The Word of Promise: New Testament Audio Bible came from the mind of Carl Amari, CEO of Falcon Picture Group. Amari, who had worked with Jim Caviezel on the 2004 film “Madison,” brought Jim on board to play the lead role of Jesus Christ and to co-produce the project with New York Times Best selling author and broadcast journalist, Raymond Arroyo, (as well as Amari). A mega-talented group of Hollywood actors join Caviezel on the project. The cast includes:
- Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss (“Mr. Holland’s Opus,” “The Goodbye Girl”) – Moses
- Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei (“My Cousin Vinny,” “What Women Want”) - Mary Magdalene
- Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Lou Gossett, Jr. (“An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Roots”) – John
- Chris McDonald (“Happy Gilmore,” “Quiz Show”) – Luke
- Ernie Hudson (“Miss Congeniality,” “Ghostbusters”) – Peter
- Golden Globe winner Stacy Keach (“Prison Break,” “Hemingway”) – Paul
- Golden Globe and Tony Award nominee, Lou Diamond Phillips (“La Bamba,” “Young Guns”) – Mark
- Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ,” “Déjà vu”) – Jesus
- John Heard (“Prison Break,” “Home Alone”) – Matthew
- John Schneider (“Smallville,” “Dukes of Hazzard”) – James
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley (“According to Jim,” “Father of the Bride”) - Mary, Mother of Jesus
- Luke Perry (“Beverly Hills 90210,” “Jeremiah”) - Judas & Stephen
- Michael York (“Romeo & Juliet,” “Austin Powers”) – Narrator
- Terence Stamp (“Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” “Superman II”) – Voice of God
Complete with an original music score by Italian composer Stefano Mainetti (Abba Pater) The Word of Promise promises to bring the Bible to life for a new generation. The music of Dove and Grammy Award winner Michael W. Smith will also be heard on the project.
In a press release, Wayne Hastings, Sr. Vice President and Group Publisher for the Bible Group at Thomas Nelson, Inc., said, “The talent represented on The Word of Promise: New Testament Audio Bible is amazing. The vocal and music talents, combined with the highest level production value, has resulted in a powerful presentation that will take listeners on an incredible journey through the story of the New Testament.”
The planned follow-up to the New Testament is the Old Testament, a 60-hour, 50-CD audio production with Richard Dreyfuss, Michael York and Terence Stamp already on-board to reprise their New Testament roles. Many other Hollywood actors have expressed interest in joining the cast, including Jason Alexander of “Seinfeld” and Eric Bogosian of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
