I'm here to preach the good
news of the Kingdom of Heaven. I'm Jesus of Nazareth. It's the greatest story
ever told. Our Father. Who art in heaven. Who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Hallowed be thy name. Like you've never seen it
before. You asked me before
if I knew his name. Now everyone knows his name. The Chosen
airing on the CW is a smash hit. They're shooting this,
but they want us to think it's happening. One of the top rated
and most talked about shows on television
right now. A lot of people
have heard about it still. There are some people
who've never heard about this story of Jesus Christ depicted in a way
that is relatable and relevant. Is the money and the success
of these other programs changed Hollywood■s view. And tonight, NewsNation brings
you exclusive, rare access to the cast
and crew of The Chosen. Any pressure? Do you think this is something
that's unique to The Chosen? Are you changing the world? From
the show's humble beginnings I was not thinking anything
larger. You weren't thinking of This is sowing a seed. You weren't
that you were just being helpful to its modern
telling of the gospel. I think it's one of the first times, dare
I say, the story is being told accurately. And whether Hollywood is finally ready
to tell more stories of faith. Hollywood is great
at providing entertainment, but I don't think it's
the end all, be all. Plus, an exclusive look behind the scenes
on the massive set in Texas. When we do go to the Last
Supper, it actually
didn't look like that painting. And the star's real world
impact. Super excited to interview
the actor who plays Jesus. He was invited to the Vatican
twice to meet with the Pope. It all starts now in this
NewsNation special report, The e Chosen Phenomenon. Good evening.
I■m Adrienne Bankert host of morning
in America on NewsNation. And I'm really excited to share my exclusive conversations
with the stars of the Chosen. Before the writers strike,
before the actors strikes began in Hollywood, I had the chance
to visit the set and talk to the cast
just outside of Dallas, Texas, all to bring fans and newcomers to the show closer
to the worldwide phenomenon. The Chosen has really become. We have a lot to get to
this hour. We start with creator
and director of the Chosen Dallas Jenkins. You may know that name left
behind. Fans know his dad's popular book
series and movies. And I talked to Dallas about
how he's changing Hollywood and revolutionizing
entertainment. Can you just introduce
a little bit of who you are? Because, I mean, I might know because I prepared
for this conversation that you're the son of one of
the biggest authors in history. Your dad, you know, with his
bestselling series Left Behind. Just maybe to say a little bit
about where you came from, where Dallas Jenkins come from. Yeah, Well, I grew up in a, you
know, strong evangelical home. As you mentioned, my dad right
around the same age as I was when The Chosen exploded in
popularity, is when Left Behind, exploded in popularity
and became one of the biggest media brands in the faith space. So I got a good firsthand look,
not only at storytelling I inherited from my dad
the desire to tell stories, but also how he walked through the kind of attention that came
from such an explosive, not only explosive
and a successful project, but one specifically that's
controversial, one specifically that is about the most famous
book ever written. And so I got to see
how he responded. I got to see his humility
that he remained focused on the work
regardless of the growth of it. So coming into The Chosen,
I didn't actually have any expectation. I actually lost all of that the year before The Chosen when
I had a huge career failure. What do you mean? Well, I had a feature film
that had finally achieved the goals
that I had set out for. My goals were success
and attention, and I wanted to win awards. I wanted to show up at the box
office like. Everybody in Hollywood.
