Hollywood Being Redeemed
by MOVIEGUIDE
Issue 124 - January 21, 2009

Twenty years ago, Sir John Templeton, the late billionaire philanthropist and financial expert, called MOVIEGUIDE® Founder and Publisher Dr. Ted Baehr to explore giving prizes in Hollywood that would honor the most inspiring, family-friendly movies with positive Christian content. Ted prepared a plan for Sir John to present what has become the Epiphany Prizes sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.

Soon thereafter, Warren Duffy, the renowned radio host, and his late wife Terry, suggested to Ted that the Christian Film & Television Commission® and MOVIEGUIDE® produce an annual Report to the Entertainment Industry using the information in MOVIEGUIDE®.

As a result of these suggestions and Dr. Baehr’s familiarity with the awards program of the Protestant Film Office, the Christian Film & Television Commission® ministry initiated the Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry in 1993 in Los Angeles.

The First Annual Awards Gala was not a banquet dinner; it was a news conference held Feb. 10, 1993 at the Los Angeles Press Club, where about 75 studio executives, filmmakers and other guests heard Dr. Baehr present the first Report to the Entertainment Industry.

“The surprising thing is, MOVIEGUIDE®’s top picks turn out to be among the most profitable films Hollywood produced during the year,” Dr. Baehr noted in his very first presentation of MOVIEGUIDE®’s Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry.

Top studio executives attended that very first Report to the Entertainment Industry to receive awards and commend the work of Dr. Baehr and MOVIEGUIDE®.

The next several years saw a tremendous amount of growth in the Awards Gala and the Annual Report to Hollywood,

In five years, the number of movies with positive Christian content and the number of movies with positive moral and/or biblical content and values increased from about 18% to nearly 30% of the movies released by Hollywood!

Not only that, but Hollywood began producing an increasing number of family-friendly movies, not the least of which was the Pixar company’s first foray into blockbuster family movies, TOY STORY.

Then, in 1995, Sir John Templeton called Dr. Ted Baehr again. Ted immediately thanked Sir John for giving him the idea for the Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Sir John and his philanthropic organization, the John Templeton Foundation, decided to institute two $25,000 prizes for the best and most inspiring movie and the best and most inspiring television program with the strongest Christian, biblical and theological values and content. Now known as the Epiphany Prizes, the first two prizes were awarded to THE PREACHER’S WIFE and an episode of Ken Wales’ new television show, CHRISTY.

In the wake of the growing popularity of the Epiphany Prizes, major players in Hollywood began producing movies with overt Christian content and values like AMISTAD, THE APOSTLE, THE PATRIOT, REMEMBERING THE TITANS, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, SPIDER-MAN 3, I AM LEGEND, and PRINCE CASPIAN. At the same time, a growing number of smaller movies with positive Christian content were produced, such as NATURALLY NATIVE, JOSHUA, EVELYN, LUTHER, SOPHIE SCHOLL, FACING THE GIANTS, and AMAZING GRACE. Meanwhile, in the wake of CHRISTY, TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL became the most popular big network show in the country, and 7th HEAVEN became one of the most popular shows on the smaller networks. Even Chuck Norris got into the act, winning the Grace Award and the Epiphany Prize for two of his shows featuring the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Since the beginning of the Epiphany Prize, the number of movies with positive Christian content has increased from less than 15% to about 50%!!! And, movies with very strong Christian worldviews have increased from an average of only about $2 million per movie to more than $80 million per movie.

Besides the Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Report to the Entertainment Industry, the Gala now features the prestigious $50,000 Epiphany Prizes for Inspiring Movies & TV and the $25,000 Kairos Prize for the Most Spiritually Uplifting Screenplay by a Beginning Screenwriters sponsored by John Templeton Foundation, the Faith & Freedom Awards for Promoting Positive American Values, and the Grace Award for Inspiring Performances in Movies & TV. It seeks to acknowledge those movies, TV programs and actors truly deserving of praise, and those persons responsible for bringing them to the screen.

To add glamour to the event, actors and actresses are invited to MC and be presenters of the awards. Music and entertainment are also added to make it a memorable event. We also hand out Bibles and other redemptive materials to carry out our mission to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Hollywood.

Currently, more than 400 studio executives, celebrities, producers, filmmakers, television artists, Christian leaders, other opinion leaders, and their guests attend the Gala every year. Nearly 100 representatives from the news media also attend.

Within the context of an elegant affair, Dr. Baehr presents MOVIEGUIDE®’s “Report to the Entertainment Industry.” Through careful analysis of box office figures and MOVIEGUIDE® criteria on all the major movies released (nearly 300 a year) by the six studios controlling the industry, Ted gives valuable and unique information to the highest-level Hollywood leaders through a high-impact presentation. Thus, the purpose of the Gala and the Report is:

• To encourage filmmakers to continue to make movies with moral and spiritually uplifting values;
• To share the concerns of the majority of the American public in regards to the negative influences of today's movies; and,
• To present an in-depth study of the annual movie box office and not only dispel myths that extreme sex, violence and nudity sells, but also to show that family movies and movies with morally uplifting, Christian values and positive Christian content make the most money by far.

Since the inception of the Awards and Dr. Baehr's Annual Report in 1993, the number of family movies has more than doubled and the number of movies with positive Christian content has nearly quadrupled, 360 percent. Also, movies with positive Christian content have become vastly more popular among average moviegoers, earning three to six times or more as much money as movies with Non-Christian content and movies with explicit sex, nudity, violence, and foul language. Furthermore, the number of national television programs with positive Christian references has increased from 1 to 10 or more.

“Many studio executives and entertainers are getting the message,” Dr. Baehr notes. “More good movies are being made each year. Hollywood is being redeemed.”

Movieguide is a ministry dedicated to redeeming the values of the mass media according to biblical principles by influencing entertainment industry executives and helping families make wise media choices. The 17th Annual Gala will be held Feb. 11, 2009 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in the heart of Hollywood in Los Angeles, California.