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Acclaimed director Mira Nair had said, "We want the diversity of the world that is around us represented both in front of and behind the camera, and on our screens as a result". In agreement with these words, Disney+ Hotstar Premium has a richly diverse library that includes a line-up of superhit international titles directed by talented & inspiring women filmmakers. These include award-winning titles, like the recently released Nomadland which swept the Oscar Awards this year. Chloe Zhao created history by becoming the first woman of colour, and only the second woman ever, to win the award for Directing.

From the smashit 'The One and Only Ivan' helmed by acclaimed British director Thea Sharrock to 'Black is King', a visual album directed, written, and executive produced by the Queen of Pop Beyonce, these titles from across genres feature strong messages, stories, or characters. Here’s a...

With total grosses this weekend around $110 million, “Avengers: Endgame” can’t come soon enough. In attendance, it’s the worst Easter weekend since at least 1994 — a period when the North American population was 20% less than what it is today.

It also marks the 13th weekend out of 16 so far in 2019 in which results lagged below the preceding year. This one is particularly grim because this 12% drop compares to a date one week post Easter. The actual 2018 Easter weekend grossed $140 million, which would represent a 21% drop. Best not to think about it.

That makes the results for “The Curse of La Llorona” stand out more. Budgeted at $9 million, this horror film (tangentially related to the “Conjuring” franchise) opened over $25 million. Easter weekend typically is a strong draw for Latino audiences, and they made up about half of the ticket buyers for this Mexican-folklore story. This is a core group that continues to be underserved by studios,...

Chrissy Metz has given another stunning performance of her single “I’m Standing with You.”

On Friday, the This Is Us star, 38, released her first music video on her YouTube channel, which serves as the visual accompaniment for her track from the film Breakthrough, which Metz also stars in.

In the video, Metz, who stands strong on a stage eclipsed by water, belts out the emotional lyrics to the original song, which was written by 10-time Oscar nominated songwriter Diane Warren.

Later joined by a gospel choir, Metz walks across the stage as scenes from the Roxann Dawson-directed movie interweave,...

Breakthrough tells the story of John Smith, a middle school-aged boy who tragically almost lost his life after he was submerged in a frozen lake for almost 20 minutes, yet with the amazing dedication of the firefighters who rescued him and the doctors who restored his life, he managed to survive. It was a truly inspiring story that news outlets adored at the time, making this movie adaptation a highly anticipated release, particularly in the Christian community, but does the movie manage to adequately depict the events that occurred?

Unfortunately, while the craft elements of Breakthrough are done incredibly well, the narrative of this "true story" is at times incredibly misleading. Seemingly desperate to appeal to the Christian target audience, many of the events were dangerously fictionalized in order to seemingly discredit the work of the real heroes of the story.

First off, we have the firefighter Tommy Shine (Mike Colter), who in real life,...

The morning of January 19, 2015 began for Joyce Smith like any other. Her 14-year-old son John, adopted by Joyce and her husband Brian from Guatemala when he was just an infant, had spent the night at a friend's house. The kids had that day—a Monday—off from school in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And Joyce was preparing to go pick her boy up when the phone rang. The message waiting on the line turned out to be every mother's worst nightmare. "When [John's friend's mother] called, she sounded off. I asked what was wrong," Joyce told Christian Cinema in 2017. "Cindy said that 'There's been an accident.'" As she learned over the phone,...

For the first time since 2014, Easter won’t have a huge multi-quadrant event film opening and dominating this weekend, and as we explained last week, that’s due to Disney dating Avengers: Endgame on the calendar next Friday.

The Russo Brothers-directed Marvel film is expected to be one of the five highest grossing pictures of all-time, not adjusted for inflation, and as such rival studios have opted to hold back any tentpoles over this lucrative holiday weekend when kids are off from school, and not play in front of Endgame. Instead studios are pushing out non event titles, geared at one or two demos. This despite the fact that the theatrical marketplace has demonstrated many times that two event pictures can perform simultaneously, even outside of summer. According to ComScore 74% K-12 schools and 29% colleges are on break Good Friday, moving respectively to 37% and 8% by Monday.

