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 Pré-production : fait
Dates de tournage : fait
Diffusion : USA en DVD : 28 août 2012
Genre : pour toute la famille
Principaux interprètes
Dean Cain...........................................Sheriff Brody
Gavin Casalegno..................................Gabriel
Elise Baughman...................................Ellen Murphy
Carey Scott.........................................Joe Murphy
John Schneider....................................Doc
Jenn Gotzon.........................................Monroe
Écrit par : Mike Norris & Kacie Hill
Réalisé par : Mike Norris
Tourné au : Texas, États-Unis d'Amérique
Budget : 1 200 000,00 $
L'histoire : C'est sous un soleil cuisant, une terre désolée et une économie dévastée que la petite ville de Promise, au Texas, vit désormais. Depuis les dix dernières années, le Taxas a connu plus que son lot de malchances. La ville est brisée et est en train de mourir, ses habitants commencent à sérieusement désespérer. Lorsqu'un couple découvre un jeune garçon marchant le long d'une route déserte au milieu de nulle part, la seule chose qu'il traîne est un petit matelas sous le bras, ils l'amènent chez eux dans l'espoir de pouvoir l'aider. Ce qu'ils ne comprennent pas est que ce garçon est venu pour les aider eux et les habitants de la ville de Promise. Personne ne sait qui il est ou d'où il vient. Certains croient qu'il est la réponse à leurs prières, d'autres croient que c'est un fugueur ou un faux prophète. La seule chose que le garçon clame haut et fort est qu'il est là pour les aider. Le shérif de la ville, Brody, est déterminer à élucider ce mystère, mais il a lui aussi ses problèmes... il essaie de ressusciter sa communauté mourante. Les miracles abondent et les résidents de Promise acceptent finalement la présence de Gabriel. Cependant, quand la mort s'empare du médecin de la ville, la vérité est finalement exposée. Le garçon se défend avec Brody à ses côtés devant toute la ville, qui croient toujours qu'il est venu pour aider, qu'il ne veut pas faire de mal à personne. Acculé au mur, le garçon doit révéler sa véritable identité.
Trailer du film : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDbF6fmNF5w&feature=youtu.be
Faits intéressants : Page Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/iamGabrielthemovie
Vidéo sur Youtube contenant des scènes du film (Streets of Broken Promise, par Jenna Jentry): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sil-a1eJb4Y&feature=share
Livre disponible sous le titre ''I Am Gabriel'', en vente maintenant
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
Movie miracle: Film shot in Justin to debut in August
Published Friday, July 20, 2012
By Bob Buckel
GABRIEL GETS HIS WINGS – Gavin Casalegno, who turned 12 during the filming of “I Am… Gabriel,”
stands at the frontof a church in a scene shot at Justin’s Country Abbey. Submitted photo
It’s a movie about miracles – and it’s somewhat of a miracle it got made at all.
The fact that it sprang from, and was filmed in Justin fits that scenario perfectly.
“I Am… Gabriel” will be released direct to video on Aug. 28. The 93-minute feature film, directed by Mike Norris, got its start in Mom’s Cafe and was shot here last August over three grueling weeks during the hottest summer in history. Justin residents will find many familiar locations in the film, and may recognize a few neighbors among the extras.
The story involves a young boy found walking alongside a dusty road in rural Texas. He owns nothing but the clothes he’s wearing, and carries nothing but a rolled-up mat tucked under his arm. He wanders into Promise, Texas – a small town where drought and a dying economy have robbed people of hope. The boy has a message, but the people of Promise are slow to listen and slow to pick up on the parallels between what is happening to the town and the condition of their own souls.
The town is divided, but the miracles are hard to deny. In a dramatic ending, the boy is forced to reveal his true identity.
GETTING AROUND – Director Mike Norris, whose dad is action star Chuck Norris, gets a motorcycle
ride from Steven Thompson, co-owner of Mom’s Cafe in Justin, during filming of “I Am… Gabriel”
here last summer. Submitted photo
Norris, the director, is the son of actor Chuck Norris and has directed several movies as well as numerous episodes of his father’s long-running TV series “Walker: Texas Ranger.” Since 2001, he has devoted himself to faith-based films with a message of hope.
Norris got hold of the story when he happened into Mom’s Cafe more than a year ago. He was in town to do some plumbing work for a friend who had just learned that he had cancer. Jan Thompson, who with her husband Steve owns Mom’s Cafe, happened to be looking for a plumber at that time.
“He came up to the cash register,” she said. “I could see he was doing plumbing and I told him I was looking for a plumber. He said, ‘I’m a plumber.’ I asked him, ‘Are you licensed?’ and he said no.”
After a little “chit-chat” – as much a part of Mom’s as the food – Norris ended up asking Thompson if she was a believer in Jesus. She said she was, and he asked her to wait a minute and went to his car.
