
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE
About The Production Director/co-writer Jon Erwin has never had a film easier to pitch.
"It's the song you know," says Jon, "but the story you don't."
The song is MercyMe's I Can Only Imagine, the most popular contemporary
Christian
song in history. The story is about how MercyMe front-man Bart Millard was
inspired
to write the song after overcoming an abusive childhood, holding to his faith,
and seeing
God's miracle of redemption.
"In every single one of our movies the DNA is that redemption thread," says
Andy Erwin,
Jon's brother and co-director of I CAN ONLY IMAGINE.
Both Erwin brothers, along with the film's cast and crew, gathered in
Oklahoma City
for a 26-day location shoot aimed at a spring 2018 release. It was the Erwins'
third
collaboration with producing partner Kevin Downes. "What I'm most excited about
is
people seeing this who have never heard the story." Downes said. "This is a
powerful
story that I believe is going to bring hope to people all over the world."
Interestingly, the Erwins' opportunity to tell Bart's story actually came about
because of
one of their other films.
Jon and Andy's career behind the camera began by shooting sports for ESPN out
of their
hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. They then transitioned into shooting Christian
music videos featuring top names in the industry such as Michael W. Smith, Amy
Grant,
Third Day and Casting Crowns, eventually winning music video of the year three
years
consecutively at the GMA Dove Awards.
Finally, the brothers moved into the world of feature films, having now
released three
full-length features: OCTOBER BABY, MOMS' NIGHT OUT and WOODLAWN.
It was at a screening of WOODLAWN where the Erwin brothers met MercyMe's Bart
Millard, and where the idea for I CAN ONLY IMAGINE was born.
"On a whim, we invited Bart to a screening of one of our films," recalls
Andy. "Just kind
of reached out to him and said, 'Hey, we travel in the same circles, but we've
never really
hung out.'"
Bart saw the show and gave the brothers some surprising news.
"He said, 'I don't know if you know this, but the studio's been developing my
life story
for several years now as a movie. I'd like you guys to consider directing it,'"
says Andy. "I
laughed and said, 'Well, the funny thing is they sent us the script this
morning.'"
A few years later, they found themselves in Oklahoma City making a movie about
Bart
Millard's amazing story.
THE SONG THAT STARTED IT ALL
In 2001, the song I Can Only Imagine debuted on MercyMe's first album for a
major label
and quickly became an unprecedented hit-crossing over to success in pop, country
and
adult contemporary. The only contemporary Christian song ever certified as
double
platinum, it also earned Dove Awards for Song of the Year and Songwriter of the
Year.
Millard had written the lyrics and composed the music with band mates in just a
few
minutes. But that inspired burst of creativity packed a lifetime of experience,
much
of it painful.
THE STORY THAT INSPIRED THE SONG
As a kid in Greenville, Texas, Bart suffered physical and emotional abuse at
the hands
of his father, Arthur. His mother abandoned the family and Bart was left alone
with
his father.
An exceptional athlete in his own youth, Arthur excelled at college football
and dreamed
of playing in the pros.
"But when he had kids, he dropped out of college to support the family,"
explains Andy.
"He had a traumatic accident on the job, on a construction site, that left him
with a
brain injury and in a coma for a week. When he woke up he'd lost his ability to
regulate
his anger."
Toward young Bart, that anger manifested as abuse. In Bart's high school
years, two
things happened that changed everything. First, his father was stricken with
terminal
cancer, and second, over time, his father came to know Jesus Christ.
"Bart had to take care of his father every night from midnight until 2 a.m.,"
says Andy.
"As we interviewed him for this project, we said, 'If we were to hold a gun to
your head
and ask, is there a God, what would you say?' and he said, 'Absolutely, there
is.' When
we asked why, he said, 'Because of the change I saw in my father. He went from
being a
monster to being my best friend, the man I wanted to be.' And so during the two
years
that Bart took care of his dad, their relationship was completely redeemed."
"I think when my dad died, he definitely still had some regrets," reflects
Millard. "Until
he couldn't talk to me anymore, he always said he was so sorry for the things he
did, and
that people would forget about him the second he was gone. And luckily, it
didn't really
matter what he thought, because Christ knew."
Millard didn't share the extent of the abuse, and therefore the degree of
redemption he'd
witnessed, until years later. His wife Shannon, who met Millard in junior high
school,
didn't know the full story until the couple entered counseling well into their
marriage.
The phrase "I Can Only Imagine" first occurred to Millard when leaving his
father's
gravesite, as he wondered what his dad might be seeing in heaven. "For me, the
thought
was very therapeutic because it was just too overwhelming to think of him being
gone.
