By Cheryl S. Splain, Mount Vernon News
June 4, 2010 10:37 am EDT
Joe and Marcy Rinehart, along with their daughter, Rachel, will be flying to Albany, Ga., later this month to visit the set of the movie “Courageous,” set to be released in 2011. The all-expense-paid, three-day trip is courtesy of Sherwood Pictures/Provident Films.
“I signed up with Provident Films to receive updates about the ‘Courageous’ film,” explained Marcy, station manager for WNZR, a ministry of Mount Vernon Nazarene University. “I also registered to receive a widget for the WNZR Web site. I was very surprised when I opened the e-mail saying that I had won an all-expense paid trip to visit the movie set.
“We’ve been told that the Provident marketing team will have a fun-filled schedule set up to let us experience and enjoy the making of ‘Courageous,’” she added.
The movie, the fourth release of Sherwood Pictures, focuses on four law enforcement officers who, day after day, meet the challenges of their profession. But, as fathers, they find themselves increasingly challenged as their children begin to drift away.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 (Marcy wrote)
We are here! Praise the Lord, after two flights we have arrived in Albany to visit the set of “Courageous” — the new movie from Sherwood Pictures. We arrived at the Albany airport to smiling faces holding Courageous signs directing us to a big air-conditioned bus. (Thank goodness, because it’s 92 degrees.)
We are part of a group of media partners and action squad leaders from across the country. We are headed out to dinner at a local barbeque place to meet each other and some of the movie cast and crew. We each have a set pass and will get to see the action tomorrow.
At the airport, we got a chance to meet Ken Bevel, who played Lt. Michael Simmons in “Fireproof.” He was the firefighter that challenged his best friend (Kirk Cameron) to stay true to his marriage vows. Ken is back for “Courgeous” playing Nathan Hayes, a sheriff’s officer with three children: a teenage daughter, a son in grade school, and a toddler, who is played by Ken’s real son.
“Courageous” will challenge fathers to rise up to be the leaders God calls them to be. Sherwood Church hopes that “Courageous” will do for fathers what Fireproof did for marriages.
Join us and become a fan of “Courageous” at facebook.com/courageousthemovie. You can also follow the movie on twitter twitter.com/courageousmovie.
Tonight after an incredible meal at Albany’s RiverFront BBQ, we had a chance to visit with several of the cast and crew involved in “Courageous.” Just for the record, we had never had a sweet potato turnover until tonight, and it was awesome. Southern hospitality at its best.
Everyone we talked to is excited about the theme of this film, how it is developing, and how it will challenge fathers to, as Alex Kendrick (writer/director/actor) says, “Man up” and lead their families, getting engaged in the lives of their children.
“That single word title,” said Sherwood Baptist Senior Pastor Michael Catt, “echoes God’s call for men to rise with courage in their homes and as leaders. More than a third of children live away from their biological fathers. For more than a year, we’ve prayed to be sure that we’re pursuing God’s idea and not our own. With action, drama and humor, this film will embrace God’s promise in the Bible to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”
Alex briefly outlined the plot for us: four fathers, all in law enforcement — who protect and serve together — go through a terrible tragedy. They begin looking at their role as fathers and begin challenging one another to fulfill God’s intention for fathers.
Marcy interviewed some of the folks, Joe shot video of the interviews, and we’ll be posting clips on the Facebook page during and after the trip, so stay tuned.
Today we head to the set after breakfast at the hotel. The cameras start rolling at 9 a.m. All we know is that it’s a scene in “the evidence room,” which got Marcy, the CSI fan, geeked up. More to come! Thanks for reading.
Thursday, June 10, 2010 (Marcy wrote)
We are wrapping up Day 2 of our visit to Albany, Ga. The people here are just amazing. We have felt right at home and made some wonderful friends.
We started the morning by heading to the day’s crew call at 9 a.m. Today’s filming took place at the Sherwood Production House. This building is actually the old Albany library and sits right behind the Sherwood church building. The church recently purchased the building and has plans to renovate it into a youth center for teens. For this summer, it has been turned into a production house, where all indoor shots are filmed for “Courageous.”
The day started with devotions and prayer — an important part of the Sherwood routine. We noticed small groups gathering for prayer throughout the day. These crew members, many of whom are church members volunteering their time and service, pray over the actors before a scene is shot. There were also set hosts available to reach out to the guests (including the Rineharts). They served us lunch, snacks and spent time praying for each of us.
A movie set is an interesting place. There is so much action with numerous people doing very specific jobs. The day’s call sheet lists every actor that is needed and when they need to report to set. It also lists any props that are needed for the scenes, the sunrise, sunset, weather and times for lunch and dinner. We found out that the Sherwood Call sheet is a little different from the typical one found in Hollywood. It includes a scripture for the day. Today’s verse is Phillipians 4:8.
