As if running the STORY Conference (did you score your $50 off?) and orchestrating Dream Year wasn’t enough, Ben Arment has a new project in the works. It’s a movie called Four Stones.
The big deal, and why it matters to you, is that he’s not pitching it to the studios. He’s pitching it to you, for you to premier it in your churches, small groups, etc. The plan is to premiere the movie at a thousand different locations through an online stream.
“We believe the church is one of the greatest distribution systems on the planet for films and just doesn’t know it yet,” Ben says. Churches have more screens than any theater network and could propel the film to the biggest debut in history.
Of course Christian films don’t have the greatest track record.
“We’re tired of films that are a little bit embarrassing in the faith based or Christian genre,” Ben says. “We want to make a great film that will resonate not just with people who are part of churches, but your next door neighbors.”
The plan is to focus on great stories and let the message come naturally: “We have the greatest story ever told, we have the greatest stories in the Bible,” Ben says. “It’s time we recast that, repackage those and present them to the world in a way that will really grab their hearts.”
Four Stones will debut in the fall of 2012, hopefully in churches around the country. Visit OneThousandPremieres.com for more info.
Here’s my interview about this “giant” undertaking (sorry about the audio levels). Watch the video:
RJ Grunewald
September 7, 2011
I think this looks really cool. But if part of the goal is having the unchurched see the movie, why have it in a church? It seems like the influence on hollywood would happen more in the context of movie theaters.