Behind the scenes of 'Fireproof': Take 2

Rebecca Grace - Guest Columnist - 9/25/2008 8:45:00 AM

With recording equipment in hand, I boarded a plane bound for Albany, Georgia, where I would spend some time on the set of Fireproof, the third film from Sherwood Pictures, creators of Facing the Giants. During my time on set in November 2007, I had the opportunity to get to know some of the cast and crew and experience their passion for making films that glorify God. Below, they tell their own stories.

Their love for Christ was contagious on set and that love spreads to over 800 theaters Friday, September 26.
 
This is the second of a three-part series that will take you on a backstage tour of Fireproof. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. (Read Part 1)

Name: Kirk Cameron
Role: Lead actor, Caleb Holt
Scene 5: Casting Caleb
 
We had this event where I bumped into Michael Catt (pastor), Alex Kendrick (director) and Jim McBride (executive producer) in a food court in an airport, while with my family. They told me they were the producers of Facing the Giants, and they gave me a screener copy of the movie. My son and I watched it on the plane on the next trip we took. I brought it home and we watched it on family night. I called Alex and told him I would love to be in any other movie he did.
 
I came and spoke at Sherwood Baptist Church, and a couple months later, Alex asked me to audition for the lead part of Fireproof. We thought that was a little strange because I get offered many roles in bigger productions without auditions. (Cameron is a professional actor who made it big playing Mike Seaver in the sitcom Growing Pains.)
 
They sent me nine very difficult scenes – the hardest ones in the whole movie. So I came here and auditioned and a few days later Jim called and said the door was open for me to do this.
 
My wife and I prayed about it, and here I am. I am very happy to do this. The hardest part was being away from my family for a little while.
 
Name: Erin Bethea
Role: Lead actress, Catherine Holt
Scene 6: Meeting Erin
 
I think every little kid goes through a phase where they stand on the fireplace and put on plays for their parents – that's what I used to do. But as I got older, I started doing musicals at our high school. The first musical I ever auditioned for I got the lead for; it was Bye-Bye Birdie, and I was so excited. After that play, I was bitten by the bug, and I just fell in love with it.
 
I became a feature performer at Walt Disney World in Orlando. I did parades and shows and stuff like that. I've worked at all four theme parks, but I've mostly worked at MGM Studios. It was a fun job.
 
To film Fireproof, I put in for a leave of absence. I don't take much vacation, and our vacations roll over. So I was able to accumulate enough days to get a month off, and then I wrote a letter asking for a 30-day leave of absence because I knew I would need two months to film the movie. A lot of the roles that I do at Disney are hard to fill, so they were not able to let me take a 30-day leave of absence. I dropped down to a seasonal status and didn't really get paid anymore. But it was cool because the Lord has provided, and I knew He would.
 
Probably two to three weeks before we wrapped shooting Fireproof, I got a call from Disney offering me another job in a different department that I had wanted for a long time. I wouldn't have gotten it if I had not quit my other job with Disney. It's a neat thing. I took a leap of faith and quit my job to do the movie, and then I got the job I have always wanted. Now I'm a contracted professional actress at the Magic Kingdom.
 
[So you can see from my work at Disney], I have always done musicals and happy-go-lucky things. I've never played a role (such as Catherine) that's this emotional. We had an acting coach who kind of gave us all this great back-story on the characters and everything Catherine has been dealing with up to this point.
 
I was real nervous about this role at first. I was like, "How am I going to do this? I don't identify with a marriage, much less a bad marriage." But I feel like – at 25, the age when a lot of girls are getting married – that I have learned what it's like to be married, and I think that's something that will help me once I am married. I don't think you ever learn completely about marriage until you are married, but it's helped me to see and study what makes a Godly marriage work. So it's been difficult, but it's been a good learning process.
 
It's been cool to watch God show up every day and do things through amateur actors. I don't have the experience to be doing this, but he's allowing me to do it.
 
