'Trump Prophecy' film hits Facebook resistance

President Trump speaks at his first State of the Union address on Jan. 30, 2018 (Photo: screenshot)

WASHINGTON – "The Trump Prophecy," a film based on the real-life story of a fireman who says he received supernatural messages in 2011 that Donald Trump would become president, is set to be released in 1,200 theaters beginning Oct. 2, but the project has already run afoul of Facebook algorithms that have blocked ads from the production company based on the "political" content.

The film is the latest movie project by students at Liberty University’s film department, which has created five independent, full-length feature films in the past six years – all of which received wide distribution and national recognition as faith-based projects.

But the latest effort is already drawing greater attention – and controversy – than its predecessors.

The producer of “The Trump Prophecy,” says Facebook has “almost been abusive” in seeking information from the production company, which was just trying to place an ad on the site. Rick Eldridge, the producer and financier from ReelWorks Studios, says Facebook is blocking ads from the production, which is a partnership between ReelWorks Studios and private Christian school Liberty University’s cinema department, alleging it is too “political.”

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"The name 'Trump' requires a reaction," Eldridge said. "Unfortunately, people try to come up with a conclusion before they know what the story is about. We're not doing political ads, but that's what we're being accused [of]."

Eldridge said the movie does include reflections from several different world leaders answering questions about what it means to “make America great again” and what the current administration means for Israel and world peace. When producers tried to appeal the ban of their ads, Facebook responded by saying “the text and/or imagery you’re using qualifies as political, based on the definition we’re using for enforcement.”

“I know issues with Trump are often charged, but if you watch the movie, it’s not really about Trump as much as the events that occurred leading up to the election,” said Stephan Schultze, the film’s director and head of the cinematic arts department at Liberty, the nation’s largest university.

Unlike the book it is based on, “The Trump Prophecies,” which gathers the accounts of retired firefighter Mark Taylor and Mary Colbert talking about messages they received, Eldridge said the movie only focuses on one prophecy from Taylor – that Trump would become president and impact the relationship between America and Israel.

Some of the more controversial claims Taylor has made, not included in the movie, are that former President Barack Obama will be charged with treason and that Trump will release cures for cancer and Alzheimer's disease kept secret by the pharmaceutical industry.

"The Trump Prophecy" centers on the story of firefighter Mark Taylor (courtesy Reelworks)

The film’s producers see it as an uplifting faith movie rather than political.

“We think it’s going to help unite this world, but that’s a message Facebook doesn’t want us to tell,” said Eldridge, who has also produced “Four Blood Moons” and “The Ultimate Gift.”

According to Schultze, 63 students, in addition to some faculty members at Liberty gained “real life, real hands on experience” working on the film. The class runs like a real production, he said. Each student has two roles, as they help with every aspect of the film.

Liberty's state-of-the-art facilities were part of the reason Eldridge was excited to partner with the Christian school.

"We didn't debate religion," said Eldridge. "We didn't debate politics. We just told a story, and everybody had a good time with it."

Eldridge said he hopes the film gives people a better understanding of what to pray for based on the Bible verse 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

“I think the story is really at its core about prayer and it’s about calling our nation to prayer,” he said. “We are a divided nation in a lot of ways, but when you look at leadership ... when you look at it from a biblical perspective, we are called to pray for our leaders ... whoever is in authority over us.”

The university’s cinema program pits eager amateurs against seasoned professionals in a growing niche market that was long underserved and occasionally mocked by Hollywood. Over the past decade, faith-based films such as “Heaven Is for Real” and “God’s Not Dead” have made an impact at the box office, reaping millions of dollars in ticket sales from their modest budgets.

Founded in 1971 by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Liberty University was set up as an alternative education facility on the front lines of a moral revival, which some faith-based films reflect.

Schultze said the university’s hometown of Lynchburg – sandwiched between Appomattox and the Blue Ridge Mountains – has joined filmmaking locations such as Atlanta, Louisiana, Kentucky and the Carolinas to challenge the industry dominance of Hollywood, which is taking note of the religious genre.

“Every one of the studios now has a faith-based division in it,” he said. “If the culture shifts, they’ll make movies that adapt to the culture.”

A film crew on the set of "The Trump Prophecy" (courtesy Reelworks)

Schultze proudly noted that his program’s most recent project, “Extraordinary,” was the first student-driven film to be released nationally in the U.S.

“If they were still making ‘Lord of the Rings,’ our students could walk onto that set and go to work,” he said, adding that his students operate professional-grade cinema equipment while honoring God. “There’s going to be a lot more students that feel comfortable having a voice and their worldview expressed publicly,” the cinema teacher said. “It’s full immersion. They get here in the morning, and they work till night.”

The cinema-arts program is 6 years old and graduates about 60 students a year. Each student creates a short film and earns at least one credit on the Internet Movie Database. Alumni have worked on projects such as “Indivisible,” a film about an Army chaplain experiencing a crisis in faith. It stars Justin Bruening of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and opens Oct. 26.

With “The Trump Prophecy” debuting the same month, the cinema program is testing the waters to produce a television series on campus, said Schultze.