'Heaven Is for Real' book bestseller becomes a movie

'Heaven Is for Real' stars Greg Kinnear as a pastor whose son describes having gone to heaven after being seriously ill.

|
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
'Heaven Is for Real' stars Greg Kinnear.

Todd Burpo’s bestselling book “Heaven Is for Real,” which tells the story of how his son said he traveled to heaven while seriously ill, has been adapted as a movie.

The film adaptation of “Heaven” stars Greg Kinnear as Burpo, “Flight” actress Kelly Reilly as his wife Sonja, and actor Connor Corum, who is making his film debut, as the Burpos’ son Colton.

Actors Margo Martindale and Thomas Haden Church also co-star.

Burpo’s book, which was written with Lynn Vincent and first released in 2010, details how Colton was diagnosed with a burst appendix when he was four years old. Afterwards, says Burpo, who is a pastor, Colton told his parents how he had traveled to Heaven and seen Jesus, John the Baptist, and an older sister whom his mother had lost in a miscarriage and about whom his parents say he had no prior knowledge. Colton also described his great-grandfather and pointed him out in a photograph, says Burpo. 

In 2011, Burpo and his family filmed interviews that addressed critics of the book. The interviews were screened at Lifetree Café locations, spots where religious and other issues are discussed around the country. 

“As a pastor and as a dad, I want my son to know I tell the truth,” Burpo said during the interview. “He can read the book. He knows if I exaggerated or if I didn't. My son is forever going to believe that I'm an honest person or I'm a liar by what I wrote in that book, because he can read."

“Secretariat” director Randall Wallace is helming the film adaptation of Burpo's book and told Entertainment Weekly that he felt “Heaven” is different from other religiously themed films.

 “I’ve been around churches all my life and I’ve been exposed to a lot of material that would be categorized as inspirational,” he said. “Most of the stuff is anything but inspirational for me. But I found this story to have an incredible intrigue and emotional power. It speaks to the cynic in most of us."

The film version of “Heaven” arrived in theaters on April 16.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to 'Heaven Is for Real' book bestseller becomes a movie
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Culture-Cafe/2014/0417/Heaven-Is-for-Real-book-bestseller-becomes-a-movie
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe