Hollywood Flipped: How Angel Studios is Crowdsourcing Christian Films (and Crushing It) with Jared Geesey

Are you tired of the negativity and darkness in Hollywood movies? Wish there were more films that uplift and inspire? There's good news! This episode of The Covenant Eyes Podcast dives into the world of Angel Studios, the company shaking up Hollywood by letting YOU decide what movies get made.

Join Karen and Rob as they chat with Jared Geesey, Chief Distribution Officer for Angel Studios. You'll hear about:

• The innovative "Angel Guild" that lets viewers vote on films and greenlight projects.
• Their incredible success stories, including the box office hit "Sound of Freedom."
• How Angel Studios is partnering with theaters to bring wholesome content to the big screen.
• How YOU can get involved and help change Hollywood for the better!

Ready to be a part of the movement? We'll give you all the info you need to join the Angel Guild and start voting on movies that amplify light in the world. Listen now and help us take back Hollywood!
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ANGEL STUDIOS GUILD:
https://www.angel.com/guild/join

ANGEL STUDIOS:
https://www.angel.com/
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COVENANT EYES WEBSITE:
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Transcript

0:04

And he welcome back to the Covenant Eyes podcast. It is day two of the NRB Conference 2024. And gosh, we are having a blast here, right, Rob? It is. I didn't think it could get busier than yesterday but but it is. So yeah, it's great to be here. And this morning we have a wonderful guests who would just love to dive into this conversation. So let me introduce our guest, Jared Geesey. He is the chief distribution officer for Angel Studios. And Jared, welcome to The Covenant Eyes Podcast. Thank you. Really. glad to be here with you guys. Great. Hey, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself, how you got involved with Angel, and then just your work with Angel Studios? Yes. yeah. It's been my pleasure to be a part of just bringing these Faith-Based and family films to the world. I've been in the faith space or for film about the last 20 years. I started with a platform called Christian Cinema.com, and, so I just had a heart for my calling is that I feel like the Lord's asked me to be a part of building platforms that filmmakers can stand on, so their message can get out there. So I'm not a film maker, but what I do is build the distribution systems to get films in theaters, to get them on platforms like Amazon and Netflix and, and, and then our own platform and those kinds of things. So we can filmmakers there's so many great movies but that we've never heard or seen. So it really takes a partnership. And so what we've built at Angel is an ecosystem to work with them. So that's that's the space that I work in. And just to come alongside these amazing artists, and help bring their stories, to, to the audience. That's incredible. Well, Angel Studios is really kind of just flipping the whole industry on its head. I love what you guys are doing. So talk to us a little bit about how you're shaking up what's happening in Hollywood and how you guys are really, you know, generating this amazing, wholesome content for the masses. Yeah. What's that like? it's a real privilege to to to be able to be involved with that. We're so grateful for the just the response of audiences, especially this last year with, we launched the theatrical division 11 months ago, we had never done a theatrical release. And then, our first film was called His Only Son. we did that last Easter, came out at number three in the box office. And then our second film was a little movie called Sound of Freedom. Oh, yeah. That, blew up and became the number ten movie in America last year. Yeah, just of all movies. And, so that's the impact of that. Over 30 million people saw that movie in theaters. So that was a great second film to take to theaters. And so the theaters have been great partners with us since then. we did a film called After Death that was exploring the question, from it, what happens after we die and to asking people to to think about, heavenly questions. And, and so that that was amazing response. We did a sci fi movie about the, The Book of Job. It was a great movie, by the way. I did see that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's I don't think that has been done, like, say, Faith kind of a new genre, if you will. So really, you know what the, what we're doing with these films is different. We're trying to change the model we have. We have a completely different system than the way Hollywood works. So we think the Hollywood gatekeeper model is broken and the way that model works, it doesn't work for audiences, and it's not working for filmmakers either, where, you just have a few people around a table in Hollywood deciding what movies are we should have and what TV shows we should be watching in our homes and in our theaters. And so our fundamental idea is we need to replace that gatekeeper, by with the audience. And so what we've done is created what we call the angel guild. And so anybody can be a part of the angel guild. And the idea is that films are coming to us from filmmakers, and I don't get to pick which movies we're going to distribute at Angel Studios How executive an Angel can greenlight a movie. The only