Exclusive Interviews: The Sorbos on Their Newest Projects

Last year was a rocky road for Hollywood. The box office was littered with major flops and lulls in movie attendance. The yearly numbers were saved by a handful of crowd-pleasers, one of which was the independently produced “Let There Be Light,” a faith-based picture starring the husband-and-wife duo Kevin Sorbo and Sam Sorbo.

Produced by Fox News host Sean Hannity, “Let There Be Light” brought in $7.2 million at the box office, more than double its production budget.

The film did extremely well at a time that wider releases with major studio backing got the cold shoulder from audiences — see the releases of the already forgotten “mother!” starring Jennifer Lawrence and “Suburbicon,” starring Matt Damon and directed by George Clooney.

Sam Sorbo was a co-writer on “Let There Be Light,” and Kevin Sorbo stepped behind the camera to make his feature directorial debut, so the success of the film was a huge victory for both artists.

The couple will continue to spread the positive messages of “Let There Be Light” to crowds through new release plans for the movie along with fresh projects.

LifeZette caught up with Kevin and Sam Sorbo about the success of “Let There Be Light,” the film’s upcoming home video release, how they plan to continue showing the picture to audiences, and the exciting new projects they’re taking on — including the next chapter in a popular faith-based franchise.

Question: “Let There Be Light” hits home video at the end of this month. What are your reactions to the success of the film at the box office? And do you think more films like this — positive but relatable stories — are needed in these culturally divided times?

Related: Atheist Turns to Christianity in the New Film ‘Let There Be Light’

Answer (Sam Sorbo): The culture is divided because that is how the Left wins. The Left sows discontent and chaos, and it wins every time it succeeds, so right now, it has become very powerful.

The only problem is, it lies. The truth despises the lie, so the truth will eventually win, but we are left to contend — which is what we do. That’s what “Let There Be Light” does. It shares the truth — universal truths about life, death and love, and these are truths that everyone can agree on, and that everyone feels and knows.

The amazing thing is that people stayed in their seats, in the theaters, during the credit roll, until the end, and then, exiting the theaters, they talked with each other. The impact of this film made people recognize the universal human condition, that we are more alike than different, and that love and forgiveness are of utmost importance.

Answer (Kevin Sorbo): That’s right, and the letters we got on our websites were amazing testimonies to that powerful statement. But I believe it’s largely the media that has created the cultural divide you mentioned. It doesn’t come from the “flyover” states. Those states seem to want stories with values, morals, positive messages … The heartland understands. I get approached at every airport or wherever I go, frankly, by people asking me to continue making the faith-based films, like “What If…” and “God’s Not Dead,” “Abel’s Field,” and “Let There Be Light.”

Perhaps we’ve reached a tipping point, where people have had enough — maybe that’s a bit of what the last election was about. People want the positive and optimism — they want hope.

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Question: What else are you each working on? Kevin mentioned the new “Left Behind” movie not too long ago to us, which is incredibly exciting. What is the timeframe on that, and is it a full reboot of the series or a direct sequel of the 2014 Nicolas Cage film?

Answer (Sam Sorbo): First, the film [“Let There Be Light”] is launching this weekend in Canada! We are also doing church “encore” presentations, where churches, through FaithFilmsNetwork.com can book the film, at no cost, and sell tickets as a fundraiser and also as outreach for their ministry to the community. It’s an awesome program.

We’ve also got our new devotional, “Share the Light: 40 World-Changing Devotions,” that includes action points for reaching out to family, community, and further to help spread a message of love and hope to the world.

Answer (Kevin Sorbo): I have two movies in the can opening in theaters this year. “The Reliant” is an action/faith movie dealing the economic collapse of America and the city riots caused by it. The other movie is “One Nation Under God,” and I get to be a nice teacher in that one — for a change. I am a high school teacher conducting an after-school debate team, and I bring up that subject of bringing that phrase [one nation under God] back into our Pledge [of Allegiance]. I [also] just wrapped on a family movie titled “Bernie the Dolphin.”

The next “Left Behind” movie I will be directing/acting in — and I will be taking over the role Nicolas Cage played in the previous film. [It’s a] great script and I can’t wait to get it going.

“Let There Be Light” hits home video on February 27; it’s available at Walmart or can be preordered on Amazon.

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.