The announcement was made during a special evening at the Grand Ole Opry
Veteran film producer Eric Groth (Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat) and writer/director Andrew Hyatt (Paul, Apostle of Christ from Sony Pictures) of Sacred Arthouse and Zach Dasher and Korie Robertson of Tread Lively, the team behind the record-breaking film The Blind and upcoming series Duck Dynasty: The Revival together announce the new film Forever And Ever, Amen about the life of music legend Randy Travis. Andrew Hyatt will direct off of his own script. Travis and his wife Mary Travis will executive produce, alongside country music star Clay Walker. Forever And Ever, Amen marks the first film for Sacred Arthouse.
Forever And Ever, Amen is currently being cast by Anne McCarthy, Kellie Roy, and Morgan Robbins at Engine Casting and production has established that Randy Travis will be played by three actors of different ages. Country star Clay Walker will play Travis in his 40s and 50s in addition to serving as EP. Engine Casting is on the lookout for young actors to play a young Randy Travis around 9-12 years old and another at 20-30 years old–the search should net two new rising stars.
“We’ve been approached many times through the years about doing a movie… but the timing or team has never felt quite as good as it feels right now. With Clay on our side, and the creative direction he and the producers have, I feel good about telling my story through this medium,” states Randy Travis.
“Randy Travis is the voice of a generation and one of the greatest country singers of all time. I am truly honored to be a part of this project, and cannot believe I get to play one of my heroes,” adds Walker.
Much of the success of modern country music can be traced to one man: Randy Travis. His arrival signaled the start of the “new country” sales explosion of the 1990s. Travis is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame with 23 No. 1 worldwide hits, seven Grammy Awards, 11 ACM Awards, 10 American Music Awards and five CMA Awards. The film’s titular song “Forever and Ever, Amen” earned CMA awards as Single and Album of the Year when it debuted in 1987. It went on to be certified quintuple platinum. Almost 12 years ago, Travis suffered a debilitating stroke but he continues to release original music with the aid of new technologies.
On March 5th, the Grand Ole Opry played host for the announcement of the biopic alongside performances by friends of Randy Travis’ including Clay Walker, Collin Raye, Lady A, James Dupré, and more. The evening opened with Travis’ friend and mentee, Dupré, introducing his mentor during an emotional rendition of “Where That Came From,” featuring Travis’ vocals on half of the song – evoking a standing ovation from the audience. Walker capped off the night following his own hits with Travis’ iconic “I Told You So,” reintroducing Travis and his wife Mary to make the announcement of the movie in development. The evening closed out with Walker performing Travis’ iconic “Forever and Ever, Amen” which included a special “amen” from Randy Travis himself at the end.
