Horatio Spafford Introduces "It Is Well" for the Global Hymn Sing

On Sunday over 700,000 people around the globe joined in the Global Hymn Sing, hosted by Keith and Kristyn Getty (www.GlobalHymnSing.com). Our contribution was to portray Horatio and Anna Spafford introducing this year's hymn, "It Is Well."

I'm always looking for the fingerprints of the Lord, and this week I noticed that within 22 hours I was a part of projects from four centuries:

18th c.: Wed., 6:30 p.m.: Coached an actress on her German accent for a project I haven't gotten permission to talk about yet

20th c.: Wed., 7:30 p.m.: Portrayed a Scotsman and a Frenchman in the audio drama Titanic Waif

21st c.: Wed., 8:30ish p.m.: Played Wesley (and other characters) in a read through for What's a Girl to Do?

19th c.: Thur., 2:00 p.m.: Portrayed Horatio Spafford introducing "It Is Well." 

Jasmine reconnected with us and her roommate 
from college while in NYC.

I pointed this out to Jasmine Myers, director of The Diary of Perpetua, and she said she was editing one of my scenes during that window of time, and though it is shot as a modern piece, the story we're telling takes place in the 2nd c., so that's five centuries in one chronological day, and all of the projects point to the Lord's goodness over time! 

By the way, Jasmine was kind enough to show us a rough cut of The Diary of Perpetua as it stands now, and we're VERY excited about how it's looking! 

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In 2018 Rich joined the Global Hymn Sing by portraying Eric Liddell, of Chariots of Fire, leading "Jesus Shall Reign": www.RichDrama.com/EricLiddellHymnSing. See the rest of Olympic champion Eric Liddell's Chariots of Fire story in Beyond the Chariots. Watch it online and book a live performance. 

The King's Messengers

I performed in two of the four parts to this mini-series set in the fictional nation of Zanora. Once again, Daniel Knudsen has brought truth to the screen in a delightful way. This is my sixth collaboration with Daniel, and it's always a joy!

It was selected for the 2017 Christian Worldview Film Festival, and is available online.

Registration is now open for the 2017 Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp.

Providence

Our poster was miraculously in the main

lobby of AMC Empire. It could have gone

anywhere in the labyrinth of 25 screens.

I played the adult male lead role of Mitchell Little in the feature-length music video, Providence, which had a limited nationwide theatrical release through AMC Independent, which opened Valentine's Weekend, 2016. It's now won or been nominated for over 80 awards.

One of the venues was the historical AMC Empire Theatre on Times Square.  Click here to see how that was an answer to an eight-year prayer.

It's now beginning to roll out across the land, and you can schedule a screening in your area.

It's now available on DVD and digital download.

On February 12th and 13th, I was joined for a Q and A by actors Stacey Bradshaw (Touched by Grace) and Emily Knapp (The Good Book) who play Teen and Young Rachel, Apolonia Davalos (The Perfect Wedding) who plays Beautiful Woman at Church, as well as Jenn Gotzon (Frost/Nixon).

Providence is a charming modern silent film from the makers of The Good Book, their first silent film, which has been nominated for 21 awards and has won over half of those. Providence has already won three awards at the Faith Film Fest: "Best Story," "Best Directing," and "Best Lyrical Music!"

The story is only told through movement and brand new songs written for this film. I like to call it a feature-length montage.

I play the adult version of a character who has known a girl most of his life. Circumstances and shyness have kept them apart, but the Lord brings them together in His timing. I loved being a part of this charming film because it’s such a beautiful picture of how the Lord is at work in bringing couples together. I’m so pleased with the final result, and I love that its theatrical release means more people will see God’s love on film!

It premiered in Franklin, TN, on November 8.

Christians may want to know:
The Dove Association rates it "Faith-Friendly" for ages 12 and over. You can read more details here: Providence.

Director, Sharon Wilharm, wrote about how the film came into existence: You're Invited on Our Filmmaking Journey.





