Theaters are being taken by storm in the midst of a storm. As Judge Brett Kavanaugh is experiencing a tsunami of interrogations and accusations in an attempt to delay or keep him from reaching the Supreme Court, independent movie makers are busy bringing culture-shifting movies to the big screen.
While Democrats and pro-abortion activists deliver one sucker punch after another, all rabid efforts to keep their cherished Roe v. Wade decision from being overturned, something else is happening – a determined commitment to present truth through film.
Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer and Roe v Wade were both highlighted on The Stand earlier this summer. The Gosnell release date is October 12, and Roe v. Wade is now slated to be in theatres in early 2019.
And there’s another! A big one!
The powerful story of former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson’s conversion, after witnessing an ultrasound-guided abortion, is set to release in the spring of 2019. Unplanned the movie is directed by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, writers of God’s Not Dead, which earned $60.8 million on a $2 million budget. It’s produced by Daryl Lefever, who also produced I Can Only Imagine, a faith-based film that earned $83.4 million on a $7 million budget. I think we can expect big numbers on Unplanned as well.
These three movies in somewhat rapid succession have the potential to bring a massive tidal wave of change to the hearts and minds of Americans, including “pro-lifers” who have grown lazily content with the status quo.
In a survey of 1,100 adults in June 2017 by the American Culture and Faith Institute, one-quarter of self-identified pro-lifers said abortions should be legal if the in utero baby is less than one month old. And nearly a quarter of those who claim to be pro-life believe abortions should be legal in all or most circumstances.
“In spite of the fact that they call themselves ‘pro-life,’” explained ACFI executive director George Barna, “[and] they say that they wouldn’t have an abortion, or advise somebody to have an abortion, they think that everybody should have the right to choose.”
“But no matter which side you come down on, there’s a big chunk of this movie that will make you uncomfortable, because Abby has been pro-choice and pro-life,” said Konzelman.
In May 2018, I attended the set of Unplanned and was amazed by the evidence of God at work during the casting and filming. For instance, the young actress playing Johnson, Ashley Bratcher, learned just days before she began filming she was, in a sense, an abortion survivor. Her mother was waiting in the surgical suite of an abortion clinic, changed her mind and left moments before Ashley’s life was lost.
As a result, Bratcher’s real-life mother was given a small role in the film and literally received forgiveness and healing during its filming. “She let go,” said Solomon. “And that’s what we want. I want to make it very clear. We are not pointing fingers at anyone. This is not a condemnation movie…It’s about forgiveness, it’s about redemption.”
And it’s about the truth. “Babies are being murdered en masse,” Solomon said. “These facilities are concentration camps. We’re saying, fight for the women who have gone through this.” –women like Abby Johnson, who bought the lie, had multiple abortions herself and believed she was helping women.
The filmmakers filmed under the name “Redeemed” to shake off pro-abortion detractors – certainly understandable after the ardent reaction during the filming of Gosnell and Roe v. Wade.
Solomon explained that during the process, “I suddenly realized we were taking on Goliath.”
Solomon and Konzelman know they are facing a malicious giant as the news of Unplanned reaches the mainstream media. But they will not back down – putting on display for all to see the true story of a driven, lost, and confused woman facing reality and dedicating her life to helping others follow suit.
Unplanned is a voice of truth shining through a dark and volatile culture.