Yes, exactly. And I finally got my chance
with a movie that was released nationwide
with some of the biggest producers in Hollywood,
and it completely failed. Just a total bomb. And I was left with I went from being a director
with a very bright future to a director with no future
and just a couple of hours. And I got to a place
where I genuinely surrendered and I genuinely said, okay, God,
I am willing to not make another movie
if that's what you want. I don't care about the results
anymore. I genuinely am
willing to give that up. You had a come to Jesus meeting. I had a strong come to Jesus
meeting and and I think that's when God said, Now
you're ready for The Chosen. And so I went into it
and I will not into the chosen of just briefly I'll share how
I ended up doing a short film for my church's
Christmas Eve service. And it was about
the birth of Christ from the perspective
of the shepherds. It was filmed on my friend's farm in Illinois
20 minutes from my house, and it was then that I came up
with the idea for the show. You were just being helpful. I was. Yes. And I and it was a script that I'd put on the shelf,
you know, a year before because of my big
Hollywood opportunity. And so when I when I did the short film
and came up with the idea for the show,
I remember thinking, I'm in my wheelhouse more than ever. Even though I'm on
a small farm in Illinois, I feel like
this is where I belong. And then that short film
is what went viral and led ultimately to crowdfunding
season one of The Chosen. And now I'm just been following
from there. So where did the idea
to crowdfund come from? Because you seem to tap
into something a momentum in crowdfunding
that I don't know that has ever been done
in entertainment? Yeah. I'd love to take credit for it,
but I actually was skeptical. I didn't think it would work. It was an idea
from the streaming platform that was interested
in the show years ago and I said, Yeah,
this won't work. Crowdfunding
is typically what you see on social media
when someone's trying to raise money on their birthday
for some cause. And it never seems
they never seem to get to their goal
and it's really small. The all time crowdfunding record
was 5.7 million from projects that had huge fan bases
and I had no fan base. And that short film won out. And at
the end of it I said, Hey, you know,
I got this idea for a show, and if you want to invest in it,
you can. I had, you know,
because I didn't feel responsible for results anymore. I was like, All right, let's see what happens,
what I got to lose. But it exploded like crazy. And now I'm talking to you
on season four, season four. So for you, what will change
or what has changed after three very, very popular
first three seasons? Yeah, here's what's interesting. And this is not just
a platitude. Nothing has changed for me
in the work. When I sit
in front of the blank page with my co-writers
to write a scene, the blank page doesn't care
about the previous three seasons success. When I'm on set with my cast,
just like we were in season one. There's no difference
when we're working. Between 100
people are going to watch this or 100 million
people are going to watch this. The work is the same. We have to focus on
making the best show that we can that's faithful to the character and intentions
of Jesus and the Gospels. And so when I'm on set, I'm not thinking about
how many people might watch it. I'm thinking about, all right, we got to get through
all of this in a day and it has to be good. And so we it's a very sacred
space when we're working, because that's the one place
where all the voices outside of the show
really aren't relevant. But I have a couple of questions
and one I have to get to in your bio
that the company, the production company provided
it says at the age of 25, shepherded this movie
Hometown Legend to distribution
with Warner Brothers. Then you just told about this
movie idea that was about shepherds
and the perspective. Interesting. What is your creative process
that may differ from others in the industry? Because shepherding seems to be something that surrounds you and follows
you as you help others and
bring them into the vision. Yeah,
I know. That's a good question. So I think that what's
a little bit different in my case is that I'm
not only a director on the set with The Chosen, I'm also the CEO of of a company of 60
plus employees and I'm the boss of 150,
you know, cast and crew on set. And so the responsibilities are
not just I'm making the show, but I'm also communicating with
my audience. We've got an influence or model
with this show. So I'm shepherding the cast
and crew, shepherding my company, and I'm also shepherding
the audience in many ways because I'm communicating with
them nearly every single day about the process. I'm letting them in. It's very important
that they trust me because I have been tasked
with portraying the most important person in history. And to a lot of our viewers,
it's extremely important and extremely vital,
and I want to get that right. Ultimately,
I follow a shepherd that that I surrender
to and am humble before. And so hopefully I'm doing as good of a job
following that shepherd as hopefully
the people who are following me. What's the definition
of shepherding in a sentence? Yeah. Well, I wish I could give it
in one sentence, but one of the best things that I've heard was in Psalm 23,
it talks about how it talks about shepherding sheep
and a shepherd is vigilant. And so I think that my job
is to be vigilant for those I'm responsible for. And in this case, primarily more than anything else, it's
my cast and crew and my company. And then after that, it's
hopefully the viewers shepherding them towards a story
that I want to tell. In terms of Jesus, I mean, he's
still a controversy. You know, anytime
