Renee Zellweger’s Faith-Based Movie
In a recent article — 4 Reasons Why Hollywood Will Keep Making Bible Epics — I took an inventory of every major Hollywood film coming out in the next couple years that is aimed at the faith-based market, whether made by a Christian studio or a major Hollywood studio.
Well, Paramount Pictures just announced a new one that I can add to my list: Same Kind of Different Me starring Academy Award®-nominees Greg Kinnear and Djimon Hounsou and Academy Award®-winners Renee Zellweger and Jon Voight.
The film is based on the best-selling nonfiction book of the same name by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent, author of the bestselling book Heaven Is for Real.
I’m personally very excited about this project mainly because — like the rest of America — I love the actor Renee Zellweger, and I miss seeing her on the big screen. 2010 saw her last theatrical release.
She has a special place in my heart; her movies (especially Down with Love, Miss Potter, and New in Town) have provided some of the funniest movie date nights with my wife of 10 years.
And, of course, the other stars — Greg Kinnear, Djimon Hounsou, and Jon Voight — are also beloved actors in American cinema. Production begins October 27 in Jackson, Mississippi.
According to the studio’s press release:
Michael Carney will make his directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter will produce through Disruption Entertainment, alongside Darren Moorman, Stephen Johnson and Ron Hall. The executive producers are Chris Bancroft, Hans Graffunder Michael Carney and Alexander Foard.
“SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME” is the story of an international art dealer Ron Hall (Kinnear) who must befriend a dangerous homeless man (Hounsou) in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife (Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the most remarkable journey of their lives. Voight plays Hall’s father, with whom he reconciles thanks to the revelations of his new life.
The book’s account of the true story is very popular among Christians. Ron Hall’s wife, Deborah Hall, played by Zellweger, is the heartbeat of the story, and she is a fervent Christian with a heart to show the love of Christ to the down and out. It’s her heart for God and for people that sets the whole story in motion, and it will be interesting to see such a talented, likeable actor like Renee Zellweger portray her.
