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By the Rev. J. Richard Peck*
3:30 P.M. EST Mar. 4, 2010 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
Burgess Jenkins portrays the Rev. John Wesley in the movie “Wesley.”
A
UMNS photos ©2009 Foundery Pictures.
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A Moravian preacher is bringing the film “Wesley” to a movie theater
near you.
The two-hour movie that is slowly building a platform in theaters across
the United States not only brings to life John Wesley, the founder of
Methodism, but also his mother, brother, Georgia girlfriend and an
assorted group of uptight religious leaders and hired thugs.
The Rev. John Jackman, 53, pastor of Trinity Moravian Church in
Winston-Salem, N.C., says he got into the movie business as a way of
telling stories of redemption, and Wesley’s story has enough action for
several films.
“I wish I could have made this into a mini-series,” Jackman says. “There
is enough great material here to make an eight-hour film.”
Wesley diaries
How did a Moravian preacher get tangled up with Wesley?
Jackman says Ken Curtis, founder of the Christian History Institute, was
after him for six months to look at the script titled “The Burning,” an
adaptation from “A Brand from the Burning,” a 1980s play by British
actor and writer John Wells. Wells and BBC director Norman Stone had
planned to produce it as a BBC movie, but the project never got beyond
the script.
The title comes from 5-year-old Wesley’s rescue from his attic bedroom.
The escape from a fire made a deep impression on Wesley, and he regarded
himself providentially set apart as a “brand plucked from the burning.”
The movie begins with Wesley’s terrifying memory of the burning rectory
in Epworth, England.
“I liked portions of 'The Burning' script and I licensed those parts,
but I used the Wesley’s journals and diaries for the rest,” says
Jackman. He expressed appreciation to Richard Heitzenrater, a professor
at Duke Divinity School, for discovering secret ciphers that enabled the
Wesley scholar to publish his personal diaries.
“There is a more human side in his private diaries,” Jackman says. “The
diaries were especially helpful in understanding Wesley’s ill-fated love
relationship with 18-year-old Sophy Hopkey.” Hopkey is portrayed as
trying to prod Wesley into marriage.
Director John Jackman (right) discusses a scene with actors Jenkins and
John Stein. A UMNS photo ©2009 Foundery Pictures.
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A disappointment
The film was a disappointment to Jackman’s congregation. There was just
not enough Moravian screen time for their tastes, despite the fact that
the film portrays the inspiring faith and confidence of Moravians in the
middle of a storm at sea and the important role Peter Boehler, a
Moravian missionary, played in Wesley’s life.
“I had to tell them the film is about John Wesley, the founder of the
Methodist Church, not the Moravians,” Jackman says.
There was plenty of United Methodist participation.
There are 76 speaking parts in the movie, and the film has more than 160
extras. Scores of United Methodists and other Winston-Salem residents
were involved in on-screen and off-screen efforts.
The Methodist Children’s Home in Winston-Salem also played an important
role in the production of the film.
“I actually went to the Winston-Salem campus to ask if we could shoot
some outdoor scenes on their campus,” Jackman says. “I told George
Byrun, the president of the home, that we were looking for a place to
put a blue screen to film ship scenes. He said the home had an unused
gym that was available, but it was in bad shape. He was right. Other
staff members thought it was crazy, but the gym held the 50-foot blue
screen, and we brought in extra power to film the crossing of the
Atlantic.”
Stellar cast
Jackman also put together an impressive cast, including June Lockhart,
best known for her roles as the mother in “Lassie” and “Lost in Space,”
to play Susannah Wesley, John’s mother.
Burgess Jenkins, a veteran actor who had major roles in the movies
“Remember the Titans” and “The Reaping,” plays John Wesley.
Jenkins says his experience portraying the legendary church leader was
“profound.” He describes Wesley as an academic who was a bit naïve in
heart and lost in soul, but ultimately earnest.
“At the core of all of that was a desire to glorify God in everything he
did,” the actor says.
Jackman says he hopes the film will appeal to United Methodist and
non-Methodists alike, but is urging United Methodists to encourage
theater owners in their community to show the film. He plans to release a
DVD later in the year. Further information, including scheduled theater
dates, is available at www.wesleythemovie.com.
*Peck is a retired clergy member of New York Annual (regional)
Conference and a freelance editor.
News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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