“Best Movie of the Year, Everyone should see this film” –Rick Warren
PRODUCER OF “The Passion of the Christ” PRODUCES BELLA - THE #1 TOP RATED MOVIE IN THE U.S.
The producer of “The Passion of the Christ” is involved with another life changing film called Bella, the first movie he has made since “The Passion”. This time the film does not have the star power of Mel Gibson but Bella has suprisingly won more awards than “The Passion” did while it was in theaters. Bella is currently the #1 Top Rated Movie in the country according to Yahoo, Fandango and The New York Times readers poll.
Despite all of this, Bella may not be around much longer if the faithful don’t show up to the Box Office because there is a record number of Hollywood releases this holiday that promise to take all the theaters away from this “little movie that might”. That is why the filmmakers and many Christian leaders that support them are rallying supporters to turn out this weekend to ensure Bella holds on to theaters during this very competitive holiday movie season.
BELLA HAS OSCAR HOPES
This little film with a big heart surprised everyone in Hollywood when Bella took the top prize at Toronto’s International Film Festival, the largest festival in the world, by winning the highly-coveted “Peoples Choice Award,” a distinction that puts it in the company of such Oscar-winning films as Chariots of Fire, American Beauty, Life is Beautiful, Crouching Tiger-Hidden Dragon and Hotel Rwanda. Since winning the “Peoples Choice Award” Bella won the grand prize at the Heartland Film Festival, the Smithsonian Institutes prestigious Legacy award and Bella received the Tony Bennett Media excellence award. Chuck Colson commented on how Bella is appealing to the masses including secular and Christian audiences alike when he said “Christians may be learning from Bella what a good movie should be, and what a really good movie can do.” There is speculation that Bella might do what another heart-warming film did 25-years-ago. Chariots of Fire, the little-known independent British film made by Christian filmmakers, also by a first-time director and featuring unknown actors, surprised everyone by winning Toronto and then winning an Oscar for best picture over the $35million star-studded Reds. Perhaps history will repeat itself.
FILMMAKERS GIVE UP LUCRATIVE CAREERS TO MAKE MOVIES FOR GOD
The story behind Bella is as good as the film itself. A group of five young Christian filmmakers gave up lucrative careers to make movies for Christ and Bella is their first film. Bella has miraculously won more accolades than the majority of the films released this year. Two of the five filmmakers were amongst People Magazines “most beautiful people” and they passed up million-dollar opportunities to make movies that portray true beauty as something deeper than skin. Eduardo Verastegui (Chasing Papi, Known as the “Brad Pitt of Latin America”) and Ali Landry (Miss USA, Doritos Girl, Eve) wanted to make films that inspire viewers instead of lending to the typical stereo types of men and women as sex objects. Since Hollywood was not offering them these types of roles they left their lucrative careers to pursue a mission that mattered more than money – to make movies that entertain, inspire and make a positive impact on people’s lives. “We want to make movies that inspire people to seek and find the purpose God created them for,” explained Verastegui. “Our hope is that people will leave the theater with a candle in their heart that inspires them to love more and to judge less.” Verastegui and Landry partnered with Director Alejandro Monteverde, Producer Leo Severino and Financier and Producer Sean Wolfington to create Metanoia Films. (Metanoia is a Greek word for “repentance” and “turning to God”) Bella is their first film and it has taken Hollywood by storm
HOLLYWOOD REJECTED BELLA BUT AUDIENCES ADOPTED THIS MOVIE AND MADE IT WORK
There are hundreds of little miracles that paved the way for Bella to reach the big screen despite it’s small budget and lack of support from Hollywood. After being turned down by the Industry, these first time filmmakers financed and produced Bella on their own and toured the country to show it to anyone who would watch it so they could attract a distributor. Christian leaders from across the country rallied behind Bella and it’s filmmakers and eventually helped them get distribution.
