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<\/a><\/p>\nKilling Jesus<\/a><\/i> had its New York premiere on Monday, and the various people involved have been promoting it ever since. A few outlets have also posted some new set-visit reports. (My own set-visit report is here<\/a>.) Check \u2019em all out below the jump.<\/p>\n First, the print (or should I say text) reports and interviews.<\/p>\n The New York Daily News<\/i> has two articles, starting with a set-visit report<\/a> that includes the only interview with Rufus Sewell (who plays Caiaphas) that I have seen in connection with this film anywhere<\/i>. (He did not speak to the press at all while I<\/i> was there, which is a shame, as I\u2019m a big fan of Dark City<\/a><\/i>. But anyhoo.)<\/p>\n The News<\/i> also has a story on the multiple Bible movies<\/a> that were shot in Morocco last year, and how the actors all hung out together during their downtime:<\/p>\n \u201cAny time you\u2019re around the pool, there is a mix of three Jesuses, a brace of Mary Magdalenes and disciples fighting over the condiments,\u201d says Rufus Sewell, Caiaphas in \u201cKilling Jesus.\u201d . . .<\/p>\n Stephen Moyer, Pontius Pilate in \u201cKilling Jesus,\u201d said he was delighted when, after traveling 31 hours, he ran into Sewell.<\/p>\n \u201cRufus is an old mate of mine,\u201d Moyer says. \u201cOne of my best friends is on one of the other jobs, \u2018The Jesus Code.\u2019 Michael Higgs \u2014 he\u2019s playing Joseph of Arimathea. All of us were at the Royal Shakespeare Company 23 years ago and now we all around the pool sipping cocktails. It\u2019s like being in Soho in London.\u201d<\/p>\n With so many actors in such a small and remote place, the connections and reconnections are constant. Chipo Chung, Mary Magdalene in \u201cAD<\/a>,\u201d ran into a pal from L.A., Haaz Sleiman, Jesus from \u201cKilling Jesus.\u201d They ended up riding camels into the Sahara.<\/p>\n \u201cHe organized this `Killing Jesus\u2019 trip,\u201d Chung says. \u201cWe traveled for seven hours, and who do I bump into? Juan Pablo (Di Pace, who plays Jesus in \u201cAD\u201d). He was by himself.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile, Daniel Fienberg<\/a> at Hitfix \u2014 one of the reporters with whom I visited the set \u2014 has an interview with Kelsey Grammer, who plays Herod the Great:<\/p>\n There are things Grammer almost certainly does merely because they\u2019re jobs, but \u201cKilling Jesus\u201d isn\u2019t one. Grammer is a man of faith and he\u2019s never been shy when it comes to discussing his ideology or his religious background. Members of the religious press contingent reported that in their roundtable, Grammer got choked up several times talking about the subject matter. That didn\u2019t happen in our secular group, but Grammer was certainly passionate when the idea was raised that faith-based productions might sometimes face challenges from wide audiences.<\/p>\n \u201cGosh, I think faith is a wonderful thing,\u201d Grammer says. \u201cAnd I even think religion\u2019s a wonderful thing. I know a lot of people want to say, \u2018Religion\u2019s the only reason that man has had any trouble at all,\u2019 but you know what? World War I and World War II were not fought because of religious reasons. So the greatest amount of cruelty to one another, the greatest amount of death has been rained down upon each other by simple ideology and acquisition or whatever, but very rarely honestly just motivated by religion. There are some instances and some of the more current in which we are facing that element. We\u2019ll see how that works out but I don\u2019t have any difficulty doing a show that\u2019s about faith or doing a show that actually even is affirmative about faith.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Fienberg also has a much longer report<\/a> on our visit to Ouarzazate:<\/p>\n John Rhys-Davies is a veteran of the sort of movies and TV shows that are filmed in and around Morocco and he has a history with Ouarzazate.<\/p>\n \u201cA little town like Ouarzazate, which is just booming, you should have seen it when I came here first about 20, 30 years ago and then even 10, 15 years ago,\u201d Rhys-Davies says. \u201cThere are new buildings going up. Probably 60 to 80 percent of the town\u2019s wealth, employment derives one way or another from the film industry and in their heart of hearts, they must be terrified, because they know that The Beast is coming.\u201d . . .<\/p>\n Rhys-Davies traces the transformation from the Ouarzazate he knew years ago, to the Ouarzazate he now sees.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people were just as wonderful,\u201d he says. \u201cThe poverty was more apparent. The fields still brought their crop of stones every year. What film\u2019s brought here is a real sense of modernism, of being part of the modern, civil world. It\u2019s brought prosperity it\u2019s brought these people the sense of belonging to an international community. You look at this cast and the crew? They are from all nations, all religions. And our job is to get on and make things happen, make it work.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Jonathan Merritt<\/a> at Religion News Service has an interview with Haaz Sleiman, who plays Jesus:<\/p>\n Both the book and film retell Jesus\u2019 crucifixion and accounts of his resurrection. Muslims do not believe either of these events occurred, and although Sleiman says he was not aware of these historical discrepancies prior to accepting the role, they were not concerns for him.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an actor my number one focus was to be on the same page with the writer, director, and producers,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Kevin Ott<\/a> at Rockin\u2019 God\u2019s House also has an interview with Sleiman:<\/p>\n What you said reminded me of this thought: many people think violence is radical, but really, loving your enemy is extremely radical. It\u2019s so against human nature.