at Pirate ’ s Cove to actually shoot there . Not simply it being special , but we thought it would be a mistake not to .
Pirate ’ s Cove was a spiritual choice , and I think it was the right choice . I think you can feel it . It was difficult to shoot there . It ’ s state owned , and they would not shut it down . They will not shut down a beach for a film crew . And so we had tourists ( laughs ) If you listen really close , you can hear little children screaming in the background . There were tourists everywhere ! It was a very difficult time , trying to get those shots , but it was so worth it . It was worth every little bit of heart and headache and all that .
The opening of the movie was in the script , that was definitely a deliberate choice by the screenwriters , John Erwin and John Gunn . And we start the movie in a bit of a tranquil place , and we ’ re kind of showing the audience where we ’ re going to go . And then we rewind and , and kind of go back , you know , where it all started for Greg Laurie . It was a little bit of calm before the storm .
[ WM ] Yeah . That ’ s wonderful . The music was a very good mix of mainstream and early contemporary Christian music , which for us was Love Song , portrayed in the movie , and then some other artists from Calvary Chapel including Joy , a band called Country Faith , Selah , Blessed Hope , The Way , Debby Kerner , Gentle Faith , Children of the Day , and other bands and artists . Andrae Crouch , Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill were certainly a part of those early days in Southern California , but not as a part of our Calvary Chapel community . Besides only a few choruses , many times in church , we sang mainstream songs with the lyrics changed to reflect our newfound faith . That ’ s because we didn ’ t have anything else ! How did you go about researching the
Love Song - Little Country Church Live Clip music for the film ?
[ Brent ] We had just come off the documentary called The Jesus Music . I had done a deep dive into the birth of CCM , and I don ’ t know if this is the case or not , you might know . I couldn ’ t disprove it historically , but there ’ s a chance that Chuck Smith allowed the first set of drums into a modern church . I don ’ know if anybody beat that or not , but there ’ s a chance that if , if he wasn ’ t the first , he was one of the first .
[ WM ] Oh , I totally agree . Because being a drummer myself there were times when Johnny ( Mehler ) from Love Song , or myself , were not allowed to set up drums or full kits in a church with our groups .
[ Brent ] Cool . And then also , arguably , Chuck Smith produced and distributed the first actual CCM record , The Everlastin ’ Living Waters Jesus Music Concert .
You know , Michael W . Smith found that record in a record bin in another state and started listening to it . And that ’ s what actually turned
18 March 2023
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