Reaching the heart of Hollywood

When the Andrew Denton documentary God On My Side was broadcast on Australia’s ABC TV earlier this year, many people saw Phil Cooke as a voice of reason amongst some of the more unusual characters interviewed at the National Religious Broadcaster’s Convention in Dallas, Texas last year.

Phil Cooke is one of a rare breed. He’s a Hollywood producer with a Ph.D. in Theology. His blog is considered as one of the most insightful resources on the web on issues of faith, culture, and media. Through his company, Cooke Pictures, Phil advises many of the largest non-profit and faith-based media organisations in the world. He also speaks at workshops, seminars, and conferences around the world.

I spoke to Phil as part of my morning programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM today.

We chatted about his work and the media in general as well as Andrew Denton’s God on My Side. Was Denton trying to discredit Christianity? Was he fair with those he interviewed? It was great to get Phil’s opinion of the documentary.

Phil had a lot of great insights on the most effective ways for Christians to harness the power of the media in its various forms. One thing that came out very strongly a number of times in our discussion was the need for people who want to share their faith story to understand the culture they’re trying to reach.

If you want to hear the interview just use the media player below.



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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1 Comment

  • HEY! This is so funny, I opened your blog and my first thought was “that good looking guy sure resembles Phil Cooke”. It is Phil! I know him from working together on several projects and because he is one the jurors for The Damah Film Festival, which I’ve been involved with off and on since its beginning.

    Very cool guy. I will listen to the interview.

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