(upbeat music)

- Welcome to "Studio 5."

We're still all in this together,

pandemic, protests,and the pain of racism.

We can and must all rise together.

We have inspiration to movethe needle forward this week,

"The Life of Jesus" streaming to you,

the sounds of "Revival's inthe Air" with Bethel Music,

and smiles, all aroundwith a new animated series,

Josh Gad and Kristen Bellwill help us with that.

So, let's get to the countdown

of the five big headlinesin Uplifting Entertainment.

At number five.

♪ Everything old should not become new ♪

- [Efrem] Rapper, Kanye West

joins a growing chorus of celebrities,

taking a stand againstracism and police brutality.

- [Reporter] Kanye West was photographed

in his hometown of Chicago on Thursday,

joining demonstrators insupport of George Floyd.

- [Leader] We are

- [Protesters] We are

- [Leader] going to

- [Protesters] going to

- [Leader] March.

- [Protesters] March.

- [Reporter] This isn't the first time

West has shown his support for Floyd.

Representative for therapper confirms to "People"

that he also created a529 college savings plan

to fully cover tuition forFloyd's six-year-old daughter.

He has also donated $2 million

to support the families in legal funds

for Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

- [Efrem] At number four,

the list of help goes on.

- What do we want?

- [Reporter] Meanwhile, more stars

are pledging financial supportfor social justice causes

with the hopes of inspiringothers to donate as well.

ET confirms, Angelina Joliegave $200,000 to the NAACP.

On Instagram, LeonardoDiCaprio pledge his support

for the organization aswell as Color of Change,

Fair Fight Action, and theEqual Justice Initiative.

And Kevin and Joe Jonas,along with their wives,

joined brother Nick andhis wife, Prianka Chopra,

in supporting the EqualJustice Initiative.

- And we'll continue with the countdown

in just a little bit.

As the Andre Crouch song proclaims,

Jesus is still the answerfor the world today.

And it may be why a streaming series

on the life of Christ

continues to break records.

"The chosen" began as the number one

crowdfunded media project of all time

raising more than $10 million.

Critics are now calling it

one of the best series of all time.

And with millions ofAmericans still stuck at home

series creators are seeing a new surge

in viewers binge watching,every single episode.

- Please, are you the Messiah?

Are you the Messiah?

- No, I'm not.

- [Efrem] Bible charactersand stories come to life

in the streaming series, "The Chosen,"

with Dallas Jenkins in thewriter and director's chair.

How did we arrive atthe name, "The Chosen"?

- Three things actually.

You know, we look atand have used the term

for Christ as the chosen one,

so it refers to Christ in many ways.

The Jews are God's chosen people,

even as an evangelical I believe that.

And, the people thatChrist chose to follow him

and to be in his team, as we like to say,

it's a little bit of a nod to that.

- He performs miraclesand seeks no credit!

What does he look like?

Is he a member of Sanhedrin?

Would you at least knowhim if you saw him again?

- Yeah.

- How would you say,

doing a series about the life of Christ

is different than the films we've seen

on the Bible, "Theresurrection of Christ."

How's it different?

- Yeah, that's a great question.

So, when you do a movieabout the life of Christ,

you've got 90 to 120 minutes

to try to cover quite a lot of ground.

And so, oftentimes, it goesfrom miracle to miracle,

Bible story to Bible story,

Jesus is typically the main character.

And so, you're just seeingthings through his eyes

and you're encountering these people

for a very brief amount of time.

In a show, a multi season show,

the kinds of shows that we binge watch

usually together as families,

we're able to really explorein depth these people.

- Put that down for a catch.

A little further out.

- I don't have a quarrelwith you, teacher.

We've been doing this all night, nothing.

- [Efrem] Scene here with Peter,

in the miracle of the fish,

Jonathan Roumie is a familiarface in the leading role.

- Grab the net!

Grab it, well!

- What is it like to playthe role of Jesus Christ?

- It's life changing in a couple of words.

It's something that I've beendoing now for about six years.

It's humbling, it's overwhelming,

it's inspiring.

It's faith inducing, faith strengthening.

Yeah, it's kind of indescribable.

- How is this particularseries different for you?

What's special about it?

- It's different in that,

we're getting to see signs

of Jesus's ministry that's never been

depicted on film before.

- On the day I visitedthe set of "The Chosen,"

preparation is being madeto shoot a pivotal scene

just be on that wall, the wedding at Cana,

where Jesus performedhis very first miracle.

- They have no idea who sits before them.

(group laughing)

- To be a child again, yes?