you bring up the name Jesus, it's going to create and elicit
these different responses. Are you making J Jesus coo I'm not making Jesus anything. Jesus is who he is. I'm just happening
to tell a story about him and trying to portray it
as accurately and authentically as I can. People's response to
it is not up to me. Last question In terms of this
being a faith series versus a historical depiction,
where do you define The Chosen? I let the viewer define that. We know that the show
has been loved and appreciated
by people of all faiths or not. Our cast and crew,
the majority of them come from not only different
faith backgrounds, but a lot of them that come from
no faith backgrounds. I consider the show more of historical drama,
but my own, of course, it's imbued
with my own personal faith. I believe Jesus was the Son of God
and the Savior of the universe. And I don't shy
away from showing that. But in the context of the show, I'm just trying
to accurately portray his life and what the viewers decide,
how they want to respond. That was the thing
that I hadn't done. So I hadn't surrendered. I hadn't given it up. And you and Dallas
used that word. Do you believe that
you two were divinely connected? Yeah. I think this is part of God's
plan for sure. Jesus, the actor
portraying him, that is. On whether his work in
The Chosen is having a real world impact. Are you changing the world? And his conversation
with the pope when this NewsNation special
report returns. I'm Jesus of Nazareth. I'm preparing something to share
with the world. These things would make sense
to some, but not to others. I say to you, love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute us, In this world, bones will still break, hearts
will still break. But in the end,
the light will overcome darkness I'm here to start a revolution. I want to know when you knew you were meant to be called
to be an actor. An actor? Oh, I think when I. When I booked the first thing I ever
auditioned for, I thought, Oh, maybe there's something here. And that was that was like when I was 23. But I didn't really think about
the long term implications. I just thought why
I didn't expect to get that job. And maybe God had something
in mind for me as a performer. Did you know what you wanted
to be when you grew up? When you were a kid,
or when you're in high school? I wanted to. Yeah, well. Well,
those are two different answers. As a kid, I wanted to be
an astronaut as in high school, I knew I wanted to be in film. I thought I was going
to go into special effects. I went to an art school. I studied film and then. And then I realized, because I'm
with art school in New York, we didn't quite
have the programs that they have in California
for special effects training. So I thought once I went to film school,
I thought, You know what? Maybe I'll be a director. And then I had taken some acting classes as prerequisites
to, you know, because we had to. And then I thought, you know,
maybe maybe I should give acting a shot
just to know what an actor goes through, to be a better director
so I can direct them better. And then I ended up auditioning
for this one job for MTV and I booked and I'm like,
Wait a second. What does that mean? So So there were signs
that you were in your wheelhouse and then you end up auditioning
for the role of Jesus. Many, many, many, many,
many years later. Yes. And obviously,
you know, it's been a journey. But how much has Jonathan Roumie
life changed? You are already very much
a faithful man. Faith has always been important
to you from what I've read. But now that you've really,
you have the role of a lifetime. How is it different
from, say, a decade ago? I mean, it's it's a indescribably different
it's quantifiably different. It's it's it's heads and tails different. You know, ten years ago, ten years ago, I was just
getting started in L.A., really. I was just a couple of years
in L.A., three years in L.A. And you have an idea
of how you think your career is going to go,
what steps to follow. And then you have reality. And very often
the two don't quite. You know, line up. Yeah, they don't really
they don't really sync up. And and so I got to a point
where I was basically desperate and out of money
and out of food. And I just realized
in that moment that I had no other alternative
but to completely and wholly rely on my faith and to just offer everything up in prayer,
to surrender my notions, my concept of what it meant to to have a career, to
to be successful, to to survive and offer that up to God and
just say, God, you show me what where you want me to go
and what you want me to do. Because at this point I'm out of options
and I'm giving it to you. And he did. He did that very day
that I actually had that made that prayer and changed my life
in an instant in a matter of hours
from the time I had this prayer to the time
I came back to my apartment, I left my house,
come back, and all of a sudden I experienced this incredible
financial windfall that came out of nowhere and made me realize that,
okay, that's that was the thing
that I hadn't done. So I hadn't surrendered. I hadn't given it up. And you and Dallas
use that word. Do you believe that
you two were divinely connected? Yeah. I think this is part of God's
plan for sure.e. When you meet people
who know you play Jesus, do you
think that you have some sense of responsibility
to portray him? I mean, from the gospels, the book of Matthew,
you learn for me, take my yoke upon you, f for
I meek and lonely of heart. This show is all about
a different depiction of Jesus that maybe
the world has ever seen. Do you feel responsible
for making sure that that real image of
Jesus is known? I feel responsible to show up and give everything
that I have to this role. And then what God does with
