August 2006

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When Mel Gibson made The Passion of the Christ, no Hollywood studio would touch it, so the director funded it himself. But when the movie earned $371 million, Tinseltown took note, and it was only a matter of time before it decided to jump on the Jesus bandwagon.

Now two major Jesus-themed films are in the works: On December 1, New Line Cinema, which hit it big with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, releases The Nativity Story. And next Easter, Sony Pictures, the studio behind The Da Vinci Code, releases The Resurrection.

The Nativity Story tells the tale of Joseph and Mary, the journey of the magi, the rule of King Herod, and the birth of Christ. The Resurrection picks up where The Passion left off, telling the story of the 40 days between the Resurrection and the Ascension.

Christianity Today Movies, CT's online sister publication, visited the Nativity set in Italy in late May. Director Catherine Hardwicke was filming Joseph (Oscar Isaac) leading a pregnant Mary (Whale Rider's Keisha Castle-Hughes), riding sideways on a donkey, down a steep path on a rock-strewn hillside. Hardwicke decided she wanted to direct the film after reading Mike Rich's script.

"I was amazed at how good it was," Hardwicke said. "I had read the story in the Bible so many times, and the characters were so iconic. But Mike had gotten so inside the characters: 'What would it be like to be those people?'"

That's exactly what Rich (Finding Forrester, The Rookie, Radio) was aiming for.

"The Nativity is usually presented as an event-board story—this happened, then this happened, then this happened," said Rich, an evangelical who spent almost a year researching the story in order to be faithful to the Gospel accounts. "It's rarely presented as a character story. That's how I wanted to do it."

Meanwhile, The Resurrection will be based on a script from veteran screenwriter Lionel Chetwynd, who wrote such made-for-TV fare as Moses, Joseph, and Jacob. Tim LaHaye, co-author of the best-selling Left Behind series, is signed on as a producer.

Craig Detweiler, director of Reel Spirituality at Fuller Seminary, said these movies are a result of The Passion's success.

"The Passion demonstrated how many moviegoers are interested in faith-friendly films," he said. "It's supply and demand. As people of faith frequent movie theaters, Hollywood will make more movies aimed at them. They will film it, if you come."

For more coverage, visit ChristianityTodayMovies.com.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Mark Moring wrote about his time on the set of The Nativity Story for CT Movies.

More about The Nativity Story, including a trailer, is available from the film's website. The Resurrection does not yet have an official site.

More articles on movies are available from CT Movies and our film page.

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