So much of filmmaking and distribution is speculation. As we watch the ebb and flow of sales and compare them to our other movies we have seen some interesting trends. Bringing up Bobby appears to be targeted for piracy a lot more than some of our other films that have sold more copies. I was searching video sharing sites to see how wide spread the piracy was and it turned out that Between the Walls (our last film) was barely showing up while Bobby was all over the place. We’re not exactly sure why this has happened, but we have some ideas.

Bringing up Bobby is aimed at a younger audience – an audience that generally uses the Internet to get what they want.

I have had many discussions with friends and church goers about piracy and a growing number of people find nothing wrong with piracy, especially in gospel materials. Several people have even justified their actions by saying it is incorrect to “make money” from the gospel. Others do not see anything wrong with video recording off of television and retaining a copy of the film as their own.

First of all, the Apostle Paul addresses the fact that those in ministry should be sustained by those who benefit from it (see especially 1 Corinthians 9, though the whole book makes for good context). Paul did note that he did not want to be a financial burden on some churches, hence the popular argument that even he made tents to sustain his ministry so as not to be a burden. However, Paul used that fact as a matter of telling the people how immature they were in their faith – that they could be so easily discouraged. He is nothing but clear throughout his writings in stating that he relied on the generosity of those around him.

Second, there is no biblical argument that allows people to steal for any reason. Downloading a video off of the Internet truly is the same thing as stealing a copy off of a store shelf. Not only does piracy hurt the distribution company, but it also hurts the artists AND the merchant who sells those goods. At the present time there are no legal ways to download Bringing up Bobby or Between the Walls. If you are downloading the film, you are breaking mans law and God’s law.

I write all of this not merely out of monetary necessity, but also as a cry for help. Because the film is being illegally downloaded, it is not selling in stores. Since it is not selling in stores, the stores may soon threaten to stop carrying the project. If this film and others like it do not sell in stores, more and more filmmakers will look at those sales and conclude that only prairie dramas and end times films are desirable to Christian audiences. Distributors will say that Christian comedies are not financially viable and our market will only get more and more homogenous.

We have some interesting discussion tools on our podcast site at www.glowingnose.com about these issues. One is the podcast about piracy and another is about the necessity of paying for church needs. We encourage you to listen to these podcasts and start a discussion in your local church and on our sites.

What do you think about piracy? What can you do to encourage legal transactions? How can you encourage those in your local church to see piracy as a real issue? Is downloading a movie a sin? Is it a sin to download a song to see if you like it before you buy it? We want to hear from you!

Thanks again for your support of original, creative, and challenging Christian films!

For those of you looking for a Christian “This American Life”, check out the Glowing Nose Podcast. It covers everything from dating, to county fairs, to studies of actual books of the Bible. And they are always looking for new contributors. So, if you have an MP3 story, song, or even just a typed out document that you want to contribute, give it a shot!

You can find the Glowing Nose Podcast at www.glowingnose.com.

We have exhausted our advertising abilities and are in real need of your help. A lot of people say that, but we really mean it! Christian comedies face a lot of issues right now because so much of our market demands prairie dramas and soft inspirational films. In the coming months you will notice that almost all new Christian films being released will be inspirational films where an underdog overcomes an obstacle. There is nothing inherently wrong with these projects, but the market is flooded by them right now.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of people watching the financial numbers behind Bringing up Bobby to see if it will be a success. Comedy in the Christian market is not a tested audience, and so, filmmakers are justifiably wary of making comedy films and distributors are wary of picking them up. Meanwhile, prairie dramas and repackaged Hollywood classics are selling well in Christian stores. Since that is the case, the market is being flooded by the same old stuff.

If you want to see more comedies, please support those that are already out there. That means telling friends and family, setting up church screenings, and legally purchasing a copy of the film. We’ve noticed that our movie has been pirated thousands of times online. Please help us by not illegally downloading a copy of our movies (as a hint, there are no legal places to download the movie. If someone is offering it to you, it is illegal).

Thanks again for your support!

Curious as to our progress? Check out the podcast at www.glowingnose.com to hear our thoughts on the festival experience!

Producer Nick Staron will be at the Spirit West Christian music festival in Del Mar, California this weekend! Look for him in front of the giant Bringing up Bobby banner and be sure to say “hello”. Also attending is the Newsboys with one of their first performances with Michael Tait (DC Talk). This is the first of 5 Christian music festivals that Glowing Nose will be attending in order to spread the word about Bringing up Bobby.

For directions to the Spirit Festival event, please visit their site at: http://delmar.spiritwestcoast.org/

Church Screenings This Weekend!

This weekend holds many more opportunities to meet with the producers of Bringing up Bobby, since we will be attending two screenings in the North East Ohio area. Friday night we will be at Northside Christian Church in Wadsworth and Sunday we will be at Calvary Chapel of Cleveland. Please visit our screenings page for more information.

Online Reviews for Bringing up Bobby

We have had some very positive reviews from several different sites and would love for you to read them. You can get several different takes on the project by reading a review from christiancinema.com, praisepictures.com, or from a viewer who caught the film on JCTV. We appreciate those of you who have blogged about the film. Please feel free to pass our videos and banners around on your websites.

Other Christian Films to Check Out

We have not seen all of these films, but people we know made them. Please take a chance and help out some independent filmmakers.

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (coming in September)
Song Man
Pendragon
Widow’s Might
The Penny
Saving God