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Sony VP DeVon Franklin Leaving Studio To Make More Faith Based Films

Sony SVP DeVon Franklin Leaving Studio To Make More Faith Based FilmsPosted by Wilson Morales

July 8, 2014

Source: Nikke Finke

DeVon Franklin 1According to Nikke Finke, Senior Vice President of Production for Columbia Tristar Pictures DeVon Franklin is leaving the studio after nine years to fully concentrate on making faith-based entertainment projects.

Having developed the hit film Heaven Is For Real which has made $90.5M at the box office on a $12M budget, Franklin, who’s also an ordained preacher, is walking away with a producing deal at the studio.

During his time at Sony, he worked on The Pursuit of Happyness and Hancock and Seven Pounds all starring Will Smith, as well as the faith-based hit Not Easily Broken, and the family comedy Jumping the Broom starring Angela Bassett and Paula Patton, both produced by faith-based filmmaker Bishop T. D. Jakes. When he was promoted to SVP in 2012, he supervised The Karate Kid reboot, starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith, which grossed over $350 million worldwide.

Franklin once said, “Being a Christian in this business, it’s important to elevate films that skew faith-based because there is an audience out there that does want higher-quality films that are treated like real films. We don’t want to pander. Why not raise the bar? And at the end of the day, if you touch people, you’re gonna get box office.”

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