I was in Nashville over three weekends, and the dailies were looking great!

In the run-up to the February 12 nationwide release through AMC Independent they are releasing a series of music videos:















Here's a rough cut of my character's proposal scene:



Interviews from the premiere:

Beyond the Mask

Beyond the Mask, in which I play Dr. Bonneville, is in theaters across America now! Thank you everyone who came out and supported the April screenings, which made this larger distribution possible. It more than doubled the previous record for the theatrical-on-demand model. Thanks to those that supported the film on opening weekend it's still available for public screenings in your area.

It is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray in Walmarts and online to rent or own.

The Christian Post included me and the NYC April screening in their article "New Faith Based Film 'Beyond the Mask' Uses More Green Screen and CG Effects Than Any Other Christian Movie."

They most certainly pull it off! I got to see Beyond the Mask with about 1000 people in San Antonio at the Christian Worldview Film Festival. They all leapt to their feet as the credits rolled. After the show two-time Emmy Award winner John Fornof, who directed Sean Astin of The Lord of the Rings and Joanne Froggatt of Downton Abbey in The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty, told me, "Tonight everything changes."

Then he sent me this: "I remember when Star Wars came out--it revolutionized how movies were made. I got that same feeling watching Beyond the Mask. Rich and I were stunned. We both agreed. This is truly a breakthrough movie in Christian filmmaking. It fires on all cylinders--an intriguing and exciting story of God's redemption with plenty of surprising twists and turns, solid acting, captivating cinematography, blow-your-mind special effects and sets, and a powerful music score. Beyond the Mask sets a whole new standard for what a faith-based film can be--and should be.”

All of these fantastic elements come together in a fictional story based around actual historical events. I play a doctor who helps an assassin recover in a village that thinks he's the expected pastor. He must immerse himself in the Word and there comes face to face with Grace. He's ready to leave his past behind him, if only his former boss--played by John Rhys-Davies (who carries a significant amount of screen-time) will let him.

Rich plays the doctor who nurses a
reformed assassin back to health in the
village where he is thought to be the
new pastor.

Faith Flix and Jeannie Ortega, who used to cover Rihanna, also covered my performance and the NYC screening: Action Film 'Beyond the Mask' Set to Hit Theaters April 6 in NYC For Special Screening.

The Hollywood Reporter reported: "John Rhys-Davies' Faith-Based Film Aims to Top 'Theater-on-Demand' Release Record" 

Dr. Diane Howard reviewed the film and included elements from an exclusive interview with producer Aaron Burns for Sonoma Christian Home: "'Beyond the Mask' Movie About Freedom and Personal Salvation."

You can watch the first minutes of the film online.

We had been hearing about the film for over a year before I was cast in it, and I believe the first time we heard about it was when we were on the set of Indescribable. Beyond the Mask is a spectacular story, written by Paul McCusker, who wrote for the children's radio program Adventures in Odyssey.

I was cast as Dr. Bonneville by Bev Holloway and got to work with acting coach John Kirby, both of whom I've worked with a number of times over the years.

It was a delight to reconnect with crew from Christmas Grace, The Screenwriters, Indescribable, Pawn's Move, and Alone Yet Not Alone, and to work with a lot of new friends, many of whom I would work with on later projects like Princess Cut and Polycarp.

John and I both think Beyond the Mask is going to be a hit. He was thrilled with what he was seeing in the monitors.  

To learn more about the film and get involved in spreading the word, go to www.beyondthemaskmovie.com.
 

This is the set, where I performed my scenes.

Here's a Behind the Scenes piece they did on the mansion. You can see me briefly at the start.



I thought it was a beautiful parallel that the mansion is a place of healing, and that was the central scene that we shot there. I pointed that out to director Chad Burns, and he invited me to pray before we shot that scene, which he also did before the film screened at the Christian Worldview Film Festival. 

