Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi
The estimated 50 to 80 million evangelical Christians living in America today have become a formidable force in our culture and democracy. But the evangelical movement is a big tent. To try and get a better understanding of the range and diversity of this community, intrepid filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi hit the road to meet some evangelicals and learn about what their influence may mean for the future of the country. Premieres Thursday, January 25 at 9pm/8c. Read more.
HBO's Friends of God - TCA Report
Some of the subjects in the film are some wrestlers who describe what they do as "Taking TV wrestling, cleanning it up, and putting Jesus in it," and a minister who brags about the amount of sex he has with his wife. He also dubiously claims that evangelicals have "The most satisfying sex lives out of any group." He also asks two of his constituents how often they have sex with their wives, and they both claim every day. Two times a day, sometimes ... and they climax every time. Wow. Not exactly what you'd expect to see in a documentary about evangelicals, and that's what makes this look appealing.
Alexandra views this film as "The blue states sending scouts into the red states to find out what they're all about," and she's gone a long way to continue her documentary filmmaking (she appears very little in this film) and stepping out from under the shadow of her mother, newly-elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Friends of God premieres on HBO on January 25th.
Quote of the panel:
- Dr. Larry Poland said that seeing certain evangelicals on-screen made him cringe a bit, because "Every congregation has their 'jerk factor.' The gays and lesbians have it, the Democarts have it, and we have it."
With her unique brand of road-tripping reportage, and driven by an unflagging curiosity and genuine interest in learning about this increasingly influential community, Alexandra Pelosi (whose previous HBO credits include 2000's Emmy®-winning "Journeys with George") embarks on a fast-paced cross-country journey, offering snapshots of a cross-section of evangelical America in Friends of God: A Road Trip With Alexandra Pelosi.
A sassy one-woman show who directs and shoots from the driver's seat, Pelosi ventures out over a year-long period for up-close and personal encounters with some influential members of the evangelical community, from Joel Osteen, the most-watched TV minister in America, to pastor Ron Luce, the founder of "Battle Cry," a concert tour that has drawn more than two million young people to its events nationwide. Pelosi also visits with a spectrum of others who embody a wide range of evangelical experiences, among them visitors at religion-themed parks, a Christian comic, creationist educators, Liberty University students and activists in Washington, D.C.
In her slice-of-life exploration, Pelosi travels to the red states and beyond to meet an array of open and forthright evangelicals who represent a broad sampling of the community. Many are pro-life and against gay marriage, and believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, rebuking Darwinism.
Among them is Pastor Ted Haggard, who recently stepped down as president of the 30-million strong National Association of Evangelicals - the largest evangelical group in the U.S. - following allegations that he had sex with a male prostitute and bought illegal drugs. Before the scandal broke, Haggard welcomed Pelosi to his world, explaining that an evangelical is "a person who believes Jesus is the Son of God, the Bible is the Word of God, and that you must be born again." While mega-churches like his New Life Church in Colorado Springs have replaced the quaint churches of yesteryear, Haggard explains that their sense of community is as strong as ever and this contributes to evangelicals' happy lives.
Says Haggard, "We've settled the issue of eternal life. The Bible is clear about it...we are not afraid of death because of it. We are living in the United States of America; we have representative government; and we have freedom of religion and freedom of the press." He asks, "Why in the world would a person in that environment not be happy?"
During her journey, Pelosi also visits with Rev. Jerry Falwell, leader of The Moral Majority and chancellor and founder of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., who articulates a commitment to change the country and urges his congregation to "vote your values" in elections. "Evangelicals are the largest minority block in this country," he says. "It's not a majority, but I don't think you can win without them. John Kerry learned that. Al Gore learned that. And Hillary will learn that in 2008."
Alexandra Pelosi began her career in TV covering politics in Washington, D.C., and subsequently served as a network news producer for seven years. For her first film, 2000's Emmy®-winning HBO documentary "Journeys with George," she spent 18 months on the campaign trail with future president George Bush. For the 2004 HBO documentary "Diary of a Political Tourist," she spent a year and a half following seven Democratic presidential candidates, including John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Howard Dean. Pelosi is the daughter of California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who becomes the first female Speaker of the House in history next month.
FRIENDS OF GOD: A ROAD TRIP WITH ALEXANDRA PELOSI was written, directed and produced by Alexandra Pelosi. For HBO: supervising producer, Lisa Heller; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.
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