Update: Hillsong UNITED Documentary Sees Distribution Problems; Hillsong Church Remains Focused on Spreading Gospel
Hillsong Church says they remain committed to leading people to Christ through their music despite news of their documentary, "Hillsong - Let Hope Rise," being pulled from its distribution.
The documentary on the most famous worship band in the world was first announced by Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. last year. However, after being unable to close the rights deal for "Let Hope Rise," Warner Bros. has removed the film from its previously announced April 1 release date.
"The producers of the movie 'Let Hope Rise' have advised us that while Warner Bros. is no longer distributing the movie, there are ongoing positive discussions with other distributors who have indicated their interest in this project from the start," Hillsong Church said in a statement via Grace Hill Media.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"From Hillsong's perspective, we have always been in awe that people would be interested in making a movie about our journey, and we remain humbled that there is still such strong interest," the Australia-based church continued. "That said, this movie and everything else we do, all has one purpose, and that is pointing people to Jesus. That is and will always be, our priority."
Furthermore, the producers of "Let Hope Rise" including Matt Weaver of MediaWeaver Entertainment and Jonathan Bock of Grace Hill Media, said that a distribution deal was simply to blame for the pulled release date.
"Sometimes the biggest challenge of producing a film isn't actually making the movie," a message from the producers said before adding that production is "coming along beautifully."
"In reality, distributing and marketing a film worldwide has a ton of moving parts," the producers added. "As has been reported, unfortunately we just couldn't make a deal that was agreeable to all parties. This happens sometimes. The good news is that we are almost done with the film and already entertaining offers from several other studios. Stay tuned, as we expect to have news on that shortly."
A new trailer for "Let Hope Rise" is also expected in the near future, according to producers.
The music documentary will narrate Hillsong UNITED's extraordinary journey from a youth group band at Hillsong Church to a worldwide phenomenon. Watch the first trailer for the film here.
