Columbus discovers young Jesus pic – Entertainment News, EXCLUSIVE, Media – Variety

Producing Anne Rice tome ‘Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt’

After helping bring Harry Potter and Kevin McCallister to life, Chris Columbus is looking to put another famous kid up on the big screen: Jesus Christ.

Columbus’ 1492 Pictures and CJ Entertainment have acquired the rights to the Anne Rice tome “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt,” which tells the story of a seven-year-old Jesus, who departs Egypt with his family to return home to Nazareth and discovers the truth about his birth, who he is, and his purpose in life.

Cyrus Nowrasteh will direct from a screenplay he penned with Betsy Nowrasteh. Columbus will produce along with Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe through 1492 Pictures with Sean Lee, Patricia Chun and Keo Lee producing through CJ Entertainment.

Rice came to Nowrasteh first and asked if he would take on the project after seeing his film “The Stoning of Soraya M.” After agreeing to write and direct the project, Nowrasteh brought it to Columbus and Marnathan at 1492.

“This film has the potential to be a cinematic classic, a picture that will appeal to all ages, all around the world,” Columbus said. “I am proud to be part of this incredible production.”

The Nowrastehs and Rice are repped by CAA. Columbus and 1492 are repped by WME.

Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

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