CATEGORY . ‘The Bible’ producers Mark Burnett, Roma Downey ‘cast out’ Satan from ‘Son of God’ after Obama controversy : The Satan character (pictured) from ‘The Bible’ has been written out of ‘Son of God,’ after sparking controversy over the actor’s resemblance to President Obama last year. Resist the devil, and he won’t cause any more presidential controversy. The producers of History Channel's miniseries "The Bible" decided not to include Satan in their upcoming biblical film "Son of God," after the evil character sparked controversy over the actor's resemblance to President Obama. Roma Downey, who acted in the "Bible" miniseries and is producing the film alongside her husband Mark Burnett, said that the Obama comparison was a "distraction" from the History Channel series' success. ....... At the time, the "Touched By An Angel" actress issued a statement denouncing the comparison. RELATED: NBC ACQUIRES ‘THE BIBLE’ SEQUEL "Both Mark and I have nothing but respect and love our President, who is a fellow Christian," she said. "False statements such as these are just designed as a foolish distraction to try and discredit the beauty of the story of `The Bible.'" The series also proved a critical success. It received three Emmy nominations and became the top-selling miniseries of all time on DVD and Blu-ray. "Son of God," which hits theaters on February 28, continues the story of Jesus using some footage from the miniseries. "I want the name of Jesus to be on the lips of everyone who sees this movie, so I cast Satan out," Downey quipped to TheBlaze on Thursday. "It absolutely gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting room floor." See ARTICLE
CATEGORY . Roma Downey Says Upcoming 'Son of God' Will Be 'Epic, Sweeping' Reminder of God's Love : The upcoming, highly-anticipated film "Son of God" is going to be an "epic, sweeping" reminder of God's love, actress Roma Downey, who co-produced the film with her husband Mark Burnett, said in a recent interview. The film "Son of God," set to be released by 20th Century Fox in theaters on Feb. 28, will take a PG-13 look at the life of Jesus, beginning with his birth and early teachings and following him through his crucifixion and resurrection. According to the film's website, "Son of God" is the first motion picture about Jesus since "The Passion of the Christ," released 10 years ago.... "We hope audiences leave theaters feeling they know Jesus more and also that they are reminded of how deeply he loved us," she said. "This is a big, epic sweeping film – an exciting movie and sometimes a tense movie with intense drama and real danger." "At the end you feel incredibly humbled and loved – reminded that we are all children of God."... Downey added that although the film has yet to be released to the public, test screenings for the motion picture have proven successful and promising. "We have felt support across all denominations … businesses are buying out whole theaters and donating the seats to churches, encouraging folks to come opening weekend and to bring a friend and to bring the whole family," she said. "We believe this message of hope and love will touch the lives of millions."... [more at "miracle couple" ?] See ARTICLE
CATEGORY . Miracle Couple Mark Burnett and Roma Downey from Northern Ireland Touched by the ‘Son of God’ : [Mark and Roma] say that their deep-rooted Christian faith came into play and overcame any differences and eventually this resulted in this Emmy Awarding husband and wife teaming up to produce the "The Bible," an epic five-week, 10-hour television miniseries which premiered March 3, 2013 on the History Channel. For two hours each Sunday night millions of viewers saw the Bible from Genesis to Revelation come to life in a way never before seen. The final episode of the series aired on Easter Sunday and featured the death and resurrection of Jesus.... I asked Roma, how they came to produce "The Bible" miniseries and now "Son of God?" They says that their deep-rooted Christian faith came into play and overcame any differences and eventually this resulted in this Emmy Awarding husband and wife teaming up to produce the "The Bible," an epic five-week, 10-hour television miniseries which premiered March 3, 2013 on the History Channel. For two hours each Sunday night millions of viewers saw the Bible from Genesis to Revelation come to life in a way never before seen. The final episode of the series aired on Easter Sunday and featured the death and resurrection of Jesus....
Mark then chipped in, and said, "We are Christians and it was a calling and we felt that our job was to use our enormous secular success on television and in the entertainment industry, to get the Bible series made." So how did the "Son of God" come about?.... I [?] then shared with the couple that I had recently released a book called "Mary, My Story from Bethlehem to Calvary" - www.marythebook.com - which tells the story of Jesus through the eyes of his beloved mother. See ARTICLE
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BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI, CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER . Roma Downey and Mark Burnett to CP: 'Son of God' a 'Love Story' for an 'Under-Served' Audience BY MICHAEL GRYBOSKI, CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER : The producers of the hit television miniseries "The Bible" have stated that their new film "Son of God" is meant to be a "love story" for an "under-served" audience....
"Within that sweeping drama and tension there was this intimacy of this love story of Jesus," added Burnett, who hoped viewers of the film "fall in love with Jesus." Burnett and his wife Roma Downey head LightWorkers Media. When comparing past film and television projects about the life of Jesus, Downey told The Christian Post that it has been years since the last major film about Jesus had been released. "Remember that Jesus hasn't been on the big screen in 10 years. It was a decade ago that 'The Passion of the Christ' came out," said Downey. "As amazing as that film was it dealt with only three days in the life of Jesus. Where 'Son of God' tells the story of Jesus' life from His birth in our Christmas story through to His death, His resurrection, right into the Ascension, and the film ends with the Great Commission."...
"Edited from the content of portions of "The Bible" miniseries, "Son of God" explores the life of Jesus through the narration of St. John, author of the last Canonical Gospel.... Downey referred to the film as a "beautiful sweep of His story told in English as it brings Jesus to the big screen for a whole new generation." ....
