ROGERS — The film “Fireproof” is causing a stir in Catholic marriage advocate groups around the country.
One of the interesting aspects of the film is the fact that it was made by Sherwood Pictures, based at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga.
The executive producer of the film and senior pastor, Dr. Michael Catt, spoke in Rogers Oct. 16 at a local event and gave an interview to KDUA radio from St. Vincent de Paul Church. His film, “Fireproof,” tells the story of a firefighter and his struggles to save his marriage.
The movie has become a hit around the country, first appearing in 839 theaters when it was released Sept. 26. As of Oct. 17, the movie was shown in 901 theaters, including 17 in Arkansas. So far, it has grossed $20.7 million, 40 times its budget.
In addition to the movie, a book, “The Love Dare,” which was originally a plot device, was a No. 1 bestseller on the New York Times paperback advice books list.
The project grew out of a desire to make Christian films, Catt said.
“It was early 2000 when we were on a staff retreat down in Florida,” he said. “Alex Kendrick, one of the writers for the screenplay, “Fireproof,” was on our staff. I was talking to the staff, asking them ’What do you want to do with your life? How do you see God using your life?’ Alex responded by saying he would like to make Christian movies. I don’t know if I was having a moment of weakness or God just struck me, but I said ’Why not? Bring me a script and a budget and let’s see if God is in it.’”
It began a series of three films made by Sherwood Pictures. The first film, “Flywheel,” which was released in 2003, had a budget of $20,000 raised from private donations. The next film, “Facing the Giants,” was released in 2006 and was produced with $100,000 budget.
Based on the success of the two earlier movies, Provident Films/Sony provided the $500,000 budget for “Fireproof.” All of the films have been made with the support of volunteers from the church and the community in Albany, Ga. All of the actors with the exception of Kirk Cameron, the lead actor in “Fireproof,” are from Georgia.
In promoting the film, Catt said, “We learned — take it to the people. We didn’t have a multi, multi-million dollar advertising budget. We had grassroots word of mouth. We are very grateful for the support the Catholic Church has given us. I think anything that can impact marriages is a positive thing. If we can save a million marriages this year, the ripple effect on children who will not be from broken homes, who will not be abused, who will not be growing up in homes where Mom and Dad are yelling and screaming, that will have an effect on our culture — it will have an effect on our churches.”
When referring to the collaboration with various Catholic marriage groups, Catt said, “I think God gives us unique opportunities sometimes. There may be interpretation differences on certain things, but God gives us certain opportunities where we can say, ’The ground is level here and we can walk together and partner here because together we can do more than we could do individually.’”
On a related “Fireproof” Web site, www. fireproofmymarriage.com, are links to Catholic marriage resources such as the Archdiocese of Chicago Family Ministries, Retrouvaille, the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage.
According to Frank Hannigan, director of Family Ministries for the Archdiocese of Chicago, the film has had great popularity in the Catholic community because of its pro-marriage, faith-filled message.
“When marriage is under such an attack, to have in the popular medium a movie like ’Fireproof’ was a wonderful gift for us,” he said. “We hope it will be something that will help couples strengthen their marriages.”
One of the links, to the USCCB Web site foryourmarriage.org, is a multi-year effort to strengthen marriage and promote it to Catholic engaged and married couples.
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., chairman of the bishops’ Marriage and Family Life Committee, endorsed “Fireproof,” saying, “After viewing the film, I expressed appreciation for the convincing and realistic way the film portrayed how a married couple was able to honor their marriage in the context of how easy it is today for couples to walk away from this commitment in the midst of incredibly hectic and complicated lives. In the end it is clear that their faith in God is central. While this is not a film with a uniquely Catholic theological perspective, I believe that the core message is one that can be profitably received by Catholic married couples and ultimately all married couples.”
Elizabeth Reha, director of the Family Life Office for the Diocese of Little Rock, said her office has taken an informal approach to using the film in diocesan programs.
“It has been on a more grassroots level,” she said. “We encourage people to see it. I heartily recommend it. It has a very good message. The way it portrays the couple falling into disillusionment is fairly accurate. I liked it because it showed the two sides of the marriage. Both partners fell into this disillusionment and they don’t appreciate each other. It is a conversion experience for both the man and the woman. What is really nice about this movie is that in the end they fight for the marriage. And that is what it takes.”
One parish, Christ the King Church in Fort Smith, is incorporating the film into its Ten Great Dates program. Sandi Reiss, parish family life director, said, “One of the dates is for the couples to attend the movie ’Fireproof.’ Beforehand we print off the couples quiz exercise on the Web site, www.fireproofthemovie.com.”
