- [Narrator] In this Studio 5 special,
we turn the pages of history,to a passionate preacher,
and a fearless warrior against slavery.
Ethan Hawke becomes JohnBrown, in "The Good Lord Bird."
- And welcome to Studio 5,we've got a special report.
Taking a look at thevery real life of a man
who fought to end slavery,through the fictional book
termed Showtime series,"The Good Lord Bird."
Actor Ethan Hawke, Daveed Diggs,
Joshua Caleb Johnsonand author James McBride
are all here with us.
"The Good Lord Bird" isan award-winning novel
by James McBride.
In it a young slave Henry Shackleford,
unites with a preacher andabolitionist, John Brown,
who is on a mission to end slavery,
even if it means violence.
Ethan Hawke brings thisstory to life as the star
and executive producer, inthe new Showtime mini-series.
He plays John Brown,and Joshua Caleb Johnson
plays the young Henry Shackleford,who's also called Onion.
We're talking to both inthis Studio 5 first look,
at "The Good Lord Bird."
- The lanes have changed andthe voice of our redeemers,
becoming clear, Onion wouldyou get us a pen and ink well?
Those of you who wanna continue on with me
it's time to sign the declaration.
The Lord came to me last night was,
he showed me the path to victory.
While you men slept,He whispered in my ear,
the battle plan.
We are the light to fuse,that will start a great war
to end slavery.
- This role, I think it'sbeen described as your best,
would you agree?
- It's certainly the most challenging.
- My name is John Brown andI am here to defeat slavery.
It was very important to me,I've never felt challenged.
It used everything and all the learning
that I've accumulated inmy life was required here.
I'm asking for men.
- Please, white folks black folks.
- Do you have a fire inyour heart for justice?
- What was about himthat attracted you so?
- The courage of his convictions.
You know, I was taughtthe sermon on the Mount
as a young boy, and I takethat really seriously.
But, John Brown saw a broken society,
and he didn't accept it.
And he decided that ifthe culture was insane,
that it was all right forthem to call him insane,
because sanity would lookcrazy to an insane society.
They say I'm a criminal.
They say I am insane.
- John Brown, what norm,
I was gonna stick by the character.
Same as he always stuckby me, I'm a messenger.
Then he bought John Brown.
- What you know about John Brown?
- He's murdered 2000 about5 miles off from here.
- Why far?
- Joshua, will you bring a character known
in the series as Onion to life?
What did you think of him?
Describe him to me.
- John Brown's comingto free all the slaves.
- You best watch your words.
- Onion's a really complexand weird character
in a way that was just, Iwas immediately drawn to him
'cause, as an actor, Iwanna be able to break
a character down to the itty-bitty,
tiniest parts of his personality.
I'm just telling youwhat the old man said.
- You're just a messenger, aren't you?
- And he is just suchyou know a smart, witty,
fun character.
And, I couldn't wait to bring them to life
on the big screen.
- Truth be told, I haven'tseen a person murdered
till I met you.
- I would stay off that subject, entirely.
- Did you see any of yourself in him?
- Oh yes, most definitely.
As an African-American likeOnion, being lighter skinned
than a lot of other people,
there's been timeswhere you're in-between,
you don't really know.
Some African-Americans don'treally fully take you on.
And then some white peopledon't really take you on
because you're on thein-between of the spectrum.
And so, I could kinda feelthe hurt a lot of times
that Onion would.
Whatever he believed, didn'tmatter if it was true or not.
- Ethan, can you talk aboutthe faith of John Brown?
I mean, how important was that?
- You can't talk about John Brown
without talking about faith.
God whispered in my ear,
start a war that will end slavery.
The great value of it,is because he could speak
as a Christian.
He really awakened a lotof the Christian minds
of White America.
And he shamed a lot of White America,
in the North particularly,to do something,
about what they saw as injustice.
He often would blame theNorth more than the South
because, the North had theaudacity, to say it was wrong
and the cowardness to do nothing about it.
And it really upset him.
And, it was his faiththat spoke to others.
That's how he changed theminds of White America.
- Oh this is a bold and outrageous plan.
I mean that in a goodway, I'm very excited.
Let's do it.
- And "The Good Lord Bird" miniseries starring Ethan Hawke,
premieres October 4th on Showtime.
I enjoy the story immensely,but I do caution you,
there is adult language and violence.
- [Narrator] Coming up.
♪ I'm taking this horse by the reins ♪
♪ Making redcoats redderwith bloodstains ♪
♪ Lafayette ♪
- [Narrator] He brought twohistorical figures to life,
in the hit Broadway Musical Hamilton.
And now, Daveed Diggs,is Frederick Douglas.
He joins us next.