And so I started thinking more about what he was seeing, more than him just not
being in
my life." This phrase consumed his thoughts, and he began doodling it
everywhere-on
all of the pages in his journal, notepads, and even on an old couch.
Years later, Millard wrote I Can Only Imagine after the band needed a final
song to complete
their first album. As he considered his earthly father in heaven, and pondered
the great
redemption he had witnessed in his life, the song flowed out of him quickly.
"We were making an independent record, and we needed one more song. And I was
literally just trying to find a blank page [in my journal], and every page had
'I Can Only
Imagine' written on it," shares Bart. "So it was kinda like, 'I get it.' I wrote
the song on
the bus one night. Even though it took about five or ten minutes to write, it
had been in
my heart for a really long time."
ASSEMBLING CAST AND CREW
To fill the pivotal role of Bart Millard, producers headed to Broadway where
they found
John Michael Finley, the understudy for "Jean Valjean" in Les Miserables. Finley
routinely
filled in for the main star.
Finley's booming voice first drew the filmmakers and he had the right look so
they cast
him in what would be his first film role. Interestingly, his background proved
to connect
him even more to the role.
"I was born in Arkansas and grew up in southern Missouri, so I had that
Midwest
mentality," says Finley. "Bart and I both had early life events that made us
grow up real
fast. And I connect with the way Bart uses humor to deflect other people."
As a pastor's kid growing up, Finley had even seen MercyMe in concert three
times.
To play "Shannon," Bart's on-again-off-again girlfriend and eventual wife, the
film team
turned to a seasoned pro in 21-year-old Los Angeles-native Madeline Carroll,
whose
modeling career began when she was three years old. By age 10, she was a veteran
of film,
TV and commercials.
"[Madeline's] acting has so much depth and complexity," says Andy. "She was
the
ideal--able to give us both of those in one person."
While the story of forgiveness and redemption drew Carroll to the part of
"Shannon,"
once on set, the bonus was being able to work with Dennis Quaid.
"Ever since I watched THE PARENT TRAP years ago, I've wanted to work with
him," says Carroll. "So it was cool that came full circle, and God blessed me
with that
opportunity. He's really sweet, loves his kids, and is a great father."
Quaid plays "Arthur," Bart's father, who saw his dreams dashed, and strives
to protect his
son from similar disappointment . . . even if it means having no dreams at all.
"I just thought it was a compelling, universal story," says Quaid. "I've done
a lot of
father-son stories, and this was different in a way because it wasn't so, should
I say...
Hollywood? What attracted me to Arthur was that he was a guy who has redemption
in the end. But he starts from a very low place."
Quaid was happy to work with Academy Award winner Cloris Leachman . . .
again.
Leachman plays "Memaw," a consistent presence of love in Bart's life. Quaid
and
Leachman worked together on his very first Hollywood film in 1975.
"I'd been out there for two weeks, in 1975," recalls Quaid. "Jonathan Demme,
a friend of
my brother's, is a director. He was doing a little Roger Corman film and asked
if I wanted
to be an extra. I just needed a job. So I played a bellhop in his film with
Donny Most from
Happy Days, and Cloris Leachman. It was called CRAZY MAMA, and she was 'Crazy
Mama.' That was my first movie, which is really cool, and then here it is 40
years later."
Leachman was already a star from her role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show when she
won
her Oscar for THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. Now, even at age 90, she brought lots of
laughter to the I CAN ONLY IMAGINE set.
On a day off from shooting, Cloris and her daughter went to an indoor
skydiving facility
in Oklahoma City. She returned to set the next day proudly showing the cast and
crew
photos of the adventure.
Country music superstar Trace Adkins plays music manager Scott Brickell, who
helped
MercyMe find its sound and achieve success. Adkins believes people will be
touched by
this story of overcoming and redemption.
"I hope audiences leave the theater inspired," says Adkins. "And I think they
will." Adkins
has previously worked with the Erwin brothers on their movie MOMS' NIGHT OUT.
Executive producer of I CAN ONLY IMAGINE Cindy Bond, developed the story for
seven years before partnering with Kevin Downes and the Erwin Brothers to get
the film
made. Bond believes the true story will connect with everyone who see the film -
whether
they are familiar with MercyMe's music or not. The theme is universal.
"I think audiences will love this movie because there's so much more to the
story than
they know," says Bond.
"Behind I CAN ONLY IMAGINE is a powerful emotional journey. Bart had so many
obstacles to overcome. This kid from Greenville, Texas, didn't have a chance in
the
world. And yet now he's the lead singer for MercyMe with the best-selling
Christian song
of all time."
"The movie is a powerful reminder that no one is ever too far from God's
love," says
Millard, "and that heaven is promised to those who find hope in Christ."
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