A financial shift happened with 'Facing the Giants' and 'Fireproof,' where movies that were faith-based films were profitable. And people in Hollywood - like people in downtown U.S.A. - are out to make money.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Entertainment and escapism - those are the bigger money-making films today.
Times change; Hollywood is not the same as it was when I first entered the business. It felt to me like it was starting to narrow down and centralize itself around what would... make money.
I think a lot of Hollywood is in retreat right now trying to figure out how to make money and make the safest bets.
Every decade or so, Hollywood has an epiphany. It turns out faith-based audiences enjoy going to the movies, too.
Not only does Hollywood make money - it seems to make better movies during recessions. I'm sure a lot of studio executives wish we could have one every year.
It's very important that every movie I do makes money because I want the people that had the faith in me to get their money back.
Now, more then ever, we have the ability to make films for almost nothing and that's broken down all barriers of entry. I think it's a new golden age of film-making. With that, there needs to be the ability to recoup investment dollars, people need to make money.
There's always gonna be people with a lot of money making film, and the goal is to make profit and carry on. It is a business. The goal is to make a living doing it and to be comfortable.
Fifty-million-dollar movies gobble up the medium movies. A lot of people aren't working in Hollywood because of this.
The only economic paradigm that movies have ever known is capitalism. There were no church sponsors or state patronage. The idea was that if you'd pay to see it, we'll make it for you.