October Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
As mentioned in the last update, Carlo Acutis' mother, Antonia Acutis, came to the United States. It was a priceless opportunity to spend so much time with Antonia and her family. Below is a recap of the trip.
Antonia and Angelo met with Cardinal Dolan. Here is a photo of Antonia giving him a first class relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
Cardinal Dolan then requested that we film in the chapel of St. Joseph Seminary for the Catholic Faith Network.
Later that day we spoke to the students at Cardinal Spellman High School.
Many of the students were excited to hear of Angelo's work with Marvel and other studios. Their interest is something we will seize upon with the CGI throughout our film.
That night we spoke at a packed event at the Marian Shrine in Stony Point, NY. The event went until almost midnight and Antonia was present to each person she met.
The following day Antonia spoke at the historic St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church.
The next day we joined the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Eucharistic Congress. This event was televised by EWTN here and we were able to present a video overview of the movie prior to Antonia's speech.
As you can see many were in attendance. This exposure will lead to more awareness of the film and more views when released.
October 1st we started with a beautiful Mass at St. Dominic's in Brick, NJ. Bishop O’Connell welcomed us and said Mass followed by the official blessing of the Carlo Acutis shrine.
The church was full with standing room only.
Following Mass people waited in line to speak with Antonia for over an hour. There were so many people in line that we had to go to our next event without speaking to everyone.
We went straight in the vehicle to the next event which was at the Malvern Pennsylvania Retreat Center. This center had a permanent Eucharistic miracles exhibit.
The final event of the day did not start until after dark. We had the opportunity to speak on the film before Antonia.
On October 2nd we left Pennsylvania to go to Washington, DC. We started the morning at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). There Antonia spoke on Carlo and we were able to pitch the movie to the staff. We received their full approval and connections for the Eucharistic Revival.
Later that day we joined ETWN Nightly News with Tracy Sabol. It was a joy to be a part of this internationally viewed show which can be seen here.
That night we spoke at the Catholic University of America. Many students there were passionate about Carlo and again, it was standing room only.
The next day we returned to the USCCB to film an interview and speak with more of the staff.
We participated in 11 events in the few days we were with Antonia. This provided unique exposure. We were able to sit down with Antonia for an exclusive interview that has received over 35,000 views to date. She says so many profound concepts and it has inspired many. Watch it here. We are so thankful for Antonia's support and help producing this movie.
God Love You,
Angelo & Ray
August Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
Carlo Acutis' mother, Antonia Acutis, is coming to the United States at the end of the month! Angelo has been helping to coordinate her travel to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and DC. Members from our team will be joining her as she would like to spread awareness of this movie. She is one of the producers and collaborators for our movie - see this video of her support for our film.
Details are below and more information will be provided in the upcoming weeks. Antonia will bring first-class relics of Carlo during her trip.
New York - 9/28 - 9/29
On 9/29 Antonia will be at a movie premiere from 5-9 pm and speak about our movie (location to be announced)
Philadelphia, PA - 9/30
9/30 - Archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress starting at 9 am at National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa 654 Ferry Rd Doylestown, PA. See more details here
Brick, NJ - 10/1
10/1 - St. Dominic's at 250 Old Squan Road Brick, NJ. Bishop O’Connell will say Mass at 9:00 am and Antonia will arrive for the official blessing of the Carlo Acutis shrine followed by her speaking about Carlo’s life and our movie. Over 1,000 people have already signed up. See more details here
See more details here
Washington, DC - 10/2 - 10/4
10/2 - Antonia will speak at the Catholic University of America from 5:30 - 6:45 pm
10/4 - Antonia will be present at a movie premiere in the afternoon then talk about Carlo’s life and our movie
Please email us at eucharisticmiraclesmovie@gmail.com if you are going to attend these events as we may be able to provide perks.
Thank you for your support and please share this film to continue to raise funds for the completion of this priceless movie.
God Love You,
Angelo & Ray
March Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
In March Ray was able to speak at a Eucharistic Congress in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. Over 1,500 people came and he gave a break out talk on Eucharistic miracles and the movie. Many had not heard of the movie before so please share this project with your family and friends. Dr. Parellada came in from Guatemala and he took a photo with Ray by the Carlo Acutis inspired poster on the miracle from Tixtla, Mexico.
We also had Zoom meetings with Dr. Serafini, the doctor who wrote a book on Eucharistic miracles from a doctor’s perspective, and Dr. Parellada, who personally analyzed the miracle in Tixtla, Mexico. We discussed several of the phenomena we see in these miracles from a medical perspective and how we can best portray it visually. This will allow us to begin CGI when we receive the necessary funds.
Please donate today so we can continue progressing.
