"The Gospel" Press Release - October 7th In Movies Everywhere

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Erma Byrd(323) 965-5551

Gospel Superstars Shine Brightly In Upcoming Contemporary Spiritual Drama From Rainforest Films (Los Angeles, CA - June 2005) Principal photography has wrapped on The Gospel, a contemporary drama about love and redemption set in the world of gospel music and the African-American church. Starring Boris Kodjoe (Showtime’s Soul Food, Love & Basketball) and Idris Elba (HBO’s The Wire) the film is written and directed by Rob Hardy and produced by Will Packer and Executive Producer Holly Davis-Carter.

Shot entirely on location in Atlanta, The Gospel also stars Nona Gaye (Ali, The Matrix). Tamyra (American Idol, Boston Public), Clifton Powell (Ray, Woman Thou Art Loosed), Omar Gooding (Baby Boy) and Keisha Knight Pulliam (The Cosby Show) co-star, joined by gospel superstars Donnie McClurkin and Hezekiah Walker, who make their feature debuts. Log on to www.gospelmovie.com to view the trailer.

The Gospel features original music by urban gospel music perform/producer, Kirk Franklin and performances by some of the biggest names in the genre, including Yolanda Adams, Martha Munizzi and Delores Winans affectionately known to many as Mom Winans. Gospel music fans can also look for a soundtrack to accompany the film, some time in the fall. “We were able to assemble this amazing cast because our actors and heavyweights in the gospel industry like Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams read the story and said it felt genuine to them – that it was a drama about faith that they could relate to,” says film writer/director Rob Hardy, who likens it to the biblical story of the prodigal son with elements loosely based on his own life.

Fellow producer, Will Packer, a longtime collaborator and friend of Hardy’s says the two of them, together with the film’s executive producers Holly Davis-Carter and Fred Hammond, shared the desire to bring a dramatic, faith-based film to the screen. ‘This is a labor of love for us because we believe in the values espoused in this film,” says Packer, a southerner who was raised in a church with predominantly African Americans. “Because no matter what trials and tribulations you go through, with faith you can overcome them if you lean on that higher power,” Packer concludes.

And its’ that message, says Davis-Carter a veteran Hollywood talent manager turned producer that motivated her to help them get this film made. “We believe there’s a need for more stories about morality, redemption, faith, hope and recovery,” she says. “Those values are what this film’s all about and what people will respond to very deeply.”

Set against the backdrop of modern day Atlanta, The Gospel stars Boris Kodjoe as a hot R&B recording artist who’s at the top of his career, yet estranged from his family who are southern Christian leaders in his hometown church. When Kodjoe’s character, David, learns that his father (Clifton Powell), the Bishop of their church is ill and near death, he returns home. There he is forced to face demons from his past that strike at the very core of his being. He discovers that his childhood rival (Idris Elba) is poised to become his father’s successor at the church and has married his cousin (Nona Gaye) as well. While being met with hostility from family members, he also discovers disloyalty within the music empire he is building – all while struggling to make peace with his family, God and himself – in The Gospel.

About Rainforest Films
Rainforest Films was founded in 1994 by Rob Hardy and Will Packer. Their first film was the critically lauded Chocolate City. Their second feature, made in 2000, was the independent drama, “Trois” which went on to become the fastest growing African-America film to reach the million-dollar mark. Trois landed Rainforest Films at the #34 spot of Top 500 Film Distributors and the film a spot in Daily Variety’s top 50 Highest grossing Independent Films of the Year. Next Rainforest released Pandora’s Box, which garnered critical acclaim and solid box office revenues. Then, the successful release of the feature drama Lockdown, starring Richard T. Jones, Gabrielle Casseus and Master P. earned Rainforest inclusion by The Hollywood Reporter in their story about the “New Establishment” of Black Power Brokers in Hollywood.