Film executive Chris Fenton said in an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy that his upcoming comedy Bad Counselors aims to bring audiences something he believes has become increasingly rare in Hollywood: a family-friendly comedy centered on redemption, humor, and authentic human connection.
Appearing on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Fenton discussed the independent film, which opens nationwide on July 23 following preview screenings on July 22.
“It’s super exciting because not only is it a great film, but it’s also 100 percent American-made,” Fenton said.
Although the movie was primarily filmed in North Carolina, Fenton noted that Tennessee also played a role in production.
“Believe it or not, we did a good amount of post-work in Tennessee,” he said. “Some music supervising, a lot of that stuff.”
Fenton described Bad Counselors as “a great redemption story,” adding that it is “a PG-13 family comedy, which is great, because Hollywood simply doesn’t make enough of those anymore, especially in these non-tentpole type of forms of content.”
Explaining the Hollywood term “tentpole,” Fenton said those productions typically cost more than $200 million to produce, with an additional $100 million to $150 million spent on marketing.
“Think of the Toy Story [movies], the Moanas — those types of films. Those are tentpoles. What we made here is different,” he said.
Fenton also criticized what he sees as shortcomings in many modern films.
“The other thing, too, is they sometimes lack humanity in it. A real human connection, something that engages people whether red or blue, whatever part of the country or even the world they’re from,” he said. “And then on top of it, a lot of times, there’s political ideology put into these films, which really turns off half the audience out there.”
According to Fenton, the film follows “two fraternity brothers who get in a bunch of trouble” and must complete community service before graduation. They become counselors at what they later discover is a church camp.
“They apply as counselors for that camp, and they soon find out it’s a church camp, and they happen to be non-Christians. So they fake their way into this camp,” Fenton said.
The film stars Chris Klein, known for the American Pie franchise, as the camp’s pastor, alongside Matt Cornett, whom Fenton described as “a fantastic young star.”
Fenton said the filmmakers intentionally sought to appeal to audiences across different backgrounds.
“What we did was we really found the nuance between audiences that maybe are secular in nature and those that are really strong and devoted to faith,” he said. “We found a way to create a fun, happy, really great laugh kind of movie that both kinds of audiences would love to watch.”
He added that parents may also appreciate the film’s nostalgic summer camp setting.
Fenton said the project aligned with the mission of Family Radio, which finances Loam Entertainment.
“Family Radio… is really interested in finding a way to reach younger generations when it comes to talking about the importance in faith,” he said. “We thought this movie really had what it took to make people [who] were Christians love it because it really spoke to them and had a lot of relevancy. But we also felt like the movie could lure other people into being curious about faith themselves.”
As one of the film’s producers, Fenton emphasized that filmmaking is a collaborative effort.
“I’m talking about this project as if it’s mine, but it’s not. It’s 1,200 of us that are involved,” he said. “We’re all part of the village that it takes to make these movies.”
He contrasted the production with larger Hollywood blockbusters, saying, “I’ve worked on movies like Iron Man 3, where it takes 8,500 individuals to do it.”
Fenton said one of his greatest accomplishments is that the production relied entirely on American workers and businesses.
“We hired 1,200 people, all Americans. We used all American locations. Our vendors were all American. Everything that we did that was touched on this film was touched by American hands, which is something that we’re really proud of, and it’s not something that happens very often anymore.”
Bad Counselors is scheduled to debut in approximately 690 theaters nationwide.
“We’re guaranteed a six-day run,” Fenton said, explaining that strong ticket sales during the opening week can lead to additional screenings and theater locations.
He encouraged audiences to purchase tickets in advance.
“Every pre-buy means a lot for us because that allows us to then showcase to Fathom, Regal, Cinemark, and AMC Theaters that we’re getting a lot of people interested in the film, and then they add more theaters to what we have as our list already,” Fenton said.
Moviegoers can locate participating theaters by entering their ZIP code at the film’s official website, www.badcounselors.com, according to Fenton.
Tune in now to The Michael Patrick Leahy Show – your AMERICA FIRST news talk!
– Watch LIVE here on X
– Watch LIVE on YouTube / Rumble / Roku / AppleTV
– Listen on Spotify
– Listen on WENO AM760 in Nashville
– Read more at @TheTNStarhttps://t.co/CYKkib5c1Y— Michael Patrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) July 14, 2026
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
