Movie updates biblical story of Joseph

Andrew Cheney (right) portrays the lead character, Brady Gray, in a new faith-based movie titled Seasons of Gray.
Andrew Cheney (right) portrays the lead character, Brady Gray, in a new faith-based movie titled Seasons of Gray.

The biblical story of Joseph gets a modern-day makeover in Seasons of Gray, which debuts in selected movie theaters around the country on Friday, including Little Rock.

The Little Rock showing is appropriate given that the producer, as well as the lead actor in the film, have ties to the city. Chris Mano, who served as the film’s director of photography as well as a producer and editor, was born in Little Rock and graduated from Pulaski Academy. Andrew Cheney, who plays the “Joseph” character, is also a graduate of the academy.

The movie was made by Watermark Community Church in Dallas and is being distributed by Rick Santorum’s Dallas-based EchoLight Studios. The former presidential candidate became chief executive officer of the studio earlier this year. Seasons of Gray is just one of the films the studio plans to release this year.

The story of Joseph is found in the Book of Genesis. It tells how the favored son was thrown into a well by his jealous brothers and then sold into slavery. He eventually became a slave in Pharaoh’s household and in time became a trusted adviser to the leader. When his brothers came to Egypt to seek food during a famine, instead of shunning them, Joseph forgave them.

Santorum said, “Seasons of Gray is an inspiring story that proves that through the good and bad times in your life, God is with you. Losing everything is what made Joseph who he was. Despite encountering extreme hardships, he remained faithful to God and his family. In the ‘me-centered’ culture in which we live, the film powerfully shares this vital message.”

Santorum, a churchgoing Catholic and former U.S. senator, was in Little Rock in August for a one-time showing. The movie opens Friday at the UA Breckenridge Stadium 12.

For Mano, Seasons of Gray is his first feature film. He majored in cinema studies at Southern Methodist University and started out as a stage hand in college. His movie career grew from there. He said he was drawn to Seasons of Gray through his friendship with Paul Stehlik, a former member of the Watermark staff, and director of the film. Stehlik’s wife, Sarah, wrote the screenplay for the movie.

“It’s a story a lot of people identify with, even if they are not churchgoers,” Mano said. “A lot of people are familiar with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,’’ Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical.

The movie tells the story of Brady Gray (Cheney), who, like Joseph, is his father’s favorite son. His half brothers, jealous of the attention lavished on Brady, kick him off the family ranch and he soon finds himself in one difficult situation after another.

Mano said the movie addresses some of the big questions of life.

“Why do bad things happen to me? Can I have faith in God when I’m going through so much?” he said. “What appealed to me is that Joseph is put in the midst of circumstances and asks, ‘What did I do?’ which is something that’s attainable to everyone.”

Mano said the film team tried to stick closely to the biblical story but didn’t want the movie to be “preachy.” In the beginning stages, he said, they even considered an R-rated version but decided they wanted to appeal to a wider audience, including churchgoers.

“We especially want believers to watch it and be excited about it,” Mano said. “We wanted to call people to be full followers of Christ, but we also wanted to do it well. This is our first feature film so it took a long time trying to wrap our heads around it. It’s been the most difficult task in my life.”

The movie is also the first feature film for Cheney. He said jumping into a lead role on his first movie was a great, and unexpected, opportunity. He said playing the “Joseph” character was a daunting task.

“I knew the story from growing up, knew the man of faith he was and the amazing way God used him,” he said. “To play a character based on Joseph was pretty intimidating.”

Cheney said he spent time imagining what Joseph’s reaction would have been to the trials and tribulations he faced.

“With Brady, I got to explore the anger and frustration and heartache,” he said. “It was exciting and gave me the opportunity to explore.”

Since filming wrapped, Cheney has gone on to participate in three other movies to be released next year and he’s heading to the Philippines to start another project soon.

Information is online at seasonsofgray.com.

Religion, Pages 12 on 10/12/2013

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