Special Feature
It can be difficult to find movies the whole family can enjoy together. The just released film, Jesus Revolution is a great option that is in theaters now and has ties back to the Magic City.
Birmingham native Jon Erwin, one of the producers and directors of Jesus Revolution, is no stranger to producing faith-based films. He and his brother, Andrew, directed October Baby, I Can Only Imagine, Moms’ Night Out, Woodlawn, and more. “We like to tell stories that can inspire the whole family and change people’s lives. We love the power of true stories,” Erwin says. When he was just 16 years old, his dad Hank Erwin gifted his sons a camera. “We started making all kinds of videos in Birmingham and it’s where we began to hone in on our craft,” he remembers. Today, the brothers are know as The Erwin Brothers.
Jon Erwin has fond memories of growing up in Birmingham. While he and his family currently live in Nashville, Tenn., they often visit the area. In fact, he first discovered the June 1972 Jesus Revolution issue of Time magazine while he was in Birmingham directing the film Woodlawn. “I was so blown away by an entire high school being saved from violence and racial tension to a spiritual awakening,” Erwin says, adding, “I almost didn’t believe it was true.” He began studying the time this happened and bought a copy of the issue on eBay. “It was this sweeping spiritual awakening that started in Cali. and eventually swept the entire nation,” Erwin explains. The more he studied, the more he realized that we are in a very similar time today. He remembers thinking, “I want to make a movie about this so I can feel this movement a little bit and experience what revival must feel like.” It took seven years to bring the compelling story to the big screen.
Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the hit show The Chosen, plays evangelist Lonnie Frisbee in Jesus Revolution. Erwin says that Roumie “does such an amazing job. He is an incredible actor, but an even better person,” adding, “he brings an intensity and love of the role that is just incredible.” Erwin hopes viewers are entertained throughout the movie and laugh and cry. “I hope people come out of the theater saying, ‘If that happened once, it can happen again.’” To learn more about Jesus Revolution, visit www.jesusrevolution.movie.
-Melissa Armstrong
