Pastor Greg Laurie teamed up with popular
Christian filmmakers The Erwin Brothers ("Woodlawn," "Mom's
Night Out") to share the never before told story of American icon Steve
McQueen and his journey to Christian faith.
For one-night only on Sept. 28, American
Icon Films LLC and Fathom Events is bringing "Steve McQueen: American
Icon" to U.S. theaters everywhere. The Jon and Andy Erwin-directed
documentary will give this new generation an inside look into the life of the highest-paid
actor in Hollywood in his era — McQueen, known as "The King of
Cool."
People may recognize McQueen from his
legendary films such as "Bullitt," "The Magnificent Seven"
and "The Great Escape" but this film will explore beyond his
Hollywood success and provide insight into his troubled childhood, and the
spiritual journey he was on that ultimately led to a genuine Christian faith
before his death.
"My hope for this film is that people
would be entertained," filmmaker Jon Erwin told The Christian Post in a
recent interview. "I love telling stories that are entertaining and
emotionally available. I feel like if you tell the right story in the right
way, we hold this belief that entertainment can be a part of changing someone's
life."
Erwin said Jesus told "incredibly
relatable stories." So he and his brother, Andy, want to always focus on
stories that are relatable as well, along with showcasing the
"transformational power" of the Gospel no matter what a person's
belief is.
"[It's the] untold story of the
biggest movie star in the world, the highest paid movie star in the world and
how this guy climbed up from nothing and the worst situations he could be in as
a child, to the biggest movie star in the world and then he realized that it
didn't make him happy," the director said, running through some of the
focal points featured in "Steve McQueen: American Icon."
Erwin noted that many people live under the
"lie" that if they are accomplished, successful or rich, they would
be happy. However, he said McQueen is a prime example that that is not the
case.
"Steve McQueen: American Icon"
features an exclusive recorded interview that the entertainer did two weeks
before he died, but for some reason the interview never surfaced. McQueen's
widow, model Barbara Minty McQueen, shared the interview with The Erwin
Brothers, as well as some of her candid photographs from McQueen's last years.
"I'm very grateful that Barbara
McQueen agreed to be involved. She was also an executive producer in the film.
So a lot of great things came from that relationship," Erwin said.
The exclusive interview tape that somewhat
narrates the film was "unbelievably moving," according to Erwin, and
featured many great quotes about McQueen's faith.
"Steve talked about his childhood and
said, 'When a kid doesn't have love when you're young you think you're not
worth anything,'" the movie director shared.
"He was like what Eminem is to music
today, he was that, to that era of film," Erwin continued. "You had
all these squared-jawed, upper-class actors and then here comes this scrappy
rebel street kid that willed himself to the very top of the entertainment
industry. It really is this underdog American success story. Yet when he got to
the pinnacle of that success, he wasn't happy."
The tape also shows McQueen's heart to
share his faith with others which will now be, thanks to the film, evangelism
beyond the grave.
"This is the first time in my
filmmaking career that I felt like an investigative journalist and I'm almost
breaking a story," Erwin gushed. "I do believe that this documentary
fulfills one of the dying wishes of Steve McQueen, the biggest movie star in
the world of his day."
In the movie, McQueen says, "I want to
change people's lives. I want people to know what has happened to me."
When asked if he found the cure to life, he
said, "Finding the Lord was the cure" in his life. He even ended his
never before heard interview by saying, "My body's gone, it's broken but
my spirit isn't broken."
Although McQueen's career plummeted at one
point, it was actually not until the height of his success that the bad boy
turned superstar actually left Hollywood.
"The things that we chase sometimes
just don't satisfy and we realize that our hearts were built for something
different and something more," the Erwin brother said.
"The American dream is a bit of a
double-edged sword. I love America and patriotism, I love this country. America
is more than a country, it's a dream where you can become anything you want to
be and you can chase success and happiness as you see it," he went on to
say.
However, Erwin believes people ought to be
careful of what they chase after because it's not always what it's made out to
be. He sourced a study done by Knox University on people trying to attain
happiness externally and others trying to attain it intrinsically. The study,
which can be seen in the documentary "Happy" on
Netflix, revealed that those trying to find fulfillment by success or beauty
could never be satisfied.
