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When Wyck Godfrey and longtime friend Marty Bowen formed their own company—Temple Hill Productions—in January, they thought they'd take some time figuring out what movies they wanted to make.

But by the end of the month, they already had one on the table. And the studio, New Line Cinema, wanted it in a hurry—by this Christmas. Movies are rarely made that quickly; they wanted it in just ten months, even though it usually takes at least twice that long.

Getting this film into theaters by the beginning of December would take a miracle. But then, if the movie is about a miracle …

Lo and behold, The Nativity Story will be ready after all, opening in theaters worldwide on Dec. 1. And Godfrey, a devout Christian and movie business veteran, says he's seen God's fingerprints all over the production of this film—starting with the script by veteran Mike Rich, another Christian.

Godfrey, 38, who lives with his wife and three kids (ages 7, 6, 4), spoke with us about The Nativity Story, which tells the tale of Joseph and Mary for about 18 months up till Christ's birth and the flight into Egypt.

How did you end up with Mike Rich's script?

Wyck Godfrey: I've known Mike since he wrote Finding Forrester. And his agent at the time, Marty Bowen, is my business partner now. Some time ago, Marty told Mike, who had great success writing inspiration movies in the world of sports, that he ought to apply that same passion into something else that's equally important to him. Mike called him back a week later and mentioned his idea for The Nativity Story. Marty thought it was fantastic, and thought it would be a great thing to be our first project together.

Bible stories used to be like hot potatoes for studios. Did The Passion of the Christ change that?

Godfrey: It certainly created a precedence, allowing people who decide what movies to make to breathe a little easier. The New Line executive that Marty and I primarily deal with is Cale Boyter. He and I go to the same church, and it's rare in this business to find people that have similar beliefs that you do, that you say, "He's the perfect guy to give this project to." And he felt really strongly about it.

He took it to his colleagues at New Line, and they got it right away. Bob Shay, who runs New Line, grew up in a very conservative Jewish family, but is very religious, and I think he really appreciated the love with which Mike wrote this story.

Tell me a bit about your own faith journey.

Godfrey: I grew up in a non-denominational charismatic Christian household. My parents taught me about making decisions through what was perceived to be God's will, and my faith is very much a basis for my make-up as a person.

I went to college, and sort of went astray for a time. I still believed in Christ as my Savior, but didn't necessarily live a life that reflected that. It probably wasn't until I got married about eight years ago that I really started to try to live that life again. And now I have children, and I've really returned to the church.

How did you get involved in the world of movies?

Godfrey: I was an English major at Princeton, where I focused on theater and English. I moved to New York City after college and got an internship at New Line Cinema, reading screenplays, writing coverage, whatever they asked me to do. I fell in love with it, and worked my way up. Eventually they moved me to Los Angeles, where I was for a couple more years. At some point I decided, "I've done the studio side of things, but I really think where it's at is being a producer—actually being the one who finds the material and convinces the studio to make it, but also being on set every day and really sort of molding the movie."

So I left New Line and went to work for a couple of producers and got my school of hard knocks. It's a heck of a lot harder being a producer than a studio executive. I went to work with John Davis, who became my mentor as a producer, and made a bunch of movies with him [I, Robot and Flight of the Phoenix among them]. Then this opportunity with Marty came along.

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