Grammy-winning band For King and Country discusses their new movie and book Priceless, which reminds women of their worth and shines a light into the dark world of human trafficking.
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They've been called
Australia's answer to Coldplay,
the Grammy winning duo
for KING and COUNTRY
have already made a
name for themselves
in the world of music.
And now, brothers Joel
and Luke Smallbone
have a new book out and a movie
that opens in theaters October
the 14th.
The title is "Priceless",
and it stars Joel Smallbone.
Take a look.
We're all on a journey, but it
seems somewhere along the way,
I took a wrong turn.
[GLASS SHATERRING]
[GRUNTS]
And then it happened, and
I never even saw it coming.
Did I fail them?
Russel.
Did I do what
needed to be done?
Hey, the girls, where
are you taking them?
It's not your problem.
If you're hearing a
little voice that's
telling you to
stay, then you might
want to listen to that voice.
I want to shut this thing down.
[MUSIC PLAYING - from KING and
COUNTRY, "PRICELESS"]
How could you just leave us?
You have to trust me.
That word is broken for you.
I'm going to make this right.
Well, please welcome
back to the 700
Club, for KING and COUNTRY,
Joel and Luke Smallbone.
It's good to have
you here with us.
It's good to see you again.
Third time.
That's right.
Third time is the
charm as they say.
Yeah.
Third time, three
projects, right?
Exactly.
Let's talk about some of that.
First of all, for
people-- I can't imagine
who they might be-- but who
haven't heard your music
or known of you at all, you
come from a musical family.
I mean, this isn't like you
just decided one day, hey, let's
start a band or something.
You really grew up with this.
I was actually talking
earlier to some of the folks
behind the scenes.
I said, I was here
with my sister
who goes by the name Rebecca
St. James five years ago.
And so I was just
there actually kind
of helping road managing her.
And we came, and
that's when we kind of
built some of the friendships
behind the scenes.
So to be able to come
back and be with you guys,
but also to have that musical
heritage is part of the reason
why and the way that
we've been able to learn
so many different things, is
because the way we were raised.
TERRY MEEUWSEN: And not
just the musical heritage,
but working behind the
scenes for and with Rebecca
really kind of taught you
how this whole thing works.
How did you get into
doing it yourself?
Well, we joke that
dad who managed
Rebecca, manages us, he needed
cheap labor and has five sons.
And so he looked around
and he thought, well, OK.
Well, we'll put them all
to work as the road crew.
And Luke did a lot of lighting.
We did background vocals,
and that was really-- well,
there's two things, Terry.
We got to see-- just
engineering-wise--
how a show is put on and
how you construct a stage
and lighting and
all the rest of it,
but probably most importantly,
the impact of music,
that it has a way of
bypassing the head
and going straight to the heart.
And that's what we hope with
the film and the book as well.
And speaking of impact,
working with Rebecca also
gave you an insight into women.
And I want you to talk about
that because a lot of guys
your age wouldn't be
in touch with that.
But what did you
see when you were
working with her that really
stirred you and brought you
to this place?
Well, she had always had a
major message to young ladies
about chastity, young
women and young men.
And as Luke and I
began, it was actually
a very interesting
moment in time
because he had just got
married and I met my now wife
Moriah at his wedding.
She was kind of a
wedding crasher.
That's well done.
Yes, it was.
I orchestrated it perfectly.
He orchestrated
the whole thing.
And so right simultaneously
to all of that happening,
we started traveling as a
band for KING and COUNTRY.
So we had this simple message.
We'd stand on a
stage, and we say,
hey, ladies, know
that you deserve
to be treated with the utmost
respect and honor, and that
to us men, that it's time for
us to step up and stand out
that chivalry is alive and well.
And it's been alarming and
exciting to see the response.
Exciting because
people have responded.
Alarming because
it's like folks are
starving to hear this message.
That is the message
in "Priceless."
Where did that
concept come from?
