Aramaic Herald
A
NEWSLETTER FOR CHRISTIANS WHO WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEIR ARAMAIC HERITAGE
Volume IX
Number 25 December 2014
New Assyrian Heritage movie in
Development
Stephen
Andrew Missick is producing an Assyrian heritage movie. The movie “The Acts of
the Apostle Thaddeus” is about the Apostle Thaddeus, known among Assyrian
Christians as Mar Addai, and the founding of the Assyrian Church of the East.
The movie will be based on ancient Assyrian Christian literature, namely “The
Doctrine of Addai” and “The Acts of the Apostle Mari.” It is also based on
other ancient sources, such as the writings of the early church historian
Eusebius.
The
production crew will include three Assyrian Americans and at least six Assyrian
Americans will be cast in major roles. This will enable these Assyrian
Americans to learn about the art of film-making and perhaps launch their
careers in either film production or acting.
Mr. Missick
said, “Lorenzo Lamas has shown an interest in playing the Apostle Thaddeus and
has given me a “letter of interest” in playing the role of Thaddeus. The movie
will be filmed at the Alamo Village movie set in Brackettville, Texas. The
Assyrian American actors and production crew will work with Lorenzo Lamas, who
gave me the impression that he is a friendly and approachable person. He can
most likely tell them about the ins and outs of the television and movie-making
industry. Being involved in this project may enable the Assyrian Americans who
are involved in it to launch their careers in film-making. This project has
enormous potential to benefit the global Assyrian community.”
He said,
“This movie could also create cultural awareness, among the Assyrian community about
their own culture and can also create awareness about the Assyrian Christian
heritage outside of the Assyrian community. I believe this is especially
important at this time when the Assyrians are facing terrible challenges and
face the threat of genocide in their ancestral homeland. “
He believes
that this film project has important educational, literary and cultural value.
Missick said, “It also has important ecumenical value in that it can bring
Christians of diverse denominational backgrounds together on the core message
of Jesus and his Apostles. It is my intention to tell this story in a sincere
and reverent manner.”
The film
also has the potential to be profitable. Recent Biblical productions, such as
“The Bible: The Epic Miniseries,” “The Son of God, “ and “Noah,” has been
successful, as well as faith-based films such as “God’s Not Dead” and “Heaven
is for Real.” There are also upcoming Biblical epics such as “Exodus: God’s and
Kings” and “A.D.: After the Bible.” However, this project is unique in that the
story of Thaddeus and the founding of the Assyrian Church has never before been
told in film.
If the funds
are raised, we intend to begin shooting around March 15-20.
The
production company is “Walker Cable Productions” of Conroe, Texas. WalkerCable
have completed several movies, mostly westerns and action movies.
Mr. Missick
has been able to procure costumes and props for this film that were used on
screen in Spartacus, Alexander, Rome, and Dwayne Johnson’s Hercules.
Missick
says, “We are working to raise $120,000 for the film. Once we have raised the
money we will go into pre-production and begin auditioning actors. I intend to
film most of the major roles of the film with Assyrian Americans.”
The film producer, Stephen
Andrew Missick, is the author of three papers on the history of the Assyrian
Church of the East that are published in the Journal of Assyrian Academic
Studies (www.jaas.org). He is an army
chaplain and a doctoral student at Houston Graduate School of Theology. His
doctoral thesis/project is entitled “FACILITATING INTERACTION BETWEEN THE
ARAMAIC ASSYRIAN CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AND EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS FOR ENHANCED
UNDERSTANDING AND INTER-FAITH DIALOGUE, SPIRITUAL RENEWAL, AND HUMANITARIAN
ASSISTANCE” in which he will work to create awareness about the humanitarian
crisis among American churches and attempt to provide aide to needy Assyrian
Christian refugees.
For more
information about the Thaddeus film project and the Assyrian American
production crew behind it and for ways to support the film see www.aramaicherald.blogspot.com/
The
SAINT THADDEUS MOVIE KICKSTARTER:
(Or
go to www.kickstarter.com and enter “Thaddeus” into search
projects and it should come right up!)
