Comment

Billy

the Early Years of BIlly Graham
Sam_I_Am
Jun 24, 2011Sam_I_Am rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
"We wanted to make . . . a film that would appeal to everyone. Not a film . . . that's a lecture, or a docu-drama," says Director Robby Benson, in the movie's "The Making of Billy" special feature. It took a 3-month search to find Armie Hammer, the actor for the title role. He watched a lot of footage and did a lot of study to play the role, and was especially influenced by watching Billy Graham's interview with Woody Allen, on YouTube. Stephanie Butler shines as Billy's wife, Ruth. Martin Landau plays the elder Charles Templeton, Billy's evangelist friend-turned-agnostic. Jennifer O'Neill is the reporter who interviews him. Billy's Mom: Lindsay Wagoner. Country music singer Josh Turner plays George Beverly Shea, who was with Billy for over 60 years. First song of the credits: "Amazing Love," sung by Michael W. Smith and Melinda Doolittle. And--I didn't notice him at first because he wasn't wearing his ice skates or doing back-flips--but there's a cameo appearance by the lovable Scott Hamilton. Quote from the movie are in--you guessed it--"quotes." The video is the trailer of the final cut of the movie. The movie is based on the book, "Billy: The Untold Story" by the film's producer, William McKay. McKay says he got the idea while in an airplane, out of the blue: " . . . an idea literally sliced right through my mind: 'Billy: The Young Years." There are two problems with this movie. First, parts are fictionalized, and they didn't do an optional commentary as a special feature explaining where. Second, the movies PG rating is due to graphic images of violence; details are under "Notices."