Here's an article on the project: 'Lord of the Rings' actor John Rhys-Davies joins new Christian action film.

Christians should also know:

*The film is rated PG. 

*There’s some swashbuckling action, mostly aimed at stopping the villains. At one point someone gets conked on the head with a candlestick, but it’s stumbling over the fallen candlestick that puts an end to the fight. You see him tripping from the knees down, and then there’s a cut to him lying on the fireplace hearth. At one point someone gets electrocuted, but it’s seen from a distance.

*There's one smooch to celebrate [Spoiler Alert] an engagement.

Courageous Love

Joyce and I play husband and wife in this intriguing romance, produced and directed by Daniel Knudsen, who I met on the set of Christmas Grace. He also directed me in Creed of Gold, The King's Messengers, and the upcoming film, Lifestone Velocity.

There's a scene in which Joyce and I are playing with our characters' children. The plan had been for me to swing a backpack around in Central Park, and then the actor playing my character's son would be spun around in a park in Michegan by someone wearing the clothes I had on in Central Park.

Just before we filmed with the backpack I told Daniel we might be able to find children who would want to be in the movie. We prayed at the top of a hill, walked to the bottom, and there was a family with a boy and a girl the right age for our film family. Daniel explained the idea to their father in a very professional way, and he listened with a very stoic look on his face. After Daniel finished, there was a brief pause, and then he said... "Sure." We had such a great time filming with them, and it turned out that they lived close enough to Detroit to see the premiere, which made us all so excited. Unfortunately Daniel said, "They lived in Wisconsin and had a scheduling conflict." He sent them a screener link and said, "They LOVED the movie..." and, "the dad told me that this made his son want to pursue acting."

In January, 2017, it was in theaters in Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois, and it's now available for streaming and on DVD through CourageousLoveMovie.com and it was launched on www.PureFlix.com on Valentine's Weekend, facing off against 50 Shades Darker. In the interview below Daniel does a great job of expressing how Hollywood tries to tell a compelling love story, which has elements of the greatest love story, the Gospel.

Daniel has a real heart for the Lord and a vision for telling God's truth in powerful ways, and we were thrilled with how it turned out! It has one of the most creative arguments for the reality of God I've seen on film.

The first two films in which we played husband and wife were Indescribable and The Unexpected Bar Mitzvah.

When Joyce and I had our pre-engagement counseling session, our counselor drilled us with all the questions you don't want to ask when you're getting to know each other: political affiliation, denomination, etc. We were firing on so many cylinders I thought it would be safe to throw in some humor. When the counselor asked how many kids we each wanted I threw out twelve, just for laughs. Joyce nearly fell out of her chair. We have a big laugh about it now, especially since Rather to Be Chosen has brought us our twelfth screen child!

Our screen children connected with
me at the 2016 Christian Worldview
Film Festival.

Since then we played husband and wife in Mayflower II and A Matter of Perspective, so we now have 20 screen children and one screen grandchild!

Read the story on how this shot came
to be by clicking here.

Courageous Love was an official selection at the 2016 Christian Worldview Film Festival with the original title, Rather to Be Chosen.

"The Making of Rather to Be Chosen" was an official selection at the 2015 Christian Worldview Film Festival.

Creed of Gold

Now available in Walmart.

Daniel Knudsen had left the set of Indescribable before Joyce and I got there to play Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick Lehman, but the set was abuzz about his upcoming film, Creed of Gold.  I met Daniel when I performed in Christmas Grace. We had a great chat about the power of film to impact society with Truth. By that point he had already finished editing Creed of Gold, so I was surprised when Daniel later picked me up at the Detroit Airport for a Christians in Theatre Arts conference. He asked if I would play the voice of a reporter for Creed of Gold. He'd tweaked the footage and needed something different. We pulled into a parking lot, he turned his car into a recording studio, and now I have a credit in the film!