it is up to him. You will proclaim as you go, The
kingdom of heaven is at hand. How do you think you've
been able to so successfully I mean, people have remarked
at h how much u have brought your heart, brought your faith,
and brought this sense of peace. I mean, watching you on camera,
there's no denying that. It's it's special. Grace. Just God's grace. That's
that's how I'm able to be here. In terms of people who maybe are not of faith, but
they have heard about the show. How would you describe
the show to them? They've never walked
in a church. The show is a very well told historical drama about the life of Jesus
and his disciples. And he is a man
who changed the world. Whether or not you believe
he was the son of God or is God,
he changed the world, you know, forever. And and so I think there's
a character that anyone
who watches the show, there's at least one character
that anybody watches the show will be able
to identify with. And nine out of ten people can't get through an episode
without weeping or connecting
or being reminded of some part of their own life
that they see played out but brought into
the light and uplifted and and I think what we what we do, what we make with
the show is is such a relief compared to all the darkness
that's in media right now. All this a lot of the storytelling
that we see in most major networks and streaming
network works, there's just so much darkness
and heaviness. To have a show
that kind of brings a ray of light and gives people
hope, gives people
something to believe in that is bigger than themselves,
I think I think is is a great service
to to culture and to the world. Are you changing the world? God is changing the world through the project
that I'm working on. This special conversation
with actor Jonathan Roumie who has met twice with the pope. His reaction to that here. Because I'm playing Jesus,
I think, Oh, yeah. And then because
I love the pope. No, no. And this was a huge
honor to be able to to be here. That Roumie truly embodies
the sanctity of this role. And he's very candid
about his own faith, something that can be
pretty rare in Hollywood, even as shows and movies
centered around a belief in God have surged in popularity. I talked about that
part of the story with former DreamWorks
executive Mark Sourian who is now the production
president of the Chosen. So many of the cast members
are telling me that either they were just coming out of or in the midst
of one of the worst times of their life. Right. Right before they did
the show. Right. I don't think that's
a coincidence. What do you think about this
show in particular, this project actually
bringing light not only to audiences, but
to the people who work on it? Well, I think it's hard
to divorce the subject matter from how it affects the people
who are involved in the show. And I think that starts with
Dallas Jenkins, the filmmaker. He - what makes him
a great filmmaker. And I think what makes the show
so great is that it's personal and that it comes
from a very personal place. And it's hard to do a show or a series about Jesus
and not take in some of the lessons and some of the things
that Jesus espouses internally. And so it's not surprising
that these actors who are playing these parts
in particular are feeling some sense
of transformation from the roles that they're playing. And for myself,
I'll say, you know, I believe strongly in entertainment. I think that entertainment
is important in people's lives. I've been doing this
for over 20 years, but I will say that
I think there's something extra special
about The Chosen. I see how people react to it. I, I see the comments. I see how fans say that it's
given them a sense of purpose or a guiding light. And that's an extra special response to the show. And you can't help but feel the benefit of tt
and a sense of responsibility that comes with it. You've worked with some of
the biggest names in Hollywood. You work with DreamWorks
and Spielberg. Do you believe that
the next innovation in entertainment
is to have more of that special, to have more of that
experiential transformation? Or do you think this is
something that's unique to The Chosen
because it is a Bible story? You know, I'm not sure. I will say this. I think what's making the chosen catch on in
a very significant way is that Hollywood is great
at providing entertainment, but I don't think it's the end
all, be all. I think there's clearly a hole
in the marketplace that Hollywood
has not been able to fulfill. And that's The
Chosen, which is off the beaten track, has found a way
to provide something for audiences
that Hollywood has yet to do. Coming up next, rare access
inside the set of The Chosen NewsNation takes you to
Dallas, Texas. I don't know if there are
any parts of the community that replicated the old days. Dallas did and brought back
tons of photos that sort of led us down
a rabbit hole of research. Plus, hear from the stars
who play Mary Magdalene. And Matthew on the importance
of the women in Jesus's life and the choice to portray one of the 12 disciples
as a person with autism. And the characters presented
so interesting to me for being on the spectrum and just having that kind of fit in
to what what we know about him and the Gospels
and just being detail oriented was was kind of cool. And I
just want to play with that. So we're in one of the
most ornate spaces on this lot. And you can tell
all the commotion behind me because this is one of the few places on the set
that's air conditioned. So everybody's chilling. But interestingly enough,
every piece of this set is made out of Styrofoam
covered in stucco. It looks so real. Yeah. Every one of those stones is just one
inch piece of Styrofoam. It was so funny seeing it
before the scenic artist came in and covered in the name.
