Baton Rouge film producer Jarred Coates is headed to the U.K. to work on a film about John Newton, the former enslaver turned abolitionist who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
The film roughly coincides with the song’s 250-year anniversary and will explain its origin and cultural impact, Coates says. More than 3,000 artists have recorded the song, which has been embraced across national, political and cultural boundaries, he adds.
Now I See: The Real Story of Amazing Grace will feature Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies, likely best known for portraying Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies and Gimli in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, who will narrate the story in the persona of an older Newton. The song’s lyrics reflect how Newton’s conversion to Christianity helped inspire his eventual opposition to slavery, Coates says.
|
|
|
“It’s an amazing story,” he says.
|
|
|
Coates expects to spend about two weeks in England and on the Isle of Man, where Rhys-Davies lives. He also plans a trip to South Africa, where ships used in the Outlander series will serve as settings for reenactments of Newton’s time in the British navy and in the slave trade.
Coates is known for faith-based films, including God’s Not Dead and One Nation Under God. The Baton Rouge native and former pastor got involved in the film industry during his 30s.
This story originally appeared in an Oct. 28 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.