John Debney has been hired to score the drama Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. The film directed and co-written by Cyrus Nowrasteh is based on the bestselling novel by Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire) about Jesus Christ at age seven as he and his family depart Egypt to return home to the war-torn Holy Land and as he grows into his religious identity. Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh has co-written the screenplay with Cyrus and Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire) is producing the project through his 1492 Pictures company with Michael Barnathan & Mark Radcliffe (Harry Potter series, Night at the Museum). No casting announcements have been made yet. Debney and Nowrasteh have previously collaborated on the 2008 drama The Stoning of Soraya M. The composer has also scored the Columbus-produced 2004 comedy Christmas With the Kranks. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt is scheduled to begin principal photography this spring in Italy.
Debney has also scored the biographical drama jOBS starring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, as well as Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons and Matthew Modine. Since our last update, the film has been picked up by Open Road Films for a nationwide release in mid-April. Debney will be attending the movie’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25. The composer is also currently scoring the thriller The Call (previously entitled The Hive) directed by Brad Anderson and starring Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin. The film is now scheduled to be released on March 15, 2013 by Sony Pictures. Check out the recently released first trailer of the film and visit the official movie website for more information.
