Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Billy Graham's Life - A New Film

[By Jennifer Riley - Christian Post Reporter]

A film on America’s favorite evangelist, Billy Graham, is being produced in Nashville, Tenn., where one of the featured cast members is Graham’s first cousin. The biopic, Billy: The Early Years, focuses on Graham’s life, starting with his teenage years in Charlotte, N.C. Besides Nashville, the film was also shot in Watertown, Tenn.

Graham in his older years will be played by his first cousin, Bill Graham, who is also a preacher, according to The Tennessean.

But for most of the movie, Armie Hammer, who is said to have a strong resemblance to the renowned evangelist, will play young Graham.

"They've never made a movie about this guy, and beyond any sort of spiritual reasons or anything like that, he is really an iconic figure of the 20th century," said Hammer to The Tennessean.

"He's gone places and done things that no one else has been able to do, and he can do it all with such grace,” reflected Hammer, who is the great-grandson of industrialist/philanthropist Armand Hammer. “From an acting standpoint, that is such a difficult role to try to emulate.”

Hammer expressed his commitment to capturing the character of Graham – from his accent and movements to even his motivation. He said he spent hours studying videos of Graham’s sermons. "I've been going to church and reading my Bible and doing a lot of other spiritual work to get in that right headspace to even start to play someone like Billy Graham," Hammer revealed. In addition to Hammer’s efforts, the hair stylist reportedly spends about two hours shaping Hammer’s hair to resemble Graham’s wavy locks. Co-producer Bill McKay, who has already done two documentaries on Graham, said the preacher was concerned that “the images that we might paint of Billy Graham … could eclipse the face of Jesus.”

"Most of the evangelists I've met, I wouldn't give you two nickels for. But when I sat down with Billy Graham, it was an entirely different experience," McKay said on Nashville TV station WKRN.

The movie also features Oscar nominee Hal Holbrook in the role of Graham’s friend and mentor Charles Templeton, according to Christianity Today. "It's like this is a message that he continued to get out his entire life," Hammer said, referring to the movie’s focus on Graham’s proclamation of salvation through Jesus Christ. "Now that he is getting older and he can't get the message out, we're doing it for him. "We're taking his story and his message and staying very true to that and getting it out."

Filming for Billy: The Early Years began March 26 and, according to schedule, will run through May 10. The movie is slated to be released in fall 2008.

Wesleyan Church Attendance

Last year, an average of 57,821 people attended the 49 largest Wesleyan Churches.

Last year, 55,755 people attended the smallest 1,210 Wesleyan Churches.

What do we learn from these stats?

Church Graphics Resources

Free Church Graphics and Resources

CreativeMYK.com - Offers free church graphics including logos, photos, vector art, projector slides, bulletins, sermon graphics, projector slides, templates, and more. The site also includes a social network for Christian artists.

LifeChurch.tv Open - Offers free sermon series resources that include message outlines, sermon graphics, videos, and more creative materials created by LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK).

Muddy River Media - Offers free illustrative videos, motion backgrounds, countdown timers, stock photographs, illustrations, small group resources, and more.

NewSpring Ministries - Offers free sermon series resources (e.g., sermon graphics, audio, message outline, & service outline) as well as administrative forms and manuals created by NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC).

Northside Christian Church Creative Resources - Offers free logos, posters, and other artwork designed by Northside Christian Church (New Albany, IN).

Nside Admin- Offers free administrative documents from North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) on church government, human resources, accounting, facilities, IT, and Web.

Seacoast All Access - Offers free sermon series resources that include sermon graphics, motion graphics, audio, video, message notes, and small group questions created by Seacoast Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC).

Vine Resources - Offers free sermon series graphics, postcards, countdown videos, and message bumpers created by the college ministry of Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY).




Free General Graphics and Resources

Adobe Exchange - Offers free downloads to use with Adobe software including brushes, styles, gradients, custom shapes, and patterns for Photoshop.

BittBox - A blog that regularly highlights free Photoshop brushes, Flash components, vector graphics, and more.

Brusheezy - Offers free Photoshop brushes.

Flasheezy - Offers free Flash elements.

PS Brushes - Offers free Photoshop brushes.

Smashing Magazine - A blog that regularly highlights free graphics, fonts, and more.

Vecteezy - Offers free vector graphics.


Church Resources that Cost Money

Creative Pastors - Sells sermon series resources that include sermon graphics, video, mind maps, outlines, audio, and more created by Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX).

North Point Resources - Sells logos, DVDs, sermon messages, conference messages, and more created by North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA).

Outreach - Sells church graphics that include postcards, banners, bulletins, door hangers, invitations, brochures, logos, signage, and more.

The Church Box - Sells sermon series resources that include sermon graphics, PowerPoint slides, and audio created by Four Corners Community Church (West Chester, OH).

WiredChurches.com - Sells sermon series resources (e.g., outlines, graphics, videos, audio, & scripts) and administrative resources (e.g., forms, documents, & manuals) created by Granger Community Church (Granger, IN).

WorshipHouse Media - Sells mini-movies, motions, stills, software, and editables for churches.


Free Graphic Design Ideas

Check out the Flickr Church Marketing Lab. Designers post different types of postcards, posters, slides, etc. for peer review. There’s some pretty good designers and some pretty good ideas in there.

Also check out Colour Lovers to get ideas of color schemes and pallets.


[From churchrelevance]