Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 01/20/25
The Trump Effect on Hollywood. Does today’s inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United State signal a cultural shift in America as well as a political shift? I spoke about that with Monarch Media producers and co-founders Steve Barnett and Alan Powell whose upcoming military suspense drama Valiant One (which Barnett directed and co-wrote) is due in theaters on Friday, January 31.
JWK: I know you guys are now based in Nashville but you’ve both lived and worked in Los Angeles. I’d like to start off by asking you what your thoughts are on the fire situation.
Steve Barnett: Wow. There’s a lot of things to think about. I have no family there, thankfully, but a lot of friends who live in that area who lost everything. I’m wearing (this LA Dodgers hat) for that reason. I’m not even a Dodger fan but I love a lot of people who have been affected by this. It’s heartbreaking. There’s no other way to say it. It’s just heartbreaking. I hope those folks can rebound and get their lives back in order. Hollywood right now is shattered. I mean, really, the town is pretty much shut down. It’s starting to come back a little bit but everybody has either left the city or is just tending to their family and being with their family. It’s a sad situation.
JWK: How about you, Alan, do you have any thoughts?
Alan Powell: I feel helpless here. As we sit here even today and have the opportunity to speak to you about this film which we made – and are so grateful for – it’s difficult to think about what other people are dealing with today. We’re husbands and we’re fathers. We know what people are dealing with to try and take care of their families, keep their families safe and now rebuild after what they lost. It’s just a really difficult thing. At the same time you feel helpless. What can you do from here? I’ve got a few friends that I check in with. I just go “Hey, man. How’s today? I know it’s probably futile but let me know if there’s anything that I can do.” (That’s) outside of just sending thoughts and prayers which so often feels like just not enough.
JWK: I actually believe people appreciate receiving thoughts and prayers – but I know what you mean. There is a helpless feeling sometimes.
Steve: For sure.
Alan: I believe it’s meaningful. It’s just you feel like you want to do more but what can you do?
JWK: Exactly. I know. So, you’re new film Valiant One – which comes out at the end of the month and which I watched and liked – in my view can be seen as maybe part of a return to patriotism at the movies, a trend that might have started with the box office success of Top Gun: Maverick. What are your thoughts on that? Is that an accurate view?
Steve: 100%. When we originally started this project years and years ago one of the things that was important to us was to not really take any sort of political side – whether it’s pro-military or anti-military or against North Korea. I wanted it to be a human story. I think, as it has evolved, it has evolved into a story that explores the positive things that people get from serving our country – not only in terms of making you a leader, learning skills, learning teamwork, all of those things. I think the Army really picked up on that. We showed the Army the film. They loved it. They invited us to the Army-Navy Game and we got to experience that. The amount of patriotism in that environment is through the roof. I mean it was just an incredible experience. So, I’m really proud of the fact that this film has checked that box for a lot of people. It’s an important subject matter for us to identify. I think the military has over the last few years sort of been seen in not as positive a light as it has in the past. I hope people walk out of this film feeling a new found respect for our men and women in uniform.
JWK: Alan, anything you’d like to add?
Alan: Honestly, I’m encouraged to hear you say that. Certainly we believe that this is a pro-military film. We respect the service members. This is a story about humanity and, hopefully, the humanity in all of us. Absolutely, it was important to us from the beginning to tell a story that honors our men and women in service. Quite frankly, for me, knowing that you’ve seen the film, it means a lot to me to hear you say that because that’s certainly something we hope happens and we’re proud of it.
JWK: I thought the characters were very well-drawn and sympathetic. Of course, it has the suspense elements of a classic military film.
Steve/Alan: Thank you.
JWK: How did this story come to you? Is it a true story?
Steve: It’s inspired by a true story. It’s inspired by an incident that happened to a high school buddy of mine who was a Navy SEAL. We ran into each other at our high school reunion. I said “I’m a big fan of the service and I would love to talk to you about your stories.” You know, when he told me he was a Navy SEAL I was like “Let’s get together for coffee right away!” So, we did and he started telling all kinds of stories about BIG missions, really important missions, but he said “You know the one time I was pretty sure this is it – said ‘I think I’m gonna die now’ – was on a routine mission in a helicopter escorting a Raytheon tech to the Patriot missile installations along the South Korean border, and other surveillance devices along the way.” He said “We hit weather. We were blown all the way to the DMZ. We almost went into North Korea. We thought we were dead. We were either gonna crash and die or we we gonna get shot out of the sky by SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) and die. I thought ‘This is it.'” Obviously, that didn’t happen. The helicopter pilot was able to pull them out of that death spiral, frankly, and bring them home. So, I said to him “What would have happened if you guys did crash in the DMZ or, even worse, in North Korea?” He said “Well, there’s no way to rescue soldiers who crash in North Korea. So, we’d be in trouble.” I was like “That’s a really great movie.” So, the next step was to really eliminate the Special Ops guys because they’re the closest thing we have to superheroes. I wanted a story about an everyman. You know, a character who was ill-equipped to deal with this because he was cerebral soldier as opposed to combat soldier. That kind of gave us the launching point for the movie, for the main character, for the themes and everything.
JWK: What do you hope people take from this movie?
Alan: From the very beginning, from the first time I read the script and even now and the many times I’ve had the opportunity to see the film, every time I watch it I’m still moved and inspired by the same question – which is could I do that? Do I have what it takes in me to step up to the plate…and to put myself second to the people around me? Do I have that makeup? Do I have that that bravery? Do I have that courage? I really love films that make people question – especially inside yourself internally and challenge yourself. At least for me, that’s what this film does. For me, I hope that’s what the viewer takes away.