The director will spend a good amount of time setting up the shot — getting the right lighting and angle. Then he will try numerous different shots to make the editing process a little easier. Today, the work focused on two short scenes in the movie (about 30 seconds each) and the shooting took over six hours. I was amazed at how many different looks you could get with two guys talking in the evidence room.
Here is some movie set lingo we all learned today.
Video Village — the “guest area” where people are watching the movie shoot.
Still — everyone on set and in video village must be completely still and not move.
Shut it down — all noise has to stop and everyone must be still.
Rolling — the cameras are on and recording.
Action — the scene starts
Cut — cameras stop and everyone can move and talk again.
We had a chance to meet with Stephen Kendrick this morning — the producer and co-writer of the movie. And, he showed us some scenes. WOW! You are going to love this movie. Even though we were seeing very raw production, our entire group was moved to tears. This ensemble cast of actors really brings the storyline to life and everyone can relate to at least one character. The passion behind this project is to reach out to fathers from all kinds of backgrounds and show them how to be a father with purpose.
Check out the pictures on our Facebook photo album called “Rinehart trip to Courageous.”
Next, we are headed to see Sherwood’s 82-acre sports complex, which is used for community outreach. We also get to see a scene with all five fathers featured in the movie before we head home.
Today was shoot day 24 of 35. Don’t forget to check out www.courageousthemovie.com for video updates from each day of shooting.
Saturday, June 12, 2010 (Marcy wrote)
What a day we had Friday! We were really able to get a close look at the “Courageous” movie set. They were shooting just outside of Albany at an old plantation. The house and property were gorgeous! The resolution ceremony was filmed today featuring all five father characters. Each character made a resolution to be a godly father to his family.
The scene was shot outside, so we were able to see how everything works together — acting, directing, lighting, sound, cameras, makeup and (my new favorite people) the art department. These women were amazing — taking care of any prop that needed to be on set. Friday they were dealing with food for the post-ceremony party. The table spread had a southern flare including southern fruit lemonade, fruit kabobs, mini cakes and, of course, fresh cut flowers. The sad part was that no one could eat the food because it had to sit out in the heat for four hours while they were filming.
We took some amazing pictures; check them out in our Georgia trip photo album.
We were also able to get a tour of the new 82-acre sports park being developed by Sherwood Baptist Church. This complex includes baseball/softball fields, soccer fields, horseback riding, a pavilion that seats 1,500 plus nature trails and pecan trees. It is beautiful! A majority of the funding for the sports park has been made possible by the box office received from “Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof.” The church is building this complex to reach out to families in the Albany area. They do not charge to use the facilities and their prayer is that families will have a place to go to spend quality time together.
We all want to say thank you to Provident Films, Sherwood Baptist Church and Lovell-Fairchild Marketing for being incredible hosts. We were blessed to be a part of this trip. Stay tuned to WNZR (90.9FM) for more information about “Courageous” … and check our Facebook page for video interviews.
An added note — if you ever run into problems or delays when you travel, take a deep breath and tell yourself, there might be a reason this is happening to me. Friday, our first plane leaving from Albany (going to Atlanta) was delayed by over an hour because of thunderstorms. The entire flight was filled with people who had been in Albany to visit the “Courageous” set. It was kind of funny (now) because one gentleman had Internet access on his phone and people were yelling out their connector flight numbers to see if their next flight was delayed. Most of us missed our flights and had to make other arrangements.
The Rineharts, despite running through what seemed like a million gates, missed our flight to Columbus by three minutes! So … we waited and waited … and waited for the next flight. Well, here is the morale of the story.
On our flight, Joe was able to help a Spanish-speaking mother get her ticket and find her seat because none of the Delta workers on or off the flight could speak Spanish. Upon arriving, we saw her meet up with some very excited family members. I was able to spend the flight talking to a young mother of two who was visiting Columbus because her husband is taking a new job. The conversation started with me telling her why I was on the flight — coming back from visiting a movie set, etc., etc., and then opened up to a much deeper level. She was holding her 3-month-old baby girl, while her husband sat across the row holding their 2-year-old son.
She opened up about her fears of finding a home, a church and a good place to raise her family. WOW! I realized in that moment that God put me in that seat to reassure this woman by giving her some information and encouragement. I also helped changed a dirty diaper in an airplane! Have you even done that before???!!!
I will be praying for this family as they embark on their journey. I gave her my business card and told her to contact me. I hope she does. In fact, if you can help me offer any information about good housing and friendly churches in Columbus, give me a call.
We finally arrived home about 1:15 a.m. As we drove through downtown Mount Vernon, I couldn’t help but think about the message of “Courageous” — honor begins at home. I know that there are many fathers in Knox County who need to step up and take the responsibility of being a strong role model for their families. I pray that this three-day trip will allow the Rineharts to reach out to some of those fathers.
I know one mother who has already received the message and today is courageously looking toward the future. And this mom knows that nothing happens by accident — a delayed flight or entering a widget contest!
Rise and Shine 