Hollywood’s reluctance has been overshadowed by the deafening buzz that the grassroots support Bella has received. The film has been adopted by the Christian and Adoption communities because the story is a faith affirming love story that celebrates Christian and family values in a real and relatable way while entertaining audiences with award winning storytelling, performances and cinematography. Christian and Adoption leaders who have seen the film have already begun to claim it as their own—and with good reason. Having watched the film several times, we can fully appreciate their enthusiasm. Without question, this is one of the most powerful stories ever committed to celluloid since The Passion of the Christ
Like the record breaking classic, Metanoia Films made a great film that went against the grain of Hollywood’s formula of sex, drugs and violence. Without all of the profanity Bella portrays the tragedies and triumphs of life in a very real and relatable way. And like The Passion of the Christ—which had award winning performances and cinematography—Bella is powerful work of art.
Bella tells a classic love story: not Hollywood’s standard insipid, oversexed saga of lust, but a tale about two virtual strangers whose lives converge over a single day when both believe they have lost all. Through their time spent together, they come to realize that by losing “everything” the world has to offer, they discover everything that truly matters. “Bella is truly a magical film about life, family, love and perseverance in the face of adversity,” said Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family.
While Hollywood distributors claimed the film did not have enough “edge” for a wide release, audiences were moved by its beauty and begged the filmmakers to bring it to their local theaters. This encouragement inspired the Metanoia team to risk their own money to distribute the film on their own just like The Passion of the Christ did. Since they don’t have a $100 million ad budget, they traveled the country to garner all the support they can get from the same groups that made the Passion successful - churches.
CHRISTIANS ADOPTED HUNDREDS OF THEATERS & HELPED BELLA GET DISTRIBUTION
The secret to Bella’s success thus far has been the organic support of thousands of Christians who pre-purchased tickets and adopted entire theaters to guarantee Bella would come to their home town. Bella’s grass roots success is largely due to the zealous support by Christians who are starving for positive stories that celebrate the power of faith, family, friendship and love. However, Bella has also been incredibly popular with secular audiences because it tells a universal story that appeals to everyone. “Bella is a universal story that everyone can relate to,” said Financier and Producer Sean Wolfington. Bill Hybels invited Wolfington to speak at Willow Creeks Leadership Conference this year where Hybels praised Bella: “This is a powerful, uplifting, stirring story that will be talked about for a long, long time. This is the kind of movie you can feel free to take anybody to and people are going to have unbelievable discussions afterwards. It’s got a very subtle plot that turns in a way that takes your breath away.” As a result of the strong support from the Christian Community, Lions Gate and Roadside Attractions decided to distribute Bella.
PRODUCER OF “THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST” HELPS BELLA
“After producing “The Passion” I waited for what God wanted me to do next and then He brought me Bella… what a gift,” said Steve McEveety, the producer of “The Passion of the Christ” and “Braveheart”. McEveety consulted on the script as a favor to his friend Sean Wolfington but after seeing the finished movie he decided to sign on as the Executive Producer to help bring the movie to market. McEveety said “The Passion showed how Christ died for us and Bella shows how we should live for others.” “Having Steve’s wisdom and guidance has been an unbelievable blessing,” said producer Leo Severino. “Who would have ever guessed that we would be working with the producer of “The Passion”… it was beyond our imagination… but that is how God works,” added writer/director Alejandro Monteverde.
A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
In the midst of the Horror Season a Small Inspirational Film Breaks Box Office Record
Metanoia Films intentionally released Bella on Halloween weekend because Metanoia also means “turning from dark to light” and their mission is to make films that “are a light in the darkness,” said Wolfington. In the season of horror films Bella’s heartwarming true story offered a candle for audiences who helped them break the record for box office revenue per screen for films in their category. Since then Bella has been the #1 Top Rated movie on the largest website in the world, Yahoo.com. Bella is also the #1 Top Rated Movie on Fandango (largest movie ticket site) and the New York Times Readers poll.
