The story of Christ told with an all-black cast

A personal quest
Bowser said he recommitted himself to Christianity in 1997 around the time his wife, TV sitcom producer Yvette Lee Bowser, was pregnant with their first child. A few years later, he bought a 65-CD audio Bible that he quit listening to "after the first two or three discs" because he was not inspired by the storytelling.

"The production value was lacking and I thought, gee whiz, if we could do this and really capture people's attention, how much more impactful and engaging it might be," he said.

Bowser formed a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based production company called Inspired By Media Group with three fellow Christians: new media executive Ron Belk, music producer Louis "Buster" Brown and casting director Robi Reed, who was principally responsible for getting commitments from the talent.

About a year and a half ago, an agent representing the four partners approached Zondervan with their idea. The publisher agreed to provide financing as well as text from its Today's New International Version Bible, a conversational translation aimed at young readers.

Years in development
"Bible Experience" spent several years in development before recording started last December. Work on the entire New Testament, plus part of the Old Testament, was completed by July 1.

Underwood said in a written statement that he was proud to have worked on the project, which he said was a "unique and timely" version of the Bible.

The producers decided early on to cast only black actors and other personalities, hoping to attract a black audience, as well as fans of some of the world's biggest box-office draws. They also wanted to shatter the Hollywood mold of white Bible productions.

"I was particularly interested in developing a product that might resonate with the African-American community," Bowser said. "I've long felt that Christian product tends to ignore our perspective."

He called it "a gift from our community to the world to be shared and appreciated by all."

‘No one did this for the money’
"Bible Experience" features a complete, original musical score with selections performed by the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Its state-of-the-art sound effects take listeners into the story.

Virtually every actor whom Reed approached immediately agreed to participate. All performers received union scale pay with a few of the biggest names promised "nominal" percentages of profits, Bowser said.

"No one did this for the money," he said.

There was some debate among the producers whether to restrict the cast to Christians. They finally decided not to, since the Bible is filled with both Christians and non-Christians, Bowser said.

"That way we availed ourselves to the best talent in the community," he said. "But I can tell you, whether they were believers or nonbelievers, everyone that participated came with a high degree of reverence and total respect for the significance of this project."

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