Meagan Good Among Speakers at Largest Faith-Based Conference for Entertainment Professionals
/LA MIRADA, CALIF. — Biola Media Conference, the largest national event for people of faith working in the entertainment industry, will return after a year hiatus on Saturday (April 29) at Fox Studios in Los Angeles, Calif. Director Destin Daniel Cretton and actress Meagan Good are slated to speak at the conference.The Biola Media Conference, sponsored by Biola University’s Cinema and Media Arts department, is a haven for professionals and students who want to pave a new way forward for quality media-making from a Christian perspective — people who refuse to divorce their faith from their craft, and won’t settle for low-quality, didactic “Christian” media.“The Biola Media Conference was an incredible experience,” said film and television producer, DeVon Franklin. “It was truly an honor to be able to share the power of building a thriving career in Hollywood, without compromising your faith.”The 2017 theme, “No Boundaries,” will explore how saying “Yes” opens doors, allows filmmakers to stretch themselves, and how it changes lives and creates careers.“The Biola Media Conference draws artists from around the world who are trying to step through the open doors that new technology has opened,” said Jack Hafer, professor of cinema and media arts. “Thousands of new jobs are filled this year that didn’t even exist two years ago thanks to Netflix, Amazon, and now Apple and Google searching for original programming to secure their customer base. We’ve booked amazing talent to help you understand how to navigate these new waters.”Cretton is a film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. He is best known for writing and directing his second feature film, “Short Term 12.” He is the director of the forthcoming adaptation of The Glass Castle set to release in 2017 featuring actress Brie Larson. Cretton co-wrote the screenplay for “The Glass Castle” with Andrew Lanham of “The Shack.” Cretton spoke at the Biola Media Conference in 2013 as well.
Good has appeared in numerous television shows, films, and music videos since she started her career in 1985 at the age of four. Earlier this year, Good published her first book, The Wait: A Powerful Practice for Finding the Love of Your Life and the Life You Love, which she co-wrote with her husband, DeVon Franklin. She also guest-starred on CBS’ medical drama Code Black, in which her character had a 3-episode arc. She will star next in the Lifetime movie “The 10th Date” and in the American crime drama “Deuces,” which are both slated for release in 2017.The conference attracts more than 700 industry professionals. Past speakers have included blockbuster producer Ralph Winter, actor Sean Astin, screenwriter Stan Williams, and Franklin.For more information or to register online, visit www.biolamedia.com. General Admission cost is $149. Cost for Biola alumni is $40. High school and non-Biola college student admission is $75. Lunch and coffee bar are included. Limited press passes are available upon request. Email jenna.loumagne@biola.edu for a press pass application.Biola University is a private Christian university located in Southern California on the border of Los Angeles and Orange counties in the city of La Mirada. For more than 100 years, Biola has remained committed to its biblical foundation, integrating biblical principles with every academic program. U.S. News & World Report recognizes Biola as a “National University,” which is considered the “major leagues” of higher education.
He added, “The way that we become less afraid of each other is to actually be together, to sit in the same room, to humanize each other and to say [things to ourselves such as] ‘Oh, he likes Starbucks grande lattes, me too,’ or ‘He has kids that are adolescents that he is trying to raise. That’s just like me, too.’”Foster said that there is much to benefit from “the sense of being together and understanding that fear is the engine for most of the dysfunction that we are seeing in our world.”He said he believes that fueling the fear is the large amounts of time many of us spend consuming news and television which “teaches us to be afraid.”“Our brain is taking in millions and millions of data points and cues all the time and I think we don’t realize how that’s impacting us in a really negative way,” he said.“I’m telling people to step back from that system and say, hey, listen, you are swimming in a system that is teaching you to hate people, to see people as your enemy,” Foster explained. “If we can step out of that and say, ‘Why don’t I shut up for a second and just listen.’ Instead of throwing a virtual stone from a million miles away, ‘Why don’t I just sit at a table and have a coffee with somebody?’”People should be able to sit down and have a conversation, he said. “I don’t have to agree with everything you say. You don’t have to agree with everything I say. The fact that is not happening in our society is very destructive thing that’s going to lead us on a journey that’s going to yield things that we ultimately do not want as a church, as a country, as a society as a whole.“The way that we heal our cities is unity, is coming together, is giving people the benefit of the doubt, is holding our tongue and actually spending some time listening, and asking a question versus giving an answer.”Foster was one of several speakers on Thursday, the first day of the two-day