Home Pastors Videos For Pastors Hollywood's "Year of the Bible" Continues With "The Song," "Exodus"

Hollywood's "Year of the Bible" Continues With "The Song," "Exodus"

The entertainment industry press has dubbed 2014 as the “Year of the Bible” in Hollywood, and it’s no wonder: Scripture served as the basis for at least five feature films in 2014, and there are at least three more scheduled for release before the end of the year. Film producer Mark Joseph, executive producer of the upcoming Tolkien & Lewis, explained it: “Hollywood is realizing the interests of the people who live in this country, who have been disengaged from movies and are now willing to give Hollywood a chance. There’s a new generation of Hollywood executives coming up who aren’t as ideological and political as their older counterparts. They’re about the bottom line and aren’t as knee-jerk against religious material as previous generations.”

The faith-filled movie year began with Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s release of Son of God in late February, which grossed $60 million domestically. Next came Noah featuring Russell Crowe; this big-budget epic grossed $43 million. In the spring came Greg Kinnear’s Heaven Is for Real, the smaller-billed Mom’s Night Out with Patricia Heaton and Trace Adkins, and the popular God’s Not Dead, which itself spurned a lifetime gross of $60.7 million.

Coming up in 2014 is The Songa music-driven romantic drama opening September 26. Left Behind, an apocalyptic action-thriller starring Nicolas Cage, will open on October 3, and December will see Exodus: Gods and Kings, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Christian Bale and Sigourney Weaver. Next year will not be short of bible-based features, either, with the Passion of the Christ prequel titled simply Mary, starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Julia Ormond, said to be expected in April 2015. Later will come Joseph’s Tolkien & Lewis, exploring the friendship and faith of authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as a possible film based on the bestselling book, The Shack. The success of Passion of the Christ a decade ago prompted many production studios to set up faith-based divisions, most of whom are at the helm of these upcoming features.

These Bible-based productions have not been released without criticism and controversy. Noah, directed by atheist Darren Aronofsky, took serious heat when faithful viewers were troubled by its lack of biblical accuracy and what some called “extreme” artistic license. And the upcoming Exodus: Gods and Kings is facing backlash for its all-white leading cast. Some in Hollywood are openly critical of faith-based films because of their tendency toward low budgets and less-than-stellar screenplays. But, say what you will, the Christian film industry is not going away any time soon.

Watch the trailer of the upcoming The Song: