwise empty seats just because these people made a crappy movie.
Christians need to realize that supporting a movie just because other Christians made it is really lame. Then again, I guess if you're the type of person who buys into the crock message in FACING THE GIANTS (the misguided notion that you'll get anything and everything you want if you just pray for it) then there's really no getting through to you.
And now to save you the trauma of sitting through anything longer than the trailer:
FIREPROOF is a movie about a fireman who... are you ready? NEVER FIGHTS A FIRE. The most harrowing act of bravery is right there in the trailer... they move a car off of the railroad tracks. Other than that, Kirk Cameron crawls under a house to escape a fire, but that's about it.
As for the whole marriage problem... it pretty much falls apart because Kirk is pissed that
his wife didn't make dinner. I kid you not. That is what this entire movie rides on. The
woman didn't cook. Sadly, this isn't played for laughs. We're supposed to take it ever so
seriously.
A couple days later Kirk gets mad because the wife ate all pizza before he got home from not
fighting fires all day. Kirk erupts in a violent bout of acting, the likes of which I hope
to never see again, as he spews forth anger at this woman who dared to not make him dinner
or save him a slice of supreme. That's the basis of their marital troubles.
Don't worry about the fact that Kirk is a fireman and there are actually scenes showing him
cooking and eating at the firehouse. He wants more food and he wants it now! Given the
physical aspects of his wife I'm doubtful that she wolfed down an entire Chicago style all by her lonesome... but it's easier to write a couple of fights about food than to come up with something substantial and compelling, right? I mean, so few people actually have marital troubles that you can't exactly do a bit of research and find some real-life inspiration. It's like a bad episode of the Honeymooners... although making any sort of comparison to FIREPROOF and The Honeymooners (or ANY other movie or TV show) is rather disrespectful of the Honeymooners (or ANY other movie or TV show).
That doesn't even matter... plot holes I can handle. Unexplained story elements I can forgive. Cheesy pointless setup that is supposed to provide the basis of an entire feature length film? No thank you.
The most unforgivable offense is the introduction of the "Love Dare" book... a diary that Kirk's father gives him that basically lists 40 nice things for him to do for his wife. It's nothing interesting or earth-shattering. Simple stuff, like make her coffee or dinner or pay her a compliment. To keep the movie from ending, Kirk's wife reacts negatively to the nice gestures and proceeds to start up an affair with a co-worker. We never see them physically involved, but the signs are there. He gives her cards and flowers, etc. Don't worry though... it's totally glossed over. It would make too much sense for that to actually become an issue, right? Focus on the food! We see more evidence of her having an affair than we do of Kirk's character supposedly looking at porn on the internet.
The filmmakers (dare I call them that??) don't really show the computer screen, so it takes a while to figure out that Kirk has a porn addiction. It was tossed in like an afterthought.
BIG MARITAL PROBLEM = NO DINNER.
TINY MARITAL PROBLEM = HUSBAND ADDICTED TO PORN.
It's absolutely baffling why KIRK'S WIFE IS STARTING AN AFFAIR WITH A CO-WORKER doesn't even equal TINY MARITAL PROBLEM.
All that to say that by the end of the movie wifey finally forgives Kirksey, even though he's the bad guy... and she NEVER EVEN APOLOGIZES for trying to hook up with the dude at work!!! Oh sure, Kirk goes and threatens to punch the guy (oh no!!), but then he never says a word about it to the wife. The whole thing comes across as her having had every right to start looking for love elsewhere. After all, her husband yelled at her for eating all the pizza!!
Throw in a few scenes of Kirk and his dad walking around some random woods where there happens to be a cross and I guess you've got all the requirements for a truly horrible movie that makes Christians look like pansies.
As if the movie wasn't silly enough, a representative from Provident Films (the distribution
arm of Sony Pictures for this movie) had the audacity to stand up at the end and announce to the audience that the filmmakers had decided to actually write this fictional "Love Dare" plot device and sell it in the form of an actual book.
If you realize nothing else, realize this: the entire sham of a film that is FIREPROOF exists solely to sell a book that did not even come into being until after someone made a movie where this book magically saves a marriage, except it really doesn't. What the filmmakers apparently want you to do is throw down ten bucks to see this movie where they prove the book works, then get you to go out and buy it to save your own marriage... which I suppose just might work... as long as your marital problems don't extend beyond the simple question of WHY DID YOU EAT ALL MY PIZZA, WOMAN?!?!
A extremely well written book by a Pastor working through the issues of Marriage Divorce Re-Marriage
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