The Bible Miniseries Coming to Theaters

[The Mad Kiwi]

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the four Jesus episodes of History Channel's Bible miniseries are being edited together into a three-hour film:

History's record-breaking 10-part miniseries The Bible could be headed to movie theaters.

"We're cutting a movie version right now, a three-hour version of Jesus and [we have] many, many offers from theaters globally," executive producer Mark Burnett told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday at NBCUniversal summer press day. Burnett said the movie version will have a big focus on the Resurrection. He is eyeing a fall release.

Burnett also shared that there is a distinct possibility that more stories will be told for The Bible, a passion project for he and wife Roma Downey.

"It's never actually stopped, but I do have scripts in my bag that I just received today for what's next," he told THR.

Should the story continue, the stories would fall "in the same world," Burnett said. "We feel there is a void, and we're filling that void."

The Bible debuted to 13.1 million viewers March 3 and wrapped up Easter Sunday with 11.7 million viewers. Internationally, The Bible beat hockey in Canada; it was tops in Spain, and it had a 37 share in Portugal.

For Burnett, he was confident the mini would be a success, crediting God as a vital force. "It's a God voice," Burnett said. "It's clearly a calling; clearly, we felt it was something we had to do, and too many things happened to explain it any other way. It's a juggernaut, and it's not going to slow down."

The Bible, like History's Hatfields & McCoys, already has proven a valuable asset to the cable network as it looks to bolster its original programming. History used Bible as a lead-in for its first original scripted drama, Vikings, which already has been renewed for a second season.

The Bible is already the fastest-selling DVD for a miniseries ever.

A few things about this intrigue me. First, Burnett says there will be a big emphasis on the Resurrection. Does this mean they filmed more Resurrection scenes that didn't make it into the show? Stuff like Jesus appearing on the road to Emmaus and Him reprising His miracle of the fish to Peter? Second, if they're inserting new footage in, does that mean we'll also get the three scenes we know were filmed but cut (Jesus casting out the demon in the synagogue, Mary Magdalene's introduction, Mary running into Peter after his denial) along with the extended Ascension shown on History but not on Blu-ray?

I noticed that in most of the promotional materials for the series, the image was cropped to 2.35:1, and it actually didn't look bad at all. It made me wonder if this series was shot with both ratios in mind in case something like this would happen. Not only that, but I noticed the "Mary, Did You Know?" music video on the BD has far more cinematic color timing than the actual show, so it may indicative of what we'll see in theaters.

While I greatly enjoyed The Bible miniseries as a whole, it was the four Jesus episodes that really struck me as being the most artistically and dramatically sound. It annoys me that I can't watch them as a continuous film since the Passion episode is on a separate disc from the other three, and you've got all the episode bumpers and credits interrupting things. If this theatrical version makes it to Blu-ray, I'll definitely be buying it.

As for Burnett's comment about possibly filling in the gaps left by the show, I hope he does it. I'd love to see more episodes devoted to Jacob, Joseph, Ruth, Esther, and Elijah. Revelation would be fascinating, as well. Should that ever happen, I'd like to purchase a version that edits both series into one cohesive whole chronologically, simply splitting three hours or so of content per disc and ending with, "The journey continues on disc two," etc. ala The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions.

[Mandalorian]

Pretty interesting actually...but I'm not going to pay to see it. One day I'll pick up the BD set, probably.

[jpb07]

How much did they cut from the show when they authored the BR? That's a really stupid thing for History to do.

I too was shocked that Revelations only got a throw away line in the series. Perhaps it's because History already has days worth of programming addressing it?

[bluearth]

Originally Posted by jpb07

How much did they cut from the show when they authored the BR? That's a really stupid thing for History to do.

I too was shocked that Revelations only got a throw away line in the series. Perhaps it's because History already has days worth of programming addressing it?

