A ship sails blindly in uncharted waters. The crew is unaware of what dangers lay ahead. That is where the phrase "There be dragons" originated. It is a term for the uncharted and unknown areas of the sea and it means watch out for the unknown dangers that lurk ahead, which is the central theme of the film, There Be Dragons. It is about people who face their personal dragons.

The central plot of There Be dragons is about two childhood friends faced with two different paths. One becomes a soldier; the other becomes a priest. One chooses war; the other chooses peace. Suddenly, their paths cross during the Spanish Civil War, and they sadly face a battle between each other.

It is also a story about love, betrayal, and redemption. A subplot involves Ildiko (played by Olga Kurylenko), a girl from Hungary who goes to Spain to fight in the war. It is her first experience on the front line and she gets hit with the realization of the realities of how horrifying the war was. She falls in love with another soldier, which adds some romantic spice to the movie.

Academy Award nominee Roland Joffe (The Mission, The Killing Fields) agreed to direct the film on the condition that he rewrite the original script. He almost turned down the offer until he found inspiration in one of Josemaria Escriva's speeches on video. He said that the words were so profound that he was inspired to write a tribute of that moment in a scene in the film, explained Paul Lauer as he discussed Joffe's inspiration of the film.

The film is a tribute to Josemaria, founder the Opus Dei, and the impact that his work had on other people's lives. Even though Opus Dei is a highly controversial organization, Joffe wanted to portray Josemaria as a man who strives for peace and salvation. Joffe gives Josemaria a humble humanity that recognizes everyone is a sinner and no one deserves sainthood. When he began Opus Dei, he sought to build relationships, not a clique.

Joffe defines himself as an agnostic. He holds no prejudice against Christians and other religions. The advantage of having an agnostic write and direct this film is that the message of the film is not tainted for or against the Catholic agenda, said Lauer. This is a real story about real kinds of people set in a real circumstance. It holds personal messages about love, betrayal, and redemption.

With a $35 million budget, the movied was filmed in Argentina and Spain. It also boasts an Academy Award-winning cast (Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, Olga Kurylenko) and crew including Eugenio Zanetti, art director, Yvonne Blake, wardrobe and costume designer, and Mishelle Burke, makeup designer.

This film has surprising high quality production for a movie with Christian values, said Lauer, which is quite rare.

Given the amount of religious films released in the past years including Passion of the Christ, The Nativity, The Mission, The DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons, and The Chronicles of Narnia, it begs the question: Is Hollywood pursuing a religious path? Lauer believes that it nearly is. It is not there yet, but it is well on its way.

The faith-based market is believed to be the most loyal and supportive markets in today's culture because they buy and donate things of value in almost any economy. There are 140 million Christians in America with the annual buying power of $5.1 trillion. Given the large and marketable Christian population in America, it would be wise for Hollywood to capitalize on this demographic.

As of yet, there is no set release date. It is highly anticipated to be released in spring 2011. Roland Joffe fans would be happy to keep their eyes open for the release date. I am confident that they will not be disappointed in his latest work. This will be a dramatic, thought-provoking film that everyone will enjoy.