LOS ANGELES, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The script for the

biblical epic "Mary," which tells the story of the Nativity from

the perspective of Mary of Nazareth, languished in Hollywood for

some 15 years before entering production.

As the independent film approached completion this

September, it attracted interest from three major Hollywood

studios and streaming giant Netflix ( NFLX ), which emerged as

the global distributor and released the movie this month.

"Mary" has ranked among Netflix's ( NFLX ) top 10 English-language

movies, attracting 24.6 million views.

"The marketplace has changed dramatically over the course of

the past five years," said director D.J. Caruso. "Particularly

in the epic or the high-quality, faith-based genre. There's a

real desire or hunger out there now."

Hollywood is turning to God, the American West and outdoor

enthusiasts to capture a wider audience. Major film studios,

wealthy investors and streaming services are pouring money into

faith-based movies, rodeos and outdoor lifestyle programming as

an alternative to superhero sagas or dramas heavy with sex and

violence.

Studio executives, talent agents and television showrunners

told Reuters the industry has recognized it is missing broad

swaths of the United States. Donald Trump's election as

president in November, buoyed by working-class voters,

underscored the importance of programming to the whole country,

not just cities on the coasts.

Hollywood has periodically mined the Bible for box office

gold with films such as "The Ten Commandments" and "Noah." The

success of Angel Studios' "Sound of Freedom," a 2023 thriller

loosely based on the story of a Homeland Security agent who

rescues children from sex trafficking, won over religious and

conservative audiences and sparked new interest in the genre.

FROM HORROR TO FAITH

Hollywood's master of modern horror, "Paranormal Activity"

filmmaker Jason Blum, joined Lionsgate and other investors in

backing The Wonder Project, an independent studio that raised

more than $75 million to produce faith-based films and series

for Amazon Prime Video. Its series about a biblical king, "House

of David," will be released in February.

"There are an awful lot of people throughout the country

that think this is exactly the type of programming they'd like

to watch -- particularly with their families," said Lionsgate

Vice Chairman Michael Burns.

Lionsgate this year renewed its partnership with Kingdom

Story Company, the production company behind "Jesus Revolution."

Netflix ( NFLX ), meanwhile, struck a multiyear deal with acclaimed

filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry to produce faith-based films for

the streaming service.

Some executives told Reuters the industry has recognized it

is missing broad regions of the U.S. with films and TV shows

that garner critical acclaim but draw a narrow audience.

The disparity is exemplified by the commercial success of

Paramount Network's "Yellowstone," the Western family melodrama

that swept America's heartland. "Yellowstone" attracted more

than 11.4 million viewers in its fifth-season finale -- nearly

four times as many as the 2023 finale of the Emmy-winning HBO

series "Succession."

Thomas Tull, founder of superhero movie producer Legendary

Entertainment, recognized the opportunity before many others.

Together with TWG Global and Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark

Walter, he launched Teton Ridge in 2019, a Western sports,

entertainment and lifestyle brand built around rodeos. The

company, which is owned by TWG Global, attracted additional

investment from venture capitalist Jim Breyer and the Lee Bass

family office.

The live competitions -- which include bull riding, steer

wrestling and barrel racing -- attract a global audience of 80

million people a year.

COWBOY HEROES

Teton Ridge saddled up, last month acquiring The Cowboy

Channel and Cowgirl Channel, a deal that secured exclusive media

rights to more than 600 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association

rodeos. That augments its collection of Western sports

properties, which include the American Rodeo Contender Series,

whose championship weekend is carried live on Fox Sports, and

the "Let's Freakin' Rodeo" podcast, hosted by top-ranked

tie-down roper Ty Harris and his cousin, filmmaker Cole Harris.

Meanwhile, Teton Ridge Entertainment is exploring Western

stories in films, series and documentaries, including adapting

the late bestselling author Louis L'Amour's novel "Fallon,"

which is set in the Old West, appealing to an audience CEO

Deirdre Lester describes as the "cowboy curious."

"Our mission is to be making content for an underserved

audience," said Jillian Share, president of Teton Ridge

Entertainment. "Making stuff where it appeals to a much larger

part of our country than a lot of the stuff that we -- myself

included -- have been focused on for the last 20 years of my

career."

She called the cowboy "the first true, great American hero."

"You look at superheroes and you look at Marvel and DC, and

you're like, what's more iconic than the cowboy?" Share said.

Veteran entertainment executive Peter Chernin's investment

fund The Chernin Group became the principal investor in

MeatEater in 2018, a blossoming media brand built around

outdoorsman Steven Rinella, a best-selling author, podcaster and

host of a forthcoming History Channel series, "Hunting History."

Some, however, feel sidelined by Hollywood's pursuit of the

American heartland. They worry that executives have become

fearful of being branded "woke," a label hurled at Walt Disney ( DIS )

by Florida Governor and former Republican presidential

candidate Ron DeSantis.

One television showrunner, who was in the final phase of

negotiations for a streaming series featuring a diverse cast,

learned a day after Trump's election that the project would not

go forward. The showrunner, who requested anonymity for fear of

retaliation, saw a correlation between the programming decision

and Trump's victory.

Another development executive shared an email from one

network executive, who rejected a project as too "political."

Earlier this year, the makers of "The Apprentice," a biopic

about Trump, struggled to find a distributor even after an

enthusiastic reception at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

An attorney for Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to the

filmmakers. Briarcliff Entertainment released the movie in

October, and stars Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong were

nominated for Golden Globe awards.

This week, Disney ( DIS ) said it had removed a transgender

storyline from upcoming Pixar animation series "Win or Lose."

The character will remain in the show, but the few lines of

dialogue that reference the character's gender identity have

been removed.

"When it comes to animated content for a younger audience,

we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain

subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline," a

Disney ( DIS ) spokesperson said.