[Edited/re-printed from NewJesusMovie Facebook Page]
Glory to Jesus! Yesterday I was driving along and suddenly saw a huuuuuuuuge commotion ahead of me – all surrounding the donut shop that I frequent, Donut Prince in Burbank, CA. There were police directing traffic, dozens of trucks, two cranes, hundreds of people milling about… and all that can only mean one thing – they’re shooting a movie.
As you can guess, it’s a scene that is somewhat common out here in L.A. But as often as I’ve seen it – as often as I’ve participated in it – I rarely recall seeing anything this huge. And that means that whatever they’re shooting is top notch, big-time, spare no expense… film-making.
And the long row of paparazzi being held back just confirmed it – these “A list” actors/directors command literally tens of millions of dollars as salaries. What I was driving by was the major leagues of the major leagues. And no doubt, the result will be a film that is world class in excellence on every level – the kind of film that today’s sophisticated audiences are accustomed to, and even demand.
Well, sure enough, they were shooting Tom Hanks’ next film – yes, there he was sitting in my favorite seat in my favorite donut shop (but something tells me he was getting his donuts for free, hee hee). I don’t know the film’s name but when you see it on the screen you’ll be able to say – “oh, so that’s where Bruce chills out (and cheats on his fitness regimen!) in the middle of a long day,” hee hee!
When I saw the cranes, the extraordinary equipment, the masses of crew, the MASSIVE canopy hanging over the entire donut shop (that’s what you see dangling from the crane in the photo) to diffuse the light (in all my years I’d never seen one that huge before)… I thought of JESUS NGL.
This is what it HAS to look like. Why? Because if anything needs to be done top notch, with EXTREME excellence, with nothing spared… it’s the Gospel, it’s Jesus, it’s the living Word of God.
It’s always been one of the huge issues with Christian films, they’re mostly being done on a relatively small budget, and as much as the guys work hard to maximize the bang they get from every buck, the films tend to look like films done on a small budget. I even remember on MATTHEW, often cringing at some of the low budget look that there was no way to avoid, because you only have so much money to work with.
I hope you get what I mean when I say this… all that is “kind of” okay for we who love the Lord and understand what these films are trying to accomplish. We Christians tend to let the low budget thing slip by, because we are thankful for these films and more focused on the ministry that pours forth from them. But to the non-believer, for the most part, it’s a whole different story.
By way of example, I recently had a conversation with a guy on my softball team. He was telling me that his wife “forced” him to watch “this faith-based film.” He kept saying over and over, “It was so cheesy and you could tell that they didn’t even bother to use professional actors.” In other words, the low budget thing was a stumbling block to him. It got in the way of his hearing the message – a message that this guy desperately needs to receive.
This is the reason it’s SO important that JESUS NGL be done “world class.” It has to be cutting edge in look/technology, it HAS to stand up to films the studios are putting out today. Because “the enemy” will be doing EVERYTHING possible to convince people not to go see it, EVERYTHING possible to distract from the message – “Jesus is your salvation, Jesus loves you, come to Jesus…”
And again, especially with the level of sophistication that today’s audiences have – ESPECIALLY young people… we just HAVE to make sure we don’t put stumbling blocks before them, excuses to discount the film, reasons for them to not sit down and watch it…
With that directive before us, the lowest we can cut the budget down to right now is 45 million – probably about 1/3 the cost of that Tom Hanks film. We WILL capture a state-of-the-art look, feel. We WILL make a film that stands alongside that Tom Hanks film. It may not have the big stars that cost millions (because in a Jesus film, the only star must be JESUS!). But it will keep people riveted to their seats…
Riveted because the film is so engaging, so “wow!” in look/feel. But even more, because of the LOVE that will pour into their hearts with every frame – the whisper of God’s Spirit that will flow through the exposition of His Word, glory to Jesus!
Yes, 45 million is a big bundle. And I know a lot of you haven’t given because you think, “What difference can my ten bucks make?” But you see, you take that ten bucks and you add it to that of millions of your brothers/sisters… and without it ever being a financial burden on any one person (which is my hope/plan)… the film is accomplished. It really is that easy, that simple – that do-able. Glory to Jesus!
My JESUS NGL friends, please, let us each do our part. Thousands visit this web site – I see the statistics every week. But not even 1% stop to give, to be a part of bringing this film to the screen. I know there are some who literally can’t afford ten bucks, and that’s perfectly ok – but I also know that reality represents just a tiny fraction of us.
If you haven’t yet given, please, now is the time to reconsider that and take action. Forgive my boldness, but unless you literally cannot afford ten dollars, there’s no reason not to. There are eternal salvations at stake, and we’ve made it very clear that we are a non-profit outreach ministry, any profits from the film will be turned toward three areas, all of which are very costly:
1) Dubbing the film into the languages of the world, 2) distributing the film across the world, freely to those who have no means (and that means literally millions of copies of the film being given away, and 3) hopefully a second Word for Word film production to be handled the exact same way.
As I’ve said before, all this springs forth”for the price of a pizza.” So please, let us come together, let us give of ourselves even in this tiny way, even as Jesus gave his very LIFE for OUR salvation. Let us act even now. Go to the “donate” page and give unto precious, precious souls.
Thank you! Glory to Jesus!
Bruce Marchiano
