The Resurrection Project: Hollywood Prayer Leader on Movie's Executive Board
A Hollywood producer wants to make sure that he includes God in the creation of "The Resurrection," a film that he would like to see materialize as the sequel to Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."
To help ensure that the project is divinely inspired during every step of the way, David Wood has not only brought together four other Christian men to co-produce the film with him, but has also assigned one of them specifically to lead the production's prayer team.
Pastor Tim Price is the CEO of the Center for Prayer Mobilization based in Idyllwild, Calif., and has had a heart to pray for Hollywood for several years. Rather than joining past movements of Christians boycotting Hollywood films deemed inappropriate, he decided to pray.
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Wood met Price a few years ago and decided that if he was going to make a change in Hollywood as a Christian producer, including the making of "The Resurrection," he needed support from godly men.
"The overall concept of what we do is praying for God's will to be done in Hollywood," Price told The Christian Post. "Looking to get Hollywood back into a place where it will not only produce more godly films, but more family-orientated films. Through prayer, the moral aspect of Hollywood would change."
Price said he feels very similarly to the way Wood does in regards to wanting to see a film made that depicts the events surrounding Jesus' resurrection and the 40 days that followed.
"I saw 'The Passion' and really liked it. I felt it had a real big impact on the body of Christ, but felt a little bit let down," Price explains. "The church started with the resurrection of Christ. What drew me to 'The Resurrection' movie [project] itself is that the resurrection is where the Church started and the understanding that the Holy Spirit is inside of us.
"How we as Christians walk and intercede today is through the power of the resurrection. The power of the Church is directly related to the resurrection," he said.
Price said the prayer team for the movie, which coincides with a fundraising and creative effort called, "The Resurrection Project," consists of only a handful of people right now, but he expects the number to grow.
"We've been praying and interceding for how God wants to put 'The Resurrection' movie together … who God wants to be involved with it and for God to start bringing divine appointments for people to start connecting," Price said. "We are also praying for the unity of the body of Christ within the project."
Wood said another spiritual aspect of the project is that people interested in contributing towards the development and production of the movie can become "Spiritual Producers."
He plans to finance the film through a Christian community of believers before any creative talent for the movie has been hired, including any script writers.
"What God has shown us is that we are doing this in the opposite spirit of Hollywood. Normally, you go and raise the money from your investors. You get a script. You hire everybody to get you into production. You shoot your movie and do your sound and editing, and then you market it for five to six months, and then it's released in theaters and DVDs and so forth," Wood told CP previously.
"What God is showing us to do this time is that we needed to put a leadership team together that could steward this (project) because it is so sensitive and it needs to be done God's way," he explained. "We are actually starting the marketing first. So, the game plan for the coming months and the rest of the year is letting the Christian church and the world know that this movie is coming."
Price said he is most excited about seeing what God will do with the film project on a global scale.
"The opportunity to present to the world the power and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ is what I am looking forward to," he said. "To see that Christ was victorious … We need to understand that as members of the Body of Christ we are children of the living God. We are not orphans."
Executive co-producer Chuong Thai, who will oversee the film's unique distribution, said he was first drawn into the project because of his love for God. The five-member team of executive producers plan to release the film on the same weekend through theaters and pay-per-view applications on the Internet and smart phone network.
Thai said he was also attracted to the project by Wood's passion.
"Seeing what we think should be good for Hollywood is very exciting for me," Thai said.
Igbo Obioha, an entertainment industry lawyer who is on the executive board (also known as the Stewarding Council), said he was also impressed with Wood's vision.
"David is just a whirlwind of inspiration and energy and he's very good at motivating people and getting people to do more than what they do just nine-to-five," Obioha told CP. "I think the timing is right. The people that have been assembled as the stewarding council are people that are talented, skilled, and have their hearts in the right place. It's a great combination of individuals who can now put their collective resources together and get it done the right way.
"I think we are just all very energized about this," he said.
The movie project's fifth co-director is Ken An, who is a Christian business leader who will bring an international missions aspect to the movie, Wood said. An is also executive director of GMIT (Global Media & IT), the host of the annual Pan Pacific Film Festival, which focuses on producing high quality Christian movies.
Wood said he and his team are not only asking typical Hollywood film investors to help raise $40 million for the movie, but people simply interested in making "the most important movie this century, maybe ever."
"We're just all wanting to serve the Lord and it's really not about our agendas or anything about us. What's helped us mesh is that we've grown as friends first and we want to walk together," Wood said.
On the Web, http://www.theresurrectionproject.com/.