- We're exploring what it's like to be

at a first century wedding,

what it might have been like

to have Jesus as a guest at a wedding.

It's a very joyous occasion.

And again, one that Ican scarcely recollect

ever having seen put to film before.

We're getting access to a humanity

that people are often I think forget.

He felt the things that we feel,

he experienced loss and sadness,

and frustration, and happiness and joy,

and all those things,

temptation, but without, youknow, conceding too that.

- The role intimidating in any way?

- Oh yeah, oh yeah.

Any anybody that says otherwise,

either is not familiar with who Christ is,

or was, and will be,

or they're, you know,

they're letting theirego answer that question.

- How do you prepare?

- I pray a lot,

I read,

I go to church.

Mostly through prayer.

I did not come to deliverthe people from Rome.

- And from what?

- From sin,

from spiritual death.

God loves the world in this way,

that He gave His only son.

- [Efrem] God began answeringprayers for this series

even before production began.

- [Director] Lock it up?

- [Man] Lock it up.

- [Efrem] "The Chosen" is the number one

crowdfunded media project of all time

with donations of more than $10 million.

What's it like to takethe pages of Scripture

and bring them to life?

I can't imagine the feelingof reading the pages

and then seeing what we get to see.

- Yeah, that's really cool

how you just phrased it

bringing them to lifeand then seeing them,

that's how I feel even thoughI'm the one who's doing it.

I'm the director and I'm the one

who's literally writing the words

and seeing them come to life

and I'm even dictatinghow they come to life.

And yet, I still feellike I'm following along

and I'm just listening.

- God did not send His son into the world

to condemn it, Nicodemus,He sent Him to save it.

- Now for more on this series,

be sure to check out TheChosen.TV today.

Just moments away!

- Hey guys, Donovan andMelissa Helser here.

- [Efrem] Two members of BethelMusic Collective, join us.

♪ It's gonna be better ♪

♪ Better, better than I could dream ♪

- [Efrem] And they're sharing new music.

- [Announcer] Life!

It's meant to be lived, fully.

Jesus said it,

"I came to give you life,

"Life to the fullest."

Life in your family,

Life in your finances,

life in your body, mind, and spirit.

Life in your everyday!

(smooth piano music)

At CBN.com, we're takingwhat Jesus said seriously.

We're here to help you discover, life.

Life!

Live it fully.

CBN.com.

(smooth piano music)

- [Efrem] At number three!

- [Announcer] Today, a final farewell,

the funeral for George Floyd.

- [Efrem] Funerals, protest, and pain

are giving birth to newmusic that's touching lives.

♪ And if you think we live ♪

♪ In the land of the free ♪

♪ You should try to be ♪

♪ Oh, oh, black like me ♪

- [Efrem] That's "Black Like Me"

from country music star, Mickey Guyton.

- I have been an absolute wreck for about,

since Ahmaud Arbery.

It was my pain, you know, I was writing

about my pain and to knowthat it can help other people,

and it's just such a beautiful God moment.

♪ Why do I fear ♪

♪ Skin dark as night ♪

- [Efrem] That's "Sweeter,"

from soul singer, Leon Bridges.

- I've always like struggled with like,

how to write about,

you know, some of the problems

that we face in America as a black man.

And I've always struggled with like,

how (static drown the speaker) write

about those things in the tasteful way.

And when I look at this song, "Sweeter,"

I just feel like it's agift from God in a way.

- [Efrem] At number two!

- Welcome to the first ofhopefully many episodes

of uncomfortable conversationswith a black man.

- [Efrem] Former NFLlinebacker and ESPN analyst,

Emmanuel Ancho with thenew social media show,

tackling the issues of race head on.

- I mean, white peoplehave reached out to me

asking, how can I help?

How can I join in?

How can I stand with you?

So, I've created this for you.

- [Efrem] In the series,Ancho explores real questions

from real people,

like why are black people rioting

instead of protesting peacefully?

Why does white privilege exist?

How come you can saythe N-word and we can't?

How come black people caremore about white-on-black crime

than black-on-black crime?

- I fervently believe

that if the white person is your problem,

only the white personcan be your solution?

- The countdown of the best headlines

at Uplifting Entertainment News,

continues in just a little bit.

Welcome back to Studio 5.

When it comes to worship songs,

the team at Bethel Music isfilled with great talent.

Now, we've had thepleasure of sitting down

with a few of the singers and songwriters.

And this week,

we're chatting with JonathanDavid and Melissa Helser

about Bethel's 15th liverecording, "Revival's in the Air."

Here's a sample of that soundand some of our conversation.

