His is a story of the best-laid plans of mice and men and what miracles God can make of them. Not that Deitrick Haddon hadn’t already had a great deal of success in the gospel arena, given a string of hits since bowing in 2000, including his latest CD, Church On the Moon, which debuted at number one on the gospel charts last year and was one of the top ten best-selling gospel CDs of 2011.
But in 2010, Haddon stretched beyond the comfort zone he forged in gospel into film with the release of a movie titled Blessed & Cursed – featuring Sheryl Lee Ralph, Karen Clark-Sheard, J. Moss, Mali Music, Rance Allen, and Deitrick’s wife, Damita. It was to be the first of a series of films that would build a cinematic brand for the GRAMMY-nominated singer and lay the groundwork for the widespread theatrical release of future films at the nation’s box office.
“We had a plan to do a series of films that go straight to DVD. We figured that maybe by the sixth or seventh film we’d have enough money and a system behind us to do a big budgeted film for release in theaters,” Haddon explains. “The goal was to sell 20,000 units and now it’s passed 200,000 units. It flew off the shelves all over the country. They’re restocking all the time. The UK went crazy over it, and we released it in Africa and Ireland. Last year, Showtime picked up the project and airs it almost every month.”
So successful was the first CD that Haddon secured a meeting with AMC Theatre officials who found his second project, A Beautiful Soul, so compelling that Haddon celebrated his first theatrical release on May 4th when the film premiered in theaters in 12 major markets across the country. “It’s miraculous. The wonderful people at AMC saw the film and said, ‘We’ve got to help you get this movie out there in theaters, and they partnered with us to go to 12 major markets.”
Haddon wrote, directed and stars in the film, the story of Andre Stephens, a cynical R&B superstar who has success, fame and fortune, but has lost his spiritual way. When Stephens’ perfect life is shattered in a brutal attack that leaves him and his best friend clinging to life, he is forced to make a choice that could forever alter the course of his life and lead him back to gospel.
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article courtesy of GMC.com
