{"id":25318,"date":"2022-11-11T12:10:51","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T17:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=25318"},"modified":"2022-11-11T12:12:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T17:12:05","slug":"blessed-are-the-pure-of-art-an-interview-with-pureflix-ceo-michael-scott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2022\/11\/blessed-are-the-pure-of-art-an-interview-with-pureflix-ceo-michael-scott.html","title":{"rendered":"Blessed are the Pure of Art: An interview with PureFlix CEO Michael Scott"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 11\/11\/22<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Parable of the Unknown Media Mogul. <\/strong>Even people steeped in the entertainment industry, who never miss Entertainment Tonight<\/strong><\/em> and who check in every day with the likes of The Hollywood Reporter,<\/strong> Variety<\/strong> and The Wrap<\/strong>, are unlikely to know the name of PureFlix CEO<\/strong> Michael Scott<\/strong> – this despite the fact that he’s produced more than 40 movies (including several box office hits such as the God’s Not Dead<\/strong> <\/em>franchise) and his company PureFlix (which since 2015 has operated as a part of Sony<\/strong>) has mounted a highly successful streaming service. During our conversation, he talks. among other things, about how PureFlix compares to Netflix<\/strong> and how its Christmas movies compare to those you’re apt to find on Hallmark Channel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

JWK: You have a degree in theology which is probably not the educational background of your average movie and TV industry CEO. How’d you come to PureFlix?
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Michael Scott: <\/strong>My story starts well before PureFlix. I’m a PK, a pastor’s kid. My parents were pastors so I always grew up around (that) but I always had a passion for art and filmmaking. As you mentioned, I do have a degree in theology but I also have a degree in film and photography – and I also have a degree in cultural anthropology. So, it’s a little mix of different things.\u00a0
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JWK: A man of many hats.
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MS: <\/strong>Many hats. I’m not sure how they all mix but this is where I ended up. After school I got involved in advertising. I was in advertising for 12 or 13 years. One of the most amazing things was learning everything about it and producing these big national spots – commercials, photography campaigns and all these different things. I saw the power of a 30-second commercial (and) what it could do. Whether it was a taco, a computer or a car, you could sell something, right? I mean you put this message out there for people to buy when you’re doing this. That’s incredible! I really always wanted to use my background in filmmaking and combine it with my faith. I (thought) the power of the media is so strong we need to use this and do incredible stories and incredible things for the Kingdom. That’s when I decided in ’05 to launch PureFlix.<\/p>\n

We launched PureFlix in ’05, making movies and that quickly spun out making movies and<\/em> distributing movies. We launched the streaming service and theatrical division (which) brought us to where we’re at here today. So, I’m one of the founders of it and the CEO of PureFlix. It’s been an incredible journey. What I’ve seen and what’s been so great about it is being able to see all the different people and lives that get touched through content that gets out there through these different channels. That’s been an honor to be part of.
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JWK: So, you’ve met people who have been personally affected by these films?
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MS: <\/strong>Yeah, absolutely. Each film always touches someone. The truth is I’ll probably never really know how many people were touched or what it did in their lives but the people you do run into and you see…it’s incredible…Jesus<\/strong> told stories in parables. He would get out there and speak and tell parables but today the modern-day parable is really movies and television. It’s storytelling and what a better way to tell an incredible story (than) through movies and visual media…I think it has a profound impact on people.\u00a0
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JWK: And you guys are really involved in streaming. I guess you could be described as a sort of faith-based Netflix.
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MS: <\/strong>Yeah. I think what we offer is something that builds up the family and encourages them. They can watch thousands of movies and TV shows on any device, anytime, anywhere for one low monthly fee at PureFlix.com<\/strong><\/a>. We’re seeing people just flock to it and get touched.<\/p>\n

JWK: You have several movies and TV series either on the service now or in development. Do you want to talk about any of these?
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MS: <\/strong>We’ve got an incredible lineup coming. Christmas is a great time. It’s all about family and stuff like that. We kind of group Christmas into different weeks. We have a week on miracles, family, giving, romance, new beginnings (and) the Nativity story.\u00a0 We have all these different themes that we’re gonna do. We have some incredible content coming.<\/p>\n