'Homestead' Actor Neal McDonough Reveals Hollywood Is Expressing Interest In Movies About Faith
Homestead actor Neal McDonough shared that Hollywood producers and studios are showing a renewed interest in movies about faith.
In an interview with Glenn Beck to promote his upcoming Angel Studios production, Homestead, McDonough shared, “They had the breakdown of all the studios of what they are looking for and this project and that. And never, ever, ever have I seen before of the 10 of them, 4 or 5 of them in the bottom said, ‘Oh, by the way, if you have something of faith, we’re very interested this year.’ So something’s changed.”
He continued, “Whether it’s Angel Studios, whether it’s the amazing Irwin brothers, whether it’s Dallas Jenkins, whether it’s the Kendricks, whomever it is who’s going out there on the limb and telling stories of faith so the whole family can go to the theater gather, grab popcorn, grab a soda, hang back, watch a movie for two hours, and then after have a discussion with your 8-year old or your 80-year old.”
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While he indicated that Hollywood is showing an interest in film about faith, he shared that his company, McDonough Films is not just making films that are “Christian faith-based films” but are “morality plays. So you can be Christian. You can be Jewish. You can be Muslim. You can be agnostic. You can be Buddhist. It doesn’t matter. You’re getting a lesson about life and calling you out. What kind of human being are you? And do you really care about humanity?”
He also shared that while plunging into a cold body of water during New Year’s he “asks God every year what I can do to make the world a better place. And several years ago — and I was sober at the time so I couldn’t blame alcohol — I heard Him say make entertainment for Me. And I could feel the water just get hot and I could feel this flush go through my body. And I’m like, ‘Did I just actually hear that?’ And I thought to myself, ‘Well, if I did hear that I better do something about it.’ And then we started on our first film for $350,000. We did this film about a hitman who finds his religious heart. … All I know is that God is putting us in this position to make entertainment for everyone and that I gotta tell you, Glenn, that is the greatest honor that I could possibly imagine.”
On top of this, he also shared his belief that culture in the United States is turning a corner in the right direction, “I’m an altruistic guy, positive thinking. I do think it is turning a positive corner. I think that America is. In The Declaration of Independence it says God four times. It’s on our coins. It’s everywhere it is. It’s who we are. That we get to discuss that again and not worry about being so chastised by other people.
“Everyone’s coming to their common thoughts and thinking what can we do together as a country to make this a better place. And I think we’re getting there. I really do think we’re getting there. I think it’s a new wave of positive energy coming back. And I hope it all works out great,” he said.
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Earlier in the interview, McDonough shared a brief synopsis of the film as well, “It’s this post-apocalyptic situation in this film, an atomic bomb goes off and what happens. And my character, which is kind based upon this kind of Richard Branson type of character that he has so much wealth and he’s built this Homestead that if something ever happened, he’s going to be prepared.”
“Well, something happened and he is prepared,” he continued. “The problem is now that he has it and it’s all fenced off and he has militia to protect his land that he’s hired, what happens to his friends outside the gate? What happens to other people who are around him? How does he deal as a man who professes to be a man of Faith? How does he deal with that? How does he deal with having so much and people outside the gate have so little?”
“I love being in films like this because it makes me really think about me. And as a method actor I dredge up all this personal stuff to get to the most emotional response to everything that I can as an actor,” he shared. “And this is emotional because what would you do to protect your family? What would you do to protect your friends? And then who are your friends? And how extended is your family when you have a surplus of things, do you actually share with your neighbors as we’re supposed to love thy neighbors more than you love yourself.
“And that’s what I love about this project it really brings us to question ourselves and our integrity. We call ourselves people of Faith, well, when push comes to shove are we really? And that’s what I love about this film,” he declared.
What do you make of McDonough’s comments about Hollywood’s interest in movies about faith?
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