The most financially successful American independent movie of 2008 didn't premiere at Sundance, didn't earn any Academy Award nominations, and didn't amass honorable mentions on dozens of Ten Best lists. But none of that really mattered: "Fireproof" -- the latest small-budget act of faith by Sherwood Pictures, an indie production company operated by pastors Alex and Stephen Kendrick of the Sherwood Church in Albany, Ga. -- grossed $33 million without ever playing in more than 1,000 U.S. theaters at the same time.
To put that figure in context: It's more than the combined gross of the critically acclaimed, Oscar-nominated indies "Frozen River," "The Visitor," "In Bruges" and "Rachel Getting Married."
Much like "Flywheel" (2003) and "Facing the Giants" (2006), two previous Sherwood productions, "Fireproof" is a faith-based drama aimed squarely at moviegoers who value churchgoing over trend-spotting.
Former teen idol and sitcom star Kirk Cameron ("Growing Pains") stars as Caleb, a work-obsessed firefighter. He commits to "The Love Dare," a 40-day, Bible-inspired program to help save his marriage.
As the movie was being released late last month on home video and DVD, Cameron talked about the improbably hot property.
Q: How does it feel to be King of the Indies?
A: It's kind of amazing, isn't it? A movie with a $500,000 budget just knocks it right out of the park.
What's the key to the appeal of "Fireproof?"
The subject matter. It's just striking a chord with so many people because it's about something they care about -- marriage and family.
What feedback have you gotten?
We've heard that people's marriages are literally being saved because of their seeing the movie. We've received thousands of letters from people, saying things like, "My husband and I called off divorce hearings, because we're going to make this work." Or, "My wife's become a new person, because she's taken cues from the movie."
You speak of an "underserved" audience. Why do so few contemporary movies offer positive depictions of people who treat matters of religious faith seriously?
Well, if you look back through the history of movies, you'll see pictures like "The Ten Commandments" and "Ben-Hur," which were Academy Award winners. Religion was so much more a part of our culture years ago. There are still a lot of people who are deeply religious. You still have something like 87 percent of the people in this country who still want the phrase "under God" kept in the Pledge of Allegiance. So, yeah, like I say, there is a core audience that's very under-served.
It's been reported that you donated your services to Sherwood Pictures -- that, actually, you didn't get paid for acting in "Fireproof."
That's right -- none of the actors got paid for the movie. And most of the crew didn't, either. But, you know, my wife and I run a camp for terminally sick children and their families, called Camp Firefly.
Sherwood Pictures actually made a donation to Camp Firefly, because they wanted to be a blessing to those families also.
In terms of your life and work after "Growing Pains," it seems like you're single-handedly providing counter-balance for the exploits of other former child stars.
My heart goes out to these former child actors and teen stars who wind up at the Betty Ford Clinic for the 10th time, or on the front page because they were caught shooting somebody, or shooting up. These child actors are kids who are thrust into an adult world, where they have to make adult decisions, trying to handle the moral twistedness of the world here in Hollywood. And parents oftentimes are more enamored of the success than the kids, so they can't see clearly enough to protect the kids from what they need to be protected from. And when you grow up with a steady diet of that, things can go haywire.
How did you stay so grounded?
A lot of it came from my having a relatively stable home life. My mom and dad didn't have a perfect marriage, but they stayed together.
And that was a huge help. Also, I had some good friends. But I would say the most significant thing was, as an atheist, I came to a place where I really lost my faith in the idea that everything was made from nothing.
That's when I turned my heart to God. And faith in God gave me a whole different value system and set of goals. And a new idea about what should be important in my life. It's served me well over the years.
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