March 20, 2023 • 30 mins
John Erwin recently appeared on Charisma News to talk about the success of his faith-based film Jesus Revolution, which has earned close to $40 million in revenue over its three weeks of release. In 2015, when he bought a magazine with the Jesus Revolution cover story, it felt like the late 60s, with a lot of division and despair. He believes that people are at a moment of desperation and that the key to the Jesus Revolution of the past was people becoming desperate enough to cry out to God for change.
The conversation is centered around the recent release of the movie Jesus Revolution, which was a passion project for director Jon Erwin for many years. The movie was released on the heels of the Asbury Revival, which has sparked a hunger for more of God's presence in the culture. Erwin discusses the steps that he had to take to get the movie made; it was a miracle that a movie studio like Lionsgate allowed them to make a movie with the title “Jesus Revolution.” He also talks about how God can use disappointments for good, and how His timing is always perfect. He believes that God is writing a story that we may not be able to see, but it is perfect.
See The Movie!
https://jesusrevolution.movie/
TIMESTAMPS
0:00:04 Interview with John Erwin on the Success of Jesus Revolution Film
0:02:39 Heading: "The Making of the Jesus Revolution Movie: How God Used Disappointments to Create a Miraculous Story"
0:07:12 Heading: Reflections on the Asbury Revival and the Success of "The Chosen"
0:08:40 Heading: The Impact of Jesus Revolution on Hollywood Studios and Faith Audiences
0:18:05 Conversation with Jon Erwin: Achieving Success Through Long-Term Commitment and Consistency
0:24:03 "Exploring the Opportunities of Christianity in the Digital Age"
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
John Matarazzo (00:04):
All right, John Erwin, it's great. stumbled on
your name Hold on a second. JohnIrwin, it's great to have you on
charisma news to talk about thesuccess of Jesus revolution. I
love that it's been out forthree weeks now. And it is close
to $40 million in revenue,which, especially because this
(00:26):
is a Christian film, this is aface faith based film. It's It's
amazing the release that it'sgetting, and just how many
people's lives are beingaffected by this film. So
welcome to charisma news. AndI'm looking forward to hearing
how, what your view what yourview is, since this has come
out.
Jon Erwin (00:46):
Well, I just want to say thank you to everyone that
has seen the film. I mean, onceagain, it's great to see those
headlines that that, you know,the faith audience shocks the
industry. And after such a long,long season of an industry being
rebuilt, I mean, the last threeyears have been the most
disruptive, disruptive time everin the history of, of theatrical
(01:08):
movies. And so to see thismovie, really reinvigorate
people's excitement for thistype of movie is incredible. You
know, they say, your movieticket really is your vote. But
also just the movie coming outat such a spectacular time. I
remember it was, it was going toseven, eight years ago that I
bought the magazine, the Timemagazine cover Jesus revolution.
(01:31):
Now after the movies come out,when you find one on eBay,
they're like a couple of grandback then it was like two $300 I
bought this magazine. And, and Iread this article. And I was so
deeply moved by what God wasdoing in a generation, in the
most unlikely place was amongstthe hippies, and college
(01:53):
students and high schoolstudents. At a very similar
time, even in 2015, when I whenI bought this magazine, it felt
like Man, this is starting tofeel like the late 60s, again,
just a lot of division anddespair. And it's only gotten
more like that, you know, as theyears have gone by, and what do
they say when you're payingoutweighs your fear, change can
(02:15):
begin and and I just feel likewe're at this moment of
desperation. And what I found inthe research was that was really
the key to the Jesus revolutionwas was people finally being
desperate enough to cry out toGod and and that's when God
broke through in our culture.
And so the more I studied themovement, the more I felt like,
(02:36):
Can this happen again today. Andthat's been the driving force
that behind this movie. And soin between every movie, I can
only imagine, I still believeAmerican underdog. I've been
dreaming of getting this moviemade. And this has been a
passion project for a very, verylong time. So to see an idea,
find its time and to see God'shand of Providence, in the
(02:58):
release of the film, and howit's coinciding with things that
are happening all around Americais really amazing. To me, it
just feels like we're a part ofsomething bigger. You know, and,
and that's a wonderful feeling.
And I can't wait to see, youknow how God uses the movie as
it continues in theaters acrossAmerica.
John Matarazzo (03:19):
Yeah, and I love how this film came out, right on
the heels of the Asbury revival.
And all eyes were on that forseveral weeks. And you know,
people are still if they hearabout the asthma revival, people
are still their ears are perkingup and they want to go see what
is God doing? You know, there'sthis hunger that is happening in
this day and age. And God putthis hunger in you years ago
(03:44):
with this inspiration for thiswith this magazine cover, and
just how you have so much goingon eight years ago preparing you
for this, what were some of thesteps in your journey, putting
this film together? Because Imean, seriously a film that's
called Jesus revolution actuallybeing you know, on the on the
(04:08):
marquee on movie theaters, Imean, having Jesus up there is
kind of a big deal, but having aJesus film, this widespread, God
had to really have some stepsalong the way. Can you tell me
about some of those?
Jon Erwin (04:23):
It's a miracle. I mean, it's a total miracle that
a movie studio like Lions Gateallowed us to make a film called
Jesus revolution. It's notcalled the revolution it's
called Jesus revolution and andI think it's a miracle that that
everyone you know, watching thisor reading this helps create
(04:44):
because when we champion piecesof entertainment, doors fly open
in Hollywood, and and there'squite the uprising on behalf of
Christianity in Hollywood, rightnow and and It's amazing to be a
part of it. So, you know, thisproject has been, you know,
(05:06):
years in the making. For me,it's the longest I've ever
worked on a movie. And it'samazing how God can even use
disappointments. You know, it'slike he had this plan for this
movie. And we had, you know,we've tried to get this movie
made several times. And when wegot closest was when we had a
movie called I still believe,which was right after, I can
only imagine, it was number one.
I had the box office on Fridaynight. Unfortunately, all
(05:29):
theaters were closed five dayslater on COVID Shut down the
world. So the movie sort of tooka bullet to the heart. And we
had two movies in pre productionwe had American underdog and
Jesus revolution in preproduction Jesus revolution was,
was just a couple of weeks awayfrom filming. And John Gunn, my
co writer was directing themovie at the time. And, and so
the, you know, the plug waspulled all productions globally,
(05:52):
we're shut down. And we had towait a very long time to make
this movie because we had towait till we could use large
crowds. So even in like themovie American underdog that we
made, all those crowds are fake,because they're in the stands,
we were only able to have about100 people on set, because of
all the COVID restrictions. Sowe waited and waited till we
could make Jesus revolutioncorrectly, which means I was
(06:14):
available to direct it withprint McCorkle, and, and so just
see that even God even usesdisappointments. Because he's
got a timeline that's perfect.