<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah, and it\u2019s the most powerful thing to do and the hardest thing, but it\u2019s actually powerful. It\u2019s not weak. It really takes a powerful, strong person to really understand that and do that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n John W. Kennedy<\/a> at Beliefnet also got a soundbite from Sleiman at the premiere:<\/p>\n He adds \u201cYou know, there are few here and there from both sides that were just either not happy about it or had their opinions and I love that \u2014 because that means we are doing the right thing. Whenever you create some sort of disturbance in the air, there\u2019s an awakening that happens, an opportunity for a conversation, an opportunity to build bridges, specifically, an opportunity to connect different groups that typically wouldn\u2019t connect with one another\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Washington Life<\/a><\/i> interviewed Sleiman after the film\u2019s world premiere in Idaho a few weeks ago (as did I; that interview should be online soon, too):<\/p>\n \u201cI think as long as we end up respecting one another for our differences, then that\u2019s great,\u201d he told Washington Life<\/i>, fittingly, over a glass of red wine at the Sun Valley Film Festival in Idaho, after the film\u2019s world premiere earlier this month. \u201cWe need to have different opinions and we need to speak openly about them because I think for a civilized nation or society, that is the basis for it to be able to give your opinion even it is different from someone else it is healthy. Even if you disagree. You want that in a marriage, you want that in a relationship, you want that in a society. It\u2019s no different.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Kate O\u2019Hara<\/a> spoke to Sleiman about a scene that I watched him film:<\/p>\n What was even more emotionally draining was not the Crucifixion, it was him walking, dragging the cross, on the way to be crucified. It was directed, but inside, I was falling apart. I couldn\u2019t stop myself I couldn\u2019t control it, because really, it got into every cell, having empathy for someone. It floored me to have to go through that humiliation \u2014 the idea of being completely shunned by everybody, ashamed, everybody around there, being made fun of.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n O\u2019Hara also got this quote from screenwriter Walon Green<\/a>:<\/p>\n First of all, an Evangelical seeing the movie will be disappointed that there\u2019s not more miracles. [But it might appeal to] the person who doesn\u2019t know whether they believe in miracles. They\u2019re not believers that Jesus was probably the Son of God or a Messiah. They\u2019ll like our movie. It takes you quickly into the reality of the man and stays with him in the story. I can\u2019t profess to be a really religious person at all, but this is a guy who arrives with a message that\u2019s completely humane.<\/p>\n There\u2019s conquerors, there\u2019s kings, but they\u2019ve all got some sort of other agenda. Here\u2019s a guy who arrives with nothing other than a message of love and proved, by his life, that it takes more than we think to deliver that message than anybody could comprehend.<\/p>\n To me, that is an inspirational story, so I don\u2019t really need to get into the miracles. That\u2019s enough for me. We live through narratives as people, and the narrative of someone\u2019s life is more powerful than a bunch of books.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Gerri Miller<\/a> at Mother Nature Network also spoke to Green, as well as producers Teri Weinberg and David Zucker. Says Green:<\/p>\n \u201cThe movies that have been done before have been from the point of view of Jesus, and this is a film that\u2019s placing a man in his times, at a critical stage with political and other religious forces coalescing against him that this will inevitably result in his death,\u201d says Green. \u201cHe knew what his destiny was yet he didn\u2019t feel he could turn away from it. There was not another path he could take.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And Vincent Funaro<\/a> at The Christian Post spoke to Chris Ryman (who plays the temple guard Malchus), Alexis Rodney (who plays Simon Peter) and Joe Doyle (who plays Judas Iscariot) about the film\u2019s \u201cambiguous\u201d approach to the miracles:<\/p>\n Ryman also told CP that when he first received the script for \u201cKilling Jesus,\u201d he wasn\u2019t told that Jesus\u2019 miracles wouldn\u2019t be depicted in the film. He further admitted that while the entirety of Jesus\u2019 story can\u2019t be told without acknowledging the supernatural aspects of His life, it can be achieved without the use of Hollywood special effects that are often found in other portrayals of Jesus\u2019 life.<\/p>\n Alexis Rodney, who plays Simon Peter in \u201cKilling Jesus,\u201d elaborated more on Ryman\u2019s point.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a lot of other versions you see lights and rays, and that\u2019s fine \u2014 it serves its purpose,\u201d he told CP. \u201cBut again [what we\u2019re bringing that\u2019s different], I think, is being able to make it slightly more ambiguous. You draw in a larger audience who will then get the core message.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Turning to outlets overseas, Stuff.co.nz<\/a> in New Zealand spoke to Moyer and Grammer while Tonight<\/a><\/i> in South Africa spoke to Grammer and Sleiman.<\/p>\n Next, the videos, starting with two clips from the film.<\/p>\n This one shows the famous incident in which Jesus saves a woman from being stoned for adultery by saying that he who is without sin should cast the first stone:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5xX2ZkoEA5E<\/p>\n And this one depicts the (somewhat gory) scourging of Jesus:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TMrlfe0lr3w<\/p>\n The National Geographic Channel has also posted two more videos of the actors discussing their roles, including Kelsey Grammer on playing King Herod\u2026<\/p>\n