people who can greenlight a project an angel, is the Angel Guild. That's amazing. And so we have about 260,000 members across the across the world. We have from 155 countries are guild members. And so we will show the films and show a proof of concept to them that we call a torch. And maybe it's a short piece of what the movie or show is and say we ask them two questions. Does this story amplify light? Because that's what our mission is. Do we want to tell stories and amplify light? And we define light and you can interact. We'll tell you like this is we're looking for stories that are good, true, honest, noble, excellent. And if this film does that, then we'll say, yes, it amplifies light. And then the second question we ask them is, how would you feel if this movie never came out through Angel Studios? And they could say, I would be very disappointed if it wasn't made somewhat disappointed or not disappointed. It's not that good. Yeah, yeah. And those are the ways that the crowd and the heart of the guild tells us we want this, we want this film. So that's how Sound of Freedom came, because a thousand guild members voted on Sound of Freedom. Those 30 million people got to see it. And so the audience knows the kinds of films that they want in their homes and in their local theater. We're so excited to bring movies to theaters. I think that's important from a cultural impact perspective to, yeah, because it's the public square it is. So that's our invitation is to help us. This isn't just us doing this. We are saying, join this, this whole battle, join this, this mission to to change culture and impact by by not just complaining against the darkness, but saying, let's let's be what we're for, not what we're against. And let's put stories that amplify light into our homes and into the culture. That's amazing. And we love that. I mean, you write with people, and Christians have been complaining for years about Hollywood and the trash that is out there. Understandably so, yeah, understandably so. But now you're giving people a choice, you know, of of wholesome entertainment that they can be, you know, interested in and, and bring their family to. And so that's just a wonderful model. The question I have, though, is with the theaters, with that Hollywood blog, you know, you mentioned certainly money talks. And the more these films do well, the the easier it gets. But are you still running into opposition from Hollywood and a lot of these theaters of putting this out competing? One of the things that's been really surprising and, so pleasantly surprising is, is as we push through this, there's a separation between Hollywood and the in the theater chains. Okay. So the movie theaters are owned by small businesses. Yes. There's the major chains, the AMC and the Eagles and Cinemark, but they're not based out in Hollywood. Their corporate offices are in Kansas City, and they're all over America, and they just want to sell tickets and popcorn, right? They really don't care what's on the screen. Yeah. And in fact, when if you do ask them, I know we've been at the like some industry events, there's an industry event called CinemaCon. It's where all the major Studios come and present their movies to the theaters every year. Right. And, after our first movie, I was wearing my Angel Studios shirt walking down the halls of the exhibit there in Las Vegas, and I would get pulled over by and just interrupted by theater owners just walking down the hall, and they would say, thank you for bringing these kinds of films to our theaters. We don't get to choose the stories, typically. And so we're grateful that you're doing this. And so they've been great partners to us. It's awesome. And so I don't I don't have opposition from Hollywood because we have built a complete alternative to it. Yeah I don't I don't need their approval. We don't work. The audience is choosing these films and then we go straight to the theaters, and then the audience is investing in these films and they're supporting them. So we've created a complete ecosystem that, you know, I, I'm we're not anti Hollywood in that I when I say enter Hollywood. What I mean by that is that there are some amazing storytellers and filmmakers who are people of faith to who are stuck in that system and are stuck behind the gatekeepers and aren't able to move forward. So I'm actually been trying to do outreach and go into Hollywood and say, if you have a story that amplifies light, you're welcome to bring it to the Angel Guild. We want great stories. because I know there's this cause element and we want that. But also people want good, entertaining content. So we found the guild is really picky. They're only greenlighting about 6% of submissions right now. So it's not only needs to be amplifying light, it needs to be well-made. It needs to be good. Right. So those together, I think, is what's creating the difference. So we've talked a lot about the guild. So how do people get involved? I mean I love this idea of the, the the users, the end users getting engaged with the content that it's going to be before them. I love this. So how do they get engaged? angel.com/guild. Okay. you can sign up and become a member. Yeah. there's a bunch of perks from being a member. One of them is obviously you're selecting and voting on the content. Yes. then that you can download our apps for your TV, you can vote from your couch if you've got kid shows that'll ask you, okay, do you have kids with you? And then you can vote on the if that kid show is something that you want to, to be seen to be made. there are short films that you can look at or even finish film. So we have major Studios and we have, I've got two major actors. We have all kinds of faith based filmmakers who are sending films to us. Yes. The same. Does the Guild like this? And, and so be a part of getting your vote. It does count. