Erwin Brothers

Last updated

Andrew Erwin
Born (1978-09-01) September 1, 1978 (age 42)
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, film producer
Jon Erwin
Born (1982-05-19) May 19, 1982 (age 38)
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, film producer

Andrew and Jon Erwin, known as the Erwin Brothers, are American Christian film directors, screenwriters and film producers known for such films as Woodlawn , [1] October Baby , [2] Moms' Night Out [3] [4] and I Can Only Imagine which have collectively grossed more than $120 million worldwide. They are the leaders and co-founders of the production company Kingdom Story Company.

Contents

Early life

The Erwin brothers were born in Birmingham, Alabama. [5] They are the children of the senator Hank Erwin and grandsons of Henry Eugene "Red" Erwin Sr., a Medal of Honor recipient and World War II veteran.

Career

After stopping their studies at a film school, the Erwin brothers produced The Cross and the Towers, a documentary about the steel cross found in the debris of the World Trade Center towers after September 11 attacks. [6]

Jon Erwin served as second unit director for Alex and Stephen Kendrick's 2011 film Courageous . When asked by Alex in reference to his career, "[w]hat is your purpose?", Jon and Andrew conceived the idea for their first feature film, October Baby , a Christian pro-life drama which was released in March 2014. [7] [8] The brothers went on to produce and direct several other faith-based films, including comedy Moms' Night Out (2014), and sports drama Woodlawn (2015). Their 2018 music biopic I Can Only Imagine , became a surprise box-office hit with $17.1 million from 1,629 theaters during its debut weekend, and went on to become the most successful independent film of the year of 2018, as well as the third-highest grossing music biopic at the time of its release. It made more in box office receipts than all of their previous films combined and is their most successful film to date, with $86 million in worldwide box office against a production budget of $7 million. [9] [10]

In 2018, the brothers and their frequent filmmaking collaborator Kevin Downes announced the formation of Kingdom Story Company, a production company specializing in Christian films that will be distributed through Lionsgate. [11] Some will be directed by the Erwins, while other movies will use newcomers and other veteran directors. [12] Jon Erwin compared it to a "Christian Pixar" or "Christian Marvel". As Baptist Press put it, the company will specialize "in a specific area"—the faith-based genre—and be able to "work on multiple films at one time." [12]

In early 2019, the Erwins revealed that their fifth film, I Still Believe , would be focusing on the life story of Christian musician Jeremy Camp. [13] It was released on March 13, 2020.

In February 2020, Andrew Erwin related the Erwins' goal in filmmaking:

Our focus is still firmly rooted within the church, but it's focused out[.] . . . And so our goal is to reach out beyond the church walls to engage a generation that's walking away from the church – as an introduction to Christianity.

Andrew Erwin, in an interview with Christian Headlines [14]

Filmography

As directors

FilmYearDistribution studioBox office
October Baby 2011 Provident Films and Samuel Goldwyn Films $5.3 million
Moms' Night Out 2014 TriStar Pictures $10.5 million
Woodlawn 2015 Pure Flix $14.4 million
I Can Only Imagine 2018 Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions $86 million
I Still Believe 2020 Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company $10.7 million
A Rush of Hope2020 Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company n/a
American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story2021 Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company n/a
The Jesus Revolution2021 Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company n/a

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<i>Moms Night Out</i> 2014 film by Erwin Brothers

Moms' Night Out is a 2014 American faith-based comedy film directed by the Erwin Brothers, and written by Jon Erwin and Andrea Gyertson Nasfell. The film stars Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, and Trace Adkins. The film was released on May 9, 2014, in 1,044 theaters.

<i>Woodlawn</i> (film) 2015 film directed by Erwin Brothers

Woodlawn is a 2015 American Christian sports drama film directed by the Erwin Brothers. Based on the true story of Tandy Gerelds and Tony Nathan, it stars Sean Astin, Nic Bishop, Caleb Castille, Sherri Shepherd, Jon Voight, and C. Thomas Howell. It was produced by Kevin Downes and Daryl Lefever with Crescent City Pictures and Red Sky Studios and was released on October 16, 2015 by Pure Flix Entertainment.

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Pure Flix American film production and distribution company

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<i>I Can Only Imagine</i> (film) 2018 American drama film directed by Erwin Brothers

I Can Only Imagine is a 2018 American Christian biographical drama film directed by the Erwin Brothers and written by Alex Cramer, Jon Erwin, and Brent McCorkle, based on the story behind the group MercyMe's song "I Can Only Imagine", the best-selling Christian single of all time. The film stars J. Michael Finley as Bart Millard, the lead singer who wrote the song about his relationship with his father. Madeline Carroll, Trace Adkins, Priscilla Shirer, and Cloris Leachman also star.

<i>Overcomer</i> (film) 2019 film by Alex Kendrick

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<i>I Still Believe</i> (film) American biographical drama film

I Still Believe is a 2020 American Christian romantic drama film directed by the Erwin Brothers and starring KJ Apa, Britt Robertson, Shania Twain, Melissa Roxburgh, and Gary Sinise. It is based on the life of American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter Jeremy Camp and his first wife, Melissa Lynn Henning-Camp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly before they married. Camp's song "I Still Believe" is the film's namesake.

Kingdom Story Company American studio specializing in Christian films

Kingdom Story Company, is an American film and television studio in partnership with Lionsgate specializing in the production of Christian films. It was founded in 2018 by the Erwin Brothers, Kevin Downes, and Tony Young and has operations in Nashville, Tennessee and Los Angeles, California.

References

  1. McNary, Dave (November 20, 2014). "'Woodlawn': Jon Voight Starring as Bear Bryant in Football Movie". Variety . Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  2. Ryzik, Melena (April 4, 2012). "'October Baby' Film Makes a Dent at the Box Office". The New York Times.
  3. Genzlinger, Neil (May 8, 2014). "Dad's Watching Us? Call Social Services". The New York Times.
  4. Goforth, Dan (May 6, 2014). "Filmmakers The Erwin Brothers Schedule a Moms' Night Out".
  5. Gregory E. Miller, Brothers want to ‘build a bridge’ between Hollywood and Christians, New York Post, 15 mars 2018
  6. Bob Carlton, 'October Baby,' first feature for Birmingham's Erwin brothers, opens this weekend, al.com, October 27, 2011
  7. Neil W. McCabe (March 11, 2012). "'October Baby' a comedy-drama of teen abortion survivor trauma". HumanEvents.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  8. Melena Ryzik, Film Inspired by ‘Abortion Survivor’ Is Quiet Hit, The New York Times, April 4, 2012
  9. "I Can Only Imagine (2018). Weekly". Box Office Mojo . Amazon.com . Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  10. "I Can Only Imagine (2018)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  11. Mia Galuppo (March 27, 2019). "'I Can Only Imagine' Producers, Lionsgate Set Faith-Based Film Slate". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  12. 1 2 Foust, Michael. "Erwins unveil next plans, envision 'Christian Pixar'". bpnews.net. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  13. Longs, Herb. "Jeremy Camp Inspired 'I Still Believe' Movie Coming March 20, 2020". TheChristianBeat.com. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  14. Michael Foust (February 19, 2020). "Director: "I Still Believe" Is a 'Huge Opportunity' to Reach the Unchurched". Christian Headlines. Retrieved February 19, 2020.