Unstoppable (2013 film)
| Unstoppable | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Darren Doane |
| Written by | Kirk Cameron |
| Produced by | John Bona Marshall Foster |
| Starring | Kirk Cameron |
Production companies | Liberty University Camfam Studios |
Release date | September 24, 2013 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Unstoppable is an 2013 American documentary film hosted by Kirk Cameron. Directed by Darren Doane. Inspired by the death of a close friend who succumbed to cancer at age 15, Cameron (who also wrote the script) has stated that his mission for the film is to answer the question of, "Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering?" The film is being made in partnership with Liberty University and was released for a one-night-only screening in theaters on September 24, 2013.
Unstoppable grew in popularity when links to its official website were blocked from Facebook and the trailer was removed from YouTube. After widespread news coverage and outrage from fans, the Facebook block was lifted. Spokespeople for Facebook said that the domain name purchased for the film was previously used for spam, and the link was reinstated after a short period of time. YouTube reallowed the trailer, but did not make a public comment.
Description
According to the project's official Facebook page:
In Unstoppable, a brand-new documentary, Kirk takes you on a personal and inspiring journey to better understand the biggest doubt-raiser in faith: Why? Kirk goes back to the beginning—literally—as he investigates the origins of good and evil and how they impact our lives … and our eternities. Reminding us that there is great hope, Unstoppable creatively asks—and answers—the age-old question: Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering?
The film is made in partnership with Liberty University.[1]
Facebook and YouTube controversy
On July 18, 2013, Kirk Cameron posted a picture to Facebook asking his fans to petition Facebook to stop censoring links to the movie's website. He said, "Calling all friends of Faith, Family, and Freedom! Facebook has officially 'blocked' me and you (and everyone else) from posting any link to my new movie at UnstoppableTheMovieDOTcom."[2] More than 300,000 people shared the picture. The story spread to numerous media outlets such as CBS,[3] ABC[2] and Entertainment Tonight.[4] The link was reinstated soon thereafter.
A spokesperson for Facebook made a statement, "This link was blocked for a very short period of time after being misidentified as a potential spam or malware site. We learn from rare cases such as these to make our systems even better."[5] Michael Kirkland, communications manager of Facebook, made the following statement to The Christian Post: "From what we can tell, the address purchased for the movie was previously being used as a spam site and it hadn't been refreshed in our system yet. We were in direct contact with Kirk's team on this and reversed the block as soon as we confirmed that the address was no longer being used for spam."[6]
Soon after the link was unbanned on Facebook, a teaser trailer for Unstoppable was blocked on YouTube. It was replaced by a message warning that, "This video has been removed as a violation of YouTube's policy against spam, scams, and commercially deceptive content."[7] YouTube later dropped the ban due to outcries of censorship from fans and media outlets.[8] Representatives for YouTube did not respond to request for comment.[2][8]
Release
Unstoppable was released on September 24, 2013.[9] It premiered at 8 p.m. ET as a one-night live stream[10] from Liberty University.[2] Due to the demand and a large number of sold-out shows, an encore presentation was scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. local time in more than 660 movie theaters. Select theaters had been already sold out or near sold out in many markets through few days after debute. Unstoppable: A Live Event With Kirk Cameron has sold 260,000 tickets and reached a theatrical gross of more than $3.2 million after just two weeknights at the box office (September 24 and October 3). For second showing, the film was the No. 3 film in box office receipts, even with only one screening in most theaters.[11] Church showings will begin November 15.[12]
Home media
DVD will be available January 28, 2014.[13]
References
- ^ Wise, Scott (July 25, 2013). "Facebook Explains Ban on Kirk Cameron's New Film". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Rothman, Michael (July 19, 2013). "Watch Kirk Cameron's Controversial Movie Trailer". WTVR. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ^ Wise, Scott (July 19, 2013). "Is Kirk Cameron banned from Facebook?". WTVR-TV. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ^ Willis, Jackie (July 19, 2013). "Kirk Cameron's Movie Blocked From Facebook". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ^ Carlson, Erin (July 19, 2013). "Kirk Cameron Trailer: Facebook Lifts Ban After Rant". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ Gryboski, Michael (July 22, 2013). "Facebook Clarifies Reason for Blocking Kirk Cameron's 'Unstoppable' Movie Site". The Christian Post. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
- ^ Phillips, Jack (July 19, 2013). "Kirk Cameron's 'Unstoppable' Blocked on YouTube After Facebook Unblocking". The Epoch Times. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
- ^ a b Grossberg, Josh (July 22, 2013). "Kirk Cameron's Unstoppable Promos Stay Up on YouTube". E! Online. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ Starnes, Todd (July 18, 2013). "Facebook Blocks Kirk Cameron's New Movie". Fox News. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
- ^ Oldenburg, Ann (July 26, 2013). "Kirk Cameron fights Facebook over new film". USA Today. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
- ^ http://www.charismanews.com/culture/41302-kirk-cameron-s-unstoppable-breaks-3-2-million-at-box-office
- ^ http://unstoppablethemovie.com/
- ^ http://unstoppablethemovie.com/