♪ Revival's in the air, hey ♪

♪ Oh, catch it if you can ♪

♪ He's moving on the wind ♪

♪ The dawn is breaking ♪

♪ Oh, lift your eyes to see ♪

♪ He's better than you dreamed ♪

♪ And everything you lost ♪

♪ Love's returning ♪

- "Revival's in the air,"

that is the title track fromBethel Music collective's

15th live project.

And joining us now are thevoices behind that song,

Jonathan and Melissa,

I can listen to "Revival'sin the Air" all day

(laughs) long.

♪ He's better than you dreamed ♪

♪ And everything you lost ♪

♪ Love's returning, hey! ♪

- [Efrem] How was it birthed?

- The term, revival meanssomething for everyone, right?

- [Efrem] Yeah.

- But I think, as we've gotten older,

we've really just asking the Lord

to deepen the word revival.

And one of the first things outof my mouth, "Surprised me."

And I sang, "Revival's in the air,

"catch it if you can."

And I honestly started giggling

'cause I was like, "What a funny phrase?"

I never even saidanything like that before,

why would I say that,like Lord what is this?

But I felt the joy of the Lord,

I literally couldn't stop smiling,

and I'm like, "God what is this?"

I say again,

♪ Revival's in the Air ♪

♪ Catch it if you can. ♪

I was like, "What is this Lord?"

And the Lord just spoke to me and said,

"Don't you see, Melissa?"

"You're experiencing thetruest form of revival."

♪ Revival's in the air ♪

♪ Well, catch it if you can ♪

I do want God to reframethe word revival for us.

Like, I want it to come to our marriages,

our cities, ourreconciliation, our family's,

you know, like our neighborhoods

that we would overcome withcompassion, and grace, and love.

So, it's special, it'svery very close to my heart

- Yes.- And to my family.

- I think it's quite timelyin light of all the world,

all that we're going through in the world.

We have COVID-19, we have unrest

breaking out in Los Angeles, Minneapolis,

racism and we're seeing somuch pressure in this country.

One of the beautiful thingsthat I see from this song

and also coming from your living room,

is spontaneous worship

that you've been sharing in light of all

(laughs) that we're going through.

♪ I receive your goodness ♪

♪ Cover all the earth ♪

♪ Of love and adoration ♪

♪ And the rising for forgiveness ♪

I think for us, worship has always been

the place where,

it's like when you takeoff in an airplane,

when you're on the ground,

all the buildings, all the cars,

all the things of the world seem so big.

But I love that feeling,

when you take off in an airplane,

and everything of the world gets smaller

and smaller as you go up higher.

And that's what worship is,

it's when we rise intothe presence of the Lord

and we actually see realityfrom the Father's eyes.

We see from His perspective.

And so, for us, anytime a crisis hits,

instead of looking at thethings of the world, we're like

"Father, we wanna go into your presence

"and see the way you see."

And so, right when this crisis started,

before the lockdowns, we said,

let's get in our living room

and record a few hours of us

just going into the Father's presence,

seeing from His eyes and speaking life

over those 'cause we couldfeel the fear like waves

washing across ourcountry and the nations.

- Specifically, I've justbeen asking, for a sound mind,

like, if God would giveme clarity in my mind.

I think, He's not givenme a spirit of fear,

but of power, love, and a sound mind.

And I've actually, beenclinging to that scripture.

♪ How would I reach ♪

♪ Rising co-- ♪

- And again, that completeproject is called,

"Revival's in the air"

it's available right nowwherever you purchase your music.

As we prepare to take aquick break right here,

it is time for thisweek's, Studio 5 Snap Shot,

our weekly look at a story, in pictures.

♪ It's heaven in your arms ♪

♪ Boy, it's the sweetness of your charms ♪

- [Efrem] That's thevoice of Bonnie Hunter.

She began the famed RnB group,

The Pointer Sisters,in Oakland California.

The Grammy Award winnerdied Monday, at age 69.

Her sister say, The Pointer Sisters,

would never have happened,had it not been for Bonnie.

Just look back at images from her life,

are this week's Studio 5 Snap Shot.

Still to come!

- I am Kristen Bell.

- I'm Josh Gad.

- [Efrem] The stars of thenew animated musical series,

- [Birdie] I love mornings in the park.

- [Efrem] "Central Park," join us next.

(upbeat music)

- [Announcer] Remember, for a moment

what it was like to be a child.

You believed every story you were told,

you saw a world full ofendless possibilities.

What stories will the world's orphaned

and at risk children believe?

