If, like Empire, you’ve always wondered what the ‘H’ stands for in the popular blasphemy, ‘Jesus H. Christ’, Julia Roberts, of all people, may have the answer.
For Roberts – soon to be back back back in Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity, which opens this month – is to produce the intriguingly-titled comedy, Jesus Henry Christ. And we always thought it stood for ‘Horatio’.
Actually, the movie doesn’t seem to concern the Son of God, but instead is a coming-of-age tale that will focus on Henry James Hermin, a 10 year-old Petri dish baby (is that the modern equivalent of a virgin birth?), and son of a left-wing feminist, who sets out to find his biological father by following clues on a series of Post-It notes strewn around his home town.
The film is based on a 2003 short of the same name by writer/director Dennis Lee, although a quick squizz at the plot on IMDb would seem to indicate that it will be drastically reworked for feature length.
Lee directed Roberts in her forthcoming drama,** Fireflies In The Garden**, which opens this summer. Clearly, he made an impression on Roberts, enough to secure not only the writing/directing positions on the new Jesus Henry Christ, but also a directing slot on their upcoming adaptation of the novel, Birds In Fall.
At the moment, Roberts is only down to produce Jesus Henry Christ via her Red Om production company, but we wouldn’t be entirely surprised if she showed up in front of the camera, particularly as it may need serious starpower to overcome any misgivings theatre chains have about that name.