And I feel stronger than ever that I am where I am supposed to be. I have had so much fun with it. It's just one of those things where you know you are in the right place and you know you are doing what the Lord has called you to do.
 
I have a firm belief that God does not give us talents and desires to waste. He's been faithful to open doors to let me use my talents. I went to a great Christian college where I got a degree in theater, then Disney and now this film. It's just been confirmed over and over that this is what I'm supposed to do. This is the plan He wants for my life.
 
When you think about going into the field of entertainment for God, it seems like such an oxymoron because the entertainment industry seems like "it's all about me." I do think my passion is for Christians to get involved with the entertainment industry and to redeem the arts with excellence. We have a higher calling to do things well, and arts and sports appeal to so many people. That's why Facing the Giants was such a big thing.
 
I feel very strongly about Christians going into the entertainment industry and infiltrating that culture. When Christianity and the arts come together it's a beautiful thing. Using art to glorify God becomes the ultimate definition of what it should be.
 
Name: Curry Bushnell
Role: Head makeup artist
Scene 7: Making up
 
When I was a little boy I went to a monster mansion one year. In high school I took over the makeup department at the little theater in Albany, Georgia. When I graduated from high school, I was 20 years old. I had worked two years, saved up all my money, so I just moved [to Hollywood]. I didn't know a soul. I just packed my bags, and I was gone.
 
I went to a professional makeup school in California. I graduated, got my diploma and started working as a professional makeup artist for ten years. I got under contract with ABC where I worked on [shows like] General Hospital and Who's the Boss. I've done a couple of major motion pictures and some print work, but I was doing it all for man. I did a lot of things that I'm not proud of. The Lord had his hand of protection over me. Even though I may not have been saved, I knew who God and Jesus were.
 
After ten years of the Hollywood scene, I came back to Albany. I met a friend who invited me to a non-denominational church, and the Spirit was really moving. And I said, "OK, I like this." That was my first step into being a Christian. A few years later I went ahead and got saved and was filled with the Holy Spirit, and I consider myself one of God's children now.
 
[After taking a break from makeup for a few years], I saw Flywheel [the first movie from Sherwood Pictures], and I was so moved by the storyline that I contacted Alex Kendirck, the director, one day and gave a brief overview of what I did out in Hollywood.
 
He said, "Come by my office and let's talk."
 
So I went by Sherwood Baptist, and we talked for a good hour. When we got through, we shook hands, and he said, "Curry, I think God sent you to me because my next movie is called Facing the Giants, and it's going to be shot on high definition video, which means the makeup is very critical."
 
High def is shot in low light. So the makeup has to be very light. You have to match the skin tone and go very light on the eyes, cheeks and lips and...it looks fabulous. I learned this at our boot camp for Facing the Giants. I made up someone and decided that she was way too dark, so I took her back, took it off, and we did it real soft, and she looked great on camera.
 
I'm so blessed to work for these guys. It's been a Godsend. And I'm not ashamed to say that God took me to California, gave me ten years of training and brought me back to Albany to make movies that glorify Him. I'm so blessed, I really am.
 
Working on Hollywood sets opposed to working on this set [is totally different]. [For example], when Erin [Bethea] was doing a scene, we gathered around and prayed for God to give her strength to pull it off. You would never have done that in Hollywood, never. It's a dog-eat-dog world! It's always back biting, who can you stab, who can you climb over to take their position away from them. Here, there is unity and it makes a huge difference.
 
Plus, this is where I belong. I would like for God to be my agent and to get more jobs for me in the Christian world. I would love to start traveling and doing Christian bands, Christian authors, more movies – because there are other directors who are making Christian movies. I would really like to do nothing other than Christian work from here on out.
 
I made money out in Hollywood; I'm not making money here because this is my ministry, but I'm being fulfilled. It's a lot more rewarding. It's either going to be making money or receiving a crown, and I think that crown's a little more important.

Read Part 1 

Part 3, a review of the movie, will be posted on Friday, Sept. 26

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