And if there's anything thatI've taken from this is that
God's timing is always better.
God's timing is always perfect.
And even if you're walkingthrough life, and you can't see
that, and things aredisappointing, and things are
(06:36):
confusing, God's writing a storythat maybe you can't see. And
it's perfect. And that's been awonderful takeaway from this
film that I've seen. And soagain, to see this movie coming
out, as revivals are happeningaround the country, is
incredible. I remember talkingto Dallas Jenkins about this
creator of the chosen and I'mlike, we didn't sit down and
(06:58):
have this meeting where we'relike, okay, you anchor the
beginning of the month with thewalking on water, and then we'll
there'll be super, Super Bowlcommercials in between, and, and
we'll have our movie, you know,at the end of the month, and
we'll have a revival in between,like, we didn't have that
conversation. This is somethingGod just did. But it really is,
you know, we were joking aroundlike this, this, February was
(07:20):
sort of the month of Jesus andpop culture. And, and I think
it's so cool to be a part of.
And then the amazing thing wasto see the Asbury revival began.
My wife, Beth and I were we werein Kentucky, a couple days into
that revival, and I saw it onsocial media, we're working on a
project. And so we're only about60 miles away. So on day three,
we drove over and just sat thereand listened to what God is
(07:42):
doing in a generation. And Iremember Greg Laurie called me
and said, What did it feel like?
You're the first person I'vetalked to that that was there.
And I said, it felt just likethe movie. I mean, it felt just
like scenes in the movie. Sowhat's driven this project
forward has always been God, youdid it once you can do it again,
if this happened before it canhappen again, it can happen now.
(08:04):
And, and that's, that has alwaysbeen the rallying cry of this
movie. So even before the moviecame out to see it happening,
was just amazing to me. And itwas surreal. And and, and it's
amazing to see and thenobviously, to see the film, so
vastly over perform at the boxoffice is just amazing. It just,
you know, Hollywood is is is youstudios are are wondering, what
(08:29):
still works. The Patrick Lee isit only avatars and only Top
Gun. So to say that no, thefaith audience is hungry, and
underserved. And if you make agreat film, they'll show up. It
was just such a wonderful thingfor us to say, as a community
that I think will lead to many,many more of these type films
being able to be released intheaters. And so it's just been
(08:50):
an incredible, incredible monthand of both financial success
with the movie and I'm gratefulfor that. But what that means is
that millions of people haveseen it, you know, we're going
on 4 million tickets being soldin just a few weeks in theaters.
And, and that just means thatpeople are seeing it and lives
are being transformed. Orwhether it's people being
baptized in a fountain outsidethe theater or in a lake the
(09:14):
next day or praying in thetheater or having worship in a
theater. I've never seen thetype of response to a movie that
we have, which is revolution. Itreally is on a whole nother
level.
John Matarazzo (09:25):
Yeah, I know whenever I saw it, I had the
opportunity to watch it with mywife watching a screener. And
just seeing that in the in ourhome on a small screen, which I
definitely recommend everybodygo to see it in the big screen
because obviously number one,your ticket is your vote. But
just some of these things, ofseeing these events happening
(09:47):
that really happened in reallife, but being portrayed on the
big screen with other people.
There is something so powerfulabout that, but whenever I
watched it with my wife, Ispontaneously broke into tears
and prayed and cried at the endof the film God use me God use
me just like this. And I wasjust overcome. And I know that
(10:09):
that's that that's theexperience that I'm hearing
about other people. And sopeople are having this true life
experience because they've beenwatching a true life story. And
being that it is true life. Youhave people like that you
mentioned Greg Laurie, whoyou're weaving his story
alongside the story of ChuckSmith and Lonnie frisbee and you
(10:30):
bring them all together. Soobviously, you had to use Chuck
Lorre or Greg glory as a, as aresource quite a bit, can you
just tell me a little bit aboutlike, with going that extra step
from taking the article in theTime magazine to turning this
into a film with real peopleabout real?
Jon Erwin (10:52):
Well, I would just say, Greg and Kathy Laurie,
they're some of the mostwonderful friends that I have.
And I have such incrediblerespect for him as a leader, and
as a mentor, and just as afriend. And our relationship
started with this magazine,because I had read this magazine
that I wanted to meet peoplethat lived the Jesus movement.
(11:16):
And that led to a relationshipwith Greg and, and he's just the
real deal and a wonderfulfriend, incredibly creative.
And, and has, you know, anincredible heart for evangelism.
I call him The Last Jedi, youknow, he's one of those last
guys that can, can put that manypeople in a stadium and preach
you know, and, and, and he'sjust become a wonderful friend.
(11:39):
And our friendship has spannedthe seven years, we've done
other projects together, likethe documentaries on Steve
McQueen and Johnny Cash. Butthis is the project that started
at all and this is the one thatwe've been dreaming about, for
years together, and so to see ithappen, and to see it come out,
you know, in the same year thathe and Kathy are going to be
celebrating their 50thanniversary is so it was very
(12:01):
important to me to make a moviethat was multi multi
generational, you know, screens,rip our families apart much more
than they bring our familiestogether. So I wanted to make a
film that you can watch withyour with your kids, your
teenage kids, with your youknow, I remember watching in the
premiere, and it was my wife andI and our teenage daughter, and
then my parents, and you havethree generations loving the
(12:22):
movie, for different reasonsbecause of the different
characters represented. But wereally designed the film to be
multigenerational. And to be agreat experience. You know, I'm
first an entertainer, and my thelove of my life, vocationally is
to entertain audiences. And, andso I hope to make a movie that
makes you laugh and cry. AndI've never been involved in a
(12:44):
movie where the audience cheersduring the film. But in doing
that, and entertaining theaudience, you really have an
opportunity to tell a story,that that can change their life.
And that's why I love truestories is I think true stories
of lives transformed, lead totrue stories of lives
transformed, imagined. And sowe're just the where the where
the where the we bring the storyto people. But I think a lot of
(13:08):
people see it and say, Okay, Iwant this to happen in my life.
And I want this to happen in mycity. I want this to happen into
our country right now. And, andthat is the outpouring of the
film that I'm most passionateabout is people saying, Can this
happen again? Can this happen inmy life? I felt that way filming
the movie. You know, I've neverhad such a powerful day on the
(13:28):
set of movies. When we did thosebaptisms at the real pirates
cove. We went back to the realplace and and I remember
Jonathan Rumi he plays you know,Lonnie also plays Jesus in the
Chosun came up out of the water.
