Celebs Come Out to Support ‘Sound of Freedom,’ Encourage Fans to See Film

Mel Gibson attends the photo call for Columbia Pictures' "Father Stu" at The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills in West Hollywood, Calif., on April 1, 2022. Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Singer Jewel and actor/director Mel Gibson are among the latest celebrities to publicly embrace the anti-child trafficking film “Sound of Freedom” and encourage fans to go see it. That’s despite some of the mainstream media’s efforts to paint the movie in a negative light.

Sharing a video on TikTok and Twitter, the singer/songwriter spoke to the importance of the movie’s message and encouraged everyone to get out and see the drama based on the true story of former government agent Tim Ballard turned independent who works to rescue hundreds of children from sex traffickers.

“It saddens me that some media is trying to politicize this movie,” Jewel posted, responding to a month-old tweet from Twitter owner Elon Musk, who had offered to make the Angel Studios film available to stream for free on the social media platform.

“This is not left or right. It’s about millions of kids being trafficked, and no matter what your faith or creed, we need to protect all the vulnerable kids rather than fight over philosophical differences,” Jewel’s post went on to read.

Talking about the importance of the movie’s message, she said, “You guys, I just saw the ‘Sound of Freedom’. You have to see it. I’m so verklempt [overcome with emotion].”

“Some friends of mine made this movie,” the singer continued. “And I’ve—it’s been years of it being in production. It’s the most inspiring film. Did you know that there are millions of children in slavery? This is the fastest-growing criminal enterprise, and the amount of children enslaved right now is greater than all 300 years of the transatlantic slave trade.”

Referring to Operation Underground Railroad founder Mr. Ballard, played by actor Jim Caviezel in the film, Jewel called it “a true story about a man who just doesn’t give up on a child.”

“This is the little Indie movie that could, it’s competing with all of the giant blockbusters and it’s kicking butt and it deserves it. Go see this and have your heart filled,” she added. “Love you guys, take care of your babies!”

That’s as Gibson on Sunday posted his own message.

“One of the most disturbing problems in our world today is human trafficking and particularly the trafficking of children,” said Gibson. “Our future is our children. Now the first step in eradicating this crime is awareness. Go see ‘Sound of Freedom.’”

In an interview posted by Green Lives Matter on Twitter, Mr. Caviezel noted how Gibson wept when he saw the movie.

Sound of Freedom Becomes Big Box Office Surprise

The crowd-funded film follows Mr. Ballard on a dangerous mission to rescue a group of children who are being held captive by child traffickers in Colombia. It beat out the latest “Indiana Jones” installment on opening day and after six days of release it has earned an impressive $40 million.

The strong box office showing has some in Tinsel Town questioning the Hollywood gate-keeping that has long been going on.

“Sound of Freedom” was shot in 2018 in Cartagena, Colombia, and was produced by 20th Century Fox. When Disney acquired the studio in 2019, it decided to shelve the film. Angel Studios picked up the movie after negotiations and garnering enough funds.

Caviezel, in a special on-screen message upon the film’s conclusion, noted that the film “wasn’t released til now, with every roadblock that you can imagine being tossed in the way.”

Brandon Purdie, head of theatrical distribution at Angel Studios, said in a statement: “As with our July 4th numbers, today’s numbers exceed our expectations, and we’re going to continue this momentum. We’re getting messages from all over the country telling us about packed theaters, sold-out theaters and spontaneous standing ovations for the film in numerous locations. Seeing this film has become a must, thanks to incredible word-of-mouth.”

Purdie also thanked AMC, Cinemark, and Regal, which are three of the biggest movie theater chains in the country, for “having the courage to release ‘Sound of Freedom’ during the busiest movie season of the year.”

Left-leaning Reports Tie Film to QAnon Conspiracy Theories

That’s as a number of media outlets have tried to link the film to QAnon conspiracy theories, to the dismay of some like Christian musician John L. Cooper who posted about it on his Instagram page.

That’s while Rolling Stone writer Mile Klee who wrote an op-ed titled “‘Sound Of Freedom’ Is a Superhero Movie for Dads With Brainworms” and sub-titled “The QAnon-tinged thriller about child-trafficking is designed to appeal to the conscience of a conspiracy-addled boomer.”

Mr. Klee described Mr. Caviezel as “a prominent figure on the conspiracist right, giving speeches and interviews in which he hints at an underground holy war between patriots and a sinister legion of evildoers who are harvesting the blood of children.”

“It’s straight-up QAnon stuff, right down to his use of catchphrases like ‘The storm is upon us,’” Klee continued. “Here, he gets to act out some of that drama by playing a fictionalized version of Tim Ballard, head of the anti-sex trafficking nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), in a feature film that casts the operator as a Batman-style savior for kids sold into the sex trade.”

Despite the attacks, “Sound of Freedom” continues to top the box office.

Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon said in a July 6 statement: “This movie has now taken on a life of its own to become something more than that, a grassroots movement,” “The world needs to see Sound of Freedom and we know that our biggest competitive advantage — our incredible fans and investors — are going to make sure that happens.”