| Art
Within Announces Strategic Partnership with Hollywood-Based
P.R. Firm, Grace Hill Media
by
Laura McGowan
In
light of Hollywood’s recent interest in reaching a largely
untapped faith-based audience, Art Within and Hollywood-based
public relations firm Grace
Hill Media have decided to join forces to promote to the
studios scripts developed by faith-based writers.
Bryan Coley announced the collaboration during the
opening night dinner at Art Within’s 2004 Symposium and
Showcase, adding that the initiative will be launched over the
next year.
During
a series of conversations and meetings with fellow Christian
artists in Hollywood last spring, Art  Within
realized a common vision and purpose with Grace Hill Media,
headed by Jonathan Bock.
Brought together
by Rick Bonn, Art Within’s marketing
and distribution director, Grace
Hill Media and Art Within are complementary
organizations—Art Within has a history of developing
faith-based content, and Grace Hill has a history of promoting
content for Hollywood studios trying to reach a faith-based
audience.
The
partnership will kick-off with a nationwide search for the
next great screenwriters of faith.
Much like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Project
Greenlight, the idea is to attract and identify emerging
artists.
“We’re
looking for the next C.S. Lewis or Tolkien,” said Bryan
Coley. “Great storytellers who imaginatively take us to a
whole new level of blending faith with their writing.”
Unlike
Project Greenlight, Grace Hill and Art Within are not
promising to give the winning writer one million dollars to
make their movie. Instead,
both companies have designed an award that is an investment in
the writers themselves. The
winners (up to ten per year) will be selected for either a
residency program in Hollywood with Grace Hill Media, or a
writer’s retreat program in Atlanta for Art Within’s
experimental wing.
Grace
Hill’s residency program will be targeted towards winning
screenwriters who want to write in Hollywood.
Winners will actually relocate to Hollywood for the
year-long residency. The
goal of the residency program is to tap into Hollywood’s
newfound interest in faith-based audiences to create scripts
that will sell in this market.
In addition, Grace Hill Media will invest in each
writer to make sure they can survive and flourish in Hollywood
after the residency program ends.
In
contrast, Art Within’s experimental wing is will be designed
for winning screenwriters who have a more Quentin Tarentino or
Spike Lee bent towards independent films.
The program will foster an environment that allows
writers to experiment with faith and scriptwriting.
The goal is to create scripts that are groundbreaking
from both an artistic and faith viewpoint.
Writers will be flown into Atlanta for retreats and
will be mentored by both the Art Within creative team, as well
as industry professionals as they explore new expressions of
faith blending with art.
The
programs will cross-pollinate, leveraging Art Within’s
script-doctoring skills for the Hollywood residency track and
leveraging Grace Hill’s Hollywood studio experience for the
Experimental Wing track.
Both programs will yield a total of 12-14 scripts a
year that may then be sold in Hollywood or produced
independently.
For
Art Within, this is a natural extension of the investment in
developing scripts. “We
can commission scripts all day long,” said Coley. “But in
order to have an impact on our culture and people’s lives,
we need to partner with people in Hollywood, who are our best
shot at getting Art Within’s screenplays produced and/or
distributed.”
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