Erwin said "Steve McQueen: American
Icon" shows that firsthand. He accredits Pastor Greg Laurie and his drive
and passion for really making the film what it is.
The senior pastor of Harvest Christian
Fellowship in Riverside, California, was always a big fan of McQueen and even
has a replica of McQueen's famous 1968 Bullitt car. Laurie, who is in the
movie, interviewed Mel Gibson, who is also a part of the film.
The Hollywood actor esteems McQueen as well
and shared that he has had a similar journey and result of fame as well.
"Mel had submitted the same mountain
as McQueen and it was fascinating to get him," Erwin told CP.
The creator's goal with the documentary was
to get inside McQueen's head to try and understand why he did some of the things
he did and Gibson was very instrumental in helping with that. "The Passion
of Christ" filmmaker talked about McQueen's incredible talent on film and
how the legendary actor understood the camera, the lens, and how to use a prop
in a way that became a main part of any movie.
"Mel did this incredible actor on
actor interview, which was incredibly insightful. He's a huge McQueen
fan," Erwin added. "Mel was the perfect guy to contribute that
perspective and it was very powerful."
"Once you get famous you'll never be
anonymous again," Gibson pointed out in the taping. That statement echoed
McQueen's quote from his last interview.
"I can't be what people think I am or
I'll die," McQueen is heard saying. The photos featured in the cinematic
flick were taken later in McQueen's life when he grew out his beard and stayed
under the radar, hoping to never be recognized by the public.
Perhaps the most compelling part of the
film is the least known part of McQueen's life.
Stunt double extraordinaire Stan Barrett
was the first to witness Christ to McQueen throughout his career. Sometime
later, stunt pilot Sammie Mason became a father figure to the troubled
celebrity and because of his kindness and generosity, McQueen was compelled to
ask Mason about his Christian faith, which led McQueen to church. McQueen
eventually came to his own faith in Christ but soon after became terminally
ill.
"You couldn't make up the things that
happen in this story," Erwin stated.
"Steve McQueen's life had been
transformed. He really experienced a peace that he wanted and he really wanted
the world to know about it and then he found out he had cancer, terminal
cancer," the Christian director explained. "One of the people he
wanted to meet was Billy Graham."
On McQueen's last flight to Ciudad Juárez,
Mexico, where he, unfortunately, passed away, he met with the world-renowned
evangelist, Graham. Graham later wrote about that visit and how authentic he
believed the actor's faith was.
"[During the visit] McQueen had
misplaced his Bible and
Billy said, 'Here you can have mine,'" Erwin illustrated.
He added, "I held this Bible and it
was Billy Graham's preaching Bible. There's phone numbers in it, sermon
outlines in it and it's just this well-worn Bible."
On Nov. 7, 1980, McQueen died of a heart
attack just hours after undergoing a successful cancer surgery. The legendary
icon passed away while clutching that very Bible that Graham gave him to his
chest.
"Billy Graham did have a special
relationship with many celebrities and many presidents and Steve McQueen was
one of them," Erwin concluded.
The Erwin brother said the movie brings him
to tears and he is in awe that God allowed his team to share it with the world.
He believes the film is an opportunity for Christians to engage those friends
that are chasing "the dream."
Furthermore, Erwin said everyone sometime
or another has lain in bed at night and thought "there must be something
more in life than this hamster wheel that I'm on." McQueen's story answers
that question.
For tickets to "Steve McQueen:
American Icon" or for more information, visit SteveMcQueenMovie.com
This article was originally published on ChristianPost.com. Used with
permission. For more from CP reporter Jeannie Law, visit her author page on The Christian Post.
Image courtesy: By CBS Television
(eBay item photo front photo back) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
*This movie aired on September 28, 2017. There will be an encore presentation of the movie on October 10th in selected theaters. I missed the first showing, as I was unaware of it. I intend to catch the next showing. Hope you will too.
http://www.stevemcqueenmovie.com/
*This movie aired on September 28, 2017. There will be an encore presentation of the movie on October 10th in selected theaters. I missed the first showing, as I was unaware of it. I intend to catch the next showing. Hope you will too.
http://www.stevemcqueenmovie.com/
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