"Heaven is for Real" official movie trailer has been released on Thursday. The movie is based on a true account of a Nebraska pastor's son insisting that he's visited heaven.
Produced by Sony, the film re-creates the story in Todd Burpo's New York Times #1 best-selling book. And We Were Soldiers and Secretariat director Randall Wallace was selected to bring the story to the big screen.
Moreover, Greg Kinnears, who is an Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winning actor, stars as Todd, Kelly Reilly as Todd's wife Sonja, and Conner Corum as the couple's son Colton.
Wallace has requested Kinnear to cast as Colton's father, because he believe that Kinnear was the "perfect blend of strength and charisma and sensitivity," the Entertainment Weekly reported.
Connor Corum was selected after an extensive national search. In addition, Sonja is played by Reilly, who Wallace describes as "romantic and earth and magical" for her role as minister's wife. The couple's relationship is a crucial element to the story, as they deal with their son's stories together - one of which involves meeting the child that they lost during pregnancy in heaven.
"I had seen some of her work and was amazed how much she could say with a glance, or with a pause. Her silence was eloquent," he told EW in an interview.
Wallace said he was "amazed" at how the story got to him, especially when he's been around churches all his life and been exposed to lots of materials that are categorized as inspirational. "It speaks to the cynic in most of us," he said
In addition, it was reported that Kinnears has found faith through the film. A scene that was "both mysterious and haunting" for Burpo was that Colton denies that "Jesus looks anything like the pictures he's been show. "
In the spiritual tale, although the parents were initially unsure what to believe, they eventually came to trust their son's revelation. In 2010, the father published the book "Heaven is For Real" about the family's experience.
Heaven is for Real is an overtly Christian movie with a mainstream appeal, where even some skeptics could find something comforting and heart-warming.
The film will be released just before Easter on April 16, 2014.
