Hollywood Celebrities, Megachurch Pastor Recruited for New Audio Bible Experience
A confirmed lineup of over 200 cast members for an upcoming Old Testament audio Bible was announced Tuesday and includes Oscar, Golden Globe, and Emmy winners, as well as a megachurch pastor.
The Bible Experience: Old Testament, to be release in November 2007, will include the voices of 2007 Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker as the voice of Moses, Angela Bassett (Esther), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jonah), Denzel and Pauletta Washington (Song of Songs), LL Cool J (Samson), and Bishop T.D. Jakes (Abraham) among others.
It will serve as the prequel to The Bible Experience: New Testament, which not only is the bestselling audio Bible, but also one of the industry's fastest-selling new Bibles.
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"We are thrilled with the cast assembled for the Old Testament portion of The Bible Experience," said Ron Belk, president and CEO of Inspired by…Media group, in a statement. "Inspired by…Media Group is the company that produces The Bible Experience.
"The fact that celebrities, artists and clergy have enthusiastically requested to be a part of this affirms that The Bible Experience is truly a one-of-a-kind, groundbreaking project," Belk added.
"Each one of these voices bring something special to their role, and it's the culmination of their talents that make this an audio Bible in a category all its own."
In total, the cast features three Oscar winners, five Golden Globe winners and seven Emmy winners.
The audio Bible, like its predecessor, combines first-class production quality such as dramatic performances set to an original musical underscore by the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Hollywood-style sound design created at Technicolor Studios.
The audio Bible is based on Zondervan's Today's New International Version (TNIV) Bible, a translation that has garnered much criticism because of its rendering of male terms – replacing "son" and "father" to "child" and "parent."
The Southern Baptist Convention and the Presbyterian Church in America had passed resolutions saying the TNIV has gone beyond acceptable translation standards. And Lifeway Christian Resources, one of the world's largest providers of Christian products and services, had barred the edition from its 122 bookstores because of the version's gender-neutral translations.
Nevertheless, TNIV was launched in 2005 with a million-dollar media effort and hailed by some as the grand solution to bring back young Bible adherents to church. Furthermore, The Inspired By…The Bible Experience: New Testament has sold more than 310,000 units making it Zondervan's bestselling audio Bible and last month won the Audiobook of the Year award – the highest honor of the Audio Publisher's Association.
"It's evident that The Bible Experience's universal appeal knows no boundaries, as evidenced by its remarkable sales, and we believe it is poised to have a long-term impact on the faith of millions of people," said Paul Caminiti, vice president and publisher of Bibles for Zondervan, in a statement.
"Our mission is to introduce innovative projects that engage more people in the Bible, and The Bible Experience is doing just that by bringing the Bible to life like never before."
