Hollywood megastar Julia Roberts was instrumental in getting Korean-American indie director Dennis Lee’s film made, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The trade publication reported that Roberts plunged headfirst into her role as producer for the low-budget feature Jesus Henry Christ, which stars Toni Collette and Michael Sheen.
Producer [Sukee] Chew and director Lee praised Roberts, with whom the pair worked on their previous film, Fireflies in the Garden, for her hands-on approach. “Julia got us the financing of the movie. I’ve worked with people who’d come on board and say I want to do this or that, but they don’t really do anything. But in Julia’s case, she picked up the phone, she made calls, she pushed the financier,” said Chew.
The film was a Moder family affair of sorts, on which Roberts’s husband Danny Moder was the cinematographer. Moder, Lee and Chew worked together also on Fireflies in the Garden.
Lee told the Hollywood Reporter that the movie is “a modern day immaculate conception and Christ parable about a test tube baby’s quest to find his genetic father.”
Stars Sheen and Collette took a shine to the material then drastic pay cuts for the indie film, which took 23 days to film in Canada, chosen for its tax incentive. “The money that Michael and Toni was paid for Jesus Henry Christ, they would’ve taken that money and buy a Honda Civic in the States,” noted director Lee.
The film is based on Lee’s previous short film of the same name, which won a Student Academy Award.