By Karen Raffaelo
ORLANDO, Fla. – David Nixon, director and producer of recent hits "Fireproof" and "Facing the giants", visited West campus on Thursday Dec. 3. He came to promote his upcoming movie,"Letters to God", due to release April 9.
"Letters to God" is based on a true story, of Tyler, an eight year old boy, who suffered from brain cancer and to deal with the pain he saw his family and friends going through he would write letters asking God to help those around him.
“Everyone has been touched by cancer,” Nixon said.
Shooting for the movie took place in Winter Garden and Arnold Palmer Hospital where Tyler’s father was on set to keep the scene “authentic and not too cheesy,” said Nixon.
Nixon also brings pray worries to the set with him to pray before and during every scene. “At first some of the Hollywood people where a little turned off, but before you knew it they where asking the warriors to pray for them and their families, and then in a few weeks they where praying with them,” said Nixon.
Nixon is best known for his Christian based films, even working with well-known Christian actor Kirk Cameron on "Fireproof". Church based movies rely on volunteers to work on the movies and free screenings at churches for promotions. Sherwood Baptist church was very surprised when the movie they produced for $500 thousand grossed about $34 million.
“Hollywood was afraid to offend, until the 'Passion of the Christ',” said Nixon.
Now companies like Sony pictures, the company that backs Nixon’s projects, are more willing to take a chance on Christian based films. This genre is quickly growing into mainstream popularity. It has something to do with how the directors present the movies.
"You don’t want to be too preachy, but you want to make it something that the Christians and the church will want to see," said Nixon. 30% of the proceeds from "Letters to God" are going back to the church and to cancer research, which is something that most Hollywood movies don’t do.
Nixon and fellow directors and producers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, whom he worked with on "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants", have a shelf full of movies that will be coming out in the next year.
