{"id":2501813,"date":"2026-07-14T16:22:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2501813"},"modified":"2026-07-14T16:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:22:20","slug":"i-want-to-build-people-up-ekkl-entertainment-co-founder-michael-scott-discusses-the-genesis-of-his-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/i-want-to-build-people-up-ekkl-entertainment-co-founder-michael-scott-discusses-the-genesis-of-his-company\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI Want to Build People Up\u201d: eKKL Entertainment Co-founder Michael Scott Discusses the Genesis of His Company"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Interview: Co-founder Michael Scott | EKKL Entertainment\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MRUNCZoljgw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Michael Scott is the co-founder and former CEO of Pure Flix and a film distributor and pioneer in faith-and-family streaming, whose work has generated more than $200 million at the global box office. He recently created EKKL Entertainment with Willie and Korie Robertson (<em>Duck Dynasty<\/em>) to make a trusted home for entertainment, inspiration, and connection. Scott sat down with The Collision to talk about the origins of this company, his hopes for its future, and his experience as a person of faith in the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><em>(Note: <em>This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Watch the full conversation\u00a0above.<\/em>)<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nyah Phillips: Tell me about eKKL. Where did this idea come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Michael Scott:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been looking at the market over the last few years and asking, \u201cWhat does the faith-based audience and the family-friendly audience really need?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">We realized that there are a lot of movie services out there that stream video, whether it\u2019s Faith and Family or your standard Netflix and everything like that, but there was no central hub for this type of entertainment. We said, \u201cWhat if we did something different\u2014a multi-vertical platform where you can get all your entertainment in one place?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re bringing movies and television. We\u2019re bringing podcasts. Very shortly after launch, we\u2019ll have audiobooks, prayer, and devotionals. We also have an incredible travel shop and health benefits that bring great discounts to our members, because we\u2019re saying you can do everything inside eKKL. \u201cEKKLevery day\u201d is the idea.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">I think people will find something they enjoy. People might watch a movie once a week, but they may love their favorite podcast or whatever it is. They\u2019re going to be able to get all of that here.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Phillips: You started Pure Flix in 2005. How have you seen the industry change in the 20 years since you started?<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\"\/>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Scott<\/strong>: What\u2019s interesting is that streaming has been around for a while. When we started, it was just beginning to really take off. What I\u2019ve been most excited about is that the content has gotten so much better. If you go back 15 or 20 years, a lot of it was really cheesy. People would cringe but still watch it. Now I think the content has improved tremendously, especially in movies and television, but also in podcasting and other areas. You\u2019re getting great content that makes you think, makes you laugh, and really moves you. You can feel the production value.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s what we want to bring to eKKL\u2014more of that kind of content that people can really get involved with. And it\u2019s not just Christian content. There will also be great family entertainment where you can laugh, have fun with your family, and not have to worry about thinking, \u201cOh my gosh, what am I going to be confronted with today?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Phillips: Definitely. And <em>She Dances<\/em>\u2014is that your first acquisition?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Scott<\/strong>: That\u2019s one of our first acquisitions. It\u2019s got Ethan Hawke, Steven Zahn, and Maddie Ziegler. It\u2019s a great father-daughter movie. If you have girls who are into dance, I think people are going to love it. It\u2019s a touching, heartwarming story, and we want to bring more stories like that. It\u2019ll first go to theaters, and then it\u2019ll come to our streaming service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Phillips: How have you wrestled with your own faith and remained strong in your relationship with God while living and working in the entertainment industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Scott<\/strong>: I\u2019ve been in this industry for a long time\u2014about 20 years. Before I did this, I worked in commercials for a long time. If you remember the \u201cYo Quiero Taco Bell\u201d commercials, I did a lot of those.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, it\u2019s been interesting because I\u2019ve always been on the faith-based side once I got into movies and television. Hollywood has always been uncertain about it. It\u2019s like, \u201cWe think there\u2019s an audience there. We think there\u2019s money there. How do we get to it? We want it but we don\u2019t want it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">It goes in cycles. It\u2019s hot for a while, then it\u2019s cold. Then it\u2019s hot again, then it\u2019s cold. It\u2019s like a ping-pong match. They don\u2019t always understand the audience or what they\u2019re looking for. It\u2019s always great when everybody wants faith-based content, and then there are other times when people say, \u201cI don\u2019t want that.