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The hardest thing for any parent is watching your child suffer and knowing there is little you can do to help. The new faith-based drama Breakthrough is at its best when capturing that gut-wrenching dilemma. A true story, Breakthrough tells of 14-year old John Smith (Marcel Ruiz), who fell through the ice on a frozen lake and was submerged over 15 minutes before being rescued. For the next 45 minutes, he was treated with CPR at the scene, on the ambulance, and the emergency room with several attempts with a defibrillator. It was not until the desperate prayers of his mother Joyce (Chrissy Metz ) that the boy would regain a heartbeat. Flown to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, every diagnosis for the next few days from the medical team led by Dr. Garrett (Dennis Haysbert) predicted John wouldn’t regain normal functions – if he even survived.

Chrissy Metz does...

Breakthrough is based on the inspirational true story of one mother’s unfaltering love in the face of impossible odds. When Joyce Smith’s adopted son John falls through an icy Missouri lake, all hope seems lost. But as John lies lifeless, Joyce refuses to give up. Her steadfast belief inspires those around her to continue to pray for John’s recovery, even in the face of every case history and scientific prediction.

Applauded by the first responders who worked to rescue him, John Smith made his way to the stage in front of Lake Saint Louis on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Lake St. Louis, where he was introduced as the young man who was saved four years ago after falling through the ice. There was a proclamation by the mayor of Lake St. Louis and many of the principals spoke. They gathered to celebrate his rescue, miraculous recovery, and the movie Breakthrough,...

Breakthrough is the true story of Joyce Smith (This Is Us actress Chrissy Metz), a mother whose adopted son John (Marcel Ruiz) is in serious condition after falling in an icy Missouri lake. Though the odds of John surviving the incident are slim, Joyce refuses to give up and prays for her son’s recovery. Grant [...]

The post Chrissy Metz Has A “Breakthrough” With Latest Movie Experience appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

There’s a rather vital figure in the history of Christianity — his name is Jesus Christ — who suffered a famous, agonizing moment of spiritual doubt when he looked up from the Cross and said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” But no such crisis of faith, even for a split second, ever afflicts Joyce Smith (Chrissy Metz), the suburban Missouri mom at the center of the feel-good Christian disaster movie “Breakthrough.”

Joyce, like Jesus (or Job), is enduring a trial beyond all human reckoning. On a sunny Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January 2015, her 14-year-old adopted son, John (Marcel Ruiz), is horsing around with two buddies on the frozen surface of Lake Sainte Louise when the ice cracks open, submerging all three boys. The friends get themselves to the surface, but John lies underwater, unconscious, until the rescue workers arrive, some 15 minutes later. At the hospital,...

‘This Is Us‘ star, Chrissy Metz, made her live televised singing debut with a performance of “I’m Standing With You” from her upcoming movie, Breakthrough soundtrack. Metz was joined by country superstar, Carrie Underwood as well as Lauren Alaina, Maddie & Tae and Micky Guyton for the star-studded television singing debut.

Carrie Underwood belted out the lyrics fiercely singing, “through whatever you go through, I’m standing with you” with Metz.

Metz premiered her song “I’m Standing with You” from her upcoming movie Breakthrough on the 2019 Acm Awards tonight (April 7). Metz took the stage first with a spotlight shining brightly on her in a beautiful blue dress before she was joined by the aforementioned country singers. Together, they raised their voices singing their hearts out the song’s emotion-filled lyrics, the performance was highlighting the Academy’s philanthropy brand, Acm Lifting Lives.

The Diane Warren-penned song “I’m...

On January 19, 2015, 14-year-old John Smith was trapped underwater for 15 minutes. First responders pulled him from the icy waters of Lake Saint Louis near St. Charles, Missouri, about 40 miles West of St. Louis. Young John wasn’t breathing, and paramedics and doctors at St. Joseph Hospital West performed CPR on him for 45 minutes without him regaining a pulse. His mother Joyce, who had been notified by phone about the accident, rushed to the hospital, prayed for him, and to the surprise of everyone, his heart began beating again. Dr. Kent Sutterer, the first doctor who treated John, wrote in his medical records: Patient dead. Mother prayed. Patient came back to life. To this day, John suffers no after-effects from the accident

Pastor Jason Noble, Joyce Smith, and one of Joyce’s older sons

In 2017, Joyce Smith chronicled the story in her memoir entitled “The Impossible”, and now that book has been made into the film Breakthrough,...