There was just white balls flying everywhere
as they carved. They have a really cool process
to do to make Styrofoam look like stone fillet and flat
and dribble acetone. This is a this is a
one of a kind soundstage. It's a 37,000 square foot
building. 10,000 square
feet of production offices. And bullpens. And my art department offices
over here where the people who dream up
these amazing sets work. But it's it's
a fascinating process to watch just unfold that fast. Yeah. I mean, within a couple of hours, a
set is is in its larval stages, but it's there's something
there. Oh, what is this? Oh. This is the - You got to - You got to show me again. I was like, Where are we? It's your season. It's episode No, season six when
we do go to the Last Supper. That actually didn't
look like that painting. They were actually sitting
around a three sided table having their dinner. So this is sort of planting
that seed and teaching the audience
the vocabulary of what it was really like back then. And I don't know
if there are any parts of the community
that replicated the old days. Dallas did and brought back
tons of photos that sort of led us down
a rabbit hole of research. But none of us
have had the time. Maybe
once we started with the show. It's been almost nonstop. How long did it take to build
this home? The entire complex
was done in nine months. Yeah, There was in everything, the backlot as well. There was an army of an
I tell you, an army of workers putting this together. And that's
while you're shooting. Yeah. Before, you know, before we even
put a hammer to the nail. There's all, there's all the research and the
and the design work. And then, then we start building
and then by the time we get the first couple of sets
up, then the cast is moving in and they're still
they start to shoot normally was the progress. Now we were able to,
with 12 weeks of prep, get everything put together and then go, Dallas, here's
your playground, Go put it down. It's like a little walk, man. We have to be quiet because
they're shooting a scene, but they want us to hear
what's happening and they're playing the
scene for us on these screens and still be out. Matthew, son of Alphaeus - This is different. Get used to a different. I was one way and now I am
completely different. And the thing that happened
in between was him. You do Bollywood dancing. Yeah. Former but you know
might bring it back like. Could you
do you have like any see you have all the dances now
which is all moving your hands. It's like tick tock. Yeah. Like Bollywood. I mean the typical
one is like the light bulb. And then you just, like, pump
your shoulders up. Yeah. Yeah. And so. Yeah, yeah.
You're doing a great job. Maybe just like, Ah,
yeah, there you go. And yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's all energy.
I just wanted a Bollywood. I just wanted to try it. I'll teach.
I'll do this on the today. You got to use your like
it would be fun. Yeah. What made you think you know,
I mean obviously you get called in for a part,
but what made you think that you could play
one of the most integral roles in the most well-known,
most circulated book in history? You know what's funny? I didn't think I just
I just believed in myself. I believed in the fact that
I could do justice to this role. And the characters presented
so interesting to me for being on the spectrum and just having that kind of fit in
to what what we know about him and the Gospels and just being detail
oriented was was kind of cool, and I just want to play
with that. I'd actually auditioned
for a show where the main character was also autistic earlier,
so I kind of I make notes on characters
that are interesting to me. And so I remember because it's a lot of research,
so kind of use that. And then with Dallas
is a collaboration and it was just kind of
we just kind of hit the the money,
I guess, or like the secret. Yeah, the sweet spot. Yeah. I mean, cause I was I've watched the first season,
it's in entirety and I just
it was very easy to watch. And I just thought,
wow, I was like, I bet you there's a lot of people
watching the show who can relate to your part,
who just feel like outsiders, who feel like they don't fit in
with their people and they don't fit in
with anybody else. And who are they going
to belong to? Where's the tribe until being
called on by this great leader? Mm hmm. So do you have people actually
tell you that? Do you get feedback
from viewers. All the time? And, you know,
I love that because it not only encourages me,
but it makes me want to go deeper and grow
with the character, you know? So just trying to keep him
more layered and more exciting, just showing the acceptance
that that he presents and having people relate to him
is what's important. I think that's why
the show is doing so well, because people can identify
with Mary Matthew
all the rest of the disciples. Yeah, we're just so humanized
and it's it's a gift. I just don't know
how to explain it. It's just feel so good
to get a response like that. Globally. Globally,
I mean, really world renowned. I thought it was fascinating
that Dallas and the team decided to really tell the story
of a woman right out the gate. I mean,
was that important to you, Liz? Oh, yeah. I remember seeing the audition
and seeing that it was based on the Gospels and I was like,
Oh, please don't be cheesy and don't be like,
so focused on that. Like, I was really thrilled when I saw how in depth
her character was. And she has a very realistic
background and history and something that I was
relating to. And I know a lot of other women
have related too. So it was it's a relief to see just just some some screen time of a realistic storyline
for a woman. What how did you relate
to the part? I - when I booked it, I was
in a state of depression and I sort of didn't know
what to do with my life. And I was broke or something.
