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But Billy Graham's autobiography indicates that the scene with Jones is accurate—with Jones's ire a likely a result of Graham's questioning the school's strict views and his decision to transfer to Florida Bible Institute.

In Just As I Am, Graham wrote, "I asked for an interview with Dr. Bob in his office and told him about my discontent and my thoughts of leaving. His voice booming, he pronounced me a failure and predicted only more failure ahead."

McKay and Gigi Graham both vouched for the accuracy of the scene.

"We consulted 10 or 12 biographers on that part of the story," said McKay, "and nearly all of them concurred with our portrayal. And people who [had] worked for Bob Jones have told us that's what he was like. We have eyewitnesses to Bob Jones acting this way, and our goal was to tell the truth in what happened."

"Some people have asked me about that scene," added Gigi Graham, "and I've said, 'Dr. Bob was pretty hard on my daddy.' People who knew Dr. Bob told me he was that way."

DeMoss also noted a scene where young Billy faints at the hospital when he learns that wife, Ruth, had given birth to their first child, Gigi—when in fact, Billy had been preaching in Alabama at the time.

Neither Gigi Graham nor producer McKay dispute that fact, but they say that Franklin Graham is nitpicking.

"People need to remember that the movie is fiction based on fact," Gigi Graham said. "Daddy was not at my birth, but who cares?" Gigi Graham, who has seen the movie about 10 times, said filmmakers were simply injecting some humor into the scene.

"Look," added McKay, "it's a movie, not a documentary. We were just trying to humanize the experience in that scene. But every step of the way, we tried very hard to be faithful to Dr. Graham's story."

Another scene that Franklin Graham apparently objected to shows Billy and Ruth playing a game of catch with a baseball, but DeMoss says that never would have happened.

"I don't know if my mom ever threw a baseball or not," Gigi Graham said. "But again, who cares? I think the scene indicates the sweet love story between Mother and Daddy."

McKay seemed especially stung by the criticism about the film's details.

"We did a lot of research before we even sat down to write the screenplay," said McKay, who was already an experienced researcher as a documentary filmmaker—including one on the life of Billy Graham. "We bought errors and omissions insurance to make sure we got everything right—authenticating every scene, every story line, every fact. The insurance carriers give you some artistic freedom, but they make sure you stay faithful to the underlying facts.

"We had to provide the law firm 750 pages of documentation, and it took about nine months to complete the policy. We had two of the best law firms working on it, and it cost a lot of money." He wouldn't say how much.

McKay continued, "We truncated a few events in the film, because we were trying to tell a lot of story in just 90 minutes. But other than that, we were exceedingly meticulous. Because of my documentary background, I was extra careful. We wanted this to be a testament to Dr. Graham's life, and I care deeply about his legacy."

Coproducer Larry Mortorff added, "We did plenty of research, and to me, we've done a blessed job honoring Billy Graham's life. The film couldn't be kinder to the Grahams. After a recent screening, someone came up to me and said, 'You've preserved the work of Billy Graham for future generations. Thank you. Now my children can know his story too.'"

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August (Web-Only) 2008, Vol. 52