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RATING: PG
RELEASE DATE: October 19, 2007
GENRE: Animation
STARRING: Ben Kingsley, Christian Slater, Alfred Molina and Elliot Gould
DIRECTORS: Bill Boyce and John Stronach
PRODUCERS: Cindy Bond, John Stronach and Trevor Yaxley
WRITERS: Ed Naha
DISTRIBUTOR: Promenade Pictures
CBN.com – Producer Cindy Bond says The Ten Commandments is, "a story about faith and love and deliverance..."
The idea was to make a 'Ten Commandments' that had never been made before. She's also said that this movie crosses over to many faiths and many cultures – it has something for everybody.
The Ten Commandments, by Promenade Pictures opens Oct. 19, 2007 on 700 screens in cities where faith-based movies do best. On the Web site, there are listings of where the movie is showing.
If it is not showing in your area, call your local theater managers and ask them to show it. On www.Godtube.com (one of the fastest growing Web sites) people can buy individual and group tickets for the movie.
Promenade Pictures chose the Ten Commandments as their first offering because it is one of the most famous and epic stories in the Bible. It is different from The Prince of Egypt because it tells the whole story from Moses as a baby to when the Hebrews go into the Promised Land.
The Ten Commandments is not dark and heavy; it is a kid-friendly movie and more scripturally accurate and unique. It has big production values.
Some of the celebrity voices they have are Christian Slater (Moses), Alfred Molina (Ramses), Elliott Gould (God), and Ben Kingsley (Narrator).
The Moses that is portrayed in The Ten Commandments is an ordinary man – relatable – relevant today. This story shows how God can use you, how He loves you, and how God can set you free from bondages. It's a story of humility and our humanity, and it's a pride buster.
God talked to Moses because he was the humblest man on earth. The Bible is used as the foundation for the film. Moms love this version of The Ten Commandments. It's 88 minutes and it moves.
Cindy has a great appreciation of Cecil B. DeMille movies because they were epic in their narrative. She wants the movie to inspire others and to spark revival in churches. The media is the most powerful tool in the world to influence hearts and minds for God. Cindy says that so far, they have been humbly blessed by the positive feedback on the movie.
Cindy wants to spark interest and introduce Bible stories to the younger generation who may not have heard the stories and renew interest in those who do know the stories. She wants to energize people to pick up the Bible and reread the story – these are true hero journeys. Also, on the one hand, everyone needs to remember the Ten Commandments as they are the backbone of our society and are the foundation for strong moral character (there was a survey taken, and it found that less than half of people could name the Ten Commandments). On the other hand though; everyone needs to know that God brought these Commandments into our world to show us we're not perfect and are therefore in need of a Savior.
Promenade Pictures is now working on Noah's Ark: The New Beginning and David and Goliath – 12 movies in all – and wants to make more in The Epic Stories of the Bible series, beyond twelve.
A NEW KIND OF MOVIE COMPANY
Promenade Pictures has put their company in God's hands and are making high quality, entertaining movies with good seed. They want to be an independent Buena Vista (old Disney), and a company focused on family and Judeo-Christian values. The company started in 2002 with Cindy, Frank Yablans (co-founder of Buena Vista), Ron Booth, and Charlie Gay. They all had vision and the same heart. They are a live action and animation company. Some other movies in the works are "Gideon's Gift" based on Karen Kingsbury novel and also a movie about Salvation Army founder William Booth.
The company worked really hard under the radar to build a slate of projects. CEO Frank Yablans didn't want any press releases until they had a good slate of projects. It took them three years to do The Ten Commandments, and they are halfway through production on Noah's Ark, which is slated to release early 2009.
They make movies contrary to Hollywood's system – they do their projects cost effectively and strategically. Promenade is building a brand – a family company with a Judeo-Christian worldview. They want to get consumers to trust them. Cindy analyzed the marketplace as a consumer. Cindy says Hollywood doesn't make nearly enough family films with good messages to fill the appetite in the marketplace.
CINDY'S STORY
Cindy was saved when she was seven at a Billy Graham Crusade. She was raised in a Christian home by her grandparents. In college, she majored in business and drama, and was even playing golf.
She was being groomed to be a pro-golfer, but while on tour met her would-be husband, Steve. She opted to get married instead of being a pro-golfer and turned to modeling and acting.
From there, in the late 1980s, she started her production career when she became the producer for a play she was in. She paid her dues for many years and worked on various productions in Hollywood while keeping her faith in God.
Cindy says Hollywood is a challenging place to be – it challenges your values because it is very carnal and worldly. There were many times when she was offered projects that went against her values, but she would pass on them. She has loved the Lord since she was a young child and has tried to follow His will in order to make the right choices for her life.
She has worked hard to stick to her values and faith throughout her career, and has tried her best to follow the priorities of God, family, and work. She has struggled at times to keep these priorities in the right order.
Cindy doesn't want to jeopardize God's work. She found that every time she stood her ground, God would bless her or her business partners. She's dealt with all the obstacles – a lot more obstacles in the industry. The media is the biggest blessing or curse and can be use positively or negatively.
Cindy believes that the media is the fulfillment of the end times – Christians need to produce high quality programs and plant seeds – we are the planters. Cindy struggled and paid her dues, followed God's statutes and held on to the Biblical passage of Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good to those who love Christ Jesus," and learned patience.
She believes God's timing is perfect - she is living her dream. Though she has worked in the entertainment industry for over twenty years, she believes she needed the time to go through all the ups and downs in order to learn the ins and outs of the industry and eventually meet and work with Frank Yablans (one of only a few conservatives to ever run a motion picture studio except for Walt Disney.)
She believes God blessed her with the most amazing mentor in Frank for the past five years because he shared her vision and respected her values. She believes her partnership with Frank, Ron, and Charlie and the emergence of Promenade Pictures is God's will and direct fulfillment of Romans 8:28. Cindy says one of the things she knows is God is always there in your journey, and it's important to treat others the way you would have them treat you.
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