Lorenzo
Lamas Set to Star in Biblical Epic
Lorenzo Lamas is known for playing Lance Cumson on the
popular 1980s soap opera “Falcon Crest”, Reno Raines on the 1990s crime drama “Renegade,”
and Hector Ramirez on the daytime soap opera “The Bold and The Beautiful.” He
also starred in “Grease” with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Lamas was born in Santa
Monica, California, the son of Argentine-born
actor and director Fernando Lamas and actress Arlene Dahl. His
autobiography “Renegade at Heart” was published in December 2014. He is married
to actress and model Shawna Craig. Lorenzo Lamas is set to star in the Spring
2015 season of “Celebrity Apprentice.”
Mr. Lamas stated, “I have worked with Walker Cable
Productions in several films on the course of the last several years and it is
my understanding that they will be producing a film on the Apostle Thaddeus in
the near future. Based on my former association with this company and the
integrity of Sam Cable and Chuck Walker as friends and film makers, I have a
strong interest in being involved in this project as an actor in the title role
of Thaddeus. I find the script interesting and captivating and look forward to
making this project a big success. I am thrilled to be working on Thaddeus the
new WalkerCable production. These are terrific guys and a wonderful production
company that I have had the pleasure of working with many, many times in the
past. So, if you have the opportunity to invest in a WalkerCable production
don’t hesitate. You will not regret it. So, I am excited about being a part of
this Christian movie. I think it is an important time for our society to
embrace the Christian faith. I am looking forward to it.”
The
Production Company
The Acts of the Apostle Thaddeus will be produced by
Walker Cable Productions. See www.walkercableinc.com.
Sam
Cable and Chuck Walker began Walker Cable Productions as a moderate budget
feature film company, soon going public under the name of MSH Entertainment
Corporation in the early nineties. The new entity expanded to include music and
television. They produced “Vanpires”, a
live-action/animated action-adventure series which quickly became the number
one syndicated children’s show on television.
Their
company also produced the last album by the legendary John Entwistle and The
Who. As well as other headliners.
In
the last several years, Walker and Cable have re-directed their interests to
motion pictures, having produced a slate of westerns released by Lionsgate,
including “The Man Who Came Back” in which they partnered with soap icon Eric
Braeden who portrays the infamous Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless.
The movie starred Braeden as well as Academy Award Winner, George
Kennedy, Emmy Award Winner Armand Assante, Billy Zane, Sean Young and super
model, Carol Alt. The movie was the
number one non-theatrical release in the United States for its first six weeks.
The
duo produced two films last year including the action-adventure nail-biter,
“The Texas Triangle”, and “Backstabber”, starring Lorenzo Lamas and Tammy
Barr. “Backstabber” recently won a
Platinum Remi Award at Worldfest International for Best Picture in the
fantasy/horror category.
Walker
Cable Productions is currently in post-production on the suspense-mystery film,
“Burned Soul” which will release this fall.
They are poised to produce and release three films per year for the
foreseeable future.
Stephen Andrew Missick-Screenwriter
and Producer
Stephen Andrew Missick is the author of Mar Thoma: The
Apostolic Foundation of the Assyrian Church and The Christians of Saint Thomas
in India. He has written and illustrated several books such as The Language of Jesus: Introducing Aramaic,
The Assyrians: The Oldest Christian
People, and Christ the Man. He
has traveled to India to work with the Christians there. He has widely traveled
throughout the Middle East. He served in the war in Iraq, in two deployments,
both as a soldier and as an army chaplain. He is an ordained Evangelical
minister. He has graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and
is a doctoral student at Houston Graduate School of Theology. He lives in the
Houston, Texas area. He has written a screenplay about Saint Thomas in India
and is the author of the Acts of Thaddeus screenplay. His papers on the history
of the Assyrian Church of the East can be viewed at www.jaas.org.
His YouTube Channel is www.youtube.com/aramaic12.
He can be contacted at PO BOX 882, Shepherd, Texas, 77371 or nestorius1@hotmail.com.
His blog can be read at www.aramaicherald.blogspot.com.
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