The man behind the surprisingly successful television series about the life of Jesus Christ, “The Chosen,” is thrilled that he and his crew are back in Utah filming season five.
Well, mostly excited. And a little annoying from time to time.
“We’re really feeling good here in Utah,” said writer, director and executive producer Dallas Jenkins. “It’s a great place to film. The people are wonderful and so far the images and work we are doing feel great.”
As has been the case in the past, approximately one-third of the season will be filmed in Utah, at BYU’s Motion Picture Studio South Campus in Goshen. Which is cool: a standing stage depicting ancient Jerusalem.
Except when it isn’t. Except when they’re “filming in the Utah weather, which can change at any time,” Jenkins said. “We can never rely on it, whether it’s heat, dust or rain. And it’s just exhausting to shoot an entire season in a few months.”
What keeps Jenkins, the actors and the crew going is the response they receive from “The Chosen” fans, which exceeds the enthusiasm.
“It’s not just about engaging them, it’s literally changing their lives,” he said. “It’s an extraordinary thing to be a part of, and it’s also the battery power that keeps you going. …And you meet people and you realize: OK, this is bigger than us. This is not just entertainment. We have to move forward.”
Incredible backstory
“The Chosen” grew out of a short film Jenkins made in 2017, “The Shepherd.” Crowdfunding raised millions to produce the series, and for the first three seasons, Jenkins partnered with Utah-based Angel Studios (which spun out of the VidAngel streaming service). Due to a legal dispute with Angel Studios, the season 4 episodes, which screened in theaters, have not yet been released for streaming. But, Jenkins said, that should happen soon.
To date, the series has been available on “The Chosen” website and app, YouTube, Facebook, Prime Video, BYUtv, The CW, Peacock, Trinity Broadcasting, UpTV, and Netflix. Jenkins wasn’t ready to make an announcement about where season 4 (and eventually seasons 5-7) will air, but clearly, an announcement is coming. “Over time, we will find a more exclusive partner,” Jenkins said. “Because in order for us to sustain ourselves as a company in the long term, we need to start directing people to look in specific places.”
It’s one more obstacle in a pretty remarkable journey for “The Chosen.” Perhaps the only person who isn’t surprised that Jenkins has come this far is Jenkins himself.
He said he is not surprised that his short film has been turned into a television series that has been viewed (at least in part) by more than 100 million people across a variety of media. “The fact that it has been distributed so widely hasn’t necessarily made a lot of money, but it has attracted a lot of attention. That is our goal. We want as many people as possible to see it. …
“Honestly, I don’t think about the future. Not really,” Jenkins said. “My whole life changed about six or seven years ago. I stopped focusing on results. I stopped focusing on goals. So this hasn’t surprised me at all, because I believe that God can do anything.”
However, he admitted that he “didn’t expect” “The Chosen” to produce a single season, much less five, with plans for two more.
“I’m just trying to make sure every season is a good one. We already have enough worry about making sure our program is good (and that God is pleased) to start thinking about what the future holds and whether or not I’m meeting expectations. …If I’m sitting in front of a blank computer screen and I start thinking about avoiding criticism, receiving praise, or trying to achieve a goal. or see what my future could be, that is too big: to add too much to what I already have.”
everything consumes
In the midst of filming season 5, Jenkins has in the back of his mind that he still has seasons 6 and 7 on the horizon: that he has to raise the money to produce them, write the episodes, and put his actors back in the lead. . the cameras.
“When people ask me how I’m doing, if I’m excited, or how I feel about things, I always say, ‘I’ll let you know in 2027 or so, when we’re finally done with everything.’ this,’” she said.
Jenkins not only writes, produces and directs “The Chosen”; He is also co-founder and chairman of the board of a film company with 65 employees that is “growing faster than we can keep up.” And then I also have to make the program and sell it. And we have to create things from scratch because we don’t have a studio or a network behind us.”
Quite simply, it has consumed Jenkins’ life. She recalled reading a book that quoted David Benioff and DB Weiss, the producers of “Game of Thrones,” as saying that “for almost eight years, all they did was that show. … They just lived it and breathed it all year long. And I really identified with that.”
It has been both “the most difficult time” for Jenkins and his family and the “most rewarding.”
“But yeah,” he said, “it’s all-consuming. …But it’s hard to complain when he’s having the kind of impact he’s having.”
Living, breathing human beings
Jenkins theorizes that the reason “The Chosen” has struck a chord with so many people is “the way we’re doing this depiction of Jesus and the disciples as living, breathing human beings, rather than stained glass.” He said he has received positive feedback from viewers ranging in age from 6 to 90.
One of Goshen’s extras told him that his 8-year-old son is a “big fan.” Another told him, through tears, that his mother, who died the previous week at the age of 91, “kept telling me that I had to tell Dallas when I met him on set that he had to move on and that the show had changed. his life. And that she was watching it on her phone at the hospital. And this woman was 91 years old. …
“And that gives us an indication that generation, culture and language around the world don’t seem to be a barrier.”
That’s going very well
Production on the fifth season is “going very well,” Jenkins said. “Really every day has gone very, very well. We are on time, on budget. The scenes look incredible. I’m not getting ahead of myself, I’ll give you a better answer when the season ends. But right now we feel really blessed.”
As of mid-May, they’re about a month into production on season 5, which is scheduled to wrap at the end of July.
“And then we have two more seasons after that. “This is a seven-season show,” she said. “So we’re in the back half. But there is still a lot of work to do.”
And while he wishes Utah’s weather was a little better (or at least more consistent), he’s not really complaining. And he is grateful to be able to wear Latter-day Saint outfits.
“They are very hospitable. It looks beautiful,” Jenkins said. “I am referring, obviously, to the mountains and the desert; “It really looks like first-century Israel. And it’s been an extraordinary backdrop for us.”
Although “the wind comes and goes on a whim,” which makes filming “a challenge.” But I think that’s part of it. I think it shows on the screen. I think it makes it feel authentic. It is difficult, yes, but it is worth it.”
Keynote USA
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