Steve: I would agree. That’s what the movie set out to do.
JWK: One scene that I think will draw in the Beliefnet audience is when one character says the Our Father before his act of heroism.
Steve: He’s one of the Delta guys. As I mentioned the inspiration for the story (was an incident involving) Navy SEALs. We changed that to the Army, so he’s a Delta guy.
JWK: I think that scene will speak to our readership.
Steve: That’s the heartbeat of the movie. It’s kind of right in the middle. It’s a really important moment for the film because there are no atheists in a foxhole. One thing that we learned doing our research and, by the way, that Navy SEAL that I mentioned from high school was our tech advisor the whole time. He was on set the whole time and helped develop the specificity of how soldiers move, how they communicate, the patches, every little detail. So, yeah, that’s the center of the movie. That’s a really important moment for us because the Lord’s Prayer is kind of perfect for what’s happening at that exact moment – with both the soldier pinned down and the soldiers running away. So, I’m glad you picked up on that.
JWK: This post is coinciding with the presidential inauguration. Do you feel that, along with political changes, Donald Trump’s reelection is bringing in some cultural changes to Hollywood as well? Especially in recent years, conservatives in Hollywood have felt pretty much shut out. Do you feel that that’s changing?
Alan: I would say that this second time around, at the very least, it felt like publicly it was okay to support Trump in a way that wasn’t the case the first time around. I think absolutely that that dipped over into Hollywood…but, honestly, at the end of the day, for us, this was never about making a political statement. This is a human story.
JWK: But do you feel more free to go into places that you didn’t before?
Steve: I mean we started developing this movie ten years ago. I think there probably is a certain amount of that, there’s no question, but, for us, I don’t think the military should be politicized and this movie is not politicized. It’s a human story. It’s about what we have inside of us. We gotta find it so we can lead. That’s what this movie’s about.
JWK: Do you have any thoughts on Trump appointing Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson as “Ambassadors to Hollywood”?
Steve: I’m all for it. There should be an ambassador to Hollywood. If he’s able to set the table for more production in the United States, absolutely! Let’s go! I’m all about it!
Alan: Honestly, Mel Gibson is one of my favorite filmmakers. On the creative side, he’s incredible.
JWK: So, what’s next for you guys? I understand that you have some faith-themed content coming up around the pike.
Steve: I’ll speak to this one because Alan will just be talking about himself (laughs). No, we did a movie about five years ago called A Week Away. It was probably released about four years ago or three years ago. Anyway, we’re doing a TV spinoff of that movie. I don’t know if you’re familiar with it. It’s a summer camp musical that uses contemporary Christian music and original music throughout the film. We’ll do the same for the series. I’m very excited about that. We start shooting that in the spring.
JWK: You guys are based in Nashville. It seems to be a trend that movie and TV production isn’t always based in Hollywood anymore. There’s, of course Nashville and lots going on in Georgia. Do you see that continuing?
Alan: Yeah, I think it’s growing. Quite frankly, the two of us living in Nashville now is a pretty good indicator. Steve was born and raised in LA. He got here six or seven months ago. I was out there for a couple of years when we put this company together. Now, you can do anything from anywhere. So, the fact that both of us have moved here and live here – and, frankly, each of us have a number of friends in the industry who have done the same – I think the spreading out of the personnel, going to different areas, and certainly Nashville is one of the main hubs, is causing that as well. It’s a great industry town. The crews are growing and getting better. We love it here. We try to shoot as much as we can here because it’s nice to sleep in your own but, you know, the capability of the personnel around is getting stronger and stronger. It’s not just here. It’s in Texas, a lot in Austen. Atlanta has always been quite the hub, as you can imagine. The industry is spreading out for sure.
JWK: I don’t want to politicize this either but people have accused Hollywood as existing in a bubble. Does the fact that production is spreading out throughout the country burst that bubble a bit since people like you are hearing different perspectives?
Alan: Listen, there is absolutely an opportunity. We’ve seen films and TV shows being made from what we call the Heartland. You know, the Fly-Over States. You know all those things that are the way they’re described. They have done really, really, really well. At the end of the day, the bubble’s gotta be burst by the audience. If the audience will show up and support films that are made with a certain POV or a certain message then people who make (those) movies and TV shows get to keep making them. At the end of the day, it’s really pretty straight forward. The audience has been vocal (about) the rising trend over the last five or ten years. Because of that, the expansion of creatives is happening. You’re seeing that all the way up to the big guys at the networks and the studios. Everybody’s trying to figure out how to create content for audiences that are being vocal – and by “being vocal” I don’t mean social media and posts. I mean with their dollars – like going to see films and/or watching shows. That’s the way that this thing can really change – the audience going “We care about this” -and we’ve seen that.
JWK: What would you like people to know about what your company is about?
Steve: I’d love people to know that our company is going to make high-quality content that makes you think, hopefully. The movies that we make and the TV content that we make usually has a protagonist going into a world that he needs to look at in a different way. From A Week Away, our main character was an outsider working his way into a Christian summer camp – a place that he didn’t understand or, frankly, want to know about but he realizes that he needs to for his own well-being. The same goes for (the main protagonist) in Valiant One. He doesn’t want to be a leader. He doesn’t want responsibility. He doesn’t want any of that but, through this process, he finds that leader inside of himself and he’ll be better off for it. I think, as a whole, the same applies to Journey to Bethlehem with our Mary character. The same applies to all of the content that we’ve made to date. There is one common thread – and that is finding the hero inside of all of us. I think we’ll just keep doing that because that’s a message the world needs to know.