I think Revelation would have really skyrocketed the budget. All the special effects needed etc would be very expensive

Really a shame, because theres no show or movie I've seen that even captures 10% of the amazing spectacle of Revelation

[hagios]

Originally Posted by bluearth

I think Revelation would have really skyrocketed the budget. All the special effects needed etc would be very expensive

Really a shame, because theres no show or movie I've seen that even captures 10% of the amazing spectacle of Revelation

Could not agree more. I say bring Revelation on as a series w/ the special effects!

Go ahead & spend $$, would be well worth it 4 everyone!!!

[The Mad Kiwi]

Originally Posted by jpb07

How much did they cut from the show when they authored the BR? That's a really stupid thing for History to do.

Well, that's where it gets complicated. The History Channel version has different edits from the BD version. There are three things the broadcast had that the BD didn't (Lot's wife inviting Abraham to come with them to Sodom, Michal receiving news that David's back from slaying the Phillistines, and Peter taking charge of the apostles at the Ascension in a way that echoes his first scene with Jesus).

Conversely, there are things on the BD that weren't shown on television (an entirely new opening sequence comprised of historical figures referencing the Bible, more graphic violence, longer lingering on Hagar and Bathsheba when they're undressed, a scene with Caiaphas and Malchus that gives closure to their thread, and lots of miscellaneous lines and shots scattered throughout).

Then, on top of all that, the promos showed a scene where (ghost?) Samuel tells Saul David will be king, another scene of Jesus exorcising the demoniac in the synagogue, and the "Mary, Did You Know?" music video had a scene where Mary asks Peter where Jesus has been taken. Plus, in the bonus material, there's B-roll footage of Jesus casting out the demons from Mary Magdalene as she's ranting and raving through the streets. I noticed some film footage of Satan roaming through a marketplace during one of the featurettes which I may believe may be from this scene, too.

Originally Posted by bluearth

I think Revelation would have really skyrocketed the budget. All the special effects needed etc would be very expensive

Really a shame, because theres no show or movie I've seen that even captures 10% of the amazing spectacle of Revelation

Yeah, I'm positive it was a budgetary issue. I was shocked to discover the whole series only cost $20 million to make, and a lot of that came from Burnett and Downey's own money. Hopefully this potential second series ends up covering Revelation. Ideally, I want them to make another 10-episode series, edit that back in with the original 10 for Blu-ray, and throw in all the deleted scenes for the most complete version we could get.

[Tony208]

maybe there's money to be made in selling whole screens to church groups

[MikeScott]

I don't really understand this. The people who would go see this have already seen it and probably bought the Blu-ray or DVD set (it's been a big seller, unsurprisingly). Are they really going to go see some cut-up version of the mini-series? Are they going to make it in 3D? When they can own the complete mini-series I don't think they'll buy this on DVD/Blu-ray. What's the point? Making a new movie for the big screen would make more sense.

[King Troll]

The Bible tells the story of god

[RocShemp]

Will there be new scenes of wire fu angels?

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by The Mad Kiwi

For Burnett, he was confident the mini would be a success, crediting God as a vital force. "It's a God voice," Burnett said.

Meaning, Mark Burnett thought he was God.

The idea of "Look, a really expensive Bible movie!" suckered in the Passionistas--who tend to be attracted by the public credibility big "real" Hollywood budgets bring in, and between that and cable's own movie delusions, they wanted to put them to the test.
Unfortunately, apart from those who want to "prove" ticket sales, you just can't get regular folk to go see something they already watched for free, and can rent if they missed.

(Oh, and King? Seriously: It's not the ****in' 90's. Usenet is dead, and it'll never come back.)

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by Tony208

maybe there's money to be made in selling whole screens to church groups

Yep, there sure is. I know mine would. I haven't been to any of their mass screenings (Warrior, Courageous, etc), but they seem to go over pretty well if they keep doing them.

Originally Posted by King Troll

The Bible tells the story of god

Don't try so hard to live up to your name. Let it come naturally.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by RJ Smoove

Yep, there sure is. I know mine would. I haven't been to any of their mass screenings (Warrior, Courageous, etc), but they seem to go over pretty well if they keep doing them.

