RALEIGH, N.C. — Robby Benson knows how it sounds. But his reason for making a movie about the life of a young Billy Graham, the director said, is simple: "I wanted to make a movie about goodness.”
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"Billy: The Early Years” focuses on Graham’s life as a teenager growing up on a dairy farm in Charlotte through his years as a young man, when he became a super-evangelist, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to his preaching tour "crusades.”
"It’s just a love story to Billy,” Benson said. "And it’s also a love story to trying to do the right thing, just trying your best to be decent and not hurt others and add to the planet.”
Benson, 52, believes this film will appeal now to "anyone, any faith, any skin color,” and also has a decades-long shelf life.
The ailing Graham today rarely leaves his home in rural Montreat, a small town in the Blue Ridge mountains of western North Carolina. His wife, Ruth Bell Graham, died last year. The 89-year-old himself has a variety of health problems.
But producer Larry Mortorff, who met with Graham after the movie was finished, described the evangelist as "as very alert. His mind is as clear as anything. He’s just weak. But he just pierces you with those blue eyes.”
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Where has Benson been all these years? His breakout role was One on One but he just didn't gain wide popularity. I'm looking forward to catching his directorial efforts as it looks like it will at least be entertaining.
Sparky (Mark), Oklahoma City - Oct 9, 2008 at 7:40 am
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In theaters
The movie premieres in theaters Friday in more than a dozen Southern states. The opening follows special screenings held at about 50 churches across the South.
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