Filmmaker Jon Erwin’s new movie “Jesus Revolution” is captivating audiences — and making history.
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In fact, the movie scored an A+ CinemaScore rating, a rare feat in Hollywood and an indication audiences truly love the film. A CinemaScore rating, ranging from A+ to F, measures fans’ reactions to major feature film releases on opening night.
Getting an A+ is hard to accomplish, but, beyond that measure, “Jesus Revolution” broke another boundary: it made Erwin the first filmmaker in cinematic history to achieve four A+ CinemaScores.
It’s an accomplishment even famed director Steven Spielberg has never attained. Erwin told CBN’s Faithwire he’s deeply honored by the achievement.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “I’m grateful.”
Erwin said his primary passion is serving the audience with a powerful message through film, which is why he finds attaining so many A+ scores on an audience-based measure so exciting.
“Everything we do — it’s not about us; it’s about the people in the seats and the experience they’re having with the film,” Erwin said. “And I think, so many artists, a lot of times are like, ‘The audience should be there for me … for my creative genius.’”
He added, “I don’t think that’s true at all. I think we should be there for the audience.”
Watch Erwin discuss making history with “Jesus Revolution”
Erwin said he’s particularly excited to see “Jesus Revolution” changing lives and that his passion is telling “true stories” of transformation.
He also said he can’t take total credit for the “amazing work of others” on his team who helped make the movie possible, praising his co-director, Brent McCorkle, and the many others who brought “Jesus Revolution” to the big screen.
“I’m proud of what we made,” he said. “God is just doing something beyond the experience of the movie.”
Erwin said he felt something different while making “Jesus Revolution” and that his belief God is at work through the film has been carried out post-release as he’s heard incredible stories of radical life change and conversion.
“We felt it on set when we were doing the baptisms,” he said. “I’ve never felt that kind of spiritual power on a day of filming ever in my life, and I think it bleeds through the screen. I think you feel it in the movie.”
Watch Erwin discuss the powerful impact of “Jesus Revolution.”
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