With my mom. I was trying to quit acting
because it wasn't working and because I wasn't working and I was I was depressed. And and so when I read
the scenes for the the sadder parts of Mary,
I just I was like, This is me right now, and
this is what I need to write now and to see what happens to her
at the end of that first episode, I'm like,
That's what I need. And so it was
it was just sort of like an interesting sync up of just as a gift. Did it bring
you out of your depression? Did the part just playing this? Because, you know, Mary,
we can say it famously was demon possessed and a prostitute
and you portray this possession. But today we would call it
mental illness or depression or. Yeah. Or all kinds of trauma. Did playing this part and her
deliverance bring you your own? It's a beautiful question. I think that I think the way what deliverance
looks like to me is something a little more complex
and takes time. I think depression itself
is something that I think people are may have to struggle
with their entire lives. But to find light
and to find hope and love and a community of really
loving people helps with that. It helps remind you that there's
so much good in the world, there's
so much love in the world. And when you're stuck
in this depression and you don't have
that, it's just dark. But but that's I mean,
the show is showing where to find the light, how to create
love and joy in this world. And so over the course of these
years, yes, I have. I've been changed by the experien of playing this and
just by being influenced by it. How has your life changed?
I mean, paint a picture. You showed me what it was like
before you got the part. Now you're known
all over the world. Yeah. I think for in terms
of the internal change, I've opened up my heart
and and been open to accepting love. I got married
to a wonderful man. I - thank you. I have, like,
a whole group of amazing friends that just shower me with love
constantly. A lot of it is accepting it. A lot of it
is not turning it away. And so I think that internal
change has just like a snowball effect, has just created
so many wonderful experiences and opportunities and, and, and because
of that, you know, you start making different decisions
and healthier decisions and and life can change. It takes a little bit of time. But I think it's love
that changes us. I think when people hear a show
about Jesus, they automatically think that it's going to be terrible,
that it's going to be cheesy because they sort of
have for many, many years. How The Chosen succeeds
where other TV adaptations of the Bible
have failed. Plus - My son, they■ve run
out of wine. The responsibility
of playing the most famous mother in history. Any pressure? None whatsoever. When Joseph handed him to me, it was like nothing I expected. It was like everything
I'd heard about having a baby. But I thought this would be
completely different. He was cold, but he was crying and he needed my help. This story, this show,
you're playing the Virgin Mary. I mean, you're
playing the mother. Any pressure? None whatsoever. You know what? I - I'd like to - I'd like to say that I don't - I try not to think about it
until I'm doing press and then all of a sudden
I realize. Oh, yeah, right. It's it's hard. What I do is I try to focus on
what's on the page. I love the take
that our writers have on her focusing on the relationship,
her relationship with with her son, on seeing her, you know, with a friend and talking,
making jokes. You know, I feel like we see her in such a new light
now as a woman, not only as a mother,
which, you know, is at her core. And of course,
she's the most famous mother. But she's also a wan. And she was also in living
through these crazy times. And I like that we can that we can see
a little bit more of her life. Do you think that people confuse
or misunderstand what the show is about? I think so. 1,000%. I - so - I think when
people hear a show about Jesus,
they automatically think that it's going to be terrible,
that it's going to be cheesy because they sort of have for many, many years until you actually watch it and you see how incredible it's
truly made the writing, the
the humanity that comes out. We're so much more alike
than we're different. And I feel like it's a show
for everyone, You know, it's
not just for people of faith. I mean, other we get messages
from people that are literally he said, I'm an atheist,
but this show cinematography is. Too good to pass up. I mean, that's mind blowing. So so what do you hope happens as a result of you
choosing The Chosen? This show really has a message of hope and I think
people are responding to it. I think people are in
need of shows of content that really uplifts and
is heartwarming and and hopeful. Up next, how does The Chosen compare
with biblical truth and why is the show resonating
with so many so widely of many faiths,
even atheists? Right now, my exclusive conversation
with Pastor Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback Church
and author of the wildly popular new York Times best selling book
The Purpose Driven Life. His renewed push to complete
what he says is every Christian's
responsibility ahead of the 2000 anniversary
of the Great Commission. Welcome back to this
NewsNation special report,
The Chosen Phenomenon. I'm Adrienne Bankert,
host of Morning in America right here on NewsNation. Shows like The Chosen are part
of a rise in entertainment focused around stories
from the Bible and stories from face major movie
studios, big name directors. They've launched projects targeting audiences that are
interested in faith stories. I want to bring in
one of the most well-known pastors on the planet
who has made it his mission to spread the word of God and also has been
a big part of messaging that has left
the four walls of the church and made it all the way around
the globe. Pastor
Rick Warren founded Saddleback Church back in the eighties
with his wife. There is a weekly attendance
at his 16 locations of 30,000 people,
and you've likely heard of his best selling book, too.