With Roma Downey as co-producer, I'm rather positive they had school-buses on the brain.

(Oddly enough, we haven't yet heard from OneWayFilms, who will doubtlessly tell us that audiences will flock to the theaters in droves for the new eye-opening discovery...)

Originally Posted by RJ Smoove

Don't try so hard to live up to your name. Let it come naturally.

Oh, come now--"Leting it come naturally" is the very moral and ethical antithesis to the Fake It Till You Make It, and Then Run It Six Miles Into the Ground world of what used to be the 90's troll, before they became extinct.

(Which, you realize, would either consist of guys too old to still be doing it, or kids who dream of those long-ago days their big brothers had, and don't really know how it's done...Gee, remember those?)

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Oh, come now--"Leting it come naturally" is the very moral and ethical antithesis to the Fake It Till You Make It, and Then Run It Six Miles Into the Ground world of what used to be the 90's troll, before they became extinct.

(Which, you realize, would either consist of guys too old to still be doing it, or kids who dream of those long-ago days their big brothers had, and don't really know how it's done...Gee, remember those?)

Mental masturbation at its finest.

[mrr1]

Originally Posted by Tony208

maybe there's money to be made in selling whole screens to church groups

Bingo.

Just like Mel Gibson's crappy 'The Passion of Christ' movie.

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by mrr1

Bingo.

Just like Mel Gibson's crappy 'The Passion of Christ' movie.

No need for trolling. This is a business after all, so selling it to its intended audience is a given.

[mrr1]

Who is trolling? Theaters that show religious movies stand to make a mint off of church group outings. That is a fact.

That happened with Mel Gibson's movie (which I thought was a terrible film), and it stands to reason it will happen with the Bible miniseries as well.

[MikeScott]

If they're dumb enough to go see something they probably already saw or could just purchase and get more then by all means, steal these gullible idiot's money.

[Offender_Mullet]

Originally Posted by mrr1

Who is trolling? Theaters that show religious movies stand to make a mint off of church group outings. That is a fact.

That happened with Mel Gibson's movie (which I thought was a terrible film), and it stands to reason it will happen with the Bible miniseries as well.

The facts about Passion are: U.S. 3,043 theaters = $370,274,604. Foreign b.o. was an additional $241,116,490. Those are "church group" numbers? Get real man.

Your opinion, not fact is to have them "make a mint off of church group outings". Tolling debunked.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by mrr1

Who is trolling? Theaters that show religious movies stand to make a mint off of church group outings. That is a fact.
That happened with Mel Gibson's movie (which I thought was a terrible film), and it stands to reason it will happen with the Bible miniseries as well.

Theaters aren't the ones pulling the strings, it's the church groups that all but publicly came out that they were stacking the deck by artificially stuffing box offices.

When we had the Left Behind movies, Baptist groups were still on their "Hollywood is evil Anal-Rape town!" bent and trying to create their own private label--And when one critic sneered that the artificially created counter-hype for The Omega Code was "trying to beat Hollywood at its own game", the Southern Baptists liked the phrase so much they adopted it as their war cry.
Later on, when Mel Gibson's movie (look, a real Hollywood actor made it himself, we didn't make him do it, that means it's real!) got the big hype, church groups stuffed the ticket sales with bus trips, toned down the Hollywood-is-evil rhetoric to make it look like having a movie was a good thing if those Real Hollywood Folk had now seen the light to make one, trumpeted up the "surprise box office sensation", and started going on campaigns of "Proof that Hollywood has now discovered the influence of the values audience!"

Those who actually believed it, believed that a flood of new Biblical and inspirational movies were coming, starting with the Nativity Story film--
And although the few inspirational-studio fireman and athlete movies that did get a bit of distribution didn't "transform Hollywood", the "Passionistas" are still on the lookout for the next big A-picture break to give them press credibility again.