\u201d It really does go through cycles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">As for my own faith, I grew up with parents who were pastors, so I grew up in the faith. I always wanted to combine great storytelling with my faith. It\u2019s been a journey. At times it\u2019s been tough because you\u2019re wondering, \u201cWhere are we going to get this out? How are we going to get people to see it?\u201d You can get worried or discouraged. But I\u2019ve learned to keep pressing because I know the audience is there, and they\u2019re looking for something great.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s one thing to bring somebody a great story. It\u2019s another thing when someone says, \u201cThat movie changed my life. I was at a point in my life where this movie made me think differently about what I was doing or how lucky I really was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve heard so many testimonies over time of people whose lives have been touched by these movies, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m doing this. That\u2019s what encourages me to keep going, because if I can touch even one life and help change it for the better, I\u2019m all for it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Phillips: What do you hope eKKL accomplishes once it\u2019s released and widely established? What are your hopes for the company?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Scott<\/strong>: I think it goes back to what I was saying earlier. I want people not only to be entertained, but I want this to touch them in the soul of their being. There\u2019s a lot of entertainment out there, whether it\u2019s Netflix or Disney. But I want people to come to eKKL and say, \u201cWow, that actually had an impact on me. That built me up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">So often entertainment can be really dark. It might be really well done, but you leave thinking, \u201cThat was cool, but I don\u2019t know how I feel right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">I want people to come away saying, \u201cWow, that uplifted me. That made me think about my life from a totally new perspective.\u201d If we can do that even once, then we\u2019re accomplishing our goals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Every piece of entertainment reaches people differently. Maybe it\u2019s a podcast and something someone says that really speaks to them. Maybe it\u2019s a movie and a moment where someone says, \u201cI\u2019ve been there. I know what that dark moment feels like, and now I see how someone made it through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">If we can accomplish that, that\u2019s a huge win. That\u2019s what I\u2019d love to see.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">EKKL Entertainment is now available at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/m.ekkl.com\/\">https:\/\/m.ekkl.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    <!--begin code --><\/p>\n<div class=\"pp-multiple-authors-boxes-wrapper pp-multiple-authors-wrapper pp-multiple-authors-layout-boxed multiple-authors-target-the-content box-post-id-6890 box-instance-id-1 ppma_boxes_6890\" data-post_id=\"6890\" data-instance_id=\"1\" data-additional_class=\"pp-multiple-authors-layout-boxed.multiple-authors-target-the-content\" data-original_class=\"pp-multiple-authors-boxes-wrapper pp-multiple-authors-wrapper box-post-id-6890 box-instance-id-1\">\n<p>                                                                            <span class=\"ppma-layout-prefix\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"ppma-author-category-wrap\">\n                                                                                                                                    <span class=\"ppma-category-group ppma-category-group-1 category-index-0\"><\/p>\n<ul class=\"pp-multiple-authors-boxes-ul author-ul-0\">\n<li class=\"pp-multiple-authors-boxes-li author_index_0 author_ncarlson has-avatar\">\n<div class=\"pp-author-boxes-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatar-image\">\n                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            <\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"pp-author-boxes-avatar-details\">\n<div class=\"pp-author-boxes-description multiple-authors-description author-description-0\">\n<p>Nyah is an Atlanta-based filmmaker who specializes in screenwriting, directing, and costuming. She joined The Collision in September 2025 to help more and more believers engage in culture without losing their faith. 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He recently created EKKL Entertainment with Willie and Korie Robertson (Duck Dynasty) to make a trusted home for entertainment, inspiration, and connection. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2501815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[25138,22914],"class_list":["post-2501813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-article","tag-interview"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/I-Want-to-Build-People-Up-eKKL-Entertainment-Co-founder-Michael.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2501813"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2501816,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2501813\/revisions\/2501816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2501815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2501813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2501813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2501813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}