We believe the Bible tells the only story,

truly worth believing.

We believe that every child

should have the opportunity to dream,

the chance to take challenges

and turn them into possibilities,

the chance to stand onthe promises of God,

to recognize their place inthe greatest story ever told.

They have their whole lives ahead of them.

Theirs is a world ofendless possibilities,

they are looking for a story to believe.

We will tell them that story.

Will you join us?

- [Efrem] At number one!

We could all use a good laugh.

- My name is Ben Marcus.

Somehow I found myself as the main editor

of a reality TV show called,

- Rosie's Roche's

You made me look like amoron for heaven's sake.

- [Efrem] And comedian Michael Jr.

delivers the funny in hisnew film, "Selfie Dad,"

being released, Father's Day weekend.

- I'm just gonna come out and say it.

You're not gonna believe this.

I started a YouTube page.

- I feel like this is so timely,

in light of all that we're going through

because we could certainlyfocus on the headlines

from police being,

you know, black man beingstopped by a police officer,

to COVID-19 to,

I mean, just all thethings we're going through.

But this offers us two things,

a lot of laughter, but also a lot of hope

in the face of disaster that we're facing

as a world right now.

- Absolutely, becauseeven in the police scene

where I get pulled up,

like there was a struggle, a real struggle

between me and thedirectors, and the producers

about how that policescene should go down.

Because initially, it was written,

when I read it the first time,

it was written where I get out of the car,

I was like, "I ain't getting out the car."

he said, "Why not?"

"We don't get out the car,that's not what we do."

And they didn't understandthat, they were, "Why not?"

I was like, "Dude, exactly,

"that's why we are,where we are right now."

Like, they had no idea,

but I was able to take those differences

and create something funny out of it

and shed some light on it as well.

- Well, that's a wrap forthis week's Countdown.

Welcome back to Studio 5.

A family friendly animatedseries is now available,

streaming on Apple TV+.

"Central Park" is a tributeto Broadway musicals

and a tribute to the park itself.

I had the chance to talk withtwo of the leading voices

on the project, Josh Gad and Kristen Bell

share this look at the series

and their love for "Central Park."

- [Birdie] I love mornings in the park,

the light through the trees,

the birds and the squirrels.

♪ It's Central Park ♪

♪ Where else can your son and daughters ♪

♪ Splash in dirty hotdog water? ♪

- What relationship do youhave with "Central Park"

that seemed to be such alove to the park as well?

- You know I, I can recall

a very vivid memory of being

in the spring of '99.

I was going in to my finalsemester in high school,

and I had applied to Carnegie Mellon Drama

where I would actually meetmy co-star, Alexia Adam Jr.

who was my classmate.

And I left my audition in New York City

and I put everything on that audition,

that was gonna be my lifeline.

And if I got into the school, I was set,

and if I didn't, I was ruined in my mind.

And I left the audition and my mom said,

what do you wanna do?

And I said to her,

"I'd love to take a strollthrough Central Park."

And we walked into the park,

and I kid you not,

it started sprinklingsnow as I took a step

in to the border,

left the border of this concrete jungle

and entered the border of this magical,

natural wonderland, "Natural wonderland"

It really made me feel likeeverything was gonna be okay.

And the thing that I'm obsessedwith about Central Park

is it's the great equalizer.

You can be the richest person in the world

or the poorest person in the world,

but when you're in that park,

you're in equal playing field.

And the park shouldn't exist,

it should not exist,

and yet, here it is,in the midst of steel,

and you're taken to this place

where anything is possible.

That to me felt like themagic that we wanted to bring

to this series.

- Someone needs to protect the park.

It's impossible.

- Yes, it's impossible.

- Did your voice just get really weird?

♪ Central Park. ♪

- How many times did you get some?

- What would you say is normal?

- Twice.

- Oh, no, no, no.

I went to NYU, so if Iwent to school in the city

and I remember growing up in Detroit

and in Michigan where like,

there's like as you get on the outskirts,

there's like a ton of land and backyards

that are just overgrown

and you can run around.

And I was missing that a little bit

in the concrete jungle,

yet I was incrediblythrilled to be 18 years old

and studying musical theater.

And there's something very very special

about this paradox that is Central Park,

and it just, it shouldn't exist there.

But it is an equalizer,

but you're able to fulfill

sort of both parts of yourpersonality, or at least I was,

where I was like,

ready to be a working woman

and live in an apartment

and on a walk up on forth floor. (laughs)

And yet, I sort of yearned

for a little bit more Michigan,

and then I could go to thepark and that could happen.

