Fireproof: When Filmmakers Believe in Miracles

Hollywood veterans will tell you that if a low-budget movie makes it into theaters, it's a miracle. But when Alex and Stephen Kendrick say that, they mean it literally. The Kendrick brothers, ministers at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., are the writers, producers and directors of the surprise hit Fireproof. Shot on a $500,000 budget with an all-volunteer cast and donated sets and locations, their drama about a fire captain trying to rekindle his marriage made $6.8 million in its opening weekend at the box office, coming in fourth overall, between a Samuel L. Jackson thriller and a Coen brothers farce. On Oct. 10, Fireproof's distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films will add another 200 theaters to the movie's initial 850-theater run.

A relationship drama with no spectacular special effects or A-list stars, Fireproof has succeeded by speaking to an audience that has often eluded studios — devout Christians. The subject — saving a marriage — is universal, but the film's themes are decidedly theological.

Kirk Cameron plays fire captain Caleb Holt, who is preparing to divorce his wife of seven years, a hospital publicist who has become more roommate than sweetheart. Caleb's dad asks him to wait 40 days before proceeding with the divorce and gives him a book called The Love Dare, a collection of daily scriptural quotes and marital suggestions, the underpinning of which is that only God can teach a person how to love. "The Lord did a work in us," Caleb's father explains, of how he turned around his own struggling marriage. In case that's too subtle an endorsement of the great marriage counselor in the sky, the father-son conversation takes place in a field beside a giant wooden cross. If the scene works for audiences, it's because everyone involved — the director, Cameron, the rest of the cast, even the church ladies who served the tuna casserole at the craft services table — sincerely believes it. "Marriage has been attacked and watered down and called a piece of paper," says Alex Kendrick. "We wanted to say, Hey, marriage is a beautiful thing and it's worth fighting for."

Since Fireproof's release Sept. 26, audiences have sent hundreds of e-mails to the filmmakers describing renewed vows and reconsidered divorce plans. The Kendricks also wrote The Love Dare book, which was originally just a plot device in the movie, and rushed it into print in time for Fireproof's release. The book is now No. 12 on Amazon's best-seller list.

Ever since Mel Gibson proved with The Passion of the Christ in 2004 that church-goers are also movie-goers, Hollywood studios have tried to tap into the faith market. Disney's Chronicles of Narnia films have gained traction with Christian audiences, but no filmmakers have scored with the devout as consistently and economically as the Kendricks have. Fireproof is their third profitable Christian film. The monies they have earned have gone toward building an 82-acre community sports park in Albany.

Alex, 38, and Stephen, 35, grew up in metro Atlanta, the second and third sons of a minister. (Their older brother works at IBM). Both earned communication degrees at Georgia's Kennesaw State University, attended seminary and got ministerial jobs at Sherwood. After reading a study about the influence of movies on culture and the relative lack of influence of the church, the brothers decided to return to what had been an adolescent hobby, playing with a video camera. In 2003, they asked their church for $20,000 to form a production company, Sherwood Pictures, and make a movie, Flywheel, about a dishonest used car salesman who sees the light. Flywheel got a local theatrical release and a pickup by Blockbuster Video, and went on to sell more than 200,000 DVDs. But it was Sherwood Pictures' second film, Facing the Giants, a 2006 parable of football and faith, that earned the Kendricks notice in Hollywood. Produced for $100,000, the movie was dismissed by mainstream critics as too earnest and heavy-handed. But due to the recommendations of pastors and Christian publications, the film went on to earn more than $10 million at the box office, and it sold 1.6 million DVDs.