The Kendrick Brothers Talk THE FORGE and Fatherhood
By Movieguide® Contributor
In honor of Father’s Day, the Kendrick Brothers, who created FIREPROOF and WAR ROOM, shared how their dad was an inspiration for them in each of their productions and revealed all of the father-son duos in their new movie, THE FORGE.
On the set of the Kendrick Brothers’ upcoming movie, THE FORGE, their “dad ending up leading a devotion, talking about discipleship,” which is the theme of the movie.
In their first movie, FLYWHEEL, there’s a scene with a man who has a cane and prays over his son. In FACING THE GIANTS, there’s a character called Larry Childers, who has multiple sclerosis and is in a wheelchair. In FIREPROOF, a man mentors the lead character. In OVERCOMER, there’s a man who prayed for people from a hospital bed.
All of these characters were based on the brothers’ dad, Larry Kendrick.
The brothers grew up seeing their father’s selfless discipleship through his example and the long conversations about Christ that he had with each of them.
“Discipleship is where we determine are we going to make Jesus Lord of our lives,” Larry said in a clip. “Are we gonna let him direct us? Are we gonna try to find his will for our lives and are we gonna be willing to pay the price to deny self, take up our cross and follow him?”
Movieguide® recently reported on THE FORGE:
We made this film to inspire, challenge and motivate viewers to follow Jesus wholeheartedly,” says director Alex Kendrick. “Our hope is that audiences around the world will recognize the pivotal role that Godly mentorship plays in shaping the next generation.”
The movie stars several big-name actors, including Priscilla Shirer (WAR ROOM), Cameron Arnett (OVERCOMER) and Karen Abercrombie (WAR ROOM).
The synopsis reads:
The Forge tells the story of Isaiah Wright, a 19 year old who lives for basketball and video games. A year out of high school, he still has no job, no plans, and no idea how to be a man. At odds with his single mom, Cynthia, Isaiah is given an ultimatum – to step up or move out. Feeling the pull from his friends and the push from his mom, Isaiah is hired by Moore Fitness, but has no idea how the owner will personally impact his life. With the prayers of his mother and unexpected guidance from his new mentor, Isaiah is forced to deal with his past, sacrifice his selfishness and discover how God might have a greater purpose for his life. From the Kendrick Brothers, the creators of the #1 box office hit WAR ROOM, comes THE FORGE, a faith-filled new movie with emotional themes, old friends, and new twists.
In the movie, T.C. Stallings and his son A.C.; Jerry Shirer and his son Jude; Alex Kendrick and his son Caleb; and Ken Bevel and his son K.J. all perform in one special scene together. It’s Bevel’s favorite scene — where a group of men prays over the lead character, Isaiah.
“The scene with Isaiah getting prayed over by the men was the most powerful scene that I’ve ever seen,” Bevel said. “And it was almost like, you know, we were praying for him in the script, but we took time to say, you know…let’s just pray for him. And when we came together, we just felt the presence of God as we prayed over this young man, and it was incredible.”
In COURAGEOUS, K.J. and Bevel acted together when K.J. was just a year old. K.J. played Bevel’s son in the movie when someone stole his truck with his child inside it.
“Now, he’s so big, he could probably rescue me from the truck,” Bevel laughed.
About the new movie Stephen Kendrick said, “We screened the movie…to a group of pastors, and I was so grateful because there was a lady who is in the back of the room, and she said, ‘I could sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in this room while we’re watching this movie. And she’s fighting back tears, and she’s like, ‘God was speaking to me through this film.’”
“And I’m like, ‘Praise the Lord! That’s what we’re hoping,’” Stephen said. “It’s not just that people will be entertained and the movie is very entertaining. You’re gonna laugh. You’re gonna cry. You’re gonna be inspired. But our hope is that people encounter God in their movie seat.”
The Kendrick brothers have provided a way for fans to bless others with free tickets to THE FORGE. Anyone can purchase tickets on the movie’s website, and they’ll be given to others who will get to see the movie free of cost.
THE FORGE releases Aug. 23.
