{"id":2383,"date":"2006-02-09T02:42:00","date_gmt":"2006-02-09T02:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/02\/color-of-the-cross-another-black-jesus\/"},"modified":"2006-02-09T02:42:00","modified_gmt":"2006-02-09T02:42:00","slug":"color-of-the-cross-another-black-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/02\/color-of-the-cross-another-black-jesus.html","title":{"rendered":"Color of the Cross — another black Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>Looking for more information on Color of the Cross<\/a><\/i>, I found this story<\/a> from last Monday\u2019s Variety<\/i> magazine:<\/span><\/p>\n

The success Mel Gibson had in transforming churchgoers into moviegoers with \u201cThe Passion of the Christ<\/a>\u201d has inspired another indie production on the story of the last hours in the life of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

But \u201cColor of the Cross,\u201d produced on a tiny $2.5 million budget, will feature a black actor portraying Christ.<\/p>\n

Nu-Lite Entertainment<\/a> production hopes to capitalize on the controversy of depicting a nonwhite Christ.<\/p>\n

Under a recently inked deal, 20th Century Fox will distribute the film on homevideo, and the pic\u2019s producers say money from that deal will be put toward the marketing effort for the film\u2019s theatrical release in November. No distrib has been signed yet.<\/p>\n

One of the producers is the Rev. Cecil \u201cChip\u201d Murray, who during his 27 years as pastor at L.A.\u2019s First AME Church<\/a> used his pulpit to become a national religious and civil-rights leader. He said he hopes the film will reverse negative stereotypes of African Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really need to do something about the negative imaging of black America,\u201d he said. \u201cBlack America is the only culture that worships in the form of foreign symbols. The good that can be done is that it can help lift people\u2019s interest and combat racism and discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

While acknowledging the potential for controversy, Murray said the notion that Jesus was African isn\u2019t far-fetched.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more likely that Jesus was black than it was that Jesus was European,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not an assertion that is a difficult one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cColor of the Cross\u201d will star Jean-Claude La Marre, who is also directing and scripted the film. His past pics include African American-themed Westerns \u201cGang of Roses,\u201d which starred musicians Lil Kim and Bobby Brown, and \u201cBrothers in Arms.\u201d None have made a big dent at the box office.<\/p>\n

Recent portrayals of Jesus as black \u2014 whether musician Kanye West posing as Christ on the cover of Rolling Stone or the depiction of Jesus as a modern-world African revolutionary in \u201cSon of Man<\/a>,\u201d which recently preemed at Sundance \u2014 have attracted media coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur movie is not about dividing Christians but broadening their perspective,\u201d La Marre said in a statement. \u201cFor centuries, Leonardo Da Vinci\u2019s portrayal of Jesus has been widely accepted. We are offering an alternative image. There\u2019s room for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Production got under way earlier this year and will resume later this month. La Marre hopes to have a version of the pic to show to potential theatrical distribs some time in April.<\/p>\n

Also producing are Jessie Levostre, Marc Porterfield, Michele Gonda and Kenneth Halsband; Marcello Thedford is co-producer.<\/p>\n

In addition to Jesus, black actors will also portray Mary (Debbi Morgan of \u201cCoach Carter\u201d and \u201cWoman Thou Art Loosed\u201d), Joseph and Judas, while the rest of the cast will be white or Middle Eastern. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unless I missed something, there is no indication whether this film will be set in the past or present \u2014 although Murray\u2019s assertion that \u201cJesus was black\u201d, combined with this reference to \u201cMiddle Eastern\u201d actors, suggests it will be set in the past, I think.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking for more information on Color of the Cross, I found this story from last Monday\u2019s Variety magazine: The success Mel Gibson had in transforming churchgoers into moviegoers with \u201cThe Passion of the Christ\u201d has inspired another indie production on the story of the last hours in the life of Jesus Christ. But \u201cColor of […]<\/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-2383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nColor of the Cross -- another black Jesus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking for more information on Color of the Cross, I found this story from last Monday's Variety magazine:The success Mel Gibson had in transforming\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/02\/color-of-the-cross-another-black-jesus.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Color of the Cross -- another black Jesus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Looking for more information on Color of the Cross, I found this story from last Monday's Variety magazine:The success Mel Gibson had in transforming\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/02\/color-of-the-cross-another-black-jesus.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-02-09T02:42:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/photos1.blogger.com\/blogger\/7991\/933\/400\/color_of_cross.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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