Trump Embraces ‘Sound of Freedom,’ More Heads Set to Explode
It’s the little indie film that could, a sleeper hit that’s driving the press berserk.
“Sound of Freedom,” with a budget akin to a Marvel movie’s catering tab, has made more than $53 million in under 10 days of release. The fact-based movie follows Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel), a Homeland Security agent tasked with rounding up pedophiles.
Except he decides to directly save children instead, putting his life in extreme danger along the way.
Media outlets have been savaging the film for days, insisting it’s “QAnon adjacent” and merely culture war scraps for Christian conservatives. CNN.
The Washington Post. The Guardian. Rolling Stone. They all repeated that absurd mantra. Expect the media attacks to get much worse.
Why?
Former President Donald Trump will screen “Sound of Freedom” next week at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. Not only that, he’s invited Caviezel and the real Tim Ballard to be part of the July 19th event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. Producer/co-star Eduardo Verástegui will also be in attendance.
VINEYARD, UTAH - JUNE 28: Mira Sorvino and Tim Ballard attend the premiere of "Sound of Freedom" on June 28, 2023 in Vineyard, Utah. (Photo by Fred Hayes/Getty Images for Angel Studios)
The film, acquired from Disney by Angel Studios, was completed five years ago but sat on a shelf until recently. Word of mouth has been through the roof, and even some critics have praised the film as well-crafted and compelling.
Star Caviezel, an openly Christian actor, has said his career has suffered due to taking the film’s starring role. He alleges he lost two agents and a lawyer after he accepted the part.
NBC News led the way in depicting "Freedom" in a negative light following the Trump announcement.
But the movie’s star, “Passion of the Christ” actor Jim Caviezel, has previously been accused of promoting right-wing QAnon conspiracy theories, and some critics have said the movie overstates the realities of child trafficking.
Showtime made a two-part movie about the biggest conspiracy theory of our time, the Russian collusion hoax, and few if any media outlets batted an eye over it.
Trump’s embrace of the film is part of his larger efforts involving the Culture Wars. The real estate mogul isn’t shy about attacking the woke ideology and leveraging his grasp of pop culture.
The fact that he didn’t rally behind “Sound of Freedom” sober may be the only surprise here.
His ties to the film will likely inflame journalists who loathe anything associated with the former President. We’ve already seen angry, disingenuous attacks on a title that has brought older movie goers back to theaters and injected life into a moribund summer season.
Sure-fire hits like “The Flash” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” have flopped while even “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1” may struggle to achieve profitability because of its gargantuan budget – reportedly near $300 million thanks to splashy stunts and COVID-19 delays and protocols.
“Sound of Freedom,” the perfect example of summer counter programming, is defying all the odds. It’s a bit like a certain political neophyte back in 2016.
The film arrives at a curious time in popular culture. Conservatives rallied like never before to punish Bud Light and, by extension, Anheuser Busch, for pushing trans politics into its marketing message. The once-popular brew hired trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney to promote the light beer, sparking a massive sales revolt.
Bud Light sales fell through the floor, and some experts suggest it will never reclaim its past levels.
“Sound of Freedom” appears to piggyback on a similar cultural wave, allowing Heartland types a way to highlight a societal ill and give traditional Hollywood a powerful message. Make more movies like this, or we’ll keep supporting renegade films that defy the industry’s gatekeepers.
And, if the liberal press insists a movie is QAnon adjacent, they’ll see it two or three times.