Ten years ago, when Seong-ho ‘Jay’ Jang, began the process of writing, producing and directing ‘The King of Kings’, he didn’t envision it would feature a star-studded cast, and ready to premiere in over 50 countries globally.
It was a father’s effort at introducing his two children to one of the greatest storyteller, Charles Dickens and to Jesus Christ, the only son of God.
“My two teenagers in university, you know how teenagers are, were too preoccupied to listen to me talk about Jesus and Dickens, so, I chose to animate it for them to watch.”
A respected visual and special effects (CGI) in South Korea, Jang has been in the VFX business for the past 30 years. He brings this experience to the production, which featured over 250 Korean VFX experts, and Thailand, with sound mixing done in Australia.
“As a Christian, I wanted to create an animation that will tell people who Jesus is, what Jesus did, and what He is all about.”
However, he was also aware that many of the Christian films out there are not interesting or entertaining, hence their unwillingness to watch it.
“If I want people to watch my movie, it must be interesting and entertaining. Having world famous actors (Hollywood stars) voice the characters would make it interesting, and ensure that it reaches every part of the world, not just Korea,” said Jang in an interview with Sarah Holloway.
Besides sourcing funding for the production, Jang said ensuring viewers, regardless of their religion to connect with the movie, was another challenge. It was all a miraculous feat.
“Now that ‘The King of Kings’ is set to premiere April 11 in the US, it is a miracle. It was a miracle that we connected with our partner Angel Studio, now the film will be released in theatres in many countries across the world,” said Jang who consulted his pastor, alongside other pastors and ministers for authentication.
The King of Kings is written, produced and directed by Seong-Ho Jay Jang, distributed globally by Angel Studios and packs a star-studded cast Kenneth Branagh as Charles Dickens, Uma Thurman as Catherine Dickens, Pierce Brosnan as Pontius Pilate, Mark Hamill as King Herod, Forest Whitaker as Peter, Ben Kingsley as High Priest Caiaphas, and Oscar Isaac as Jesus Christ.
Speaking of the film, actor Pierce Brosnan who plays Pontius Pilate, said, “I am sure it’ll touch many peoples’ hearts.”
“I am sure they will see Charles Dickens in a different light after seeing this story,” added Holloway who’d been privy to a preview release of the film.
Set to release in US theatres on April 11, ‘The King of Kings’ has grossed $7.8m in pre-ticket sales at the Box Office.
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