And he said, people are, aremaking real decisions. Like I'm
doing this, just like Gregtaught me. But, but this is very
real for a lot of these people.
And you could feel it on theday, I've never felt anything
(13:50):
like that before. And I wassaved very young and baptized at
age five. But I was like, man Iwho doesn't need a fresh renewal
of their ID this, you know, and,and so people are responding
personally to the movie in waysthat I've never experienced
before. And you're right. It's awonderful experience at home. I
can't wait for people to see itat home. But there's a magic to
(14:14):
seeing this film, in a theaterwith other people, absent, like
anything I've ever been involvedwith. There's just a feeling in
the room. And it's thiswonderful experience that sort
of washes over you in a veryunique way when you're with
other people in an environmentwith no distractions with a
giant screen. And I've neverenjoyed watching a movie with an
(14:34):
audience like this before. It'sjust a wonderful, wonderful
experience. And then amazingthings are happening in theaters
afterwards, especially whenparents or youth pastors, you
know, take take teenagers. It'sso cool to see a new generation
of Christians on their faith ina unique way. And that's what I
(14:58):
felt at Asbury and that's what II felt in theaters across
America.
John Matarazzo (15:02):
That's really cool. Yeah, I had an opportunity
to talk to your brother Andy.
And he also told me that thatyou don't like watching your
films in the theater, people. Sowhy? Why did you start watching
this film in theaters with otherpeople?
Jon Erwin (15:18):
Typically, I don't, I don't watch films in a theater
after they're done just becauseI have to move on. And also,
George Lucas said films arenever complete, they're only
abandoned. So all I see is themistakes or I'm like, Oh, we
could have done this better. Wecould have, you know, and so
typically, I have to get yearsof distance from a movie, to go
back and watch it. Just becauseI'm, you know, you know, I, I
(15:44):
see the flaws and, and but therewas, there's something so
special about this movie, andexperiencing it with an
audience. And watching themwatch the movie. There's a
feeling in the room that I'venever really experienced with a
movie. And so even thoughthere's no perfect movie, the
(16:05):
experience of this one is justso magical, that I love sitting
with audiences and watching itin ways that, that I've never
really felt before with anothermovie. And I love all the movies
that we get to make. And I'mgrateful for all the movies we
get to make. But this is thefirst time I've just sort of
savored watching it with anaudience. Just because the
experience is so phenomenal. Andagain, I've never I've never
(16:29):
been involved with a movie wherepeople have multiple times the
movie cheer along with themovie. That's incredible. So So
I'm grateful that the audienceloves it as much as they do.
John Matarazzo (16:39):
Yeah, that is so cool. I know that you and your
brother did a lot of stuff asyou were kids, because your your
dad worked at a Christiantelevision network. Yeah. And so
I'd like to hear you just tell alittle bit about what that
experience being in thatenvironment has basically
launched you into what you'redoing now. well being,
Jon Erwin (17:01):
I would say, Yeah, I would say that the best piece of
advice that I can, that I cangive people is that success is
long obedience in the samedirection. And I had the good
fortune of starting very early,vocationally. I was 15 and I
cameraman got sick at aUniversity of Alabama football
(17:23):
game, born and raised inBirmingham, Alabama. I was and I
was he was from this cameramanfrom my church, that I knew I
was carrying around his tripodand apprenticing for him. And he
was at that game as well. And sohe called me and said, hey,
somebody just got sick. I toldhim I knew a guy get over here
right now, don't tell anyone howold you are. Don't tell anyone
you've never done this before.
And I went over there. And Iliterally had the time of my
(17:44):
life like that it was sort oflike a good joining a circus.
There was my life before thatmoment. And my life after that
moment. And, and it wasspectacular. And I just fell in
love with with, with, with filmand television. The year after
that, when I was 16, my dadhelped me buy a camera with
money he did not have. And hehelped me get a loan for
(18:06):
$10,000. For a for the firstediting system that you could
use at home. You know, this wasway back when editing on a home
computer was this was the firstApple computer that you could
actually edit withprofessionally. And and that was
the beginning of our business.
My brother quickly joined and mydad said dream bowl dream big
dream, the impossible. And thenhe said give 20 years of your
(18:28):
life to something and you'll besuccessful at it. And I think
people people reallyoverestimate you know what they
can do in the short term. Youknow, whether it's weight loss
or business or whatever it is,you know, none of which I'm in
the fitness stuff, none of whichI'm good at. But I think people
vastly underestimate what theycan do over a long period of
(18:51):
time with consistency. And andso, you know, what happened was
we just had years and years andyears of making things for other
people. It started withpromotional videos for our
church or, or corporate videos,or we filmed all these
orthopedic trauma surgeries, aton of weddings. And then that
led to music videos that artistsMichael, Debbie Smith and Amy
(19:12):
Grant. Still, for reasons tothis day. I don't understand why
they did it. Let us do musicvideos for them. And that led to
a career in music videos. Andjust what Malcolm Gladwell in
his book, Outliers, calls the10,000 hour rule just refining
your craft and, and getting alittle better every day. And
then I worked on a Christianfilm called courageous and
(19:32):
wanting to direct the actionsequences to that film. And it
was the director of that film,Alex Kendrick that said, that
asked me a wonderful questionthat everyone should ask
themselves. He said, What isyour purpose and the purpose of
your work? And I couldn't answerit. It all just happened up to
that point. And that was amoment where this where there
was this fusion of a career anda life's calling. And that's
(19:55):
when we jumped into make to tothe to bleeding at the bleeding
adage of faith based films. Andit's like Mike Tyson said, every
boxer has a plan until he getsin the ring gets punched in the
face. But, but we started makingfilms, raising money to make
them and release them. Andeverything finally just tipped,
you know, when we had our, ourbreakout hit, which was I can
(20:15):
only imagine, oddly enough, thatwas about 20 years, since my dad
told me, Hey, give 20 years ofyour life to this need to be
successful. So I think a lot ofpeople just need to understand
that. Sometimes there's longperiods of preparation before a
season of influence. And, anddon't underestimate that time of
just getting a little better anda little better and a little
(20:36):
better. The biggest point is tojust wake up and improve, just
get a little better at what youdo every day. And if you'll
stack those, those incrementalimprovements on top of each
other, a few years go by, andyou'll realize that, that you're
now in a position to reallyinfluence people through your
craft and, and so it was a long,long, long time, what I had the
advantage of starting veryearly, and, and there's never
(20:59):
been a time to for kids outthere. There's never been a more
accessible time to start acareer in entertainment. Because
you know, an iPhone now is aprofessional camera, you know,
and so it's you can, you cancreate very early, and there's
nothing stopping your journeyfrom beginning, you know, right
now.
