Author planning film on Jesus' Egypt yearsMichael Ferraresi
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 28, 2004 12:00 AM
PARADISE VALLEY - After roaming Egypt for months, researching the mystery of Christ's youth, best-selling author Paul Perry is set to return to the predominantly Muslim country to film a documentary based on his recent book.
The Paradise Valley author of Jesus in Egypt: Discovering the Secrets of Christ's Childhood Years will spend April with a crew of six filmmakers, following the trail of the young Messiah from the Egypt-Israel border to several villages near Cairo and south along the Nile.
"We're covering 900 miles and 33 sites in 30 days if we're lucky," Perry said.
"This will be the most exciting project of my life."
Perry's goals are to premiere the film in the northeast Valley later this year, sell it to a cable network such as the Discovery Channel and create a three-part series for Bible aficionados in the Christian market.
Like the book, Jesus in Egypt will play out like a travel narrative, following the holy family's path in chronological order.
Perry said he is seeking a "big name" to narrate the film.
Mel Gibson, director of The Passion of the Christ, has been mentioned as a possibility. Perry is an acquaintance of Gibson's.
"A Jesus documentary is something a lot of Hollywood people would want to get involved with," Perry said.
Jesus in Egypt attempts to bridge the gap between God's command to Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew to hide the baby Jesus in Egypt to Jesus' appearance as a boy before the temple elders.
According to Perry's book, there is little biblical explanation of what happens to the holy family after fleeing Bethlehem.
Many of the 33 sites the family supposedly visited while fleeing the wrath of King Herod, who sought the baby Messiah's assassination by ordering the death of all newborn males, will lend themselves to compelling visuals, Perry said.
Christ is said to have performed his earliest miracles in Egypt.
Instead of taking his idea directly to a cable network like Discovery or National Geographic, Perry secured the financial support of a private production company in order to retain creative control over the adaptation.
http://www.touregypt.net/egyptnews.htm