From "Showbiz CheatSheet" : "‘Jesus Revolution’: The True Story Behind the Movement Turned Hollywood Movie"

A new Christian movie called Jesus Revolution is about to hit theaters. The film tells the true story of the Jesus Revolution, a movement that took place in the ’60s and ’70s across the world. 

‘Jesus Revolution’ tells the true story of one man’s conversion to Christianity

Jesus Revolution tells the story of Greg Laurie, who was one of the real-life people involved in the movement. He converted to Christianity in the ’60s after crossing paths with pastor Chuck Smith, one of the leaders of the Jesus Revolution. 

The movie also deals with the cultural clash that happened during the Jesus Revolution movement. Hippies and young people began attending church alongside more conservative older people, and both parties disagreed with the other’s views on life and religion. 

The cast includes Frasierstar Kelsey Grammer as Chuck Smith and The Kissing Booth’s Joel Courtney as Greg Laurie. Other actors involved in the project include Jonathan Roumie, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Julia Campbell, and DeVon Franklin. 

 

 

‘Jesus Revolution’ was in development for seven years

Jesus Revolution has been in development for almost seven years. According to Liberty University, producer Jon Erwin shared that he got the idea for the film after picking up a 1970s copy of TIME magazine that featured a cover story about the movement. 

“I studied it for years,” Erwin said of the magazine cover. “We were just dreaming of being able to make this movie. It’s a miracle that Lionsgate let us make it.”

Part of the development process meant casting changes. For example, stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan was originally set to play Chuck Smith, but was replaced by Grammer. 

The real-life movement that inspired ‘Jesus Revolution’ 

“The Jesus Revolution” began in the late 1960s on the West Coast and eventually spread across the globe, according to Encyclopedia. Some major themes of the movement included a return to simple and communal living and rejecting drugs and alcohol in favor of religion. 

Members of the movement made music a central part of their faith, incorporating the rock and country sounds from popular songs of the day into their services. They also expressed their dissatisfaction with typical middle-class Christianity, preferring to blend it with their hippie sensibilities, according to The Conversation.

Some of the big names in the Jesus Revolution include Smith, who was the founder and pastor at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, Nashville pastor Don Finto, and Steve Freeman, who opened the Kingdom Come Christian Coffee House in South Carolina. 

The movement came to an end by the late ’80s, but its influences on Christianity can still be felt today. The Jesus Revolution brought more young people to churches, created youth groups for young Christians, and started the trend of modern worship songs being used during services. 

From "Just Jared Junior" : "Joel Courtney Premieres New Movie ‘Jesus Revolution’ with Wife Mia"

Thanks, Jared, for this excellent article!

Joel Courtney dons a maroon corduroy suit for the premiere of his new movie Jesus Revolution held at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Wednesday (February 15) in Hollywood.

The 27-year-old The Kissing Booth star was joined by his wife Mia for the big event, celebrating his latest film.

If you didn’t know, the cute couple has been married for nearly two and a half years now.

The upcoming film is based on a true story of a divided moment in time when people came together by checking their preconceptions at the door – and formed a movement by listening to each other, looking beyond their own beliefs. It led to what TIME Magazine dubbed the Jesus Revolution in 1971.

From "Christian Headlines" : "Jesus Revolution Is an 'Opportunity for Evangelism,' Producer Says of Feb. 24 Film"

When Lionsgate announced last summer that a film about the hippie-led revival of the 60s and 70s would be released on Feb. 24, no one knew that a real-life revival would be sweeping Asbury University and college campus at the exact same time.

Some are calling it divine timing.

Andy Erwin, the producer of that film, Jesus Revolution (PG-13), told Christian Headlines that he got "chills" when he learned of the Asbury revival.

"It's very similar," Erwin said. "... I think the underlying hunger for revival is there [in America]."

Jesus Revolution tells the story of a major revival that also swept college campuses in the early 70s and sparked the ministries of countless individuals, including Greg Laurie, Lonnie Frisbee and Chuck Smith. That revival was such a big deal that it landed on the cover of Time Magazine on June 21, 1971, under the headline, "The Jesus Revolution." The cover artwork included a painting of Jesus. Historians dubbed it the "Jesus Movement."