John Matarazzo (21:18):
Yeah, that is so cool. There's so many amazing
things that you just said inthat last answer to that
question that I think I'm goingto have to go back and take
notes on what you said all overagain, I love long obedience in
a good direction is definitionfor success, long obedience,
Jon Erwin (21:35):
it's all about, it's about it's about its you know,
activity and progress are twodifferent things, you know, and
a lot of times people think,well, I've got a lot of
activity, and I'm gonna go overhere and do something, I'm gonna
go over here and do something.
Well, you've traveled just asfar and you've gone nowhere. The
key is consistency in the samedirection, like, basically, you
know, taking 20 more steps inthe same direction. That's
(21:58):
what's important, you know, and,and so that's what we tried to
what we tried to do. And, and,and I think that's the key is,
is just, it's just going, youknow, choosing a course and
going in same direction.
John Matarazzo (22:14):
Yeah, two more quick questions as we wrap up
here, and I just greatlyappreciate your time. What is
next on the bleeding edge offaith based films for you?
What's the direction that God'sthat's God's leading you?
Because we've just been talkingabout long obedience in the
right direction? And then also,how can we, as charisma viewers,
as charisma, the audience thatlove this, this type of film,
(22:38):
how can we be praying for you inthis in your next phase?
Jon Erwin (22:43):
Well, I mean, I would just pray for an attitude change
in, in, in Christianity atlarge, I think, so many times
we, we have this mindset, Iactually put the verse in the
film. Kelsey Grammer is ChuckSmith says it by the way, he's
(23:08):
so fantastic as a person and asa performer. But basically, he
says, He who endorses the endwill be saved. And that's,
that's such the mindset. I thinkI'm Baptist, I'm from the south.
And it's just like, hunker down,wait for the end, all is lost.
(23:30):
The next verse in that passagesays this, this gospel of the
kingdom will go to all nations.
As a testimony, I think it's inMatthew 24. And, and that has
always been the first to do listof Christianity, get the gospel
to the entire world get goodnews, by the way, what the word
means to everyone, everybody. SoJesus says this to his
(23:53):
disciples, and you know, the1400 years plus, before the
continent that we're on wouldeven be discovered at all. And
so they didn't even know how bigthe world was. And so on this
distance medley relay ofChristianity, we're finally at a
point in time as a generationwhere we could say, we could get
this done, we could get thisdone in our time, the gospel to
(24:13):
the entire world. And I wish wehad that mindset, you know, you
know, Jesus said to Peter, onthis rock, I build my church and
the gates of hell will notprevail against it. So a gate is
not something anyone's gonnaattack you with. Gates are meant
to be stormed. And that shouldbe our mindset. And so I think
we need to change the way wethink, as Christians, and say
(24:34):
that we're living in aspectacular time of opportunity.
We have more opportunity forChristianity than every
generation before us combined.
And yeah, life is tough. Butthey're not feeding us to lions
as a pre show in a gladiatorialyou know, gladiator arena or
(24:54):
whatever. And so I just wishthat we would have a renewed
sense of optimism. and hope thatthat the times in which we live
are pretty amazing. And I thinkwe're seeing signs all over the
country, that there isincredible and increasing
spiritual hunger, in America,and all over the world. And so
(25:17):
my hope is that Jesus revolutionis one of those pieces of
entertainment that says, hope isnot lost. This is not the end of
the story. This is the beginningof a new chapter. And in
entering that new chapter, wehave more opportunity than we've
ever had as Christians. So let'sget after it. And I think in
getting after it, each of us hasto say, you know, what's my
(25:40):
mountain, you know, like Caleb,in the Bible says to Joshua out,
this is the mountain I want,because I want this mountain for
us, and an increasing number ofpeople that want to work
together, which I'm reallyexcited about. We're saying it's
that hill with the Hollywoodsign on it, like that's, that's
the mountain that we're calledto climb. And every ticket sold
every time someone watches thechosen on their phone, or, or
(26:03):
their television or, you know,we get a little more oxygen to
get a little further up themountain, you know, and, and
that's what's going on inentertainment. But I love that,
you know, Paul in Acts as aDavid that he that he served the
purposes of God and hisgeneration, and that's something
that we can all do. It's like,how do I serve God's purpose in
(26:24):
my time, using my talent, youknow, and for us, God put a
camera in our hands. But we'reall in this together, we all
have a role to play. And I thinkthe biggest hope that I have is
that we would just change theway we think. And we would
change our attitude. And wewould dare to hope, again, with
(26:46):
all that God's doing in theworld today in our time. Because
I think when you see the worldthrough that lens, you begin to
really get excited about usingyour gifts to get the gospel out
there to the world. When youthink about a movie, like Jesus
revolution, because of its ofits success in America, and it's
(27:06):
ongoing success in theaters, ittriggers what we call global
output deals. And what thatmeans is that entertainment is
America's second largest exportbehind agriculture. And the
further the entertainment goes,in America, the more successful
it is in the box office inAmerica, the more it triggers
these global deals. So the firstfour countries just due to their
theatrical releases of the synthsynth Singapore, Indonesia, and
(27:29):
Australia, New Zealand, LatinAmerica is going to quickly
follow. And so because we'vemade such noise in America, this
film was going to go global, youknow, and that is that is
because of, of technology thatcouldn't have happened 100 years
ago. And so that's just oneillustration of the incredible
times in which we live. And somy hope is that we can, that we
(27:54):
can adopt a new mindset andattitude as Christians. And then
also my hope is that we cancontinue to, to, to combat the
stigma, of faith basedentertainment, that these films
are just getting better andbetter and better, so that they
can see be seen by more and moreand more people. And that we can
get back to where we were, youknow, there was a time where
(28:16):
Christian movies were theblockbusters of the day. There
was a time where biblical epicswere the Marvel movies of the
day. And I think we can get backthere if we if we work together.
And, and that's my hope.
John Matarazzo (28:29):
Amen. Amen. Oh, John, I greatly appreciate you
taking some time to be able totalk with us here at charisma
news. I know you're on vacationright now, which is a well
deserved vacation. I hope thatyou get some good rest there.
But thank you so much forcreating this film making Jesus
revolution. This, really, it'san epic film, and just getting
(28:53):
it on the big screen and justseeing what God is doing. And as
you were describing how it'sgetting to other countries, now
I'm just thinking about whatJesus said in Acts chapter one,
verse eight, the Holy Spirit waspoured out and you'll be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea,Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth. And by us buying ticketsto go see this film in the
United States. It's causing thisfilm to start to reach to the
(29:17):
ends of the earth. And we needto be a part of helping this
message of the gospel, the goodnews of Jesus Christ, go to
theaters around the world andit's going to impact more lives.
So if you go to Jesus revolutiondot movie, you can get all the
information, but basically justgo to any movie theater because
it's there right now. So go andenjoy the film. Take a family,
(29:41):
take friends, and check it out.
John, it's great to have you oncharisma news. Thank you very
much.
Jon Erwin (29:47):
Thank you so much for getting the word out and and
it's fun to be in this togetherand fun to see what Oh, God is
doing in America today. It'sit's a wonderful time to be a
Chris
John Matarazzo (30:00):
Should Amen
All right, John Erwin, it's great. stumbled on
your name Hold on a second. JohnIrwin, it's great to have you on
charisma news to talk about thesuccess of Jesus revolution. I
love that it's been out forthree weeks now. And it is close
to $40 million in revenue,which, especially because this
(00:26):
is a Christian film, this is aface faith based film. It's It's
amazing the release that it'sgetting, and just how many
people's lives are beingaffected by this film. So
welcome to charisma news. AndI'm looking forward to hearing
how, what your view what yourview is, since this has come
out.
Jon Erwin (00:46):
Well, I just want to say thank you to everyone that
has seen the film. I mean, onceagain, it's great to see those
headlines that that, you know,the faith audience shocks the
industry. And after such a long,long season of an industry being
rebuilt, I mean, the last threeyears have been the most
disruptive, disruptive time everin the history of, of theatrical
(01:08):
movies. And so to see thismovie, really reinvigorate
people's excitement for thistype of movie is incredible. You
know, they say, your movieticket really is your vote. But
also just the movie coming outat such a spectacular time. I
remember it was, it was going toseven, eight years ago that I
bought the magazine, the Timemagazine cover Jesus revolution.
(01:31):
Now after the movies come out,when you find one on eBay,
they're like a couple of grandback then it was like two $300 I
bought this magazine. And, and Iread this article. And I was so
deeply moved by what God wasdoing in a generation, in the
most unlikely place was amongstthe hippies, and college
(01:53):
students and high schoolstudents. At a very similar
time, even in 2015, when I whenI bought this magazine, it felt
like Man, this is starting tofeel like the late 60s, again,
just a lot of division anddespair. And it's only gotten
more like that, you know, as theyears have gone by, and what do
they say when you're payingoutweighs your fear, change can
(02:15):
begin and and I just feel likewe're at this moment of
desperation. And what I found inthe research was that was really
the key to the Jesus revolutionwas was people finally being
desperate enough to cry out toGod and and that's when God
broke through in our culture.
And so the more I studied themovement, the more I felt like,
(02:36):
Can this happen again today. Andthat's been the driving force
that behind this movie. And soin between every movie, I can
only imagine, I still believeAmerican underdog. I've been
dreaming of getting this moviemade. And this has been a
passion project for a very, verylong time. So to see an idea,
find its time and to see God'shand of Providence, in the
(02:58):
release of the film, and howit's coinciding with things that
are happening all around Americais really amazing. To me, it
just feels like we're a part ofsomething bigger. You know, and,
and that's a wonderful feeling.
And I can't wait to see, youknow how God uses the movie as
it continues in theaters acrossAmerica.
John Matarazzo (03:19):
Yeah, and I love how this film came out, right on
the heels of the Asbury revival.
And all eyes were on that forseveral weeks. And you know,
people are still if they hearabout the asthma revival, people
are still their ears are perkingup and they want to go see what
is God doing? You know, there'sthis hunger that is happening in
this day and age. And God putthis hunger in you years ago
(03:44):
with this inspiration for thiswith this magazine cover, and
just how you have so much goingon eight years ago preparing you
for this, what were some of thesteps in your journey, putting
this film together? Because Imean, seriously a film that's
called Jesus revolution actuallybeing you know, on the on the
(04:08):
marquee on movie theaters, Imean, having Jesus up there is
kind of a big deal, but having aJesus film, this widespread, God
had to really have some stepsalong the way. Can you tell me
about some of those?
Jon Erwin (04:23):
It's a miracle. I mean, it's a total miracle that
a movie studio like Lions Gateallowed us to make a film called
Jesus revolution. It's notcalled the revolution it's
called Jesus revolution and andI think it's a miracle that that
everyone you know, watching thisor reading this helps create
(04:44):
because when we champion piecesof entertainment, doors fly open
in Hollywood, and and there'squite the uprising on behalf of
Christianity in Hollywood, rightnow and and It's amazing to be a
part of it. So, you know, thisproject has been, you know,
(05:06):
years in the making. For me,it's the longest I've ever
worked on a movie. And it'samazing how God can even use
disappointments. You know, it'slike he had this plan for this
movie. And we had, you know,we've tried to get this movie
made several times. And when wegot closest was when we had a
movie called I still believe,which was right after, I can
only imagine, it was number one.
I had the box office on Fridaynight. Unfortunately, all
(05:29):
theaters were closed five dayslater on COVID Shut down the
world. So the movie sort of tooka bullet to the heart. And we
had two movies in pre productionwe had American underdog and
Jesus revolution in preproduction Jesus revolution was,
was just a couple of weeks awayfrom filming. And John Gunn, my
co writer was directing themovie at the time. And, and so
the, you know, the plug waspulled all productions globally,
(05:52):
we're shut down. And we had towait a very long time to make
this movie because we had towait till we could use large
crowds. So even in like themovie American underdog that we
made, all those crowds are fake,because they're in the stands,
we were only able to have about100 people on set, because of
all the COVID restrictions. Sowe waited and waited till we
could make Jesus revolutioncorrectly, which means I was
(06:14):
available to direct it withprint McCorkle, and, and so just
see that even God even usesdisappointments. Because he's
got a timeline that's perfect.
And if there's anything thatI've taken from this is that
God's timing is always better.
God's timing is always perfect.
And even if you're walkingthrough life, and you can't see
that, and things aredisappointing, and things are
(06:36):
confusing, God's writing a storythat maybe you can't see. And
it's perfect. And that's been awonderful takeaway from this
film that I've seen. And soagain, to see this movie coming
out, as revivals are happeningaround the country, is
incredible. I remember talkingto Dallas Jenkins about this
creator of the chosen and I'mlike, we didn't sit down and
(06:58):
have this meeting where we'relike, okay, you anchor the
beginning of the month with thewalking on water, and then we'll
there'll be super, Super Bowlcommercials in between, and, and
we'll have our movie, you know,at the end of the month, and
we'll have a revival in between,like, we didn't have that
conversation. This is somethingGod just did. But it really is,
you know, we were joking aroundlike this, this, February was
(07:20):
sort of the month of Jesus andpop culture. And, and I think
it's so cool to be a part of.
And then the amazing thing wasto see the Asbury revival began.
My wife, Beth and I were we werein Kentucky, a couple days into
that revival, and I saw it onsocial media, we're working on a
project. And so we're only about60 miles away. So on day three,
we drove over and just sat thereand listened to what God is
(07:42):
doing in a generation. And Iremember Greg Laurie called me
and said, What did it feel like?
You're the first person I'vetalked to that that was there.
And I said, it felt just likethe movie. I mean, it felt just
like scenes in the movie. Sowhat's driven this project
forward has always been God, youdid it once you can do it again,
if this happened before it canhappen again, it can happen now.
(08:04):
And, and that's, that has alwaysbeen the rallying cry of this
movie. So even before the moviecame out to see it happening,
was just amazing to me. And itwas surreal. And and, and it's
amazing to see and thenobviously, to see the film, so
vastly over perform at the boxoffice is just amazing. It just,
you know, Hollywood is is is youstudios are are wondering, what
(08:29):
still works. The Patrick Lee isit only avatars and only Top
Gun. So to say that no, thefaith audience is hungry, and
underserved. And if you make agreat film, they'll show up. It
was just such a wonderful thingfor us to say, as a community
that I think will lead to many,many more of these type films
being able to be released intheaters. And so it's just been
(08:50):
an incredible, incredible monthand of both financial success
with the movie and I'm gratefulfor that. But what that means is
that millions of people haveseen it, you know, we're going
on 4 million tickets being soldin just a few weeks in theaters.
And, and that just means thatpeople are seeing it and lives
are being transformed. Orwhether it's people being
baptized in a fountain outsidethe theater or in a lake the
(09:14):
next day or praying in thetheater or having worship in a
theater. I've never seen thetype of response to a movie that
we have, which is revolution. Itreally is on a whole nother
level.
John Matarazzo (09:25):
Yeah, I know whenever I saw it, I had the
opportunity to watch it with mywife watching a screener. And
just seeing that in the in ourhome on a small screen, which I
definitely recommend everybodygo to see it in the big screen
because obviously number one,your ticket is your vote. But
just some of these things, ofseeing these events happening
(09:47):
that really happened in reallife, but being portrayed on the
big screen with other people.
There is something so powerfulabout that, but whenever I
watched it with my wife, Ispontaneously broke into tears
and prayed and cried at the endof the film God use me God use
me just like this. And I wasjust overcome. And I know that
(10:09):
that's that that's theexperience that I'm hearing
about other people. And sopeople are having this true life
experience because they've beenwatching a true life story. And
being that it is true life. Youhave people like that you
mentioned Greg Laurie, whoyou're weaving his story
alongside the story of ChuckSmith and Lonnie frisbee and you
(10:30):
bring them all together. Soobviously, you had to use Chuck
Lorre or Greg glory as a, as aresource quite a bit, can you
just tell me a little bit aboutlike, with going that extra step
from taking the article in theTime magazine to turning this
into a film with real peopleabout real?
Jon Erwin (10:52):
Well, I would just say, Greg and Kathy Laurie,
they're some of the mostwonderful friends that I have.
And I have such incrediblerespect for him as a leader, and
as a mentor, and just as afriend. And our relationship
started with this magazine,because I had read this magazine
that I wanted to meet peoplethat lived the Jesus movement.
(11:16):
And that led to a relationshipwith Greg and, and he's just the
real deal and a wonderfulfriend, incredibly creative.
And, and has, you know, anincredible heart for evangelism.
I call him The Last Jedi, youknow, he's one of those last
guys that can, can put that manypeople in a stadium and preach
you know, and, and, and he'sjust become a wonderful friend.
(11:39):
And our friendship has spannedthe seven years, we've done
other projects together, likethe documentaries on Steve
McQueen and Johnny Cash. Butthis is the project that started
at all and this is the one thatwe've been dreaming about, for
years together, and so to see ithappen, and to see it come out,
you know, in the same year thathe and Kathy are going to be
celebrating their 50thanniversary is so it was very
(12:01):
important to me to make a moviethat was multi multi
generational, you know, screens,rip our families apart much more
than they bring our familiestogether. So I wanted to make a
film that you can watch withyour with your kids, your
teenage kids, with your youknow, I remember watching in the
premiere, and it was my wife andI and our teenage daughter, and
then my parents, and you havethree generations loving the
(12:22):
movie, for different reasonsbecause of the different
characters represented. But wereally designed the film to be
multigenerational. And to be agreat experience. You know, I'm
first an entertainer, and my thelove of my life, vocationally is
to entertain audiences. And, andso I hope to make a movie that
makes you laugh and cry. AndI've never been involved in a
(12:44):
movie where the audience cheersduring the film. But in doing
that, and entertaining theaudience, you really have an
opportunity to tell a story,that that can change their life.
And that's why I love truestories is I think true stories
of lives transformed, lead totrue stories of lives
transformed, imagined. And sowe're just the where the where
the where the we bring the storyto people. But I think a lot of
(13:08):
people see it and say, Okay, Iwant this to happen in my life.
And I want this to happen in mycity. I want this to happen into
our country right now. And, andthat is the outpouring of the
film that I'm most passionateabout is people saying, Can this
happen again? Can this happen inmy life? I felt that way filming
the movie. You know, I've neverhad such a powerful day on the
(13:28):
set of movies. When we did thosebaptisms at the real pirates
cove. We went back to the realplace and and I remember
Jonathan Rumi he plays you know,Lonnie also plays Jesus in the
Chosun came up out of the water.
And he said, people are, aremaking real decisions. Like I'm
doing this, just like Gregtaught me. But, but this is very
real for a lot of these people.
And you could feel it on theday, I've never felt anything
(13:50):
like that before. And I wassaved very young and baptized at
age five. But I was like, man Iwho doesn't need a fresh renewal
of their ID this, you know, and,and so people are responding
personally to the movie in waysthat I've never experienced
before. And you're right. It's awonderful experience at home. I
can't wait for people to see itat home. But there's a magic to
(14:14):
seeing this film, in a theaterwith other people, absent, like
anything I've ever been involvedwith. There's just a feeling in
the room. And it's thiswonderful experience that sort
of washes over you in a veryunique way when you're with
other people in an environmentwith no distractions with a
giant screen. And I've neverenjoyed watching a movie with an
(14:34):
audience like this before. It'sjust a wonderful, wonderful
experience. And then amazingthings are happening in theaters
afterwards, especially whenparents or youth pastors, you
know, take take teenagers. It'sso cool to see a new generation
of Christians on their faith ina unique way. And that's what I
(14:58):
felt at Asbury and that's what II felt in theaters across
America.
John Matarazzo (15:02):
That's really cool. Yeah, I had an opportunity
to talk to your brother Andy.
And he also told me that thatyou don't like watching your
films in the theater, people. Sowhy? Why did you start watching
this film in theaters with otherpeople?
Jon Erwin (15:18):
Typically, I don't, I don't watch films in a theater
after they're done just becauseI have to move on. And also,
George Lucas said films arenever complete, they're only
abandoned. So all I see is themistakes or I'm like, Oh, we
could have done this better. Wecould have, you know, and so
typically, I have to get yearsof distance from a movie, to go
back and watch it. Just becauseI'm, you know, you know, I, I
(15:44):
see the flaws and, and but therewas, there's something so
special about this movie, andexperiencing it with an
audience. And watching themwatch the movie. There's a
feeling in the room that I'venever really experienced with a
movie. And so even thoughthere's no perfect movie, the
(16:05):
experience of this one is justso magical, that I love sitting
with audiences and watching itin ways that, that I've never
really felt before with anothermovie. And I love all the movies
that we get to make. And I'mgrateful for all the movies we
get to make. But this is thefirst time I've just sort of
savored watching it with anaudience. Just because the
experience is so phenomenal. Andagain, I've never I've never
(16:29):
been involved with a movie wherepeople have multiple times the
movie cheer along with themovie. That's incredible. So So
I'm grateful that the audienceloves it as much as they do.
John Matarazzo (16:39):
Yeah, that is so cool. I know that you and your
brother did a lot of stuff asyou were kids, because your your
dad worked at a Christiantelevision network. Yeah. And so
I'd like to hear you just tell alittle bit about what that
experience being in thatenvironment has basically
launched you into what you'redoing now. well being,
Jon Erwin (17:01):
I would say, Yeah, I would say that the best piece of
advice that I can, that I cangive people is that success is
long obedience in the samedirection. And I had the good
fortune of starting very early,vocationally. I was 15 and I
cameraman got sick at aUniversity of Alabama football
(17:23):
game, born and raised inBirmingham, Alabama. I was and I
was he was from this cameramanfrom my church, that I knew I
was carrying around his tripodand apprenticing for him. And he
was at that game as well. And sohe called me and said, hey,
somebody just got sick. I toldhim I knew a guy get over here
right now, don't tell anyone howold you are. Don't tell anyone
you've never done this before.
And I went over there. And Iliterally had the time of my
(17:44):
life like that it was sort oflike a good joining a circus.
There was my life before thatmoment. And my life after that
moment. And, and it wasspectacular. And I just fell in
love with with, with, with filmand television. The year after
that, when I was 16, my dadhelped me buy a camera with
money he did not have. And hehelped me get a loan for
(18:06):
$10,000. For a for the firstediting system that you could
use at home. You know, this wasway back when editing on a home
computer was this was the firstApple computer that you could
actually edit withprofessionally. And and that was
the beginning of our business.
My brother quickly joined and mydad said dream bowl dream big
dream, the impossible. And thenhe said give 20 years of your
(18:28):
life to something and you'll besuccessful at it. And I think
people people reallyoverestimate you know what they
can do in the short term. Youknow, whether it's weight loss
or business or whatever it is,you know, none of which I'm in
the fitness stuff, none of whichI'm good at. But I think people
vastly underestimate what theycan do over a long period of
(18:51):
time with consistency. And andso, you know, what happened was
we just had years and years andyears of making things for other
people. It started withpromotional videos for our
church or, or corporate videos,or we filmed all these
orthopedic trauma surgeries, aton of weddings. And then that
led to music videos that artistsMichael, Debbie Smith and Amy
(19:12):
Grant. Still, for reasons tothis day. I don't understand why
they did it. Let us do musicvideos for them. And that led to
a career in music videos. Andjust what Malcolm Gladwell in
his book, Outliers, calls the10,000 hour rule just refining
your craft and, and getting alittle better every day. And
then I worked on a Christianfilm called courageous and
(19:32):
wanting to direct the actionsequences to that film. And it
was the director of that film,Alex Kendrick that said, that
asked me a wonderful questionthat everyone should ask
themselves. He said, What isyour purpose and the purpose of
your work? And I couldn't answerit. It all just happened up to
that point. And that was amoment where this where there
was this fusion of a career anda life's calling. And that's
(19:55):
when we jumped into make to tothe to bleeding at the bleeding
adage of faith based films. Andit's like Mike Tyson said, every
boxer has a plan until he getsin the ring gets punched in the
face. But, but we started makingfilms, raising money to make
them and release them. Andeverything finally just tipped,
you know, when we had our, ourbreakout hit, which was I can
(20:15):
only imagine, oddly enough, thatwas about 20 years, since my dad
told me, Hey, give 20 years ofyour life to this need to be
successful. So I think a lot ofpeople just need to understand
that. Sometimes there's longperiods of preparation before a
season of influence. And, anddon't underestimate that time of
just getting a little better anda little better and a little
(20:36):
better. The biggest point is tojust wake up and improve, just
get a little better at what youdo every day. And if you'll
stack those, those incrementalimprovements on top of each
other, a few years go by, andyou'll realize that, that you're
now in a position to reallyinfluence people through your
craft and, and so it was a long,long, long time, what I had the
advantage of starting veryearly, and, and there's never
(20:59):
been a time to for kids outthere. There's never been a more
accessible time to start acareer in entertainment. Because
you know, an iPhone now is aprofessional camera, you know,
and so it's you can, you cancreate very early, and there's
nothing stopping your journeyfrom beginning, you know, right
now.
John Matarazzo (21:18):
Yeah, that is so cool. There's so many amazing
things that you just said inthat last answer to that
question that I think I'm goingto have to go back and take
notes on what you said all overagain, I love long obedience in
a good direction is definitionfor success, long obedience,
Jon Erwin (21:35):
it's all about, it's about it's about its you know,
activity and progress are twodifferent things, you know, and
a lot of times people think,well, I've got a lot of
activity, and I'm gonna go overhere and do something, I'm gonna
go over here and do something.