"Our job is to emotionally connect to be able to bring a story to life on the screen in a way that would draw the viewer in and engage, fully engage them," said Downey. "...In addition to "Son of God," the film "Noah," starring Russell Crowe and produced by Paramount Pictures, is scheduled to be released next month. When asked by CP if the entertainment industry may be looking to create more projects with biblical settings and themes, Downey responded that she felt "that seems to be accurate." "We know that there are a number of faith projects in the pipeline," said Downey, who talked about the upcoming LightWorkers project "A.D.," which follows the lives of the disciples after Jesus' ascension. ------------------------------------------------------------------- See CATEGORY . Jesus Returns to the Big Screen in 'Son of God' : TEXT See ARTICLE
CATEGORY . SON OF GOD: Producers of ‘THE BIBLE’ Taking Jesus to Theaters Next Year : THE BIBLE averaged 15 million viewers over five two-hour parts on TV. It’s sold more than one million DVD units, which makes it the biggest selling TV-to-disk title of the past two years, according to Fox. It’s also become the highest-selling TV miniseries of all time on home video. Roma Downey led a cast that made TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL a cultural phenomenon on American television during the 1990s. Her husband, Mark Burnett, is the mastermind behind such Reality TV powerhouses as THE VOICE, SURVIVOR, and THE APPRENTICE. The pair has already signed with NBC to do a regular series titled AD: BEYOND THE BIBLE. Their success with THE BIBLE, and, now, the theatrical version of SON OF GOD, is testimony to Movieguide®’s long-held contention, as proven by theatrical movie and home video sales from Hollywood collected by Movieguide®, that people want uplifting entertainment with strong Christian, biblical values. See http://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/son-god-producers-the-bible-jesus-theaters-year.html
CATEGORY . Mark Burnett, Roma Downey bring advance screening of 'Son of God' to Grand Rapids : Producer/actress Roma Downey said the upcoming feature film “Son of God” is a compelling story of the biblical Jesus. "The movie is cool, well made, gritty, authentic and emotionally connective,” said Downey, 53. “We wanted to make it an amazing theatrical experience to people who perhaps have never been exposed to the story of Jesus or the Bible.” Downey and producer/husband Mark Burnett are the creative forces behind the film, a natural outgrowth of their 10-hour miniseries “The Bible,” which aired to a record number of viewers last spring on The History Channel. ....“Son of God,” rated PG-13, opens nationwide on Feb. 28, 2014. The release by 20th Century Fox comes just before the start of the Lenten season preceding Easter. The story is actually a flashback as recalled by John, thought to be the longest surviving of Jesus’ original disciples, during his final years in exile on the island of Patmos. Burnett is a long time producer, and his credits include successful television franchises such as “Survivor,” “Shark Tank” and “The Celebrity Apprentice.” He’s also produced numerous awards shows. See http://www.religionnews.com/2014/02/13/rick-warren-pastors-buying-theaters-jesus-film-son-god/
CATEGORY . Rick Warren, others, rent theaters for premiere of ‘Son of God’ : Christian leaders, including megachurch pastor Rick Warren, plan to rent every screen in numerous multiplex theaters across 10 cities for the premiere of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s upcoming Jesus film, “Son of God,” on Feb. 27. ...Many religious leaders are citing the movie as a natural opportunity to evangelize. Warren may have a vested interest in the film, since he wrote a curriculum tied to the movie and published by LifeWay Christian Resources. .,...The couple behind the show, producer Burnett and former “Touched by an Angel” star Downey, have enlisted interdenominational support from religious leaders such as Texas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes and Roman Catholic Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles. The couple has also tapped Compassion International, a large evangelical relief organization, to distribute tickets to churches. The couple are close with Houston megachurch leaders Joel and Victoria Osteen, who flew to Morocco to see the filming and have bought 8,000 tickets to distribute.... While evangelicals are often credited with shoring up support for movies like “The Passion of the Christ” and “Fireproof,” Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl has commissioned discussion guides and videos for Catholic churches and schools, and Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami is planning to rent a theater for thousands of Catholics in Miami. See
http://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/son-god-producers-the-bible-jesus-theaters-year.html
CATEGORY . Roma Downey says Satan Will Not be Making an Appearance in “Son of God” Movie Due to Obama-Likeness Controversy : Amid the success Mark Burnett and Roma Downey had with “The Bible” miniseries last year came the major controversy over the claim that Satan, played by actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazan, looked just like President Barack Obama. Downey told TheBlaze Thursday that the controversy over the devil was a distraction that took attention away from the power of “The Bible” — a media furor that she believes was the direct result of spiritual warfare. So, she decided to remove Satan entirely from “Son of God,” the couple’s new film that heads to the big screen Feb. 28. See http://www.blackchristiannews.com/2014/02/roma-downey-says-satan-will-not-be-making-an-appearance-in-son-of-god-movie-due-to-obama-likeness-controversy/
CATEGORY . Church groups “taking over” theatres for Son of God : The Hollywood Reporter says churches and other organizations around the U.S. are buying out entire theatres — not just individual screens, but entire multiplexes — for screenings of Son of God on Thursday February 27, the night before the official release date. Just to give the whole thing a feeling of conquest, they’re even calling these bookings “Theatre Take-Overs”. See http://www.patheos.com/blogs/filmchat/2014/02/church-groups-taking-over-theatres-for-son-of-god.html