New Film from the Producers of I AM

 

From the writer/director and producing team that brought you the feature film, I AM, comes a new family drama, HEART OF THE COUNTRY, which is currently in pre-production and is scheduled to shoot in North Carolina in March and April of this year.

Heart of the Country is a modern day retelling of the famous “Prodigal Son” story told through the eyes of Faith – a prodigal daughter.

With her husband jailed for Wall Street-based fraud, Faith has to leave behind her luxury life in New York to return home to North Carolina and the widower father and dutiful older sister she left behind.
Together, they have to deal with the buried emotions of sudden death of Faith’s mother years ago, and learn to be a family again.

Like the Prodigal story, Heart of the Country is a tale of a father’s unconditional love.  He simply wants a relationship with his children, and once that relationship is restored, he begins to create healing for his broken daughter.  Her marriage has to be rebuilt, her belief in herself, and her peace with her mother’s death all come together through the quiet, selfless guidance of her loving father.

In addition to the upcoming movie, the book of the same name has been released, and was written by renowned novelist Rene Gutteridge, based on the original screenplay by filmmaker John Ward. 

The producers of Heart of the Country, are offering a chance to be a “STAR FOR A DAY” on location in North Carolina. For a limited time, purchase the ebook version of the Heart of the Country novel, and you will receive an exclusive code giving you access to enter online for a chance to win a trip for you and a guest to the set of the movie, and even work in a SCENE ON CAMERA!!

Find out more on the movie and the contest at heartofthecountrymovie.com.

I Am producer, Todd Zeile speaks with the New Jersey Record

Todd Zeile enjoying new career as movie producer, actor

Wednesday, November 17, 2010
By Tara Sullivan

NEW YORK – Like anyone who has watched a movie awards show, Todd Zeile has listened as recipients talk about the years of blood, sweat and toil it took to get their project finished. Like most observers, he would shake his head in disbelief. As a longtime veteran of the instant-gratification world of professional baseball, Zeile couldn’t imagine those stories being true.
And then he started making movies.
“Now, I understand what they meant,” Zeile said.
The first movie Zeile produced, “Dirty Deeds,” was completed during his playing days, which ended in 2004 when he retired following a second stint with the Mets. His second project, titled, “I AM,” had a limited release Oct. 10 (10/10/10) and became available on DVD on Nov. 4, the climax of a more than two-year process that began with a small video project for a local church.
The film (get info at www.iamthemovie.com) is described as a modern-day telling of the Ten Commandments in the style of the Oscar-winning “Crash,” in which 10 different stories set in Los Angeles intersect with each other through the prism of the commandments. Though it falls under the banner of faith-based entertainment, Zeile, mindful of the negative connotation or divisive potential associated with the category, is more hopeful the movie will open discussion for people who watch it.
“It’s not a two-hour sermon. We don’t try to answer all the questions, we leave that up to the audience,” he said. “If people are looking to have a conversation about God, this is a good way to start. The project creates a distinction between faith and church and that was important to me.”
Zeile, 45, was in New York recently to attend Joe Torre’s charity event. As he sat outside a midtown Starbucks talking about his many post-baseball ventures, he reflected on how the seeds were planted during a baseball career that brought him to 11 teams across 16 seasons.
“Even when I was playing, my mind was always onto something creative. My world was never about baseball 24/7,” he said. “And when I retired, the last thing I could imagine doing was going home to play golf all day.”
Zeile was reunited with many former teammates, including Al Leiter, John Franco and Derek Jeter, on Thursday at Chelsea Piers, where Torre’s event to benefit his Safe at Home Foundation was also billed as a 10th anniversary celebration of the 2000 Subway Series.
Zeile made two stops with the Mets, including on the 2000 World Series runners-up, as well as one with the Yankees. Unlike so many professional athletes, however, Zeile has had little trouble moving on, likely because he is busier than ever.
In addition to owning the production company, Green Diamond Entertainment, Zeile is the co-owner of a successful private corporate jet company, established a film institute for students in inner-city Los Angeles, works with a website (www.bluenoselive.com) that provides free middle school lesson plans that combine film, sports and music, and does occasional television work as a commentator. He also wears many hats in the production company, writing, developing and acting in both films.
While he can laugh at a joke that the only career left to him is perhaps as a hand model, Zeile and his wife, Olympic medal winning gymnast Julianne McNamara, are also busy keeping up with their four children. Though Zeile couldn’t persuade McNamara to make a cameo in the film, son Garrett, 16, plays opposite his dad in one of the parables that follows an aging rock star’s inability to handle the rising stardom of his rock star son. Garrett’s own song with his RCA-signed band Jetstream is in the movie as well.
Zeile’s other children, Hannah, 13, Ian, 8, and Aaron, 6, appear in the movie, too. “That’s been an awesome part of this, really, to have my family so involved,” said Zeile, who is also very active in raising money for research for juvenile diabetes, which Hannah has. “After so many years on the road, that’s been great.”
With another project complete, Zeile isn’t slowing down. He and John Ward, who co-produced “I AM,” are working on their next movie, a Nicholas Sparks-type drama called, “Heart of the Country.”
 “We’re trying to get this audience to believe in us and track with us on the next project,” he said. “I’m ready to jump in.”
E-mail: sullivan@northjersey.com

NEW YORK – Like anyone who has watched a movie awards show, Todd Zeile has listened as recipients talk about the years of blood, sweat and toil it took to get their project finished. Like most observers, he would shake his head in disbelief. As a longtime veteran of the instant-gratification world of professional baseball, Zeile couldn’t imagine those stories being true.

Read entire story HERE

Behind "I Am" with John Ward and Todd Zeile

From ChristianCinema.com

November 4, 2010

What do a professional baseball player and screenwriter have in common? In the case of Todd Zeile and John Ward, it's their work on a series called Liquid, created in conjunction with Mariners Church in Newport Beach, California. After working together on ten DVDs, Todd and John decided they were ready to take the skills they learned making short-form videos and apply them to a feature film called I Am.

 Read entire article HERE

I Am producer, Todd Zeile live on Dennis Miller

Retired major-league baseball player and producer of the faith-film, I Am appeared on Dennis Miller's Show on October 28, 2010.  Visit the Dennis Miller site and take a listen to the broadcast segment HERE.

Mariners Church Movie 'I AM' Premiers

From Janine Swiatowski for The Orange County Register:

20th Century Fox's feature film "I AM", created by parishioners of Mariners Church, Irvine, premiered Monday, Oct. 11, at the Lido Theatre Newport Beach to an audience of 520 people.  The biblically-inspired feature, in production for 18 months, documents the journeys of 10 people as they struggle with the effects of failing to follow the 10 commandments.

Read entire article HERE.

...Religious Theme Helps Make Mark in Hollywood

Chris Allen, from ABC affiliate WWAY-TV reports:

If you don't know the name John Ward, you might soon. He's trying to make his mark on Hollywood with a new movie with a religious theme.

Read entire article HERE.

Wilmington Native Directs Faith-based Film

From NBC affiliate WECT-TV:

 A film about the Ten Commandments was shown in churches across the country Sunday as part of a 10/10/10 event.  Director and Wilmington native, John Ward, decided to release his film entitle "I Am" exclusively to churches across the nation because he realized he wouldn't be able to reach all communities if it were released in theaters. 

Read entire article HERE.