Join our newsletter to get more stories like this Chrissy Metz, best known for her role as Kate Pearson on NBC’s This is us, is the latest star to appear in a faith-based movie. Breakthrough is being produced by DeVon Franklin who also worked with Jennifer Garner in Miracles from Heaven. Based on a true story, Metz plays Joyce Smith, the mother of John Smith who at the age of 14, fell through the ice of a Missouri lake. He was trapped under the water for 15 minutes and even after he was rescued, had no pulse for 43 minutes. […]

The post This Is Us actress Chrissy Metz stars in faith-based Breakthrough movie — Here’s what we know about the plot, premiere date and more appeared first on Monsters and Critics.

True Blood alum Sam Trammell is on the call sheet for Fox 2000’s Roxann Dawson-directed film, The Impossible, a faith-based true story of Joyce Smith’s account of how her faith and prayer led to her son’s recovery after he was proclaimed lifeless. Chrissy Metz stars as Smith, along with Josh Lucas, Mike Colter, and Topher Grace co-star. The pic is based on Smith’s book The Impossible: The Miraculous Story of a Mother’s Faith and Her Child’s Resurrection, which was adapted for the screen by Grant Nieporte. Trammell will play Dr. Kurt Sutterer, an eyewitness to how Joyce’s prayers for John manifest. DeVon Franklin is producing the pic, which is in production in Canada. Trammell, who recently had a guest arc on NBC’s ratings juggernaut, This Is Us, is repped by Innovative and Luber Roklin Entertainment.

The African American Film Critics Association...

Josh Stamberg, who co-starred in Showtime’s The Affair, has been added to the cast of Stephanie Turner’s drama, Justine, along with Bridget Kallal and Ravi Cabot-Conyers. Scandal‘s Darby Stanchfield, Glynn Turman, newcomer Daisy Prescott, and Turner also star in the film about a single mom who takes a job as a caretaker to Justine, a young girl with Spina Bifida, in what turns out to be a racist household. At first an unlikely pair, the two become friends and ultimately help one another grow and change. Robert Luketic, Angie Edgar, and Turner are producing while Turman is serving as exec producer. Stamberg, who also recurred on NBC’s Parenthood and Cmt’s Nashville, is repped by Innovative and Suskin Management

Ali Skovbye (Man In The High Castle) and Taylor Mosby (The Last O.G.) are have signed on for Fox 2000’s The Impossible joining Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas,...

Exclusive: Josh Lucas is the latest to come aboard Fox 2000’s The Impossible, the faith-based drama based on the true story of Joyce Smith's account of her son’s miraculous recovery, which she detailed in her novel, The Impossible: The Miraculous Story of a Mother's Faith and Her Child's Resurrection. Lucas joins a cast led by Chrissy Metz (This Is Us), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Topher Grace (That ’70s Show). Roxann Dawson is at the helm. Lucas will play Brian Smith…...

Exclusive: After a weekend where the faith-based film I Can Only Imagine overperformed with $17M at the box office, another one over at Fox 2000 just found its pastor. Topher Grace has been cast in the label’s faith-based drama feature The Impossible, which is being directed by Roxann Dawson. The new title may be Breakthrough.

He will play Pastor Jason Noble, the town’s new hip man of God who helps the mother of a drowned son through this horrific time, galvanizing the town.

That means the actor goes from working as a key white supremacist nemesis in Spike Lee’s Black Klansman to a man of God in what is a true story. The Impossible is based on Joyce Smith’s book about her 14-year-old son, who fell through a frozen lake in Missouri one winter and was proclaimed lifeless. Through prayer, Joyce prayed loudly by her son’s...

Exclusive: Chrissy Metz (NBC’s This Is Us) has signed on to star in The Impossible from Fox 2000 and Miracles From Heaven producer DeVon Franklin. Roxann Dawson (HBO's The Deuce and PBS's Mercy Street) is attached to direct the film, an adaptation of Joyce Smith’s book, The Impossible: The Miraculous Story of a Mother’s Faith and Her Child’s Resurrection, which is based on her remarkable true story. Metz will star as Joyce, whose-14-year old son fell through a frozen lake…...