(yawning)
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- It's a big diplomatic tug ofwar here in the middle East.
- [Narrator] Go inside thestory with Jerusalem Dateline.
- Israeli archeologists aretalking about a discovery,
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- [Narrator] Join CBN JerusalemBureau Chief Chris Mitchell,
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- It's what starts in Israel
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Life to the fullest.
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Life in your every day.
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- There are a few historicalfigures in the fictional tale,
"The Good Lord Bird".
Like John Brown, HarrietTubman and Frederick Douglas.
And it's actor DaveedDiggs who you may know,
from the Broadway masterpieceHamilton, who plays Douglas.
Take a look at him at work,and you'll see why he is surely
a bright spot in thisproduction, filmed in Virginia.
- Change the world where you will,
roam through all themonarchies and despotisms
of the old world.
Travel through South America,search out every abuse.
And when you have found thelast, lay your facts by the side
of the everyday practices of this nation,
and you will say with me,that for revolting barbarity
and shameless hypocrisy,America reigns without a rival.
- Daveed, how does yourportrayal of Frederick Douglas
in this series compare to,any thoughts you may have had
of him throughout history?
- Think I mean the great joyof getting to do this version,
of Frederick Douglas andthe reason I said yes to it
is because, the Douglas thatwe meet in McBride's novel
is flawed.
We're never allowed to thinkof Frederick Douglas as flawed.
Tell me how many are in his army?
- Ten I guess.
- Ten?
- Ten.
- You counted 10, that's not even a dozen.
- It says you can be a brilliantperson and a flag person.
That's what being a person is.
So getting to figureout how to play Douglas,
through that lens was really wonderful
and gave me an even greater appreciation.
(people exclaiming)
Stop it, go.
- Had you read McBride's bookbefore coming to the project?
- So Ethan gave me McBride's book,
after he came and saw a play I was in.
And I read it and couldn't put it down
and texted him immediately.
I was like, what do I have to do?
If I'm ever gonna playanother historic figure
this is the way I wanna do it.
- We know you for great roles,bringing historical figures
to life and of course, can'tsee you without mentioning
Hamilton. ♪ I'm takingthis horse by the reins ♪
♪ Making redcoats redderwith bloodstains ♪
♪ Lafayette ♪
♪ And I'm never gonna stopuntil I make 'em drop ♪
♪ And burn 'em up andscatter the remains I'm ♪
♪ Lafayette ♪
- What drives you to historical figures?
- The project.
I'm not particularly drawnto historical figures.
I am not a history buff.
I don't like explore those things,
but they have happened to come my way now,
in two pretty significant ways.
You know, my processis really about story.
It's about like whatdoes this character do
for the story at large?
That's my job, in the courseof making a piece of art right?
As an actor.
And so, getting to look atthese historical figures
as what are the useful bitsof the information about them
that really contribute to thestory we're trying to tell,
it's really fun, and it allowsme to do things with them
that, you know, we don't oftenget to see done with them.
- What lessons do you takeaway from this project?
What did you learn that you didn't know?
- You know, the thing for methat I found really striking
after watching it all was that,
this totally incredible thinghappened at Harpers Ferry
with very few people.
It really brought thecountry to its knees,
and force precipitated the civil war.
There's no civil war withoutthis raid on Harpers Ferry.
And I had never heard about it
until I read "The Good Lord Bird."
And the interesting thingthat that brings up is why.
The things that areadmitted are intentional.
And so when I start likeletting my wheels spin on,
I had never heard this story,or a small amount of people
able to sort of, precipitatean incredible amount of change
in this country, whowere all people of faith,
who were fighting to abolish slavery.
And then I look around at thesituation we're in right now
and where we are.
It's not actually that surprising,
that that was hidden from me.
- What do you think about the timing
of the release of this project?
- We always need stories like this.
And we always, you know,James' is writing is always,
I find what we need,like to be able to laugh
and reflect on our condition
and that's what he's really brilliant at.
Yeah, this story right nowbecause it is about changing
the course of history, because it is about
what are you willing to dofor the things you believe.
These are questions thatwe're all being confronted
with right now in thewake of a renewed energy,
for the Black Lives Matter Movement.
In the wake of the murder of black people
by police officers, andbeing confronted with,
the American condition,
that I think it is a goodtime to be considering
all of these things.
- If you're looking for morefrom actors of Daveed Diggs,
we have some great news for you.
He is joining RL and her friends,
under the seat for Disney'slive action adaptation
of the little mermaid.
As we prepare to take a quick break,
it is now time to say it in pictures.
Here's this week Studio 5 snapshot.
"Good Lord Bird" edition.
- [Narrator] In thisShowtime limited series,
Ethan Hawke is abolitionists John Brown.