Princess Cut

For about twenty years I've wanted to be a part of a project that tells the power of purity in building a fantastic marriage. Fall of 2013 that prayer was answered when I was cast in Princess Cut.

Joyce and I got to see three rough cuts of the film at various stages, and and then I saw it at the 2015 Christian Worldview Film Festival, where it took Runner Up for Best Feature and Runner Up for Audience Choice. Then it was screened at the Salvation Army's TAM Conservatory where I was teaching and directing.

After a theatrical-on-demand release it is now available on DVD and Video on Demand:

• Christian Cinema
• Christian Movies
• Princess Cut Official Website
• With German Subtitles

I performed the role of Nigel Livengood, a suave realtor. It was filmed in the Winston-Salem, NC, area. Principle photography was originally slated for earlier in the year, but the Lord's timing brought gorgeous fall foliage to enhance the already beautiful backdrop.

It's a fabulous, moving and important film!

In the article "Princess Cut Heads Into Post-Production" in Christian Film, Jenn Gotzon calls this team “The most excellent production crew I have ever worked with on a faith-based film. In the production, in the coordination, in the communication, in all the pre-development, to on set through all the departments, they ran as excellently as Ron Howard’s Oscar nominated crew [Gotzon appeared in Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon in 2008]."

Photo by Jillian Bowen. © Copyright 2013 by Princess Cut.

Confessions of a Prodigal Son

Confessions of a Prodigal Son, in which I play a homeless man in LA, was written and produced by Nathan Clarkson, one of my former students. He also plays the lead role! 

Kevin Sorbo (Hurcules, God's Not Dead) plays a pastor, and another former student, Nathan's brother Joel Clarkson, is the composer. Go Clarksons! Also, Nathan wrote a song for the closing credits.

With Nathan Clarkson and Azel James,
who plays the friend of Nathan's
character.

I fed the homeless once a week for about four years, so I have some personal stories that helped my prep. One guy owned a trucking business, but he got hooked on crack and lost the business, his family and his home. Another was drunk every time I saw him. I think that was his normal. I also did my masters thesis at a drug and alcohol recovery center. They were all sober, but they had lots of stories. They all touched me deeply, so I hope my portrayal is respectful.

It is available on DVD and on Amazon Prime.





Christians may want to know:
*College students drinking and doing drugs
*Mention of yoga
*Vandalism
*Mention of hooking up and implication of pre-marital sex
*Some uses of "gosh" could be mistaken for taking the Lord's name in vain

These elements are a a part of telling how the prodigal son "...squandered his property in reckless living."

Check out my other films at .

Polycarp

I'm thrilled to have played the role of a slave auctioneer in the film Polycarp: Destroyer of Gods. It follows the story of Polycarp, who ministered alongside the Apostle John, who's story I tell in my one-man play The Revelation. I'm actually thrilled to play someone involved in the slave trade, because I pray it will bring greater awareness of the realities of the modern human trafficking. Another of my one-man plays tells the story of John Woolman, a Quaker who spoke against slavery a century before the Civil War: A Clear Leading.

The film's world premiere was February 20, 2015, at the Creation Museum. It's now available to be screened in churches. Click here to register to show it at your church. And you can now find it in Christian bookstores nationwide and can order it online at www.HenlineProductions.com.

ChristianCinema.com posted a thoughtful review of the film: Polycarp: Exposing the Vanity of Fear.

The Cincinnati Enquirer ran a great article on the Henlines and how Joe and Jerica, and later this film, came to be: "Local pair produce award-winning feature film."

The film received the "Family-Approved" and "Faith-Friendly" seals from The Dove Foundation. You can read their review here: Polycarp.

Polycarp won the Best Feature, Audience Choice, Best Original Music Score, and Runner Up for Best Gospel Presentation at the 2015 Christian Worldview Film Festival. At the International Christian Film Festival Gary Nation won Best Actor in a Feature Film for his portrayal of Polycarp.

