A new film from the makers of I Can Only Imagine will spotlight the so-called Jesus Movement of the 1960s and ‘70s and star two well-known actors.
The new movie Jesus Revolution will star Jim Gaffigan (Chappaquiddick, The Jim Gaffigan Show) as pastor Chuck Smith and Joel Courtney (Super 8) as Greg Laurie, who at the time was a teenager.
Smith, who passed away in 2013, founded the Calvary Chapel movement. Laurie is currently senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif.
Deadline first reported the involvement of Gaffigan and Courtney. The film is in pre-production, and a release date has not been set.
“This is a distinctly American story of rebirth,” Gaffigan told Deadline. “The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time when spirituality was on the wane, leaving a lot of people searching for answers in other places. I’m excited to play a pastor who helped make a home for the people most desperate for those answers and built a congregation – a coming together of people – to make something greater than themselves.”
The film will be made by Kingdom Story, the same company behind I Still Believe, I Can Only Imagine and Woodlawn. Jon Gunn, who directed Case for Christ, will direct Jesus Revolution. Andrew and Jon Erwin and Kevin Downes will produce it.
Jon Erwin told Christian Headlines in May that the pandemic put them behind on production but they remain “more committed than ever” to engage the culture with movies.
“Ultimately I want to tell stories that really entertain people, that continue to lift the bar of what people think of when they think of faith-based films, and stories that bring people hope and draw them to the gospel,” Erwin told Christian headlines.
Kingdom Story also is working on a film about former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner.
Related:
‘I Still Believe’ Challenges Society’s ‘Narcissistic’ Definition of Love, Directors Say
K.J. Apa: ‘God Really Anointed’ the New Faith Film ‘I Still Believe’
Photo courtesy: ©Kingdom Story
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, The Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