And Joshua Caleb Johnsonis alongside him as Onion.
A fictional enslaved boy,
who becomes a member of Brown's army,
of abolitionists soldiers.
And he finds himself at thecenter of the 1859 raid,
at Harper's Ferry.
These are just a few of theimages from the series filmed
in Virginia.
And they're this week Studio 5 snapshot.
Moments away.
John Brown is the greatest abolitionist
that started the civil war.
- [Narrator] Sitting down with the author
of "The Good Lord Bird."
James McBride joins us in Studio 5.
- Daddy?
- Yeah, buddy.
- How many nickels are there in a dollar?
- There are 20 nickels in a dollar.
- How does birds fly?
Does milk really make my bones stronger?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Daddy, when we die,will we go to heaven?
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bestselling author.
Wouldn't it be great to boost your energy,
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And I'm gonna show you howalong with some of the world's
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Only from the ChristianBroadcasting Network,
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Improve your memory, discoverthe gut-brain connection,
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- If you wanna improvethe quality of your life,
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- [Narrator] Life, it'smeant to be lived fully.
Jesus said, 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 every day.
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At CBN.com, we're takingwhat Jesus said seriously.
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We're here to help you discover life.
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- Welcome back to theStudio 5 special report.
We're continuing our extensive look
at the Showtime mini series,"The Good Lord Bird."
And before it was a mini series,
it was an award-winning book,
by author, musician andscreenwriter, James McBride.
He's this week's Studio 5, sit down.
- Much of color life was ang.
And the Negroes that told, they was told
they kept their mouthshut and the longest.
Fact is, after a while, thethought of going back to Dutches
and be sold down the riverto new Orleans, less sweet.
- Have you bled yet?
- What gave birth to this story for you?
I mean, was there a Mr. Brown appeal?
What was it that gavebirth to this story in you?
- Well, I mean, I'dbeen doing some research
on Harriet Tubman.
I drove over to Harper'sFerry and I became fascinated
with with the story.
- Tell me about the faith in him.
I mean, because obviouslyreading the book,
and seeing the film,faith and scripture played
a big role in his life.
- We're all for the war on slavery
but, what's your specific plan?
- Oh, that's a good question.
- If John Brown hadn'tbeen a religious man,
he would have never beenthe John Brown that we know,
and we talk about today.
He knew more about the Biblethan most ministers did.
He was a Calvinist, whichmake this interesting is,
Calvinists have a philosophy of you know,
God has given me thismandate to do X, Y, and Z.
- [Narrator] It would be a war
between the North and the South,
both are guilty.
Both must share thesuffering and the sacrifice.
- As a religious man,he felt that the slavery
was against God.
And, he felt driven tohelp abolish slavery.
And he was also a man of action.
He felt that the Biblewas a book of action.
Not words.
God will equalize the pain,
grief, and sorrow will visit every home,
in these wretched United States.
The war is overdue, it'stime for this country to pay.
- John Brown was profoundly religious.
And I think that's one reason why
he's, really mistreatedso poorly over the years,
because people reallydidn't understand him.
They didn't reallyunderstand that he was driven
by a kind of religious zealotry
that powered him tremendously.
He's a man who felt hespoke to God directly,
and that God spoke to him directly.
- Did your Lord give youdetails like a time and a place?
- He gave me an exacttime, and exact place.
- He had a purpose behind his movement.
And he died you know, he was hung,
but the men who were with him,they weren't all Christians.
Some of them were Spiritualists.
He didn't care, he knew who he was.
- I noticed that musicplays a beautiful part
in telling this story and series.
Did you have a hand in choosing the music
or what do you thinkabout what we're hearing?
- I love the music.
I didn't have a handin choosing the music,
but I loved the choices.
Mahalia Jackson, andsome of the gospel stars
of the fifties that were just so important
to my own personal upbringing,
'cause I'm a son of a minister,I grew up in the church.
So, I loved the music, Iwish they had more boosted,
they could have filled it with=
- (laughing).
- But the music was good.
The music choices were very good.
- What do you think ofEthan Hawke's portrayal
of John Brown in this?
- My name is John Brown andI am here to defeat slavery.
- This is really his King Lear.
I mean, he really, reallyworked hard at this series.
I think the audiences willsee he is a magnificent,
John Brown.
He knows more about John Brown than I do.
And I wrote the book.
(laughing)
He did a magnificent, he's funny,
he's deeply profound.
He understood demand,
and he understands why the man'smessage is important today.
- How do you feel about the backdrop
of all that's going on in our world?
And now this story being released?
- My feeling is that thestory is as relevant now,
and in fact more relevant than it was
when I first wrote the book.