Mary Smit (Mom's Night Out, Princess Cut, Courageous, Fireproof, Facing the Giants) is treating Rich Swingle's teeth.

Photo by Courtney Vetter, © Copyright 2013, Henline Productions, used by permission.



Here's Indy Christian Review's take on the film. I got to reprise the role of the slave trader in the opening sequence, filmed at The Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmakers Camp. Read why that was so great for our students here.

Christmas Grace

I play a quirky clerk in Christmas Grace. It's a wonderful story of forgiveness and... well, grace. I sob the whole third act every Season.

You can see it on TV throughout the Christmas Season.

It's also available in Family Christian bookstores across the nation as well as the following online stores and On demand websites:
-ChristianMovies.com
-PureFlix.com
-ChristianFilms.com
-ChristianCinema.com
-Christian Book Distributors
-FamilyChristianMovies.com
-fishflix.com
-iamflix.com
-Koorong Books (Australia)
-New Day Christian
-Vision Video


The director, Keith Perna, worked on Indescribable, though he was done before Joyce and I arrived on set. Three other Indescribable team members worked on Christmas Grace: Adam Terrel, Timothy Jones and Rebekah Cook. Rebekah worked with me on Alone Yet Not Alone, tipped me off to Indescribable, and cast me in The Screenwriters. I was in Detroit early March and got to help with some scenes they were filming, including one with MasterWorks alum Brandon Langeland. There was a bit of a buzz on set about the nice work he was doing, and he gets some great screen time in the trailer.



I also got to catch a ride from set with Daniel Knudsen who was running one of the cameras. He directed a film everyone on the set of Indescribable was raving about: Creed of Gold. Later Daniel picked me up at the Detroit Airport for a Christians in Theatre Arts conference. He asked if I would play the voice of a reporter for Creed of Gold. We pulled into a parking lot, he turned his car into a recording studio, and now I have a credit in the film!

The Screenwriters

I'm excited to have played the Hollywood director Forrest "Woodsy" Woods in this fun 1940's film about a couple of writers who are locked in a room and can't come out until the script is done... at 8am the next morning.

It debuted to a packed room with about 50 people standing at the Christian Worldview Film Festival in San Antonio, March 2015. It received the Audience Choice Award Runner Up. 

You can watch it now: TheScreenwritersMovie.com and on Amazon Prime.

Jason Burkey plays one of the writers. He played the lead role in For the Glory in which I played his soccer coach.

Jenn Gotzon plays the ingenue, and Jim McKeny is my character's producer. Jenn and Jim both performed in Alone Yet Not Alone with me, and several of the behind-the-scenes folks, including executive producer George Escobar and casting director Rebekah Cook, who played my daughter in Indescribable, also worked on Alone.

The Screenwriters Website Teaser from Ian A. Reid on Vimeo.

I got to report on this overwhelmingly positive experience at Westchester Chapel.

Oscar nominated!

As we walked into the theater I stopped Joyce and said, "We've been praying for this moment for a very long time!" So we stopped and praised the Lord for my first nationwide theatrical release!

Now it's being released to DVD on April 21, 2015.

We noticed improvements since we saw it screened at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival last year, and we recommend it for everyone mature enough for PG-13 war violence.

Here's an endorsement by Dr. James Dobson, who's organization, Focus on the Family reviewed the film:



And here are things folks said after the show, as interviewed by co-director George Escobar:



I performed the role of a land speculator in this amazing true story of two young girls who were abducted by separate tribes during the French and Indian War.

It opened in select theatres, last October, and had the highest box office take per theatre of any film in America that weekend.

They made a number of cuts, including my scene, but they've retained one of my lines in a flashback. Hurrah! Hopefully they'll put the whole scene in the extended scenes of the DVD.



The title song from Alone Yet Not Alone was nominated for an Academy Award! Then the nomination was taken away because the composer, Bruce Broughton, emailed his friends asking them to listen to the song. It's common practice, and Bruce received many such emails over the thirty years he was serving the Academy. Our prayer is that the heightened publicity will make more people aware of the film, so that it's message of hope will bless even more.