“He came back with a DVD he had just produced called ‘Maggie’s Passage,’” she said. “I saw his picture on the box and asked him if he was an actor. He said ‘I’m Mike Norris, Chuck Norris’ son.’ That name didn’t mean anything to me. I don’t have a television.”
But when Norris told her he was a director and producer, she told him about a movie she needed to get produced.
“He asked if he could read it,” she said. “He said, ‘It’s a God thing,’ and I put my number in his phone.”
And just like that, the ball was rolling.
SETTING THE SCENE – This old, weathered farmhouse was one of three in Justin that were used in the movie. Submitted photo
STORY BEHIND THE STORY
A year or so earlier, Thompson had been approached by former newspaper publisher Jennifer Villagran, who had a movie idea – a 27-page story a man had brought to her – and wanted to know what she thought about it. Thompson read it, prayed about it, then put it on the back burner. That’s where it was when Norris walked into her cafe.
After calling Villagran to get permission for Norris to read it, Thompson made an appointment for them to visit his home near Flower Mound.
“After he read the first paragraph – maybe the first page – he looked up and said, ‘Let’s make a movie’.” she said. “It touched us.”
To bankroll the production, she and her husband, Villagran and her friend Annalisa Hernandes pooled their savings and formed Heaven’s Promise, LLC. They are all listed as executive producers. With the financial backing in hand, the movie hit the ground running and some well-known Hollywood names signed on for the cast.
Dean Cain, who played Superman in the TV series “Lois and Clark,” and John Schneider, the original Bo Duke in “The Dukes of Hazzard” who played Superman’s dad in the TV series “Smallville,” are in the film along with Elise Baughman, whose TV credits include “Monk” and “Chase;” Carey Scott, who had a role in the movie “Bruce Almighty” and has also worked in TV in “Boston Legal” and “Walker: Texas Ranger;” and Jenn Gotzen, whose credits include the film “Frost/Nixon” and the TV series “Pushing Daisies.”
“We filmed everything within five miles of Justin,” Thompson said. They used three local homes as well as the Country Abbey, and not surprisingly, Mom’s Cafe catered the whole thing.
“John and Dean both said they don’t usually get food that good on a movie set,” she added – the closest “Mom” will come to bragging.
Norris set about turning the 27-page “idea” into a screenplay, with editing help from Kaci Hill and producer Thomas Treml.
STREET SCENE – Director Mike Norris talks to actors Benjamin Dane and Gavin Caselegno during
filming of a street scene in Justin last August. Submitted photo
“Mike was very, very good,” Thompson said. “If a scene wasn’t exactly the way he wanted it to go, he would rewrite it in the middle of shooting. We’d start at 8 or 9 in the morning and work until 2 or 3 a.m. the next morning. It was over 100 degrees every day, all three weeks we were shooting.”
Because of “possible conflicts” Norris declined to be interviewed for this story, but said via email, “I am very proud of the film and hope for great success with it.”
In an interview with Chris Roark of Star Local News last September, Norris spoke of the film and the actors who helped him make it.
“These actors have an established track record,” he said. “John is an icon – he played Bo Duke on a great TV series – and his part is someone who is middle-aged and dying. I thought that would give a different dynamic than if it was an old man who was dying.
“Dean plays the antagonist who has lost his faith. They’re both so professional.”
Norris told Roark that both actors “got it” when it came to the message of faith he wanted the film to convey.
“This is a small town that is dying,” Norris said. “A young boy shows up, and things start to change. Dean’s character only sees the negative, and John’s character only sees the positive. Then there is Carey Scott, who takes everything in and sees the good and the bad. So you see things through three perspectives, and I find that interesting.”
Echo Light Studios signed on to distribute the movie and Thompson said they hope to get it in Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and other video outlets. They licensed it for 10 years, after which Heaven’s Promise LLC can get it back, she said.
“We thought at first it would just be for churches,” Thompson added. In fact, it has been screened at two churches – First Baptist in Justin and at Landmark Ministries, the United Pentecostal Church in Lewisville where the Thompsons are members.
“We’ve been approached by people who want to write a book about it, and I told them they’ll just have to wait,” Thompson said.
“I Am… Gabriel” recently received Dove’s highest quality rating for a Christian film and is recommended for ages 12 and older.
“Tremendous. Fantastic. Inspiring. These are the words that come to mind after screening this wonderful family and faith oriented DVD,” Dove reviewer Edwin L. Carpenter wrote. “Dean Cain and John Schneider give wonderful performances… and Gavin Casalegno is quite good as young Gabriel.
“This movie offers hope for those who are struggling with today’s overwhelming set of life’s problems. How many movies do that? We are more than happy to award our Dove ‘Family-Approved’ Seal to this movie… We award it five Doves, our highest quality rating. It’s really that good.”
If you want to see a trailer, visit www.youtube.com or just drop by Mom’s Cafe. They’ll be happy to show it to you – and after it’s released, don’t be surprised if they have copies for sale at the popular local eatery.
And don’t miss out on the food. It’s not a miracle, but it does come highly recommended.
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