But the thing to rememberis that John Brown,
would be disappointed thatwe're not paying attention
to the fact, that the bloodhas already been spilled.
It's over, the war is done now.
And the fact is, even thoughJohn Brown was a violent man,
he really did more with hispen in the last six weeks
of his life, than heever did with a pistol,
or a sword, or a knife, becausehe wrote letters to editors,
letters to friends before he died,
while he was waiting to be executed.
And those letters had a profound effect.
- McBride is already anaward-winning author,
and he may have to make someroom on the shelf for another.
His deacon "King Kong" isup for the Kirkus prize,
for best fiction.
And as he shared in our sit-down,
that book is also beingadapted, for the screen.
- [Narrator] Still ahead.
- He thought God was written with him.
So he kept reaching farther and farther,
until he took over thenation's largest armor,
thinking he was gonna start a revolution.
And he kind of did.
- [Narrator] A finalword from Ethan Hawke,
when we come back.
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- Woo-Hoo, hi Superbook fans.
Here's something else you'll love.
It's new Superbook, Bible App.
It's packed with games,activities, and Superbook episodes,
that you can watch for free.
Oh, no.
There is trivia, a fun daily devotional,
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Plus, an easy to understand Bible,
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You can even create yourown superbook character.
Ta-da.
- Comment=
- Sorry, sorry pardon me,sorry, excuse me, ouch.
- Are you getting this?
- Earn Super points towin daily prizes too,
and so much more.
Time to get back to my adventures.
See you soon.
It's the new Superbook Bible App,
free download's on iTunes,Google play and Amazon.
(yawning)
- [Narrator] Life is betterwith a good night's sleep.
Get your free DVD or bookletof Protect Your Sleep.
- Welcome back to the Studio 5 special.
Music is a sweet spot and showtimes
"The Good Lord Bird" with MahaliaJackson and Elvis Presley.
It's also a sweet spot here in Studio 5.
And this week soundtrack comes courtesy,
of the man who gave birth to this story.
James McBride, isn't just an author.
He's an incredible jazz musician,
and it's James McBride and"The Good Lord Bird" bands,
Sinner Man, that's playing in my ear.
♪ Said I'm mad ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ Where are they gonna run to ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ Said I'm mad ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ Touch me baby ♪
♪ Touch me baby ♪
♪ Said I'm mad ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ Touch me baby ♪
♪ Touch me baby ♪
♪ After a while ♪
♪ After a while ♪
♪ The war will be over ♪
♪ The war will be over ♪
♪ After a while ♪
♪ After a while ♪
♪ The sun will shine ♪
♪ The sun will shine ♪
♪ All of my troubles ♪
♪ All off my troubles ♪
♪ Will be over ♪
♪ Will be over ♪ ♪ Whereare you gonna run to ♪
♪ Where are you gonna run to ♪
♪ On the jazz man game ♪
- That is James McBride,and he can certainly play.
With that, we are almostout of time for the Studio 5
special report.
So, let's take a moment and look ahead
and see what's coming up,on next week's rundown.
♪ Wherever you go ♪
♪ You're never alone ♪
♪ You're under the wings in a shadow ♪
- You wrote and recordedAngels to bring awareness
to mental health.
What triggered that?
♪ Wherever you facethat's making you break ♪
♪ Remember= ♪
- Uhm, so, it was actually ayoung person that I know of,
tried to take their own life last year,
and so it threw me intothis, I guess just like pain.
And then also just realizing
this is how so many other people feel.
♪ Than you know ♪
- We have that and so muchmore for you come next week.
But before we say goodbye this week,
we wanna give the final wordto the executive producer
and star, of "The Good Lord Bird.
Here's Ethan Hawke.
- Let's do this, keep goingover and over and over again.
The story of man'sinequality to man is ancient.
You know and it doesn'tmatter what part of the world
you go to.
You can go to Vietnamor you can go to Russia,
and you can go to India and you can go.
People have treated each other awfully.
I mean, you go everywhere,
but the rest of us just keephurting each other, you know?
And so, sadly, I thinkI'm worried the story
is always relevant, but it'sparticularly relevant right now
in this country, as wefeel the flames of division
being fanned even more.
And, what I was moved by this book is,
it did the opposite of that.
It reminded everybody thatwe're all actually like,
have moms and dads and children,
and we all want them to growlike us. We all want food.
We all want, you know, to have friendship
and to be cared for, andto grow old with grace.
I mean, you know, we'renot very different, really?
- That is a great finalword for this edition
of Studio 5.
And this week's look atuplifting entertainment,
until next time.
Make time to uplift someonearound you and then please,
come on back and see whereStudio 5 takes you next week.
Thank you so much for watching.
Bye bye.
