David A.R. White (left) leans on the problematic car.
LOS ANGELES (WordNews.org) March 14, 2013 – Pure Flix Entertainment is in growth mode.
The Christian film company with offices in California and Arizona, is now producing between six and eight films a year. It released a total of 24 films last year—including titles it acquire—up from 12 films just two years earlier.
It’s latest film. “Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End” hit retailers on March 12.
Co-founder David A.R. White, who has starred in several Pure Flix films, said from the day Pure Flix started seven years ago, the film company has not had a difficult time finding investors to back the films. Country singer Randy Travis and his wife at the time, Elizabeth, were early investors. Elizabeth remains a co-founder and investor.
“It’s not like we take donations. We don’t live like a normal ministry,” White told WordNews.org in an exclusive interview. “It’s a business. And it’s just literally independent investors who have a heart and a passion for these types of movies and using God’s word through the films.”
Today the company has 25 employees and several household names have starred in its pictures, including Brian “the Boz” Bosworth, a former NFL linebacker with the Seattle Seahawks who had a reputation as a bad boy, and John Schneider of TV’s “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Smallville.”
“It’s amazing. Even when we started the Lord sent the right people to us,” White said.
White doesn’t have any over-the-top visions that the company’s latest film, “Revelation Road” will be Pure Flix’s breakout film, making the company a household name.
“No, I wouldn’t say that,” White said. “I stopped doing that a long time ago. Every movie you do feel there’s something special about it. Or hope there’s something special about it.”
He said each film has its own set of stories, moving Pure Flix’s own story further.
“The ‘Encounter’ movies have been incredible journeys, how the Lord has used them in mighty ways to bring people to him through those things. This is different and obviously this has been a ride with Boz coming to the Lord before it came out, which is a pretty cool thing,” he said. “I have no idea, nor would I ever say that I think this is a breakout film. I think every film adds to the breakout of Pure Flix. Pure Flix has just been growing.”
White does have some grand plans for Pure Flix, though, even mentioning the company in the same breath as Disney.
“We want Pure Flix to be a household name, a trusted partnership. You know what you’re getting when you watch a Pure Flix movie,” White said. “It’s kind of like the Disney brand, but more faith and family. There’s more to it than just a family movie. Hopefully we’ll aid in your walk with the Lord. It’s something the whole family can watch. So that’s the goal of Pure Flix, just to make it viable to where it’s everywhere. Just like the Netflix app, there would be a Pure Flix app with everything that’s faith.”
With its success, White said, he’s seen spiritual battles on the set. He pointed to the most recent film, “Revelation Road” as an example.
“In many different ways we feel a constant barrage, even in the shooting of this thing,” White said. Like, for instance, a stunt man broke his shoulder.
Then there was the car.
“The car you see in the movie never ran. It broke down everyday. Like literally, a wheel fell off one day and almost killed two crew members driving home,” he said. “The radiator blew. We had to replace the radiator. The brakes went out. The car wouldn’t start. We literally had an on-set mechanic coming out daily, fixing the car and then it would run and then it wouldn’t run.”
The car was pivotal to the film, White said.
“It’s a road movie. It’s about this car,” he said. “And that’s just one little area.”
The crew had the last laugh.
“At the end of the thing, we trashed that car and everybody cheered,” White said. “Just happy to get rid of it.”
But White said despite the troubles on the set, he has seen God bless the latest release.
“Somehow the Lord’s favor has been on it,” he said. “It’s actually one of our widest releases. It’s everywhere—Blockbuster, Netflix, Walmart, Redbox, Target, Sam’s Club. Everybody’s carrying this movie.”
Check in tomorrow to read the next installment of “A conversation with Pure Flix’s David A.R. White”
Related:
A conversation with David A.R. White: Bringing on Bosworth (Part 1)
A conversation with David A.R. White: Bosworth meets –and accepts — his maker (Part 2)
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