I mean, here you are, successful
as musicians and vocalists,
but then a book and the movie.
Which came first?
You think we're
crazy, don't you?
Just a little.
Crazy's good.
Well, movement started
first, and then we
started to realize that there's
kind of an epidemic going on
here.
And people were really
gravitating to that message.
And so our older brother
Ben is a film director,
and we went to him.
And we said, hey.
What do you think about
this whole concept
and we build a movie around it?
JOEL SMALLBONE: I don't
I think we knew what we
were asking at the time, Terry.
No, but we were reckless
and silly young men.
And that's how you get into
the film world I guess.
Because it's complicated.
It's very difficult.
But yet we felt
like we had to
share this message,
and I'm so thankful that
we're at this point now
where the film's coming
out in just a few weeks
because it's been a lot of work,
but it's been super thrilling.
And even just during the
showings and the viewings
of the film, the responses that
we're getting-- it's like oh!
This is why we
did all that work.
JOEL SMALLBONE: It feels
like the culmination
in some ways of the
Priceless movement,
that it's illustrated in
this book and in this film.
And the film really
deals with trafficking
which is such an issue
and a topic today
and not one that is just
being surfacely looked at.
I mean, I think
people are recognizing
that this is a huge
problem, and not
just in other
parts of the world,
but here in the
United States as well.
JOEL SMALLBONE:
One of the things
we asked ourselves with the
Priceless movement inherently
is, what's the
antithesis of this?
And it's that a life or
that a woman can be bought,
that pleasure can be bought.
And so there is that real moment
in the middle of the film that
drops into this world.
And what we hoped that--
there's two things in the film.
It's a gritty drama thriller
love story for sure,
as you saw in the trailer.
But we hope that people walk
away with two questions.
One, internally, what's
my responsibility
as a man in this modern
era to love well?
Who am I as a woman under God?
And who have I been
designed to be?
And then secondly, what's
my global responsibility?
And start a conversation.
We all have one, don't we?
We all have a responsibility.
It's not enough just
to say, bad thing.
Bad thing.
We need to be doing
something about it.
You're acting-- can we
add that to the list?
What was that like?
LUKE SMALLBONE: I said,
we're pretty silly.
We're not very bright.
[LAUGHS]
Luke wanted to be involved, but
we always did these short films
growing up as a family.
And for whatever reason,
Luke was always the first one
to get killed off
in the short films.
So he was like,
I'm not doing it.
I'm out.
I'm out.
Look.
It was beautiful.
I was very fortunate to play one
of the lead characters, James
Stevens, a very
polarizing man to myself.
And he just has this
sort of tragic story.
And what's beautiful about
this sub-story, Terry, is he
in a lot of ways
is really fighting
for these young ladies,
to save them physically.
But on the other hand, this
young lady, particularly
Antonia, her resolve
and strength as a woman
is saving him kind of
mentally and spiritually.
It's a beautiful sub-story.
And it's released on the--
October 14th.
October 14th, it'll
be in theaters.
So sounds wonderful, and of
course, book by the same name.
I always like to read the book
first and then see the film.
LUKE SMALLBONE: Exactly.
You and me.
JOEL SMALLBONE: You're on it.
You've got a book
right there, Terry.
So you can read that one.
Yes.
Yes.
Take that home with you.
Well, we all want to
hear you sing today
because you have history
of that here with us.
So I'm going to
release you all let
you go over to the music set.
Great to have you
here again by the way.
Thank you.
Want to mention for KING
and COUNTRY's latest CD
is called "Run Wild,
Live Free, Love Strong."
The new book that
we've been talking
about that's become a movie
is called "Priceless."
These are both
available nationwide.
And let me remind you again--
the movie by the same name,
"Priceless," is coming to
theaters on October 14th.
So watch for it at
a theater near you.
And if you'd like to catch our
web exclusive interview with
Joel and Luke, all you have to
do is log on to our Facebook
page at Facebook.com/700Club.