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Billy Graham Biopic Stages World Premier
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Billy: The Early Years
Solex Productions
Two men heard the call of God. One became an atheist. The other became…Billy Graham.
Billy Graham is without a doubt one of 20th Century Christianity’s most recognized and important leaders. The fiery young evangelist exploded onto the national consciousness during the Los Angeles Crusade Tent Revival of 1949. But what was he like before he became the icon that he is today? That is the premise for the big screen biopic, Billy: The Early Years.
Rising star, Armie Hammer, portrays young Billy as a skeptic who viewed tent revivalist and faith healers as hucksters who preyed on the simple and just wanted to fleece the flock. Yet, when confronted with his own inner darkness at a local tent meeting, Billy found both salvation and a call to preach.
The film reveals Billy as a natural salesmen who knows how to put his foot in the door and as a proponent of free intellectual examination of faith who was not afraid to confront established authority. Yet he is also portrayed was a bit of a rube who stammers his way through his first sermon and has more than his share of stage fright when it comes to wooing the opposite sex.
The primary conflict in the film comes from Billy’s relationship with the reigning evangelist of the day, the charismatic Charles Templeton. After years of preaching the Gospel, Templeton renounced the faith and become one of the 20th Century’s most outspoken proponents of atheism. Templeton’s eloquent apostasy affects Billy deeply, making him question his calling, but never his faith. Somehow, through it all Templeton and Graham remained friends to the end of Templeton’s life in 2001.
Directed by Robby Benson (who voiced The Beast in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”), “Billy: The Early Years” pays amazing attention to detail capturing both the look and feel of the Depression-era tent revival. Hammer is a delight to watch and exhibits much of the star quality that led to his casting as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the upcoming Justice League movie. Krisoffer Pohala’s brooding portrayal of Charles Templeton provides the perfect foil for Hammer to respond to. Performances by veteran actors Martin Landau, Jennifer O’Neal, and Lindsay Wagner also serve to lift the film above the norm.
Interestingly, there is a disclaimer at the beginning of the film that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association did not collaborate with the filmmakers and does not endorse the film, and that some events depicted in the film were embellished for dramatic effect.
“We determined from the very beginning that we wouldn’t go to Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for sanction because there would be too many strictures,” explained producer, Larry Mortorff. “We wanted to make the film we wanted to make; not the film that they would require that we make.”
Billy: The Early Years makes its world premier in
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