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, as a follow up to that too, you guys are bringing in some pretty incredible actors into your space. I mean, people that are in Hollywood are leaving and coming to join the movement at Angel Studioss. So that's incredible. And how are you doing that? How are you guys? Are they coming to you or are you recruiting them? What's going on there? Well, I think when you have, success, like Sound of Freedom that it all of a sudden people go, oh, there's an alternative. and so that's really part of what it is, is that you just, it opens up that there is another way of doing something besides, because the gatekeeper model isn't just we don't think it's just that a bad idea. It's broken. It's actually not working for Hollywood either. And we're hearing about all these movies that are bombing and, and, and, just the financial failures. And so, we're really trying to create a, not just an alternative of what people want to watch, but it needs to be a viable, successful financial business model for filmmakers so that they can go. And the investors who are who are the guild, right? Can can do another one and come again and do if it's not going to happen there and it's just the whole thing will wind down. Yeah. So they're drawn to that. That's a big part of it. the other thing I was going to tell you about the Angel Guild is not only is it a voting thing, but you get the early access to watch our movie. So the are the guild members were the first to see Sound of Freedom on our streaming platform. you also get two free movie tickets to every Angel movie. Okay, so your your guild membership is way paid for and worth it. So there's there's a lot of reasons to be involved. You get the first chance to invest in the the. Yeah. Whether it's, the production we help fund these productions. and then also the, the advertising, if you want to get involved and fund the advertising, that brings it to theaters. So there's you can, you know, we've had investors paid back, on these projects. So you're not just a passive consumer. Yeah. We're really trying to make the audience the New Hollywood. Exactly, exactly. That's that is wonderful. So you mentioned you're getting all kinds of content coming in, but you're only selected 6%. You said. Yeah. So that's what the Angel Guild is, is picking. Yeah. So how does how does it how many films can Angel Studios produce in a year or two. Are you just backlogged or are you on a good. You're getting a lot more submissions. I mean, last year we did four theatrical releases, and we have TV, amazing TV shows, two that are directly in our app. the Wing Feather saga, an amazing TV series in the title. Right? Yes, yes. season two of Wing Feather Saga comes out and, on April 5th, they just dropped their new thing. So it's not just films here. So, this year we are planning about six theatrical releases. Okay, so, I think our cap will be probably 12. Oh, wow. Okay. Which is a lot. I mean, that's what the biggest Studios are doing. so. But not everything will just be theatrical, and we will have more content in the app as we continue to grow. So there's, there's room for, for a lot of stories to be told. but we want to go. We want to take the stories to the theaters, as wide as possible. Not just us, but really globally. Right. And this whole ecosystem of the guild is not something we're just doing in the US. We're also looking to do this in other countries so that we can find filmmakers in Brazil. Yeah. And guild members in Brazil, for example, you know, finding movies for their own culture that are going to impact and, and, amplify light in their in each culture and around the world. So this is exciting. Well, I, I'm just so thankful for the work that you guys are doing there. Angel Studioss, thank you so much. Again. We'll, put all the links to, the Guild. Yeah. People can get engaged. In closing of today's interview, what would you like to leave our listeners with as a take away? maybe a call to action? You know, as we think about Hollywood and film and entertainment, what can we advise our, our listeners to do. To be involved? Don't be passive consumers. We now have the opportunity with this kind of a model to and vote, like opening weekend matters on these movies. Yes. And if we just kind of go, oh, that's great over there. No, like your local theater and showing up and and buying a ticket is your vote that says, this is the kind of content I want in my community, and in my home. And so those kind of things make a difference. so get involved. Join the guild, help us. Yes. Amplify light and have an impact on the culture that we all care so much about. Thank you so much. It's just wonderful. My pleasure with you. We love what you're doing. Thank you for this. God bless. And, for our listeners today, just, thank you so much for tuning in. be sure to to like us and, share this content. And so that's it. Thank you. Take care. Bye bye. Bye.