A few years ago, Kirk Berendes had taken his children to see Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ. As the credits rolled, one of them turned to Berendes and asked, “Daddy, what happened next?”
Berendes and several business partners aim to answer that question by making a new movie, Thirty Three, The Story of Hope, with plans to shoot the film in Israel in 2011. 33 Hope LLC has signed a co-production and distribution deal with the UK’s Spice Factory. The film will be based on the Edward L. Flom book of the same title, which chronicles the 18-month period following the Crucifixion, examining the Resurrection, the 40 days up to the Ascension, and what happened to the disciples and early church after that.
Berendes and Flom formed 33 Hope LLC was formed in 2008. One of the company’s partners is Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in The Passion. The company estimates that the film budget will be about $25 million. Cristobal Krusen (Final Solution) has written the script and will direct.
