Left Behind

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Dec 25, 2000 | by Larry Witham

The producers of a heavily marketed Christian movie hope it will sell enough tickets to stir interest in the genre among Hollywood moguls.

The movie Left Behind won't open for another three months, but its producers are trying to whip up enthusiasm for the film by distributing the video ahead of the theatrical release. The strategy is aided by fans who see support of the movie and similar features as a part of their efforts to encourage the general public to attend Christian-oriented movies.

"We're taking a standard Hollywood strategy -- the sneak preview -- to the extreme," says Peter Lalonde, whose Cloud Ten Pictures in Ontario, Canada, coproduced the film with Namesake Entertainment, based in Kentucky. "We want to create the greatest grass-roots effort for a film ever. Our goal is to win the box office the week it opens." Similar marketing strategies have been employed by the producers of independent films such as The Blair Witch Project, which generated $200 million in ticket sales mostly through Internet chat.

Left Behind is based on the first book in a series that has sold more than 8 million copies. In the film, believers in Christ disappear from earth during "the Rapture." Those remaining on Earth uncover a plot by the Antichrist to rule the world through the United Nations. While the producers recognize that their Hollywood counterparts may label the film "Christian propaganda," they believes the movie has achieved industry quality. "We're happy with the creative look," says Joe Goodman of Namesake.

Cloud Ten reportedly sold 1.4 million copies of the video in one week in November, mostly to mass retailers such as Costco and Wal-Mart. Direct-mail Christian ministries also are pushing video and DVD sales. "We hope news spreads by word of mouth, like the Blair Witch syndrome," emphasizes Goodman.

Consumers who purchase a copy of the video get matinee-price discount coupons to the movie, as well as posters of the film. The video itself contains a pitch by the film's star, Kirk Cameron, telling viewers about the Left Behind project: "You are part of a very select group [that] makes up less than 1 percent of the population. We want you to tell everyone you know that they need to come see it."

Namesake has produced religious-theme programs for the Disney Channel, ABC and CBS. The company put Cloud Ten in touch with Hollywood talent. "We've become better filmmakers," says Cloud Ten's Lalonde. "We had more money to throw at this film." Backed by independent investors, Left Behind cost $17.4 million to make. Enthusiasts call it "the biggest, most ambitious Christian film ever made."

The movie opens Feb. 2, 2001.