‘Shark Tank,’ ‘Duck Dynasty,’ ‘The Bible’ Win Faith & Values Awards

Duck Dynasty, Frozen, Iron Man 3, Grace Unplugged and The Bible producer Mark Burnett were the big film and TV winners at the 22nd Annual Movieguide Faith & Values Awards Feb. 7 at the Hilton Universal City, a ceremony filmed for a one-hour Reelz Channel special to air Mar. 1-3, counterprogramming the Oscars. Polished performances by Richie Sambora, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jacob Latimore, A.J. Michalka, and Joni Eareckson Tada (disabled singer of the disqualified Oscar nominee “Alone But Not Alone,” who lip-synched because she only has 40 percent lung capacity) won applause.

“America was built on two things: the Bible and free enterprise,” said Burnett, whose hit The Bible won the $100,000 Epiphany Prize for 2013’s most inspiring TV show. Burnett’s Shark Tank won the $50,000 Friess Free Enterprise Prize, which comes with a trophy sculpted by Marilyn Quayle and stamped with a Latin motto meaning, “Save the Goose” (the goose being capitalism and its golden eggs).

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“You get to vote on what kind of entertainment you want to see,” said TV acting award winner Willie Robertson, a star of Duck Dynasty, which won the Faith and Freedom Award. “The Bible and Grace Uplugged are not afraid to show you their faith.” The $100,000 movie prize went to Grace Unplugged, which grossed $2.5 million. Its director, Brad J. Silverman, praised Grace Acting Award winner Michalka. “When she said, ‘I promise you’ll never read about me on TMZ,’ I knew she had the part,” he said.

Presenters included Corbin Bernsen, Pat Boone, James Denton, and Roma Downey. The atmosphere of the evening was spiritually serious yet also loose and jokey, partly because the crowd was repeatedly instructed to provide reaction cues to be edited into the broadcast: “A little chuckle and a slight applause, just for like five seconds,” said emcee Bill Engvall. “OK, now I need a very, very big applause with laughter, OK?” The crowd, amused, complied skillfully.

Movieguide publisher Ted Baehr released a statement indicating that faith and values add up to dollars and business sense. “For the first time ever, 90 percent of the Top 10 Movies in the United States and overseas were Movieguide Award winners, from Iron Man 3 and Despicable Me 2 to Frozen, Gravity and Man of Steel. Also, two-thirds of the top 10, 60 percent, had overt references to Jesus Christ. Consequently, movies with very strong Christian, redemptive worldviews averaged $87.07 million at the domestic box office in 2012, but movies with very strong Non-Christian worldviews averaged only $21.64 million. In fact, movies with humanist/atheist worldviews did the worst, averaging only $3.66 million!”

Movieguide analyzes movies according to biblical theology and negative factors (worldviews that are pagan, occult, humanist, or derived from Jean-Jacques Rousseau). But there was some tolerance for dissent at the gala. Visionary Award winner John Heyman, producer of The Go-Between and Jesus, razzed Baehr for “calling my son [Gravity producer David Heyman, who contributed a video tribute to his dad] an ‘occultist’ because of the magic in the eighth Harry Potter film.” But he hailed Baehr’s moral cause and added, “I thank and praise Ted for allowing us to participate.”

$100,000 EPIPHANY PRIZE FOR MOST INSPIRING MOVIE OF 2013

Winner:  GRACE UNPLUGGED

2 – BLACK NATIVITY

3 – 42

4 – MAN OF STEEL

5 – THE TOWER

$100,000 EPIPHANY PRIZE FOR MOST INSPIRING TELEVISION PROGRAM OF 2013

Winner:  THE BIBLE

2 – LAST MAN STANDING: Back to School

3 – THE CROSS

4 – DUCK DYNASTY:  TILL DUCK DO US PART

5 – BLUE BLOODS:  Bad Blood

10 BEST MOVIES FOR FAMILIES

WINNER:  #1 – FROZEN (2013)

2 – DESPICABLE ME 2

3 – THE CROODS

4 – TURBO

5 – GRACE UNPLUGGED

6 – MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

7 – BLACK NATIVITY

8 – OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

9 – CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2

10 – LINSANITY

10 BEST MOVIES FOR MATURE AUDIENCES

WINNER:  #1 – IRON MAN 3

2 – 42

3 – THE HOBBIT:  THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

4 – THE HUNGER GAMES:  CATCHING FIRE

5 – GRAVITY

6 – MAN OF STEEL

7 – THOR:  THE DARK WORLD

8 – CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

9 – JACK THE GIANT SLAYER

10 – THE TOWER

FAITH & FREEDOM AWARD MOVIES

WINNER:  #1 – IRON MAN 3

2 – 42

3 – THE HOBBIT:  THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

4 – THE HUNGER GAMES:  CATCHING FIRE

5 – TURBO

6 – MAN OF STEEL

FAITH & FREEDOM AWARD TELEVISION WINNER:  #1 – DUCK DYNASTY:  TILL DUCK DO US PART

2 – LAST MAN STANDING:  Back to School

3 – CHRISTMAS IN CONWAY

4 – REMEMBER SUNDAY

5 – BLUE BLOODS:  Bad Blood

6 – SECRET MILLIONAIRE:  George & Kym Rapier:  Oakridge, Oregon

$50,000 FRIESS FOUNDATION FREE ENTERPRISE PRIZE

SHARK TANK:  Episode 4.20

2 – TURBO

3 – LAST MAN STANDING:  Shoveling Snow

4 – MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

5 – CHRISTMAS IN CONWAY

6 – REMEMBER SUNDAY

7 – THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

8 – SECRET MILLIONAIRE:  George & Kym Rapier: Oakridge, Oregon

GRACE AWARD MOVIES

Actress – 1 – AJ Michalka – GRACE UNPLUGGED

Actor – 1 – James Denton – GRACE UNPLUGGED

3 – Forest Whittaker – BLACK NATIVITY

4 – Harrison Ford – 42

5 – Sandra Bullock – GRAVITY

6 – Russell Crowe – MAN OF STEEL

7 – Henry Cavill – MAN OF STEEL

GRACE AWARD TELEVISION

Actress – 1 – Roma Downey – THE BIBLE

Actor – 1 – Willie Robertson – LAST MAN STANDING:  Back to School

2 – Diogo Morgado – THE BIBLE

3 – Tim Allen – LAST MAN STANDING:  Back to School

4 – Billy Graham – THE CROSS

5 – Len Cariou – BLUE BLOODS:  Bad Blood

6 – Tom Selleck – BLUE BLOODS:  Bad Blood