Award-winning director behind the production jesus revolution and i can only imagine According to box office officials, the goal of his latest project is to transform society with stories of hope and build a faith-based, values-based film studio that will stand the test of time beyond its founders. It is said that it is something to do.
“I think life is too short for small ideas,” he says.
Director Jon Irwin announced last week that he has co-founded a groundbreaking new independent studio. wonder project, which has already raised more than $75 million in seed and Series A funding, plans to produce films and television shows for faith- and values-oriented audiences. Mr. Irwin will serve as chief content officer, and co-founder Kelly Merriman Hoogstraten, a former Netflix and YouTube executive, will serve as CEO.
The idea is to create a studio that is as successful as Disney or Universal, but only produces content that focuses on faith-based values.Dallas Jenkins, creator and director Chosen personwill serve as an advisor and serve as an executive officer on some projects.
“I think the time is now,” Irwin told Christian Headline. “I think we have a chance to take a leap and almost ‘declare independence,’ where we can, hopefully God willing, build our own studio that really stands the test of time. It would be great if the stories we're creating now can create a place where stories can still be told decades from now. … I'm working on a project that I've dreamed of all my career.”
Irwin is the only director in film history to earn four A+ CinemaScore ratings (jesus revolution, wood lawn, i can only imagine, and america's underdog. )
Faith-based and values-driven audiences are hungry for more content than is currently available, he said.
“They want a values-based ecosystem. They want brands and destinations. … They just want to inject their values into content that brings families back together.”
The Wonder Project will provide filmmakers with the creative control they may lack when working with mainstream studios, he said. Irwin and Jenkins had a common vision, he added.
Irwin likened the power of the studio to the power of a herd of horses.
“I like the story that one draft horse can pull about 8,000 pounds. Together, they can pull 24,000 to 32,000 with training,” he said. “We had a shared vision to create a destination where we had the freedom to create, and to allow others in the space to have that same freedom.”
He said overseers in faith-based areas often understand their audiences better than mainstream executives.
“You know what works, you know what you need to do, and you're trying to convince studios to take it to an audience that you know better. So you just wonder. You wonder: Why can't we create such a sustainable existence?”
Irwin added, “When you give major creators the freedom and resources to reach an audience that we know better than many studios, success usually happens from there.” .
Wonder Project will then partner with streamers and other partners to deliver the final project. The studio's titles will celebrate faith, values, family and America.
“We want to create stories that bring hope to the world. And we want to create stories that restore faith in what's worth believing in,” he said.
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Photo credit: CanvaPro/©Kingdom Story Company, used with permission.
Michael Faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His story was published in Baptist Press. Christianity Today, Christian Poecent, of leaf chronicle, of toronto star and of knoxville news sentinel.
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