c. 2006 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) Jean-Claude LaMarre is the star/writer/director/producer of the new film “Color of the Cross,” a below-the-radar film in which he portrays Jesus Christ as a black Jew who was crucified because of his race.
Not surprisingly, picturing Jesus as a black man is stirring some controversy.
The Nu-Lite Entertainment production is currently in limited theatrical release in cities including Baltimore, Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Dallas and Memphis, Tenn. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment plans to release the film’s DVD version in January.
LaMarre, 38, spoke about depicting a black Jesus, the film’s audience and changes in the entertainment industry.
Q: Why is Jesus a black man in “Color of the Cross”?
A: The short answer is why not? … (The long answer is) I think Jesus belongs to everyone. And if black people want to present him in their own image, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I think most Christians _ real Christians _ would agree.
Q: Your film depicts a Jesus who was crucified because of his race. What are your thoughts on that, and how did you come to that belief?
A: Race in this movie, the color of Jesus, is a metaphor for his station in life, who he was and the segment of society that he basically represented _ the disenfranchised, the poor, voiceless majority.
For us Jesus is not, as most Christians know, come to us as a man of means, as a man of high position in his society. He came to us … as a humble carpenter. We use his color as a metaphor for that position: his class. We believe that may have contributed to how his message was received.
Q: How did you decide which characters would have what race in the film?
A: We certainly knew Jesus himself would be black. But we also wanted to show a wide spectrum of what the black experience is. Everyone during Jesus’ time was a Christian of color. Everything we know about that region suggests that this was the case.
But you know, black is a all-encompassing color. You have different hues of blackness. You have lighter-skinned people, you’ve got darker-skinned people, got brown people, you’ve got olive people. So we wanted to make sure we represented that in all of its full context.
Q: What about the depictions of the Romans and the Sanhedrin?
A: We certainly know the Romans were not black people. So we wanted to represent them, as we believe they were. … The Sanhedrin, the priests, again their likeness is symbolic of their position contrary to that of Jesus’. They were distinguished men, men of means, men of wealth and influence, and that’s what their whiteness represented in the film.
Q: Why does the film have such a limited theatrical release?
A: It’s a film that will find its audience. But it’s not a very quote-unquote commercial film. It’s not a “Pirates of the Caribbean” or “Borat” or any of those studio-backed films. It’s a film made by an independent production company. We’re just continuing to push the film in the marketplace as best we can.
Q: How would you describe a typical audience member for this film?
A: There’s been a wide variety of different folks. Our exit polls show that the audience is typically above 30. It’s playing to a mixed crowd, although about 60 percent of them are of African-American descent. But there are a lot of white people that see the film as well.
Q: Have you received any negative feedback?
A: Yes. … That’s just the nature of the business. Whenever you tackle an issue or figure as iconic as Jesus, you can expect the folks to come out of the woodwork _ questioning its authenticity, questioning its biblical accuracy and then telling you all the things that they believe are wrong about the film instead of focusing on what is good about it.
Q: How do you respond to the negative feedback?
A: Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Q: How is this film different from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ”?
A: Our film takes place primarily on Holy Thursday … (and) dedicates about an hour and 27 minutes to Thursday, and about three minutes on the execution (on Friday). Mel Gibson’s film spends about two hours on the execution. You know, I forget what the postscript was _ probably another 21/2, three minutes on the resurrection.
Q: Both your film and “The Passion” will be released through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Could you, or would you, have made this film if “Passion” wasn’t out there first?
A: I think it definitely played into Fox’s consideration. So yeah, it probably helped in terms of getting this deal.
Q: Your film will be released on DVD by the new FoxFaith distribution label. How is the entertainment industry changing, especially with this division in a major studio?
A: I think people are sort of really looking for more inspirational and faith-based content in their films, in their music. This is kind of a whole other course for America (and), I think ultimately, the world. People will start looking more for more positive content, more spiritual content in their films.
KRE/PH END BAKHSHIAN
Editors: To obtain photos of LaMarre, and of LaMarre playing Jesus in “Color of the Cross,” go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.
