Christian Media Co. Works to Bridge Faith Community and Tinseltown
by Mary Rettig and Jenni Parker
August 19, 2005
(AgapePress) - A California company is trying to help the entertainment industry connect with people of faith. Grace Hill Media was founded five years ago by Jonathan Bock, a believer who worked for years in Hollywood and saw a need for a Christian public relations firm.Tara Shaffer, a publicist with Grace Hill Media, says Hollywood executives have come to realize there is a big market for family-friendly films. The media company she represents is "a small group," she says, "and our mission is really to make Christians aware of entertainment that shares in their beliefs or explores the same values they believe in."
At the same time, Grace Hill Media is trying to help promote films that are family-friendly or that put meaningful, positive values onscreen, Shafer says. While not all the films the Christian firm highlights are necessarily family films, it tries to select projects that honor many of the heartfelt concerns of Christian viewers and "really just kind of elevate their view on the world."
The media publicist notes that her organization has found a genuine niche in a competitive business. At present, she says it is "pretty much the only company out there that Hollywood studios go to when they feel a movie they are creating really connects with a Christian audience."
When studios come to Grace Hill Media, Shaffer explains, "We align ourselves with movies that we feel might have a religious hook, are family-friendly, or have a moral focus. And really, we are a kind of bridge between Hollywood and Christians." Past and recent Hollywood projects in which Grace Hill was involved include A Walk to Remember, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Kingdom of Heaven.
The Christian media company is currently publicizing the Disney movie, The Greatest Game Ever Played, a fact-based family drama (rated PG for brief, mild language) opening September 30, which stars Shia LaBeouf as a young golf amateur who gets a chance to play against the reigning champion of his day. Grace Hill Media has also been engaged to help with the marketing of another Disney project, the eagerly anticipated film adaptation of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.
