In recent years, The Epoch Times has gained a large readership as a publisher of right-wing news articles and a peddler of baseless election conspiracy theories. This summer, the conservative media company is hoping to conquer new territory: Hollywood.
Epoch Studios, a division of the Epoch Times Association, plans to release “The Firing Squad,” a drama starring Kevin Sorbo and Cuba Gooding Jr. as drug smugglers who find God behind bars.
“The Firing Squad” marks Epoch’s entry into the growing faith-film market, a genre that includes recent box office smashes such as “Sound of Freedom,” “Unsung Hero” and “Jesus Revolution.” The film’s theatrical release on Aug. 2 comes at the same time that other right-wing media companies are moving into entertainment, releasing content that counters what conservatives see as Hollywood’s progressive, secular agenda.
Epoch Studios’ establishment has attracted attention from close followers of the New York-based media company, which has grown from a fringe print startup founded in 2000 by followers of Falun Gong, a religious group persecuted in China, into a prominent conservative outlet with content amplifying Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories and right-wing messaging.
NBC News previously reported that the Election Integrity Partnership, a coalition of researchers that has documented misinformation about the 2020 election, cited the Epoch Times for repeatedly spreading false and misleading stories about voter fraud, as well as exposing conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines and the baseless “Stop the Steal” movement.
“Given the extreme sense of persecution at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, it makes sense that Falun Gong would produce content that reinforces that sense of persecution among Christians, fostering a sense of commonality and opening up the possibility of continued political alliances,” said AJ Bauer, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Alabama who studies right-wing media.
In a news release announcing “The Firing Squad,” Epoch Studios described itself as “a platform for telling stories that inspire hope, healing and growth.” The studio is overseen by executive director Sally Sun, who has overseen Epoch’s documentaries and streaming specials, including faith-focused titles like “Divine Messengers” and “Church & State.”
The Epoch Times did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
Tim Choi, who wrote and directed “The Firing Squad,” told NBC News he’s grateful that Epoch Studios has joined his passion project as co-producer and distributor.
“I’m a big fan of The Epoch Times. I love these guys,” Choi said in a recent interview.
Choi’s film follows three Christians scheduled to be executed by firing squad in Indonesia, played by actors Sorbo (TV’s “Hercules”), Gooding Jr. and James Barrington. (Right-wing audiences may be clamoring for the film in part because Sorbo is a pro-Trump conservative activist who appeared in the Christian film “God’s Not Dead” and makes faith-based films with his own production company.)
“Firing Squad” is inspired by a real-life incident that occurred in Australia in 2015, when eight people convicted of drug smuggling were executed. One of the inmates, an Australian national, became a Christian pastor while on death row and led Christian singing during the smugglers’ execution. (The Southeast Asian country is known for its strict drug laws.)
Choi was in Singapore watching the real prison tragedy unfold, watching live cable news coverage, and was moved by the reports of religious fervor inside the prison. “They all walked out singing ‘Amazing Grace’ before their execution,” Choi recalled. “I thought, ‘I have to make this movie.'”
Choi, who has previously directed faith-based films like “Suing the Devil” (2011) and “The Rapture” (2013), said “God opened the door” after scouting locations across the US, including Illinois, Louisiana and Georgia, and finding the perfect setting was an abandoned prison just an hour south of Florida, where he lives with his wife. Made for less than $5 million, the movie was shot in two months.
“I’m really proud of the look of the film,” Choi said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Producers of “The Firing Squad” are seeking support from a broad network of evangelical churches to boost ticket sales.
“Sound of Freedom,” a Christian-themed human trafficking thriller, was distributed by Utah-based Angel Studios and grossed about $250 million worldwide on a production budget of $14.5 million. “Sound” was Babenheimer’s summer smash hit.
The thriller has appealed to conservative audiences, encouraging audience members to buy tickets for others as part of a “Pay it Forward” model. The Firing Squad has adopted a similar program to crowdsource its promotional investments. The film has raised more than $1.8 million of its $5 million fundraising goal online to cover TV, radio, billboard and digital advertising costs.
Celebrities promoting the film include country singer Randy Travis and former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who said in a promotion that “the filmmakers want you to see this movie and lead a million souls to Jesus.”
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, a company that tracks box office data, said the growing popularity of faith-based films with overtly religious themes and more subtle messages represents “a demographic that’s often been left out of box office calculations.”
“This is good for cinemas’ bottom lines and good for moviegoers who want entertainment that reflects their values and perspectives,” he said.
But it remains to be seen whether Epoch Studios can garner the cultural recognition and commercial clout of other conservative and Christian-centered media companies. (The Firing Squad opens in theaters the same weekend as the kid-friendly Harold and the Purple Crayon and M. Night Shyamalan’s new psychological thriller.)
The Daily Wire, founded by conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro and film director Jeremy Boling, launched its own film and TV studio in 2021. Fox News’ entertainment division, Fox Nation, operates a streaming service that distributes a variety of reality TV shows and historical documentaries. Great American Pure Flix, the production company that offers the streaming service, features Christian-themed films that have had mainstream success, such as the “God’s Not Dead” series.
Big companies also clearly see an opportunity: Sony Pictures owns Affirm Films, the independent Christian film studio that has produced and distributed such films as “Miracles from Heaven,” starring Jennifer Garner, and last year’s “Big George Foreman.”
Meanwhile, Epoch Studios’ parent company has come under intense scrutiny. Federal prosecutors announced last month that they were charging the company’s chief financial officer, Weidong Bill Guan, with laundering at least $67 million. The Justice Department said the charges against Guan are unrelated to the company’s reporting activities. Guan has pleaded not guilty and was released on $3 million personal bond. The Epoch Times has temporarily suspended Guan.
The Epoch Times said it would “fully cooperate with any investigation into the allegations.” In a statement on its website, the nonprofit reiterated that “one individual’s misconduct does not represent all staff or the entire organization,” and said some media outlets had portrayed it in a “misleading light” because its founder is a Falun Gong practitioner.
The Chinese government banned Falun Gong, which blends Buddhist and Taoist teachings, in 1999 and considers it a cult.
When asked about the money laundering charges against Guan, Firing Squad director Choi defended the executive, insisting he was “innocent until proven guilty.”
“I only met Bill in January, so it was just a light exchange, maybe two or three times,” Choi said, “but having said that, I believe in Bill’s innocence, primarily because he took on and supported a project by a poor Christian filmmaker solely because he believes strongly in religious freedom.”