There was, and it to me,

it's a celebration of which our show is

as well the celebration of diversity

because there's two different lands

right next to each other

coexisting and you will not,

I dare you to find aperson in New York City

who can't make an argumentthat you need them both.

♪ The name's not that clever ♪

♪ But screw it, whatever ♪

♪ It's Central in my heart ♪

- "Central Park" is streamingright now on Apple TV+,

it's worth you checking it out.

And still to come!

- It's not fair.

- [Efrem] You've seen him as Jesus

but he's a man of many voices.

- One of my favorites is Marlon Brando.

You know, he's a

he's just an unbelievableperson, actor, as an artist.

You just, you just kind oflive (mumbles), you know.

That's Marlon Brandon.

- [Efrem] We return tothe set of "The Chosen"

for a final word from Jonathan Roumie.

- Hello, I'm Dr. David Perlmutter,

board certified neurologistand number one New York Times,

best selling author.

Wouldn't it be great to boost your energy,

eliminate brain fog

and even reverse brain disease?

Well, you can, and I'm gonna show you how,

along with some of the world's

most well-respected brain experts

in this DVD, "Protect Your Brain."

- [Announcer] Get "Protect Your Brain,"

a free, DVD only from theChristian Broadcasting Network

featuring experts on the cutting edge

of neuroscience and brain health.

- No matter how many timesyou've failed in the past,

you really can do this.

- [Announcer] In "Protect Your Brain"

you'll discover simple strategies

to keep your brain young and healthy.

Improve your memory,

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at CBN.com or call 1-800-700-7000.

- If you wanna improvethe quality of your life,

get the DVD, "Protect YourBrain" and get it today.

- And you are back with us in Studio 5.

June is dubbed, Black Music Month

and that's not lost on me

with all that's unfoldingin our world today.

So, the Music in My Ear this week

is a tribute to that anda cry for God to help

in our current situation.

Here's Jonathan McReynolds with a unique

and timely take on one of the singles

from his latest project.

♪ Pandemics ♪

♪ Brutality, yeah ♪

♪ Craziness in D.C. ♪

♪ We really want you to ♪

♪ Show us ♪

♪ To in our situation ♪

♪ Pass me not and we're in ♪

♪ A situation ♪

- God we need you in this situation.

On that musical note,

we are almost out of timefor this edition of Studio 5.

So this is a great time to look ahead

so we can show you what we'recooking up for next week.

Ron Howard is a popular actor

and is even more famous film director,

you might say, it's in his blood.

His daughter, Bryce DallasHoward is an actress

and she's now directinga documentary on "Dads."

We sit down with her next week

just ahead of its Father'sDay weekend release.

- I just start again, and again, and again

that every single dad, was all in.

- Certainly, hope you'll join us for that

and so much more come next week.

As for the final word for this show,

we thought we'd give it toJesus or at least the actor

who plays Jesus in theseries, "The Chosen."

Jonathan Roumie shares how a conversation

with Sir Anthony Hopkins pushed him

into an acting career.

- The conversation wentsomething like, you know,

he said, "Well, hey."

You know, how I've met him

at the beginning of the film, he said,

"What do you do again?"

I said, "Well, I'm locationassistant, location manager."

he said, "How do you like it?"

And I said, "Well, you know,it's a pretty good living.

"It's about cool people to work with.

"I think I'd just be more happy

"doing something more creative."

And at that point I have been,

doing voiceover for about three years.

And he say, "Oh, well, like What?"

And I said, "I'd be a pretty good actor.

"I've been doing some voiceover working,

"I think I'd make a good actor."

And he said, "well, it's notas easy as it looks you know?"

I said, "Well, that's true,I totally respect that."

And I thought about it, and I said,

"Well, let me ask you," Isaid, "Wasn't there a time

"when you first started in your career

"where you said yourself,'I think I could do that.'"

And he said, "Yes."

I said, "Okay, well, thenwhat's the difference

"between where you werethen and where I am now?"

And he kinda took a bit, and he said,

"I suppose you're right,good luck to you boy."

And I was like, "Huh!"

And all of a sudden the lightbulb went off and I thought,

"Maybe I should actuallygive this some real weight

"because if somebody like Anthony Hopkins

"revered Anthony Hopkins,was in that position,

"maybe I could take a stab at it."

- We all have to start somewhere,

but the key is, to get started.

That is a great final word

for this edition of Studio 5

and this week's look, atUplifting Entertainment.

Until next time, make timeto uplift someone around you

and then, please, come on back

and see what Studio 5 takes you next week.

Bye-bye everybody!