Home Media Magazine - November 11-17, 2007 - (Page CER12) +producer p r o f i l e ‘Facing the Giants’ filmmakers’ first movie flies to DVD in a director’s cut HIT IT BIG Aerial view of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. Photo: Art Johnson Church Filmmakers L BY BRENDAN HOWARD ots of churches videotape their pastors’ sermons. Some get a bit deeper into filmmaking by producing films for internal use or ministry. But Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., has gotten its biblically inspired feature films into mainstream theaters and DVD retail outlets nationwide. Sherwood’s second film, Facing the Giants, grossed more than $10.2 million at the domestic box office, with continued life on DVD. Now Sherwood’s first film, Flywheel, is getting a new DVD release Nov. 13 in two versions, one with an added DVD Bible study created for Christian retail outlets. Flywheel: Director’s Cut ($19.94), has been remastered by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Sherwood Films’ mainstream marketing partner. In addition to the movie-clip-based, eight-part Bible study on the Christian retail version, new extras on both versions include commentary by filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick and a preview of Sherwood Pictures’ third film, Fireproof, due in theaters August 2008. For fans clamoring to see Flywheel after being turned on to Sherwood Pictures by the big-screen success of Facing the Giants, a new DVD was the way to go, says Kris Fuhr, VP of marketing for Provident Films, Sherwood’s distributor in the Christian film market. “Because Flywheel was filmed for DVD, the technology to show it in theaters was too cumbersome to take it everywhere,” Fuhr says. “So [Provident] did color correcting on extras, and Sony did much of the remastering on the film. Now it looks as good as it can for the DVD.” But it’s not the visuals that will grab people, according to Suzanne White, VP of marketing at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. “People aren’t responding to the budget,” White says. “They’re responding to the heart of the film and its story.” It’s a story that was filmed thanks to the vision of the pastors and congregation of Sherwood Baptist Church, their trust in God, and their unique film ministry. >> 12 CHRISTIAN ENTERTAINMENT REVIEW / NOVEMBER 2007
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