Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.<\/p>\n
An interview with Mpower founder & CEO Steve McEveety: <\/strong><\/p>\n JWK: <\/strong>What does the letter M in Mpower Pictures stand for? STEVE MCEVEETY:<\/strong> (laughs) It does not mean McEveety. Empower, with an E, was not actually available (as a name).<\/p>\n JWK: <\/strong>Your latest film Snowmen<\/a> <\/em>has won a lot of film festival awards.\u00a0 Why do you think it’s received so much positive reaction?<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY: <\/strong>I think it’s got a lot of heart. People are thirsty for spiritual things…This movie really kind of moves you spiritually. It’s really hard to be specific as to why it does that but it does and I think that’s why people are responding so well to it.<\/p>\n JWK: <\/strong>You’ve said that you think Snowmen <\/em>will be the kind of movie people will come up to you five years from now and say it’s their favorite movie. Do you see the film as this generation’s Stand By Me<\/em> or E.T.<\/em>?<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY: <\/strong>We had a screening with all kids and no parents and all the kids came running out and started hugging their parents. And their parents are going “Why are they hugging me?” But, you know, it was a great thing because you just feel a lot of love in the film. It’s really unique in a movie to have that feeling of love.<\/p>\n JWK: <\/strong>It’s interesting. The movie comes on the heels of a Girl Scout study<\/a> that suggests that watching mean acts depicted on reality television can cause kids to be meaner to each other. Kids really do respond to what they see.<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY: <\/strong>They sure do. It’s a responsibility in the media business (to offer positive examples for kids).<\/p>\n JWK: <\/strong>Even adults could use those positive examples.<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY: <\/strong>Yeah.<\/p>\n JWK: <\/strong>Your films are very diverse in tone. You’ve produced comedies like An American Carol<\/em><\/a>\u00a0 and very serious films like The Stoning of Soraya M.<\/a> <\/em>That’s a very wide range. The importance of faith seems to run through many of them.<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY: <\/strong>Well, I also did Braveheart<\/a>, We Were Soldiers<\/a><\/em>and The Passion of the Christ<\/em><\/a>. There’s a bit of faith in a lot of my films. One Eight Seven<\/a> <\/em>had it’s God moments…Part of it’s just happenstance but most of it’s because there’s a spiritual side that I’m responsible to — in kinda just infuses itself in what I do.<\/p>\n JWK: <\/strong>The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> has just published an article on how more\u00a0 faith-themed movies and even TV shows are in the pipeline because of the recent success of such films at the box office. What are your thoughts on that?<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY: <\/strong>It’s about time. I think that it will improve business in Hollywood.<\/p>\n JWK:\u00a0 <\/strong>Does Mpower Pictures have any plans to move into television?<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY: <\/strong>I’d love to get into television. We’re a young company and we’ve never done television. So, we’re breaking into that but slowly. It’s a tough nut to crack. I don’t have enough time to really focus on television but we will get in there eventually.<\/p>\n JWK:\u00a0 <\/strong>I know that Walmart is rushing to make Snowmen <\/em>available on DVD in time for Christmas.<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY:<\/strong> Walmart has just been sensational with this. They saw the film at the Tribeca Film Festival and just loved it. They came after us to make some kind of deal on the DVD…which is fabulous. We have a multiple picture deal there for more family films.<\/p>\n JWK:<\/strong> These will be theatrical films?<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY:<\/strong> Theatrical films. The DVDs will be pushed out through Walmart.<\/p>\n JWK:\u00a0<\/strong> Do you know the date Snowmen will be available on DVD?<\/p>\n STEVE MCEVEETY:<\/strong> November 29th, I think.<\/p>\n
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