DeVon Franklin opens up about Hollywood success, divorce, faith and finding love again| The Pivot

TL;DR

DeVon Franklin shares how losing his father at 9, faith, and a pivot from achievement-addiction led to Hollywood success and finding new love.

Key Points

• 1.Franklin lost his father at age 9 to a heart attack. His father, an alcoholic who went missing for years, died at 36 after apologizing to his sons in the hospital; Franklin kissed his cold forehead goodbye at the morgue.
• 2.Church and movies became his therapy after his father's death. His uncle founded Wings of Love Marinatha Ministries in East Oakland, and films like Rocky, Back to the Future, and The Color Purple became emotional outlets.
• 3.He started preaching at 16 but always planned to go to Hollywood. His first sermon quoted more from Les Brown's 'Live Your Dreams' than scripture; he told his church he was going to Hollywood despite warnings he'd lose his faith.
• 4.Franklin got his first break as an intern for Will Smith's management company. He later quit Will's Overbrook Entertainment — against advice calling it 'career suicide' — and landed at Sony Pictures, where only two MGM executives survived the acquisition.
• 5.He built a 40-page church marketing campaign for 'Pursuit of Happiness.' By leveraging his knowledge of the church world, he got Will Smith to appear at TD Jakes' MegaFest, helping the film nearly match Casino Royale's domestic box office.
• 6.Franklin frames his faith career around service, not perfection. At his first Hollywood interview, he told them he observes the Sabbath and would not work on it — a faith test before even getting his foot in the door.
• 7.Will Smith's act of physical surrender deeply impacted Franklin. Seeing Smith prostrate himself in surrender to God challenged Franklin's own addiction to achievement as a coping mechanism for childhood trauma.
• 8.He met his wife Maria through a mutual friend who sent him her Instagram profile. Their first hike date lasted four hours instead of one; he sent her an unsolicited 8-minute voice note guided by what he felt God wanted him to say, which addressed things she had been praying about.
• 9.Franklin has a Netflix and Tyler Perry deal and is producing films including a modern Ruth and Boaz adaptation. Kelly Rowland read the 'Relationship Goals' script in 24 hours; Method Man joined after a chemistry read.
• 10.He describes his divorce as a period of sitting alone in a hotel on Sunset Boulevard asking 'how did I get here?' He documented this honestly in a one-man show in New York and an audio book called 'Be True,' emphasizing grace over the illusion of perfection.