Jesus Revolution stars Jonathan Roumie ( The Chosen ) as Frisbee, Kelsey Grammer ( Cheers, Frasier ) as Smith, Joel Courtney as Laurie, Kimberly Williams-Paisley ( Father of the Bride ) as Laurie's mother and Anna Grace Barlow as Laurie's girlfriend and future wife Cathe. It was made by the same filmmakers who produced I Can Only Imagine, I Still Believe and American Underdog.

The revival in the film took place in California. Even so, a college-led revival at Asbury University broke out around the same time – in February 1970 – and lasted 144 hours.

Revival "swept the country" in the early 1970s, Erwin said. He sees similarities to 2023. The 60s and 70s were engulfed with social unrest and polarization, similar to today. Young people, Erwin said, were searching for purpose and truth but reaching dead ends until they encountered the gospel.

"These weren't the bad kids," Erwin said. "These were kids that were searching for the right thing. They wanted to belong. They wanted truth, they wanted justice. … But they were sold a bill of goods that LSD was going to be what unlocked their potential. And when the bottom dropped out, it got ugly. And I think in society today, the same kind of generational gap exists. The younger generation that are often portrayed by the church as bad kids, these are kids that are searching for those same things of belonging, of justice, of identity, all those things. They're just looking for things that can't satisfy that. And I think we're primed for another Jesus movement and another Jesus revival."

The film is the most evangelistic movie yet released by Erwin and his team at Kingdom Story Company , he said. Kingdom Story previously released I Can Only Imagine, I Still Believe, Woodlawn and American Underdog .

"I think this one more specifically than anything we have done, is an opportunity for evangelism. It's 'take your lost friends,'" Erwin said.

It's important that Christians support Jesus Revolution if they want to see other films like it in the future, he added.

"By nature of coming out of COVID, studios are making a lot of snap decisions right now on what's viable and what's not," Erwin said. "And so, if this works, there is a massive door for the gospel that could last years. If it doesn't, they probably will begin to say, 'Hey, this audience isn't viable anymore. Let's move on to other kinds of products.' So it's important for people to vote with their ticket and show up. And it's important to take your friends that don't know the Word. … It's a great conversation starter."

From "Christian Headlines" : "Non-Christians Are Crying During Jesus Revolution Screenings, Director Says"

One of the directors behind the upcoming faith-based film Jesus Revolution says the story is so powerful that non-Christians have been moved to tears while screening it.

The Lionsgate movie, which releases in theaters Feb. 24, tells the true story of the hippie-led "Jesus Movement" revival of the 1960s and 1970s when countless young people came to Christ. The story spotlights the work of pastor Chuck Smith (portrayed by Kelsey Grammer), hippie evangelist Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie) and future pastor Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney).

Smith famously opened his church to hippies – a move that was opposed by some members.

"Our movie dives into this idea that you don't have to be perfect, you can be flawed and still participate in something very powerful and very spiritual," co-director Brent McCorkle told Christian Headlines.

The movie, McCorkle said, has inspired Christians and non-Christians alike who have screened it.

"There's people from all walks of life in our crew … [and] all different belief systems, and it's just really amazing to see people weep and cry and be moved as they would see footage – because [the footage] felt very special. It felt guided. It felt bigger than a bunch of humans running around with cameras. It feels important," McCorkle told Christian Headlines. "Even people at Lionsgate were moved to tears. They're not all Christians, but they're moved by the story."

Jesus Revolution depicts Smith embracing a generation of young people he didn't understand in order to reach them with the message of the gospel. Smith and Frisbee, though, struggle to maintain a working partnership.

"It's a really messy friendship but beautiful things culminated from their friendship," McCorkle said. "... We live in a world today where we feel more comfortable sanitizing everything. But if you really take a hardcore look at the people in the Bible – they were flawed, very messy, broken people."

McCorkle previously directed Unconditional. He composed and edited I Can Only Imagine, among others.

"[Smith's] choice to include these people [hippies] that were so hated at the time and not only include them but invite them into his little square church was ... a sea change," McCorkle added. "It was very powerful."