IGN reports about a new movie set to come out during the Fall of 2008, named per this post. Interestingly, it will be based on a novel written by the same woman who wrote Interview with a Vampire – Anne Rice. I’m very curious as to the nature of this novel and soon enough the movie. It seems as though this could be another exciting movie for Christians: obviously because it is about Jesus, but almost just as importantly because it will likely be done with the best quality.
According to Wikipedia, Anne Rice was a devout atheist, but has in recent years turned back to her Catholicism, which she left when she was 18.
In 1998, after spending most of her adult life as a self-described atheist, Rice returned to her Roman Catholic faith, which she had not practiced since she was 18. In October 2005, as she reaffirmed her Catholic faith, Rice announced in a Newsweek article that she would “write only for the Lord.” She called Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, her first novel in this genre, the beginning of a trilogy that will chronicle the life of Jesus.
In an interview with Christianity Today, headlined “Interview with a Penitent”, Rice declared that she will never again write another vampire novel, saying; “I would never go back, not even if they say, ‘You will be financially ruined; you’ve got to write another vampire book.’ I would say no. I have no choice. I would be a fool for all eternity to turn my back on God like that.”
Beliefnet also has review of the book that calls it the Best Spiritual Book of 2005.
I love seeing someone who is considered “great” in her field by the secular majority become a Christian and use that gift for God’s glory. I am thrilled by Anne’s commitment to God, especially after being an atheist for so long, and I’m excited for this movie, as well as the apparent trilogy of books about Jesus’ life that she is in the midst of writing.