Roma Downey

Well, it’s that time again – AD: The Bible Continues has come to cash in on a recent trend of religiously themed films and TV shows. Sorry, no, to tell that second, much more easily digestible part of the scripture. Brought to you by the familiar husband/wife duo of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, The Bible Continues is the sequel to their successful History Channel miniseries The Bible, AD will feature one important change – a much more diverse cast.

Sat down with @MarkBurnettTV & @RealRomaDowney to talk about their epic project, "AD The Bible Continues" #StayTuned pic.twitter.com/FPlzMk6KgH

— Lance West (@lancewest) March 18, 2015

Continue reading: On Premiere Night, The Creators Of "AD: The Bible Continues" Emphasise Diversity

'Son of God' sets itself a near-impossible task – making the story of the New Testament appealing to a new generation. A generation of people, who have smartphones, Google and gingerbread lattes – therein lies the issue. Producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey (behind History Channel's hit miniseries The Bible, which achieved record ratings last year) told USA Today that the challenge was in creating a gritty and realistic version of the story that would appeal to an over-stimulated audience.

Another movie attempting to make the Bible story more accessible?

"We've seen enough of those movies as kids — the 'donkeys and sandals' movies — that we wanted to create a cast of characters that felt gritty, realistic and authentic, and didn't look like they'd just stepped out of the dry cleaners," Downey says of the film, which features a mix of footage from The Bible and new material.

Continue reading: Could Bible-Inspired 'Son Of God' Be Surprise Contender For Weekend Box Office?

After the rather surprising success of NBC's miniseries The Bible this year, the television adaptation of the story of Jesus Christ will be turned into a feature-length movie, rendering Christopher Spencer's biblical movie more accessible to viewers around the world.

Diogo Morgado Is The Son Of God In 'Son Of God.'

Son of God will feature the original scenes shown in The Bible miniseries, with some deleted scenes that were not originally featured in the telecast, reports Variety. Producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey reportedly struck a deal with 20th Century Fox to distribute their feature film which will be edited down from the original 10 hour series to 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Continue reading: 'Son Of God' - 'The Bible' Series Transformed Into Feature-Length Epic [Trailer + Pictures]

No, another installation to the millennia-old work hasn't been commissioned by God himself; this is the sequel to this year's extremely successful TV miniseries The Bible, based on the good book itself. NBC has announced that the sequel A.D.: Beyond The Bible will start where The Bible left off: a few days after Jesus Christ's death. The series will again be produced by husband and wife Mark Burnett (The Voice, Celebrity Apprentice) and Roma Downey, with Downey potentially reprising her role as Mary Mother of Christ and Darwin Shaw could be recast as Peter, as reported by the Associated Press.

Producer Roma Downey Will Work On The Sequel To The Bible.

Where The Bible told stories of Noah, Abraham and Jesus up to his resurrection, the sequel will follow the embryonic growth of Christianity in the aftermath of Christ. Bob Greenblatt, NBC's chairman, spoke of the upcoming sequel in a statement: "I followed the development process of 'The Bible' closely with Mark and knew that the story was far from over after Christ's Crucifixion...what happened in the aftermath - which is essentially the beginning of Christianity - is utterly fascinating. The day after The Bible premiered, I told Mark we were on board with no hesitation for the follow-up miniseries. This will be attention-getting in every way, and we're proud to continue our association with Mark which has just grown exponentially from The Voice."

Continue reading: A Second Coming? The Bible TV Series Set For Sequel

Mark Burnett's miniseries The Bible will have a sequel. A.D. Beyond The Bible will be set in the days following Jesus' death.

The Bible aired over Easter on the History Channel and attracted around 13.1 million viewers for its premiere. The finale on Easter Sunday attracted 11.7 million. It has gone on to become, on DVD, the top selling miniseries of all time, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Mark Burnett at The Kaleidoscope Ball, L.A. in April 2013.

Continue reading: 'The Bible' Sequel Confirmed: NBC Will Air 'A.D. Beyond The Bible'

Frank Ocean at the TIME 100 Gala in New York 

It was the annual TIME 100 Gala on Tuesday night (April 23rd 2013) celebrating this year's most influential faces from world leaders to movie stars and the red carpet was full of stars waiting to congratulate the 2013 list.

Grammy winning superstar Christina Aguilera dazzled at Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York looking classy and much trimmer than she has been in recent months and making the TIME'S 100 Most Influential People In The World list in the Artists category. She was joined by 2013 Grammy and BRIT artist Frank Ocean who has dominated the R&B industry with his spectacular debut album 'Channel Orange' and his rather inspiring love life confessions. Talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon (of 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon') and Jimmy Kimmel (of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!') were also present, as was 'Breaking Bad' star Bryan Cranston whose crime drama has won him a Primetime Emmy. Lena Dunham landed a place in the Icons category for her comedy show 'Girls' which has won her a Golden Globe. Other honourees included Perry Chen, the founder of Kickstarter - a creative project fund-raising website, who reached the Pioneers list, and fashion designer Michael Kors who hit the list of influential Titans of the world.

