His mother, grandmother and her seven sisters formed what Franklin has called a "coalition" of strong women that guided him and his brothers in the absence of their father.
[4] Franklin began his career during his time as a student at University of Southern California as an intern at Overbrook Entertainment, working for Will Smith and James Lassiter.
In his book, Produced by Faith, Franklin describes his time at MGM as critical in reaffirming his passion for filmmaking thanks to the creative input his new role afforded him in helping contribute to projects like John Travolta's 2005 crime-comedy Be Cool.
[9] Not only would his work on these projects lead to his eventual promotion to VP at Columbia, but they would also be a full circle moment of sorts for Franklin, who would collaborate with his former boss and mentor from Overbrook Entertainment, Will Smith, in making these movies.
[10] In an interview with Millennial Magazine, Franklin discussed how The Pursuit of Happiness showed him what was possible for his work within Hollywood and so drove him to make films that trigger audiences to go after something.
He helped produce The Pink Panther 2, the faith-based film Not Easily Broken, The Ugly Truth, and Whitney Houston's Sparkle (released in 2012).
[12] Not only did he champion box-office hits like The Karate Kid and Jumping the Broom, he was also recognized as one of the youngest and most influential executives under 35 years of age by The Hollywood Reporter.
[13] In 2012, following these sweeping successes, Franklin continued to rise in the ranks at Columbia, becoming Senior Vice President of Production, which made him one of the youngest people in the industry to hold such a position.
[14] In this position, Franklin developed and supervised production of new commercial material, and honed his focus for urban and faith-based markets with films like the diversified remake of Annie and the sleeper hit Heaven Is For Real.
Reading the book in one sitting, Franklin was immediately engrossed by the material and the message; he helped develop the script and oversaw the entire project.
Having lost his own father at a very young age, DeVon wanted audience members who could relate to the Burpo family to walk away with a sense of hope, peace and inspiration.
This American Christian drama stars Jennifer Garner, Queen Latifah, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, and Eugenio Derbez.
[27] The Star was released in 2017 and featured the voice of Kelly Clarkson as Leah the Horse, Oprah Winfrey as Deborah, Tyler Perry as Cyrus, Steven Yeun as Bo the donkey, Aidy Bryant as Ruth the sheep, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Anderson, Gabriel Iglesias, Ving Rhames, Deliah Rene, Kris Kristofferson, Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Christopher Plummer, and Tracy Morgan.
[28] Franklin also has several film projects in the works, including Breakthrough, for 20th Century Studios, which tells the true story of John Smith who at 14 drowned in Lake St. Louis and was unresponsive for nearly an hour.
'[30] Franklin is also at work on the reboot of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe franchise[29] with Columbia Pictures, as well as the remake of the film Cooley High[31] with Common at MGM.
"[40] Franklin shows how to discover The Big Idea for your life, take your career to the next level, recognize the signs God sends you that indicate when it's time to move in a new direction, stand firm on your Christian principles without compromise, and choose a profession, industry, or company that is in tune with your purpose.
[42] Fox LA says The Wait"…talks about finding true love through celibacy, as well as the benefits of delayed gratification in all walks of life (professional, personal, spiritual etc).
The book, published by HarperOne, is described as one that will encourage readers to pursue their passion in every area of life, including career, relationships, and faith.