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The "Left Behind" explosion

Culture

No growing pains for "Left Behind"

The mega-selling book and movie series is a bona fide entertainment phenomenon. And '80s TV star Kirk Cameron's career has been reborn as its most public face.

By Suzanne Ely

At age 18, Kirk Cameron was the breakout star of the hit TV show "Growing Pains." He had already made more money than most of us see in a lifetime. But, as the actor explains over a sushi lunch not far from his suburban Agoura Hills home in California's San Fernando Valley, "I had a sneaking suspicion in my head that I was getting arrogant," a not-so-shocking revelation coming from an actor.

Now a 35-year-old married father of six kids (four adopted, two biological), Cameron is still acting, starring in several movies -- just not the ones you see at the multiplex. A devout Christian, Cameron followed his own path, one quite different from fellow kid co-stars Tracey Gold, who struggled with anorexia and a drunken driving arrest, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who transformed himself into one of the world's most bankable movie stars.

Instead, Cameron says, he "jumped off the boat" and decided to devote his life and career to Christianity. His acting peers might have thought he jumped off the deep end if it weren't for a major phenomenon called "Left Behind," an exploding empire of Christian-themed entertainment centered around a mega-selling series of books based on the Bible's apocalyptic Book of Revelation. A whopping 63 million units in the entire product line have sold. The newest book, "The Rapture: In the Twinkling of an Eye," hits shelves this week.

Since 2000, Cameron has starred in three "Left Behind" movies, fantasy-adventures with Christian themes aimed at a once-overlooked segment of Americans who prefer their entertainment to be faith-based and overtly religious in tone.

To be sure, no one -- including film critics and Cameron -- claims the "Left Behind" movies are cinematic jewels. "I don't think they're the world's greatest movies," the actor admits. Nor have the movies, books and games grabbed the multimedia spotlight like another religious-themed phenomenon, "The Da Vinci Code."

And unlike the elaborate publicity campaign behind "Da Vinci," the producers and distributor of the "Left Behind" series have taken an unassuming approach to reaching target viewers. Sony, which brought you "The Da Vinci Code," as well as such films as "Hellboy" and "Christmas with the Kranks," became the first major studio to get behind the Christian series by distributing the third movie, "Left Behind: World at War," last fall. But instead of pouring millions into advertising and a big-screen rollout, the studio bypassed theaters entirely and licensed the film to more than 3,200 churches for one weekend. Says Cameron: "The studio went directly to the core book fans who go to church on Sunday mornings."

This grass-roots approach has translated into big bucks. Estimated income from the movies alone has totaled at least a reported $100 million -- and Hollywood is watching closely.

But Cameron, a suburban soccer dad who, with his wife, Chelsea, alternates days taking care of their kids, isn't looking back. As for criticism that his "Left Behind" movies turn sacred biblical stories into slick, special effects-laden pulp, Cameron says, "The classic definition of the word evangelical is to spread the message of the gospel with people who don't understand the love and mercy of God." And getting those non-believers on board is not only good for the soul, but good for business, too.

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The "Left Behind" explosion

BOOKS
The 14 titles in the "Left Behind" series alone have sold 43 million copies.
VIDEO GAME
A video game, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," is due out this fall.
MOVIES
"Left Behind: The Movie," the first in the series, was a top-selling video, with about 4 million copies sold. "Left Behind II: Tribulation Force," sold 2 million copies.
Together, those two titles reportedly earned at least $100 million.
The third film is "Left Behind: World at War;" sales figures not available.