Continue reading: Lena Dunham And Frank Ocean Among TIME 100 Gala Honourees For 2013 [Photos]

The successful History Channel miniseries The Bible is getting recut into a nicely packaged three hour version for the theaters. Producer Mark Burnett announced the news this week, saying there is no studio affiliation or distribution agreement yet, but saying he has "many offers" for revising the movie on a global scale, according to Deadline.com.

"We're in the position where it's just a matter of choosing" Burnett emphasized. "We could put it into arenas. There are a lot of possible choices we could go with." Some 100 million have watched the historical series in the U.S. alone and a further 10 million internationally, though will the same faces pay to see a chopped down version of the television series at the cinema? Saying that, nobody expected the television series to garner such strong reviews. "All of those people who rolled their eyes three years ago and said nobody's going to watch The Bible on TV, well, they were wrong," Burnett said. "But I wasn't surprised. I knew it would work like it did.It was God's voice. Too many things happened to see it any other way."

The Bible debuted to 13.1 million viewers in March, wrapping up on Easter Sunday with 11.7 million. Internationally, it beat hockey in Canada, while topping the television charts in Spain and landing a 37 per cent share in Portugal. It's already the fastest-selling DVD for a miniseries, ever.

Continue reading: The Big, New, Testament: 'The Bible' Getting Recut For Cinema Release

Twitter buzzed into life during the third episode of the History Channel's miniseries The Bible last week, with viewers apparently noticing the resemblance between actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni's portrayal of Satan and somebody called, President Barack Obama? According to Topsy.com, there were 20,000 tweets containing the words "Obama" and "Satan" since the airing on Sunday (March 17, 2013).

Though Ouazanni bares a slight resemblance to the current President of the United States of America, many accused the History Channel of right-wing propaganda. However, producer Mark Burnett called the claims "utter nonsense," calling Ouazanni, "is a highly acclaimed Moroccan actor. He has previously played parts in several Biblical epics -including Satanic characters long before Barack Obama was elected as our President." The actor has also had roles in the biblical TV movies, 'Jeremiah' and 'The Ten Commandments.' 

Burnett's wife Roma Downey, also an executive producer of the miniseries, added, "Both Mark and I have nothing but respect and love our President, who is a fellow Christian. False statements such as these are just designed as a foolish distraction to try and discredit the beauty of the story of The Bible." Satan appears in the miniseries, a retelling of the Temptation of the Christ, when Jesus fasted for 40 days in the Judean Desert.

Continue reading: Was President Obama In 'The Bible'? No! It's Utter Nonsense, Says Producer

A History Channel miniseries based on The Bible premiered on Sunday (March 3, 2013), the first of five two-hour chunks that will air each weekend, finishing on Easter Sunday. It's the work of 'The Voice' producer Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey, who say they are the first to use computer graphics to bring images likes Moses parting the Red Sea to life on-screen.

"Momentarily, I think he thought I'd lost my mind," Downey told the Associated Press of suggesting the show to husband Mark. "He went out on his bicycle and he prayed on it and he came back and said, 'You know what, I think it's a good idea. I think we should do it together.' We shook hands and haven't looked back." The first episode focused on the world's creation, though became more narrative driven when focusing on the lives of Abraham and Moses. "It's like saying you never heard of Macbeth or King Lear," Burnett said, "In school, you have to know a certain amount of Shakespeare, but no Bible. So there's got to be a way to look at it from a pure literature point of view. If it wasn't for the Bible, arguably Shakespeare wouldn't have written those stories."

The husband-and-wife team pitched their idea to several networks, though Nancy Dubuc - History's president and general manager - was willing to take a punt. Last spring's historical miniseries Hatfields & McCoys, starring Kevin Costner, was a huge success for the network, though reviews for The Bible have been mixed, with many critics applauding Burnett and Downey's ambition, though ultimately slamming the show for its cheap looking sets and slow pace. Brian Lowry of Variety said, "Told with great earnestness and a Hans Zimmer score, The Bible hits only a few conspicuously awkward notes," while Ed Bark of Uncle Barky wrote, "The Bible has the misfortune of looking cheap in comparison to the visual feast provided by the preceding Vikings. And the acting isn't nearly strong enough to overcome this."

Continue reading: The Bible Miniseries: You've Heard About It, But What Is It Exactly?