Rick Santorum, New CEO of Faith-Based Movie Firm EchoLight Studios [VIDEO]
Former U.S. senator Rick Santorum has decided to venture into the filmmaking business, according to a Monday report from The Wall Street Journal.
The 2012 presidential candidate is the new CEO of EchoLight Studios, a faith and family-based film company. EchoLight was founded in 2011 in Dallas. It markets, produces and distributes family-friendly entertainment with an emphasis on faith.
Santorum, who ran for president on a platform of Christian values in 2012, told the publication that this new business venture is a "natural extension" of the work he's been doing. "One of the things you run into in politics is that you're downstream from the culture; it's a huge influence in what goes on in society," he added.
Santorum is heavily involved with the studio already, doing everything from reading scripts to managing content acquisition.
"I'm not a film producer, but clearly there's a lot of synergy there," he said. "I have a brand; I have opportunities to meet with the influencers in the conservative/Christian community.
The company's films primarily targets soccer moms between the age of 35 and 55 who have two kids, drive a minivan and listen to Christian radio, according to EchoLight founder Bobby Downes. The production budget for each film is usually $2-2.5 million with distribution in theaters, through home video, On Demand and for broadcast, both in the U.S. and internationally.
"These movies in a sense are all individual campaigns," Santorum said, "We're trying to get a movie out there and drum up support for their election day." He cited former President Ronald Reagan, who had been involved in film before his presidency, as a primary influence for his new business venture.
Downes added that EchoLight is different from most production companies because of their values. Santorum noted, "We bring an element of trust that is missing in movie productions."
Their first theatrical release will be The Redemption of Henry Myers, which is scheduled to be released in the fall.
Watch a compliation of EchoLight studio films:
