'Do You Believe' stars think there is room for Jesus in Hollywood
The stars of the Pure Flix film "Do You Believe" think that Hollywood has room for Jesus Christ with the rise of faith-based films.
"Do You Believe" is a faith-based film set in Chicago. It tells the story of various characters who go about their lives differently but are soon brought together by the power of faith. At the centre of the story is a local pastor, whose faith-fuelled journey touches the lives of the different characters in ways that "only God could orchestrate."
The film stars Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin, Delroy Lindo, Lee Majors, Cybill Shepherd and Alexa PenaVega, among others. It is produced by Pure Flix, the production team behind the successful "God's Not Dead."
Lee Majors, who plays the character JD, told Variety that there is renewed interest in faith-based movies in the public.
Majors cited God's Not Dead as evidence of this, pointing out that it was shot on a budget of only $1 million but eventually made $62 million. He predicted that Hollywood would be taking a close look at the genre in light of recent successful faith-based movies.
"I think Hollywood is going to look at (the topic) more closely, and I don't know why they don't do more," Majors said.
Cybill Shepherd, who stars as Teri in the movie, echoed Majors' sentiments.
"In old-time Hollywood, they used to do faith-based movies all the time... there's a great history in Hollywood of doing religious films, and they didn't think it was odd," she stated.
The film's producer Michael Scott said recent Biblical epics would pave the way for renewed interest in more faith-motivated movies.
"We're excited that we're the 'in crowd' right now, after 'Noah' and 'Exodus' and 'Son of God.' I think it just shows you that there's demand for this type of content," Scott told Variety.