“It feels like we’re in a special moment that has never happened before in Hollywood where you have this many faith-based movies being released by not just independent filmmakers but now the big studios,” said Paul Lauer, founder and CEO of Motive Entertainment, the leading film marketing firm for reaching Christian audiences. “This Holy Week there will be four major feature films in theaters at the same time and that’s unprecedented.”

Lauer launched his firm a little over a decade ago with a plan to focus on targeting underserved religious audiences, unchartered territory at the time. Months after opening he was introduced to Mel Gibson who told him about a faith-inspired film he wanted to release. That film became the mega-hit Passion of the Christ. Motive Entertainment led the groundbreaking grassroots marketing campaign targeting Christians through churches and other non-traditional marketing venues that helped make Passion of the Christ, an independent film, one of the most successful films of all time.

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CREATED AS A TOOL FIRST

It’s vital for key creatives to be members of the faith community, not only because they understand the target audience, but that they’re also trusted by that audience. Unlike other films, where the sole purpose is to entertain, faith-based films are utilized as tools to spread a message. As Downes explains, “The purpose of the art is to inform, inspire, reflect, and model behavior.” To be a success in the market, the film must portray life as it should be, not how it is. Downes says there’s good reason for this. “You’ve got plenty of examples of broken families in Hollywood movies, but very few reflect positive family values, so there’s a huge void.”

To this target audience, purpose trumps all. Paul Lauer, CEO of Motive Entertainment, the company behind the grass roots marketing campaigns for The Passion of the Christ and Son of God concurs. “They only get excited when it’s consistent with their values and beliefs. If it’s not then it doesn’t matter how much money was spent or how good the quality is.”

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Paul Lauer has long had a passion for media and its power to shape the culture.

Named after the saint he calls “The Biblical Broadcaster,” Lauer – membership chair of Legatus’ newly minted Hollywood Chapter – sees his calling as broadcasting the gospel message using the modern means of communications.

These days, he does that principally as president of Motive Entertainment, which brings faith-friendly movies to the masses.

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Paul Lauer, Founder of Motive Entertainment, cut his teeth on the biggest faith-driven project of recent decades – The Passion of the Christ. Early in the process, he took Mel Gibson “on the road” to meet with religious leaders across the country. Gibson would show the clergymen some footage and solicit their input on how to improve the tiniest details of the project. He took it all under advisement and actually instituted many of the suggestions that were given. Years later, Lauer continues to adhere to the idea that “you still need to get the Rick Warrens of the world excited” – but he has expanded his outreach directly to the consumer. Lauer believes that “there is the right home for your film.” You may not know what that will be until you see the completed film, but “you have to find the people who are objective enough to help you figure out what the right home for that film will be.”

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