{"id":2195,"date":"2006-06-24T18:39:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-24T18:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/another-film-based-on-johns-gospel\/"},"modified":"2006-06-24T18:39:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-24T18:39:00","slug":"another-film-based-on-johns-gospel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/another-film-based-on-johns-gospel.html","title":{"rendered":"Another film based on John’s gospel!?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>This is interesting. A guy named Ronald<\/a> just posted a comment at an earlier blog post here<\/a>, indicating that Bruce Marchiano<\/a>, who played Jesus in the Visual Bible\u2019s film versions of Matthew<\/a><\/i> and Acts<\/a><\/i> in the mid-1990s (my reviews<\/a>), is now planning to reprise the role \u2014 in a self-produced version of John!<\/span><\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for the new film\u2019s website, which includes a video greeting, a letter of endorsement from the folks who own the New International Version of the Bible, and a method for making financial contributions to the project. And click here<\/a> for Ronald\u2019s blog on the making of this film-to-be.<\/p>\n

This is a rather intriguing development, since the \u201cVisual Bible<\/a>\u201d brand has changed hands several times since Marchiano was involved way back when, and one set of owners already produced a widely appreciated film called The Gospel of John<\/a><\/i> (2003; my review<\/a>), shortly before Mel Gibson\u2019s The Passion of the Christ<\/a><\/i> (2004) came out \u2014 and many critics thought it was rather good by comparison. That film used the Good News Bible, though.<\/p>\n

It also had a budget of between $10 million and $15 million, whereas Marchiano is hoping he can raise $25 million \u2014 roughly the budget of Mel Gibson\u2019s movie \u2014 by encouraging \u201c250,000 believers\u201d to donate $100 each to his project. Could be interesting to see if the film can actually find that many sponsors.<\/p>\n

FWIW, I also can\u2019t help noting that, despite Marchiano\u2019s claims to want to do an exact word-for-word adaptation, \u201centirely unaltered by any human scriptwriter\u201d, the website\u2019s \u201cfilm synopsis<\/a>\u201d states:<\/p>\n

Decades have passed since Jesus walked the land of first century Israel. The humble home of the aging Apostle John<\/b> is crowded with \u201cseekers\u201d hungry of heart. As our screen swells with heavenly images of the time before creation<\/b> \u201cOld John\u201d begins to share Jesus . . .<\/p>\n

For the next twenty-one chapters of Spirit-inspired Scripture, leaping back and forth across time from Old John\u2019s evangelical sharing to his younger days at Jesus\u2019 side, , the Gospel unfolds in all of its passion<\/b> and power<\/b>, revealing its \u201cCenter\u201d in unquestionable magnificence and intimacy: The Person of Jesus, Israel\u2019s long-awaited Messiah, and His promise of salvation<\/b>!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sounds to me like a \u201chuman scriptwriter\u201d is going a bit beyond the actual text and putting the gospel within some sort of extra-biblical context, there. I wonder what the film will do with that interesting bit<\/a> at the end of John\u2019s gospel where the author(s) and\/or redactor(s) waver between \u201cI\u201d and \u201cwe\u201d language.<\/p>\n

JUN 26 UPDATE: Matt Page<\/a> makes a fascinating point, at his Bible Films Blog, about Marchiano\u2019s age and the possible age of Jesus according to some Johannine scholars (based on John 8:57<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is interesting. A guy named Ronald just posted a comment at an earlier blog post here, indicating that Bruce Marchiano, who played Jesus in the Visual Bible\u2019s film versions of Matthew and Acts in the mid-1990s (my reviews), is now planning to reprise the role \u2014 in a self-produced version of John! Click here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAnother film based on John's gospel!?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is interesting. 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A guy named Ronald just posted a comment at an earlier blog post here, indicating that Bruce Marchiano, who played Jesus in the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/another-film-based-on-johns-gospel.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-06-24T18:39:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/photos1.blogger.com\/blogger\/7991\/933\/400\/johnpromo.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter T. 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