Well, you've traveled just asfar and you've gone nowhere. The
key is consistency in the samedirection, like, basically, you
know, taking 20 more steps inthe same direction. That's
(21:58):
what's important, you know, and,and so that's what we tried to
what we tried to do. And, and,and I think that's the key is,
is just, it's just going, youknow, choosing a course and
going in same direction.
John Matarazzo (22:14):
Yeah, two more quick questions as we wrap up
here, and I just greatlyappreciate your time. What is
next on the bleeding edge offaith based films for you?
What's the direction that God'sthat's God's leading you?
Because we've just been talkingabout long obedience in the
right direction? And then also,how can we, as charisma viewers,
as charisma, the audience thatlove this, this type of film,
(22:38):
how can we be praying for you inthis in your next phase?
Jon Erwin (22:43):
Well, I mean, I would just pray for an attitude change
in, in, in Christianity atlarge, I think, so many times
we, we have this mindset, Iactually put the verse in the
film. Kelsey Grammer is ChuckSmith says it by the way, he's
(23:08):
so fantastic as a person and asa performer. But basically, he
says, He who endorses the endwill be saved. And that's,
that's such the mindset. I thinkI'm Baptist, I'm from the south.
And it's just like, hunker down,wait for the end, all is lost.
(23:30):
The next verse in that passagesays this, this gospel of the
kingdom will go to all nations.
As a testimony, I think it's inMatthew 24. And, and that has
always been the first to do listof Christianity, get the gospel
to the entire world get goodnews, by the way, what the word
means to everyone, everybody. SoJesus says this to his
(23:53):
disciples, and you know, the1400 years plus, before the
continent that we're on wouldeven be discovered at all. And
so they didn't even know how bigthe world was. And so on this
distance medley relay ofChristianity, we're finally at a
point in time as a generationwhere we could say, we could get
this done, we could get thisdone in our time, the gospel to
(24:13):
the entire world. And I wish wehad that mindset, you know, you
know, Jesus said to Peter, onthis rock, I build my church and
the gates of hell will notprevail against it. So a gate is
not something anyone's gonnaattack you with. Gates are meant
to be stormed. And that shouldbe our mindset. And so I think
we need to change the way wethink, as Christians, and say
(24:34):
that we're living in aspectacular time of opportunity.
We have more opportunity forChristianity than every
generation before us combined.
And yeah, life is tough. Butthey're not feeding us to lions
as a pre show in a gladiatorialyou know, gladiator arena or
(24:54):
whatever. And so I just wishthat we would have a renewed
sense of optimism. and hope thatthat the times in which we live
are pretty amazing. And I thinkwe're seeing signs all over the
country, that there isincredible and increasing
spiritual hunger, in America,and all over the world. And so
(25:17):
my hope is that Jesus revolutionis one of those pieces of
entertainment that says, hope isnot lost. This is not the end of
the story. This is the beginningof a new chapter. And in
entering that new chapter, wehave more opportunity than we've
ever had as Christians. So let'sget after it. And I think in
getting after it, each of us hasto say, you know, what's my
(25:40):
mountain, you know, like Caleb,in the Bible says to Joshua out,
this is the mountain I want,because I want this mountain for
us, and an increasing number ofpeople that want to work
together, which I'm reallyexcited about. We're saying it's
that hill with the Hollywoodsign on it, like that's, that's
the mountain that we're calledto climb. And every ticket sold
every time someone watches thechosen on their phone, or, or
(26:03):
their television or, you know,we get a little more oxygen to
get a little further up themountain, you know, and, and
that's what's going on inentertainment. But I love that,
you know, Paul in Acts as aDavid that he that he served the
purposes of God and hisgeneration, and that's something
that we can all do. It's like,how do I serve God's purpose in
(26:24):
my time, using my talent, youknow, and for us, God put a
camera in our hands. But we'reall in this together, we all
have a role to play. And I thinkthe biggest hope that I have is
that we would just change theway we think. And we would
change our attitude. And wewould dare to hope, again, with
(26:46):
all that God's doing in theworld today in our time. Because
I think when you see the worldthrough that lens, you begin to
really get excited about usingyour gifts to get the gospel out
there to the world. When youthink about a movie, like Jesus
revolution, because of its ofits success in America, and it's
(27:06):
ongoing success in theaters, ittriggers what we call global
output deals. And what thatmeans is that entertainment is
America's second largest exportbehind agriculture. And the
further the entertainment goes,in America, the more successful
it is in the box office inAmerica, the more it triggers
these global deals. So the firstfour countries just due to their
theatrical releases of the synthsynth Singapore, Indonesia, and
(27:29):
Australia, New Zealand, LatinAmerica is going to quickly
follow. And so because we'vemade such noise in America, this
film was going to go global, youknow, and that is that is
because of, of technology thatcouldn't have happened 100 years
ago. And so that's just oneillustration of the incredible
times in which we live. And somy hope is that we can, that we
(27:54):
can adopt a new mindset andattitude as Christians. And then
also my hope is that we cancontinue to, to, to combat the
stigma, of faith basedentertainment, that these films
are just getting better andbetter and better, so that they
can see be seen by more and moreand more people. And that we can
get back to where we were, youknow, there was a time where
(28:16):
Christian movies were theblockbusters of the day. There
was a time where biblical epicswere the Marvel movies of the
day. And I think we can get backthere if we if we work together.
And, and that's my hope.
John Matarazzo (28:29):
Amen. Amen. Oh, John, I greatly appreciate you
taking some time to be able totalk with us here at charisma
news. I know you're on vacationright now, which is a well
deserved vacation. I hope thatyou get some good rest there.
But thank you so much forcreating this film making Jesus
revolution. This, really, it'san epic film, and just getting
(28:53):
it on the big screen and justseeing what God is doing. And as
you were describing how it'sgetting to other countries, now
I'm just thinking about whatJesus said in Acts chapter one,
verse eight, the Holy Spirit waspoured out and you'll be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea,Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth. And by us buying ticketsto go see this film in the
United States. It's causing thisfilm to start to reach to the
(29:17):
ends of the earth. And we needto be a part of helping this
message of the gospel, the goodnews of Jesus Christ, go to
theaters around the world andit's going to impact more lives.
So if you go to Jesus revolutiondot movie, you can get all the
information, but basically justgo to any movie theater because
it's there right now. So go andenjoy the film. Take a family,
(29:41):
take friends, and check it out.
John, it's great to have you oncharisma news. Thank you very
much.
Jon Erwin (29:47):
Thank you so much for getting the word out and and
it's fun to be in this togetherand fun to see what Oh, God is
doing in America today. It'sit's a wonderful time to be a
Chris
John Matarazzo (30:00):
Should Amen
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