{"id":5291,"date":"2014-07-01T09:01:45","date_gmt":"2014-07-01T13:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=5291"},"modified":"2014-07-01T09:01:45","modified_gmt":"2014-07-01T13:01:45","slug":"first-look-alcon-entertainment-picks-up-feature-hillsong-let-hope-rise-to-be-released-worldwide-by-warner-bros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2014\/07\/first-look-alcon-entertainment-picks-up-feature-hillsong-let-hope-rise-to-be-released-worldwide-by-warner-bros.html","title":{"rendered":"First look: Alcon Entertainment picks up feature “Hillsong – Let Hope Rise” to be released worldwide by Warner Bros."},"content":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OwZvAejhfZA<\/a>\n

You heard it hear first. <\/strong>Alcon Entertainment has acquired Hillsong – Let Hope Rise<\/em> for worldwide release by Warner Bros. Pictures, it was announced today (7\/1)\u00a0 by Alcon principals Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.<\/p>\n

Directed by Michael John Warren (Jay-Z\u2019s Fade to Black<\/em>), the full-length feature documentary chronicles the spectacular rise to prominence of the Australia-based Christian worship band Hillsong UNITED. Matthew Weaver of MediaWeaver Entertainment and Jonathan Bock of Grace Hill Media are producing. B. Wayne Hughes, Jr. and Greg Campbell of Cantinas Entertainment, which is financing the feature, are executive producing. Warner Bros. Pictures will release the film on April 3, 2015.<\/p>\n

The movie will follow the band\u2019s journey from a youth group band at Hillsong Church to becoming worldwide sensation that has sold over 16 million albums all over the world and routinely performs its music to sold-out stadium crowds. It’s estimated that on any given Sunday more than 30 million churchgoers around the world are singing one of Hillsong\u2019s worship songs.<\/p>\n

In a joint statement, Kosove and Johnson said \u201cIn terms of reach, Hillsong UNITED is one of the biggest bands out there, Christian or otherwise. But at their core, they\u2019re just a group of unassuming individuals impacting the world with their music. We\u2019re thrilled to be part of bringing their extraordinary story to the big screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith songs like Mighty to Save, Oceans, Hosanna <\/em>and From the Inside Out<\/em>, anyone who regularly attends a church knows Hillsong\u2019s music by heart. That\u2019s how influential they\u2019ve become,\u201d Bock said. \u201cAnd yet despite the fame and adulation, they\u2019re still just a simple worship band trying to do what tens of thousands of other worship bands try to do every week — glorify God through their music. How they balance that is a fascinating and surprising story.\u201d<\/p>\n

The filmmakers will follow the band as it completes its current tour and prepares to record its next album. The film will marry live concert footage with a narrative structure.<\/p>\n

Led by Joel Houston, son of Hillsong Church founders Brian and Bobbie Houston, all of Hillsong UNITED\u2019s 11-member band are volunteers or employees of the church. \u201cIt\u2019s a little weird and a lot humbling to have a movie made about us,\u201d Joel Houston said. \u201cBut we didn\u2019t say \u2018yes\u2019 to this to draw attention to ourselves. It\u2019s our hope that by sharing an up-close and unvarnished look inside our music and lives, we can shatter pre-conceived notions of what it means to follow Jesus in today\u2019s modern world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hillsong Church spans 12 global locations with more than 100,000 weekly attendees, including thriving congregations in New York and Los Angeles. In addition to its music efforts, Hillsong sponsors worldwide ministry work which includes feeding and educating children in the slums of India, building housing for those living with AIDS in Africa and rescuing victims of human trafficking around the globe. The outreaches are paid for, in part, through proceeds from Hillsong UNITED music and merchandise sales<\/p>\n

Encourage one another and build each other up \u2013 <\/em>1 Thessalonians 5:11<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture. You heard it hear first. Alcon Entertainment has acquired Hillsong – Let Hope Rise for worldwide release by Warner Bros. Pictures, it was announced today (7\/1)\u00a0 by Alcon principals Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Directed by Michael John Warren (Jay-Z\u2019s Fade to Black), the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13,1591,4338,24,25],"tags":[6979,35,6978,6980,6987,6990,6345,6984,6989,6988,6985,6981,6982,6983,6986,966],"class_list":["post-5291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-family-matters","category-good-works","category-human-trafficking","category-movies","category-music","tag-hillsong-let-hope-rise","tag-1-thessalonians-511","tag-alcon-entertainment","tag-andrew-kosove-and-broderick-johnson","tag-b-wayne-hughes","tag-hillsong-church-founders-brian-and-bobbie-houston","tag-hillsong-united","tag-hosanna-and-from-the-inside-out","tag-joel-houston","tag-jr-and-greg-campbell-of-cantinas-entertainment","tag-matthew-weaver-of-mediaweaver-entertainment","tag-michael-john-warren-jay-zs-fade-to-black","tag-mighty-to-save","tag-oceans","tag-onathan-bock-of-grace-hill-media","tag-warner-bros"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst look: Alcon Entertainment picks up feature "Hillsong - Let Hope Rise" to be released worldwide by Warner Bros.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2014\/07\/first-look-alcon-entertainment-picks-up-feature-hillsong-let-hope-rise-to-be-released-worldwide-by-warner-bros.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First look: Alcon Entertainment picks up feature "Hillsong - Let Hope Rise" to be released worldwide by Warner Bros.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture. 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Alcon Entertainment has acquired Hillsong – Let Hope Rise for worldwide release by Warner Bros. Pictures, it was announced today (7\/1)\u00a0 by Alcon principals Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Directed by Michael John Warren (Jay-Z\u2019s Fade to Black), the…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2014\/07\/first-look-alcon-entertainment-picks-up-feature-hillsong-let-hope-rise-to-be-released-worldwide-by-warner-bros.html","og_site_name":"Faith, Media & Culture","article_published_time":"2014-07-01T13:01:45+00:00","author":"John W. 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Kennedy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2","name":"John W. Kennedy","description":"John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment\u2122, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God. Current projects include \"Bryant Park\" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and \"Photo Finish\" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series \"Ben 10\", \"Ben 10: Alien Force\", \"Ben 10: Ultimate Alien\", \"Ben 10: Omniverse\" and \"Generator Rex\" among others. He also writes Beliefnet\u2019s \"Faith, Media & Culture\" blog. Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM. Specialties: Script Writing, Movie\/TV Novelizations & Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows. He can be reached for writing, producing and consulting services at 516-640-1182.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/author\/jkennedy"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5292,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5291\/revisions\/5292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}