The Purpose Driven Life. It's sold more than 50 million copies
since its release in 2002. He's going to talk
with us right now and tell us about why
he thinks projects like these are so important
to the conversation. I think the secret behind
the success of The Chosen is it's showing Jesus,
as he really was. There's so many fake,
phony ideas of stained glass Jesus or hippie
Jesus or angry Jesus or all. The bottom line is Jesus was the most attractive person
ever lived. He attracted enormous crowds
wherever he went. And even today, 2.6 billion people would say,
I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. So many in Hollywood have shunned stories of faith
and so many projects by faith based studios have been,
frankly, pretty cheesy. Even the cast of The Chosen
expressed to me how grateful they were
that this project was done excellence, that it looked like
a major production. I've had the opportunity to be involved in consulting
on other movies of faith. When Steven Spielberg
and Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen formed DreamWorks, the very first movie
they decided to tell was Prince of Egypt,
which is the story of Moses. I actually consulted on that. It was a big, huge
success for DreamWorks. Of course, I help Mel Gibson
when they did The Passion, they help Mark Burnett
and Roma Downey. When did Son of God and AD
and things that are well-made are going to get a hearing. But you yourself
are working on a project that is revolutionary. Can you talk a little bit
about what you're doing
to spread the gospel? We know that Jesus Christ
died on the cross in AD 33, and Christians, we believe
that he rose again in AD 33. He gave what is called
the Great Commission to his followers would say,
Go spread the good news. It's the 2000th anniversary
of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So Christians
all around the world, I'm talking about Catholics,
Pentecostals, Protestants, Anglican,
Methodist, Baptist, interdenominational,
they're every every kind. They're going to be celebrating
many, many groups,
about 2000 denominations and major agencies
and church networks that come together in what's
called finishing the past. And they actually chose me
to lead it the next ten years. This Easter,
starting on Easter Sunday 2024, maybe a quarter
of a million churches around the world are going
to start the first of nine campaigns to start what's
called finishing the task. What would you say is the time
we are in right now culturally where you are
working with this great campaign where a show like The Chosen
is being seen by millions and millions of people around the world, translated
into dozens of languages, is there are new hunger
for belief in God today? Oh, absolutely, Adrienne. You know, if you study history of bad
times in the world are actually good times for spiritual growth,
because when people when things are going
good, people ignore God, we forget God,
we get self-satisfied. There's so many things
that are happening that are negative in our
in our world. Still ahead, water into wine. The new character helping tell the story of Jesus's
first miracle. The man I present, the finest,
most beautiful vintner in all of Galilee. . I . You said you're
sending us out two by two. You will follow in my footsteps, and you will know what
it actually means to give up your life. How important was it for
you guys to work on a show that had so much diversity? I mean, this is one of the most diverse cast
I think I've ever seen. Really. That's cool.
That is pretty cool. Let's get it nice. We did it. Yeah. I mean, I think it's
I think it's awesome. You know what I mean? It's this is a show
that is very inclusive and brings all walks of life. And I think it's one of the first times, dare
I say, the story is being told accurately.
You know what I mean? And I love that Dallas,
Tyler, Ryan, all of them took that stuff
into consideration. When you say accurately what
when I saw that little smirk, what are you alluding to? Joey? These people are from
all different walks of life. You know, each character
comes from different regions. So it makes sense that it would be different
kinds of people in the show. Well, you have one of the most important scenes,
I mean, turning water into wine. The first miracle
that Jesus does you own. I guess it's
you are the vintners and it's Rama and Thomas. that we're we're doing this.hy There were so many interviews we didn't have time
to share them all tonight. But you can watch all of my conversations
with every cast member right now by going to
NewsNationNow.com And be sure to check out Morning
in America with me and Markie Martin every weekday morning
right here on NewsNation and, of course, The Chosen airs
Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern on our sister network,
the CW. From our headquarters.
I■m Adrienne Bankert. Have a great night.
