DeVon Franklin On Merging Christian Faith and Film
DeVon Franklin, an executive with Sony Pictures and Seventh-day Adventist minister, is speaking about bridging the gap between his ministry work and Hollywood film career.
Franklin, 35, began preaching at his uncle's church 20 years ago. Although he is known for bringing about films like Sparkle, The Karate Kid and the latest Heaven Is for Real, the senior VP of production recently explained how he is able to merge his career and Christian faith.
"The more I started embracing the ministry side, the more it actually added to my career in Hollywood," Franklin told The Hollywood Reporter. "Knowing what challenges people are facing and then working on movies that can address those real-life issues gave me a path in this business."
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Two years ago Franklin, who is also married to actress Meagan Good, impressed media maven Oprah Winfrey within minutes of meeting her. On her website, Winfrey spoke about her reasoning for inviting Franklin on her show.
"I met a young man a couple of months ago who's [sic] faith was so strong and Light was so bright, that after less than 7 minutes with him I said we need to do a show together," Oprah said of Franklin in 2012. "An unlikely candidate to be a spiritual thought leader, (he's a Hollywood executive) I was so moved by his passion and commitment to faith while functioning in the lion's den of entertainment I could hardly wait to do a 'Super Soul Sunday' and share his insights, clarity and wisdom with you."
The media maven went on to call Franklin a unique spiritual teacher.
"He's in the business of developing movies and talent, but as you will see, is a bonafied dynamo himself... a different kind of spiritual teacher for our times," she said.