CELEBRITIES & ARTISTS LOVE BELLA
Bella also has deep rooted support from celebrities and artists around the world. Jon Foreman, the lead singer of Switchfoot, selflessly gave the film his favorite song that he wrote for his wife. After the premiere of Bella at Tribeca, Tony Bennett spontaneously took the microphone from lead with tear filled eyes about how much he loved Bella. He called it a “perfect movie, an artistic masterpiece that every American must see”. You can see the video on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdJ6OjAsEz0 Alejandro Sanz, the #1 Hispanic Singer/Songwriter and winner of 15 Grammies, loved Bella so much that he wrote a song for the movie and he has been encouraging his fans to see Bella at all his concerts. You can see his comments at: http://www.bellathemovie.com/site/#/film/videos/ (Click on Spanish Ad: Alejandro Sanz.) In addition, the Smithsonian Institute produced a video to show at their annual Awards Gala that includes a number of celebrities sharing their passion for Bella. Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W826EglIi6k (the video includes Jeb Bush, the lead singer of Switchfoot, the Chairman of the Smithsonian Institute, Alejandro Sanz, Maria Celeste, Angelica Vali and Paulina Rubio)
A BELLA HOLIDAY?
Bella could be the surprise film this year if the faithful come out to support this beautiful fruit of the Holy Spirit. If that happens Bella has the potential to touch and transform millions of souls. If we want to make a positive impact on the culture and encourage Hollywood to make more films like Bella, we need to support “Bella” this weekend. As we all know, films like Bella are not always embraced by Hollywood and the media so we need to work together to make redeeming films like Bella succeed.
Because Bella is the #1 Top Rated Movie in the country, the distributor is giving Bella a wide release but if Bella doesn’t perform this weekend it will be kicked out of theatres for good. However, if Bella does well this weekend it will be in many more theaters for the busiest holiday season of the year and it will reach many more souls for Christ.
People across the country are buying tickets for friends and a lot of people are buying entire theaters out to share this beautiful film with their church and local community.
But it is not enough that a handful of people get involved.
If we want Americans to respect the value of faith and family then we need to “light a candle rather than cursing the darkness” by actively promoting films like Bella so we can use them as a tool for change. If we fail to do so, we will have no one else to blame but ourselves for how Hollywood is contributing to the decline of our country’s moral fabric.
If you want to support Bella and it’s mission to touch and transform as many souls as possible you can visit www.BellaTheMovie.com to find theaters, purchase tickets and to equip yourself to promote the movie. For more detailed instructions click on the link below: http://bellamoviesite.com/FaithEmails/?TheLink=HelpBella
To learn how you can get involved please read the information below.
Pastors – here is what you can do:
1. Watch the powerful testimony of the lead actor, Eduardo Verastegui, at BellaFaithNews.com (click here to view it: http://www.bellamoviesite.com/resources/news/archives/140 )
2. Show this testimony video at your services this weekend. If you want you can also show the trailer. Both of these can be downloaded at BellaFaithNews.com, BellaFaith.com & SermonSpice.com
3. Promote Bella to mobilize the Body of Christ to see Bella this weekend. Send pastors this email and email your data base the email below. Call your friends and family. Add Bella banners to your website. You can get all the tools you need to promote Bella at BellaFaith.com
4. Adopt a theater and buy out an entire show time for your congregation or buy group tickets and give them for free to people in the community
Non-Pastors - If you want to help here is what you can do:
1. Send this article to your entire data base and ask others to do the same
2. Adopt a theater by buying all the tickets for a particular Showtime (cost of $1500-$2500) or Adopt a market by buying 5k-10k tickets. To do this visit: HelpBella.com
3. Buy tickets and give them to friends and family. Invite everyone you know to the movies – it is a film you can invite everyone to see
4. Promote Bella through every means possible, online and offline. To do this read below and get all the tools you need at BellaFaith.com
5. Volunteer to promote Bella in your market. Contact Amanda@MetanoiaFilms.com
For more information about how to help Bella: http://bellamoviesite.com/FaithEmails/?TheLink=HelpBella
To Adopt a theater or buy group tickets visit: www.HelpBella.com
To find a theater or view trailer visit: www.BellaMovieSite.com
To view Eduardo’s powerful testimony visit: www.BellaFaithNews.com
To view the Passion video visit: www.BellaFaithNews.com
To get Resources to promote Bella visit: www.BellaFaith.com
To view pictures from behind the scenes visit: www.BellaMoviePhotos.com
To vote to keep Bella #1 on Yahoo visit: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809423607/info
“Best Movie of the Year, Everyone should see this film” –Rick Warren