Michael Scott, CEO of Pinnacle Peak Pictures and PureFlix.com (pictured left) with God's Not Dead cast (shown left to right) Cory Oliver, David A. R. White, Dean Cain, and Benjamin Onyango.
.
“Ours points you toward hope, light, God, and inspiration.” That’s the major difference between the content that Hollywood is producing and streaming out on secular services and what viewers will find on PureFlix.com, says Michael Scott, CEO of Pinnacle Peak Pictures, and the Pure Flix streaming platform.
In 2005, Scott founded Pinnacle Peak Pictures, which has produced box office hits like The Case for Christ and God’s Not Dead. Then just 10 years later, he launched PureFlix.com to provide streaming of faith and family entertainment. Add another five years, and in 2020 Sony purchased the production and streaming duo, with Scott remaining as CEO.
“… it’s the purpose of Pure Flix to be a light in the darkness …”
>>> Learn more about the Pure Flix mission at PureFlix.com.
Today, Pure Flix is one of the world’s largest faith streaming services for families, having filled consumers’ increased appetites for family-friendly content with The Message at the forefront.
Here’s what Scott says about the state of faith-focused content and entertainment today, what’s key for church content creators and curators to realize, and where the production and consumption of faith-based content are headed in the years ahead.
CP: There are over 200 streaming platforms available around the world. But none of them have exactly the formula of Pure Flix. What was your vision for PureFlix.com?
Scott: There is family-friendly content on different services. But it’s the purpose of Pure Flix to be a light in the darkness; Hollywood creates a lot of dark content.
Viewers can come to our service and be uplifted in spirit and not worried about that other garbage. They can watch with the whole family and not worry.
CP: How do Pinnacle Peak Pictures and PureFlix.com combine to deliver a light-in-the-dark entertainment experience?
Scott: PureFlix is streaming thousands of movies and TV shows to consumers for one monthly fee on any device. Pinnacle Peak is where we produce content, films like God’s Not Dead, and episodic TV shows, about 15-20 projects per year.
We make faith-centered movies but there are a ton of others making them around the world, and we share their content with our viewers.
CP: How did you merge your theology background with film? And what’s it like being a Christian CEO in Hollywood today?
Scott: I got an applied sciences degree, which is actually a film degree, and then I got a degree in theology. My dad was a pastor too, so I was rooted strongly in my faith and film background.
I got into commercials after school—Apple, Taco Bell, car manufacturers—and I saw the power of media in a 30-second commercial. It had the power to motivate people, and I saw that we could use the media to glorify God and bring people in. And I thought, let’s use film and TV to tell this powerful story.
CP: How has your business connection with Sony impacted Pure Flix and Pinnacle Peak Pictures in terms of content and distribution?
Scott: It impacted us in a positive way. Sony had one of largest libraries, War Room, Courageous, Heaven is for Real, Fireproof, we brought all that content from other services and let people enjoy it with us. And it helped us make more content too … it worked well to accelerate our production efforts and help us do more.
“The content works when faith is organic to the story—not tacked on as simply a conversion scene or something. The faith is now organic to the characters and it brings them together; [and] the content tells a great story.”
CP: Is Pure Flix’s ownership and management involved in efforts to raise the production quality of Christian films and content? If so, how?
Scott: I think you go back 10-15 years, and some of the Christian films were cheesy, and corny. But over the past decade, we’ve seen a tremendous leap in the quality of faith-based films. We’ve seen great stories and some big theatrical releases.
The content works when faith is organic to the story—not tacked on as simply a conversion scene or something. The faith is now organic to the characters and it brings them together; the content tells a great story. The acting is better too, the stories are better, and the filmmakers are better, as well. We have more resources now.
You don’t start at the top, though. Hollywood and so forth wants to get the audience for film. And now, more people are creating faith-based content, and they want to serve this audience. (We did The Case for Christ in Atlanta, where the tax credits have helped create opportunities and growth.)
If you want more of these types of films, go see these films and watch Pure Flix—it lets us make more.
CP: What are your top three priorities in curating Christian content at Pure Flix? These can apply to church filmmakers who can learn from your formula.
Scott: It’s simple. It starts with a great story, with a good faith message, and then we ask, “Does it point you toward God or away?”
“TV and episodics give you the chance to explore the characters more deeply—what makes them tick, their journey—the stories are more in-depth.”
CP: You’ve got TV episodics on Pure Flix. What’s the difference in how they resonate with viewers, and what’s the advantage to having both, episodics and film? And what’s up next for Pure Flix viewers?
Scott: TV and episodics give you the chance to explore the characters more deeply—what makes them tick, their journey—the stories are more in-depth. People fall in love with certain characters in a TV show, and they are loyal to it because they want to see what happens.
A film must deliver the story in an hour and a half. Some new films for us are the God’s Not Dead movie and an action-adventure called Legacy Peak (an adventure and faith movie produced in 2022) that’s coming up. We also have the 5000 Blankets film produced last year, and it won an independent film award.
“As we approach Easter, we’ll show Risen, The Passion of the Christ, and other films. And we’re offering a free trial for seven days to watch on any device.”
We’re currently debuting a new series, A Thousand Tomorrows, as well, that’s based on Karen Kingsbury’s book, the New York Times bestselling author. It’s a six-part series that’s running through the end of March on PureFlix.com.
As we approach Easter, we’ll show Risen, The Passion of the Christ, and other films. And we’re offering a free trial for seven days to watch on any device. Viewers can download an app and sign up at PureFlix.com.
CP: What’s next for Pure Flix as a Christian entertainment medium?
Scott: We want to continue to grow the community, with more film, more TV, and a host of new series and movies over the months and years to come.
We’ll also offer new features for navigating the technology, where viewers can call member services and get help with any questions—and we’ll even pray with them.
