The C.S. Lewis biopic, \u201cThe Most Reluctant Convert,\u201d debuted on the big screen on Nov. 3. The film follows C.S. Lewis\u2019 turbulent journey from an adamant atheist to a passionate Christian who became one of the most prominent Christian authors of the century.<\/p>\n
Max McLean, founder and director of the Fellowship for Performing Arts, stars in the biopic as the famed author C.S. Lewis. McLean spoke of his first significant encounter with the works of C.S. Lewis in an interview with \u201cThe Christian Post.\u201d Shortly after McLean converted to Christianity at age 23, he received a copy of Lewis\u2019 novel \u201c1942\u201d. The book\u2019s plot consists of a devil instructing his nephew, \u201cWormwood,\u201d on how to tempt and lead astray Christians.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I read one page, and I said, \u2018I know this guy. This guy has been in my life for a long time, and now he was exposed.\u2019 And the way Lewis exposed him, he made spiritual warfare very real,\u201d the 68-year-old actor recalled of C.S. Lewis, \u201cBeing an adult convert, you bring a lot of doubts and baggage with you because belief is hard. People that are raised in a faith, their souls, their conscience are formed. That belief becomes an integrated part of who they are. An adult convert has to undo so much. And Lewis had the same experience. So, he just helped guide my way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Christian artistic director spent most of his career delving into C.S. Lewis\u2019 life journey and literature. Being a seasoned theater actor, McLean reprised Lewis\u2019 novels for theater adaptions ranging from \u201cThe Great Divorce\u201d to \u201cThe Screwtape Letters\u201d. McLean\u2019s most recent adaptation was Lewis\u2019 autobiography, \u201cSurprised by Joy,\u201d which the New York native turned into a theater play called \u201cC.S. Lewis on Stage: The Most Reluctant Convert.\u201d<\/p>\n
The successful play was then turned into an official biopic to honor the story of the late, influential Christian author. McLean prepared for the vital role of C.S. Lewis by conducting extensive research on every single part of the author\u2019s life. In addition, the dedicated actor memorized hours of his quotes to capture his essence truly.<\/p>\n
\u201cLewis lost his mother at nine years old to cancer, had a terrible relationship with his father. He saw the brutality of World War I, the butchery of it. And he came to the conclusion as a result of that, either there\u2019s no God behind the universe, a god indifferent to good and evil, or worse, an evil god. So that was his starting point.\u201d McLean explained Lewis\u2019 difficult upbringing.<\/p>\n
Due to its immense popularity and demand, the film\u2019s distributors announced that the movie would have more theater showings through Nov. 18 all over the country. The movie already generated box office sales of over $1.2 million.<\/p>\n
The highly anticipated movie will also have special premiere events in theaters in the United Kingdom where the movie was filmed. Filming spanned across 18 different locations in and near Oxford, England, where Lewis resided as an English Literature teacher. Those set locations included his former residence, The Kilns, where he created his famous Narnia books and his college, Magdalen.<\/p>\n
Even after his passing in 1963, C.S. Lewis is still one of the most illustrious Christian authors in the world. McLean expressed that he hopes that the audience \u201csees the God that Lewis sees\u201d in \u201cThe Most Reluctant Convert.\u201d He said that Lewis\u2019 story shows that views and doubts people have against Christianity all have rebuttals that can open their minds and hearts to the love of Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The film, \u201cThe Most Reluctant Convert\u201d follows the former atheist who became one of the most prominent Christian authors of the century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":642,"featured_media":17874,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3957],"tags":[5052,5055,3646,2059,5061,5058,1291,2067],"class_list":["post-17865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-movies","tag-biopic","tag-c-s-lewis-author","tag-christian-author","tag-christian-movie","tag-literature","tag-mclean","tag-movie","tag-new-movie"],"yoast_head":"\n