July 2, 2010

CHICAGO – JoBe Cerny said it took him about 10 seconds to say yes to a project that would shape his life for three years – directing more than 600 actors in the largest audio production of the Bible ever produced. The result was "The Word of Promise" Audio Bible, an award-winning dramatic presentation featuring well-known celebrity actors on 79 CDs with 98 hours of audio.

This was new ground for Cerny, an actor, director, producer and writer, and member of Zion Lutheran Church, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation in Deerfield, Ill. You may have seen him in movies such as "Somewhere in Time" or "My Best Friend's Wedding," or on television, where he once starred in a well-known commercial for Cheer. You've probably heard Cerny's voice – his is that of the "Pillsbury Doughboy," a role he has had since the 1970s.

None of those roles compared to his work as director of Thomas Nelson's Audio Bible, a Protestant version based on the New King James Version (NKJV). The multi-year project culminated in the release of the Audio Bible in October 2009.

Over the course of production Cerny, 62, directed actors such as Joan Allen (Deborah), Jim Caviezel (Jesus), Richard Dreyfuss (Moses), Louis Gossett Jr. (John), Marsha Gay Harden (Esther), Martin Jarvis (God), Stacy Keach (Paul), Luke Perry (Judas and Stephen), Lou Diamond Phillips (Mark), Gary Sinise (David), Marisa Tomei (Mary Magdalene), Jon Voight (Abraham), Max Von Sydow (Noah), Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Mary, mother of Jesus) and Michael York. York, a British actor and star of many motion pictures and audio recordings, was the Audio Bible's narrator.

"It was an act of faith that one would be able to pull this off for so long," said York, in an interview with the ELCA News Service. "The Bible is the fundamental essence of Judeo-Christian culture. I'm so glad we did it."

Carl Amari, chief executive officer of Falcon Picture Group, East Dundee, Ill., and producer of the Audio Bible greatly appreciated Cerny's directing work. "This guy lived it for three years, as did the engineers. He was just ‘the rock' of the project, finding these actors and getting these performances," he said.

Cerny – whose first name is from both his father, Joe, and his mother, Bea – once dreamed of becoming a Lutheran pastor. Educated at Valparaiso University, an independent Lutheran university in Valparaiso, Ind., Cerny said he realized that he didn't have the gifts that a pastor needs to be successful, but he knew he was good at writing and performing. At Valparaiso Cerny earned degrees in speech and drama, and English, primarily in theatrical literature. He also was in the U.S. Army and later earned a master's degree in theater at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.

‘The Passion of the Christ' inspires the Audio Bible project

Cerny got connected to Amari and the Audio Bible project through an acquaintance who saw a special performance Cerny did at Zion's 125th anniversary celebration. Cerny, president of Cerny/American Creative, owns a recording studio in Chicago.

Amari is a fan of radio drama and produces the "The Twilight Zone" radio series, some of which Cerny has written and directed. In 2001 Amari produced a movie project called "Madison," which starred Jim Caviezel, which eventually led to the idea to create an audio version of the Bible.

"I became friends with Jim through making that movie, and one day he called me to tell me about ‘The Passion of the Christ,' a movie he was making with Mel Gibson," Amari said. His friend Caviezel played Jesus Christ in the movie, and Amari traveled to Rome to see some of the film's production.

"That's when it really hit me," Amari said. "What Mel was doing was sort of an inspiration for me. I began to think about creating an audio Bible."

Amari said he approached Cerny about directing the project because he understood radio drama, and he knew Scripture and the Church. "JoBe was very interested, and he has a great studio. Once JoBe and Jim (Caviezel) were on board, I knew I needed a great narrator."

York had not met Amari or Cerny before the project, but York was known for audio recordings and his on-camera work as a narrator in religious films.

"I've done lots of audio recordings, but nothing on this scale," said York, who grew up in the Church of England and sang in church choirs when he was young.

The most memorable part of the project for York was reading "pages and pages" of Jewish names and reading them accurately, he said. "It was a huge list," York said. "The other challenge was to make it fresh, as if you're telling this story for the first time."

The Audio Bible is different than many previous recordings, Cerny said. Two writers produced hundreds of pages of scripts from the NKJV. Two theologians were project advisors. Nearly 90 hours were fully scored and performed by a European orchestra. There were sound effects to go along with the narration and characters' voices.

"We were in production for thousands and thousands of hours," Cerny said in an interview. "In terms of the depth of the soundtracks, it's comparable to ‘Star Wars.'

But it was the words that mattered most to Cerny. "The words tell the story, and if the words match the emotion, it works very well. Words, as they say, can paint a thousand pictures. The listeners have to create images in their minds."

"Every single word was important," he said. Some recordings were tested with focus groups, Cerny said.

Actors sought roles in the Audio Bible project

News spread throughout the acting community about the Audio Bible project, and many actors asked if they could have a part in the production, said Amari, who added that he was not able to pay stars much above AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) minimums.

"When you have amazing actors, they bring something to it that's fresh and alive. Put in the music and sound effects, and that's pretty powerful stuff," Amari said.

Cerny directed most actors by phone, and some in person. York, who lives in Los Angeles, said he would record his narration at a local studio with Cerny on the phone. Cerny directed Von Sydow's Noah by phone, while Von Sydow was in a recording studio in France on Thanksgiving Day two years ago.

Some actors didn't have a great deal of time but wanted to participate. Sinise, star of CBS-TV's "CSI: New York," was very effective in the role of David, Cerny said. "You can hear his heartache in the Psalms," he said. "He took a lot of time out of his very busy schedule to do this."

Melissa Gonzalez, a 30-year-old Chicago actor, is the voices of Ruth and Rebecca in the production. Normally she does voiceovers for commercials and had worked with Cerny at his recording studio before.

"I had heard through other actors that JoBe was doing the Bible, and we knew it was a huge project he was taking on," she told the ELCA News Service. "I wondered if I could be in it – and then he called me."

Gonzalez, who was raised in the Baptist tradition, did not hesitate. "I was really grateful for the opportunity. The experience and the challenge helped me go somewhere as an actor that I've never really explored. In comparison to doing a commercial for radio that has to be upbeat, commercial and selling a product, this was really a beautiful story we had to tell using just our voices. It was really touching and moving."

The Audio Bible has won many awards since its release in October 2009. In May 2010 it won three "Audie Awards" from the Audio Publishers Association (APA), including best audio drama, best inspirational/faith-based non-fiction recording and best package design. It was a nominee for APA's Audiobook of the Year award.

It has also been recognized as Christian Book of the Year, winner of a Platinum Marcom Creative Award for best audio program, and winner of two Millennium Awards including best director for Cerny's work.

York said the final product included some extraordinary performances, thanks to Cerny and Amari. "I'm delighted for JoBe and Carl who took on this monumental task. I think they deserve every recognition."

"It (the Audio Bible) has to be the most significant thing I've done, because it involves the Spirit," Cerny said. "I was waiting for something like this."

Amari said the Audio Bible surpassed his dream. "The best thing for me is when I get a call or an e-mail from someone. That is the most rewarding part of the whole process – to know that it is working, that it is affecting people and changing their lives," he said.

Despite the years of work and the awards for this Audio Bible, Amari said he isn't done yet. Working with Zondervan Publishers, he's making an audio Bible for Catholic audiences based on the Revised Standard Version. "We have all new actors," he said. "The New Testament is about 80 percent done. It'll probably take three or four years again."

Information about JoBe Cerny is at http://cernyamerican.com/, on the Web.

Information about the "Word of Promise Audio Bible" is at http://www.actorsaudio.com/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service