Mel Gibson, Jonathan Roumie Explain Power of Faith-Focused Movies
By Movieguide® Contributor
Mel Gibson and Jonathan Roumie explained why they believe it is so important for strong Christian content to reach widespread audiences through movies and TV.
Gibson chose to bring the crucifixion to life at the peak of his career, developing THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST to bring meaning back to a story he believed had been sapped of its value.
“There’s a tendency for all of us to take that event and the extent of the sacrifice for granted,” Gibson told Greg Laurie. “In film, in particular, I think, [the crucifixion] has been sanitized a fair bit so that it becomes, I don’t know, ineffectual, not emotional.”
“I wanted to illustrate the extent of the sacrifice Christ made, so I felt it was right to do a film like that,” Gibson continued. “With my own experience contemplating over the years on The Passion, my imagination soared. And there are readings on the matter that kind of really brought home the dreadful reality of how bad it was. I just wanted to put that back on film to give people maybe a new look and to sort of bring another theological perspective to it that perhaps I hadn’t thought of before now.”
Gibson’s desire to bring life back into the stagnant world of Christian media certainly paid off. The movie made over $600 million at the box office and helped revitalize the Christian media space, helping millions reconnect with the Lord.
Romie has a similar desire to help people see the Lord in a new light, something he brings with him whether he’s portraying Jesus on THE CHOSEN or Lonnie Frisbee on JESUS REVOLUTION.
“I don’t know what it’s like to [be] the perfectly sinless Son of God — nobody does. I tend to stay out of the way when it comes to playing Jesus,” Roumie told Laurie. “But I do know what it’s like to be fully human, you know, fallible and all the ways humanity can be fallible and broken and weak.”
“So I use a lot of humanity in all these other roles, especially in a role like Lonnie Frisbee where he had such a wild and broken childhood,” Roumie continued. “But God uses that. Despite his weaknesses, despite his trials that he went through to make him this beacon of hope, this dynamo of the Holy Spirit with the charisma of healing and touching people and reaching people’s hearts and knowing that Christ was looking for them.”
Movieguide® has recognized the power of these faith-filled movies, as THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, THE CHOSEN and JESUS REVOLUTION have all earned Teddy Bear Awards®.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Gibson recently spoke with Movieguide® about their vision for the movie and how they promoted faith in an industry that is hostile to Christianity.
“I think he [Wahlberg] realized that there was a thirst out there for sort of more profound, faith based content,” Gibson said. “Also the model with which we did it, which was to just kind of get it up and running yourself, and self-finance and see how it went. He took the gamble, and I think it’s paid off.”
“I can’t tell Mark anything about business,” he added. “But I recognize that he was correct. And his assumption that there was supply and demand, there was a real demand for this kind of thing. When I saw the screenplay, finally, I realized that it really sort of hit the mark. It was very, not sugar-coated, not preaching to the choir, it was solid, about real people.”
Gibson added that their approach to making the movie mirrored Stuart Long’s conversion, from self-fulfilling career choices to time as a priest in the Catholic church.
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