The Christmas movie season arrives this weekend with the theatrical musical epic Journey to Bethlehem. The long-shot project, featuring Antonio Banderas as Herod, which has been a long time in coming was championed by Sony Affirm Senior VP Rich Peluso.

JWK:  How did the idea for a big-budget telling of the Nativity story come about? I think it’s the first time a major studio has done such a film.

Rich Peluso: The idea came about from our director and writer Adam Anders who really had the germ of the idea many years ago. He and his wife have played around with the idea for some time. He went through a few iterations with some writers. We had a look at it a couple of years ago and it just wasn’t quite a fit for us. Adam dove back in and rewrote the script with a writing partner and brought it to us – and I fell in love with it and wanted to make it. That started a very difficult arduous journey within Sony to get it greenlit because, you know, musicals are risky and it’s a Christmas story about the birth of Christ – and Christmas movies have a very short window. So, it had everything against it. It kinda took every bit of political capital that I had to get this project greenlit at Sony.

JWK: What was it about the project that you felt it was worth such a challenge?

RP: We had a story that was harmonious with Scripture that was very emotional and also funny and dramatic…Look, I spent fifteen years in the music business (prior to Sony) and I could recognize in a heartbeat that we had some absolutely amazing pop music numbers that Adam had written with some partners. So, the combination of the choreography that was envisioned, the songs that helped drive the story and the story itself – the birth of Christ and Jesus proclaimed as the Son of God and Messiah – was undeniable. It was a great project for us to put our weight behind.

JWK: What makes a movie right for Sony Affirm?

RP: That’s a great question, John. I’m not sure how to answer it because a lot of it is a collection – or an aggregation – of ideas and gut (feelings)…It’s  sort of like asking someone to describe how to ride a bike. It’s really hard describe it. You sort of get on it and figure it it out. We look for  really emotional stories that can really sustain an audience for a couple of hours, that are big and broad enough to work in the theatrical environment versus watching it on a streamer. We look for messages and themes that can inspire, uplift and kind of really impact audience both domestically and internationally.

JWK: Why do you think people are so consistently into Christmas movies? They do have a wide appeal, don’t they?

RP: They do. I think part of it is that the Thanksgiving and Christmas season – which we’ll call the Holiday Season – is a time where families come together. You have your cousins, your nephews, your nieces, your siblings. There are big gatherings of families over two periods of time and, quite frankly, there’s a desire to go do something together. I think traditionally during the season going out to have lunch watching a matinee or going out to dinner and watching a movie together is a great family social gathering. The challenge, of course, is finding something that is watchable for the whole family. Certainly, you can go out and find a great animated kids movie but that doesn’t make the 20, 30, 40-year-olds excited. You can go out and (see) a family drama and the kids’ eyes are glazing over.

So, when you find movies like Journey to Bethlehem where you have drama, adventure and thrills but also humor, music and emotion there is something for everybody. I think during that season people are looking for destination events. That’s why driving out and looking at Christmas lights or going to a live theatrical play or a concert are things that are very popular during this time when families get together.

JWK: What was it like working with this cast?

RP: The cast was very, very purposeful and professional. I think more so than a lot of other movies that we’ve produced because of, I think, the source material. Yes, it’s a family film and there are some fun moments but there is also very important storytelling that is cherished by a very large population around the world. It’s a story central to the Christian faith. So, I think our actors were very sober about the story and about the source material. There was a lot of collaboration and a lot of discussion about how to portray certain scenes and characters to honor the story but also to bring it to life because when you go into the source material – into Scripture – there are (only) two books of The Bible with a couple chapters that cover this amazing story.

As our director (Adam Anders) said Journey to Bethlehem spends a lot of time in the in-betweens – in between those verses. Yes, we know how Joseph (Milo Manheim) reacted when he heard that Mary (Fiona Palomo) was pregnant. He didn’t believe her. He was concerned – but what did his mom think? What did his dad think? You know, we’re diving into these things and I think our actors brought so much value to how they represented those characters. It was very much a collegial (atmosphere) working together with them (as well as) our producers and our director.

JWK: You’ve led Sony Affirm since 2007. How has the experience of doing faith-themed projects for all these years affected your own faith or view of life?

RP: It has impacted me. Before I came to Affirm Films and Sony Pictures I spent fifteen years at EMI Christian Music Group helping to find and develop music artists. I was always amazed then at the power of music and song to impact people’s hearts and minds. So, going into the film space was almost like taking that do another level because, if you go look in Scripture, Jesus was even asked by His disciples why he always told stories. Jesus taught in stories. If the Creator of the Universe uses stories as a tool to communicate with people about the Kingdom of God and about what it is to be human in this world and have faith, that was a pretty good model for me to chase.

So, it has impacted me most by seeing the results these movies. We’ve produced over 65 movies. Talking to people, meeting people, hearing from people whose lives have changed, who have become focused on becoming better fathers, husbands, friends or parents or kids, those things have very much shaped me during this journey.

JWK: Journey to Bethlehem kind of pulls your music executive experience and your movie industry experience together, doesn’t it?

RP: Yes, it certainly does. As I mentioned, we’ve produced over 65 films and television series over these many years. This is the very first musical that we’ve done and I was kind of intimidated by it. I was concerned because, while I have experience in producing and developing films, I just was not experienced in (putting my film and music experience) together into a musical film. Fortunately, I had a couple of producers that had done another musical and I had a director and writer that was very experienced in the music world. One of the things that excited me the most was the opportunity for me to learn a new part of this business. So, I went in kind of as a student – but bringing my experiences and expertise as well. It was great joy to bring two of my great vocational loves – which are music and film – together.

JWK: I take it you’re happy with the final product.

RP: Very happy! We’ve shown it to test audiences and screened it for leaders and groups – and it’s very beloved. It’s a wonderful experience to see people experiencing it.

JWK: So, a future classic?

RP: I hope so! One of the things we are most excited about is that it is a very accessible story about the birth of Jesus. A lot of people don’t know much of the details…So, this is a great film for believers that maybe have friends that aren’t. It’s a very nonthreatening way to talk about the birth of Christ. Inviting someone to church or to a small group Bible study can be very intimidating for both parties – but no one feels threatened going to a movie and this is one that will entertain and inspire them and also, I think, expose them to parts of the story that they don’t know.

Note: For find a local theater playing Journey to Bethlehem and to purchase tickets (and/or participate in the studio’s Gift of Giving program to purchase tickets for others) click here.
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From Haaretz: Eretz Nehederet, Israel’s version of Saturday Night Live, aired this skit spoofing pro-Palestinian progressives on American college campuses.

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Stats to remember on Veterans Day 2023

• Total number of veterans with VA service connected disabilities: 5,417,012

• Total number of homeless veterans: 67,495

• Veterans comprise 10.6% of all homeless in the U.S.

• Veterans are more than 2x as likely to become homeless than those who didn’t serve in the military
• In 2023, more than 1,000,000 veterans live in poverty (defined as living at or below the DOL and HHS poverty line)

From Vice: A study in Canada published August 29 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that lump sum payments of $7,500 reduced the number of days that recipients were unstably housed by 99 days, did not lead to an increase of spending on drugs or alcohol, and created net savings of $777 per person per year from reduced number of days in a homeless shelter. 

IMHO: It’s time to consider bold and innovation measures to repay America’s moral debt to its military veterans and, indeed, help all homeless people.

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11