‘The Jesus Revolution:’ Director discusses project being filmed in Mobile

From Alabama Life and Culture : "‘The Jesus Revolution:’ Director discusses project being filmed in Mobile"

“And Joel Courtney is just this incredible kid and wonderful actor. I loved him in ‘Super 8,’ that was his first movie. He got chased out of the theater where we were at because a bunch of teenage girls saw him, and they love the ‘Kissing Booth’ movies on Netflix. The whole cast is really incredible. It’s a wonderful ensemble.”

“Mobile actually makes for a really good California,” says Jon Erwin, a Birmingham-born filmmaker who has been in coastal Alabama filming a movie with Kelsey Grammer and other actors of note.

“The Jesus Revolution,” which will be released in 2023, is a very California story, and a very ‘70s story, at least on one level. It retells the movement born when free spirit Greg Laurie connected with hippie street preacher Lonnie Frisbee and older, more conventional pastor Chuck Smith in Costa Mesa, California, in 1968. It was a pivotal moment in the process of fusing the energy of the ‘60s youth movement with Christianity.

Many elements of contemporary Christian worship and culture, and many of its leaders, took shape as the “Jesus Movement” exploded in the following years. Laurie, who’s still active, went on to found Harvest Christian Fellowship, one of the biggest churches in the country.