Joni sang the song at the Movieguide® Awards on the Reelz Channel:





Here's what I wrote before the nomination was rescinded:

It's sung by one of my childhood heroes, Joni Eareckson Tada, and written by Dennis Spiegel and Bruce Broughton. Executive director of the film and MasterWorks frequent MasterClass instructor Ken Wales talked his friend Bruce into writing the song that got him his second Oscar nod, the first being in 1985 for the Best Music, Best Original Score for Silverado. The nomination put the song over a number of A-listers such as Taylor Swift's "Sweeter than Fiction" ("One Chance"), Coldplay's "Atlas" ("The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"), Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful" ("The Great Gatsby"), Beyonce's "Rise Up" ("Epic"), Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire" ("The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"), Jay Z's "100$ Bill" ("The Great Gatsby") and Fantasia Barrino's "In The Middle of the Night" ("Lee Daniels' The Butler").

Studio System News includes an interview with Bruce in which he mentions Ken Wales:

AWARDS SPOTLIGHT: COMPOSER BRUCE BROUGHTON ON HOW ORIGINAL SONG “ALONE YET NOT ALONE” LANDED AN OSCAR NOMINATION

Post by Rich Swingle.

Post by Rich Swingle.

Post by Rich Swingle.

Rated PG-13 for violence.

Christians might also want to know:
* Native American spirituality expressed briefly and is compared to Christianity

Indescribable

I played Frederick Lehman in the film Indescribable, which tells how my character and his kids wrote the hymn "The Love of God". I'm the Papa to nine children, and my beloved bride, Joyce, played the Mama beautifully.

I also got to coach the man playing Rabbi Lazer on his Hebrew.

It was chosen as a semi-finalist for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF), where it was screened in February 2013. There it also won runner up for best original score. It also won second place over all and best direction at the Gloryreelz Film Festival in May 2013.

Order your copy at IndescribableTheMovie.com.

Indescribable Official Movie Trailer from Indescribable The Movie on Vimeo.

It was 106 F outside this "packing
plant" in Bryan, TX. When they
closed the doors,  turned off the fans
and cranked up the lights it had to
be over 120!
Copyright Thorn Crown Project,
photo by Rebekah E. Cook

I played Fredrick Lehman, who was
a pastor, hymn writer, and founder
of Nazarene Publishing House.
Copyright Thorn Crown Project,
photo by Rebekah E. Cook

Joyce and I play parents (or in-laws, or future in-laws, or grandparents)
to them all.
Copyright Thorn Crown Project, photo by Rebekah E. Cook

For the Glory

I played the role of Coach Sean Ryan in the film For the Glory. You can order a copy at ForTheGloryTheMovie.com or on digital download on Wallmart.com.

We also had several actors from the MasterWorks Theatre Program taking part, including Danny Cornett, who played the best friend of the protagonist.


For The Glory teaser from For The Glory on Vimeo.

Here's an interview with Kurt Kuykendall, who's story is featured in the film. I play Kurt's college soccer coach, Sean Ryan. There's also a scene from the film in this clip.

People had great things to say about it after it was screened at the Gideon Film Festival...




Here's a great interview with producer, Chris Rogers. He starts talking about the film just after 6 minutes into this interview. 

Christian Movie Connect Episode 48 – Chris Rogers | Christian Movie Connect

christianmovieconnect.com

Chris Rogers is a veteran of media and communications with his work spanning over 25 years. As the founder of CDR Communications, Chris has created projects for 20thCentury Fox, Eastman Kodak, the American Foreign Policy Council, the U.S. Department of Defense and many more. He is also the produce...

More of my films are coming out soon. Be sure you're getting updates so you won't miss the announcements: RichDrama.com/Updates.

For more on the film visit ForTheGloryTheMovie.com.