God Love You,
Angelo and Ray
February Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
As funds have not been received, we have worked on items that can be achieved with donated time. In February we worked with a great friend, Eric Bowers, who donated his time and talent to design a new poster for the movie. Thank you Eric! This features several of the people we interviewed and moments from the live action filming.
This is a work in progress and typically takes a full-time team to design different poster options. Most films spend millions in posters and advertisements and we are doing what we can to progress.
We also had a presentation at Holy Family parish. Thank you to Holy Trinity Church for hosting us at an event where Thomas, Rob, Angelo, Andy and Paolo joined as speakers. We are also trying to organize a gala for fundraising in collaboration with several parishes. Please pray the God will open the right doors for us!
God Love You,
Angelo and Ray
October Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
October was a busy month! We filmed St. Paul, the Road to Emmaus, the baptism of Jesus, the synagogue filming, and more. As mentioned last month, we filmed 1 Corinthians 11:27 and it was powerful to witness. It will impact many souls!
John 6 mentions that Jesus spoke in the synagogue and this filming completed the footage necessary to fully address the passage. This marked the end of filming for the apostles, which was a milestone because some of them had been growing out their beards for over a year.
The baptism of Jesus was a crucial scene as sit was the moment where Jesus is called, “The Lamb of God” by John the Baptist. This title is universally accepted among Christians but many do not know what this title means. In the movie we will explain the reality of this title. John the Baptist was played by Keith from Grass Roots Catholic on Instagram. The next day we filmed John in prison. This footage will be use for the beginning of John 6 so it was a weekend full of filming.
The Road to Emmaus was filmed at the end of the month. You may wonder why we filmed the Road to Emmaus. The Scriptures say that, “their eyes were opened at the breaking of the bread.” This was Jesus showing them His True Presence in the Eucharist. Presence in the Eucharist. When fully funded we will bring you all some incredible special effects to showcase this miraculous event. The first Mass after His Resurrection! This scene wrapped filming for Robert, who played Jesus and was exactly one year after he began playing Jesus.
Many thanks to Lucas who gathered a group of men to build the set for the Road to Emmaus, a full house with an interior, furniture, and props. Both actors told us that this was the best movie set they had ever worked on. This was a large task and Angelo, the actors, and the make-up team pitched in to complete the painting in preparation for filming. We had Tanner from Ascension Presents who came in to play Cleopas’ companion on the Road to Emmaus and Vincent Giovanni who recently worked on Paramount Plus series, “The Offer” directed by Colin Bucksey and other films. We were also blessed to have an Emmy award winning makeup artist come in from Canada to support our filming. She was such a joy and expedited our filming.
John 6 mentions that Jesus spoke in the synagogues. As it was plural, we filmed a secondary location that will help the montage and showcase that Christ spoke to a multitude of people from pharisees to the lowest of society.
Unfortunately, after this filming all funds were used and production was halted. Please donate today to help the movie progress. Please give your tax-deductible donation today!
God Love You,
Angelo and Ray
September Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
This month we planned for the filming of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:27 which reads, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” This is a profound verse as it addresses a crucial element of the faith, that we should be in the state of grace to receive the Body of Christ. We did not initially plan on having this scene but due to many events in the Church, we thought it was needed. This filming would not only be him preaching but also his conversion as that will introduce Paul to the audience.
In addition, we also prepared for the initial filming of St. Tarcisius. He was the heroic 3rd century martyr that gave his life protecting the Eucharist. This will show the love and fervor Christians had in regards to the Eucharist even from the beginning. Many people think that the Church created the concept of the Eucharist in the Middle Ages but this will show that Christians knew that the Eucharist was something to sacrifice everything for. Please pray for team to be guided and protected as we work on this priceless movie.
God Love You,
Angelo and Ray
August Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
Due to the release of the live action teaser trailer we were able to receive funds to allow us to continue to film. We do not have enough funds to finish production so please continue to share our trailers, posts, and website to help us obtains funds to complete this movie. Hundreds of people joined us on set as we filmed the crucifixion and carrying of the cross.
The crucifixion is the greatest act of love and capturing this with Eucharistic miracles in mind was outstanding.
Many have filmed the crucifixion before but none like this. One example is a critical shot was needed for the film and that is the one we called “the dolly shot”. We needed to get footage of Jesus on the cross which transitioned from a far shot to a close up of his chest. This was critical as one element behind these miracles is that it is always heart tissue but with the most recent miracle from Poland in 2013 revealed that the heart experienced takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as heart break syndrome. We will use this shot to transition from the live action crucifixion to the CGI of what was occurring in Jesus’ heart. This has never been done before and we hope it impacts many souls! To capture this properly a dolly system was needed. It was comprised of a 20 ft track and a dolly which would be pushed along the track. This is used in many major productions to lead to a smooth and real shot.
The dolly required additional insurance, props to support the track, and truck size; resulting in an additional cost of nearly $5,000. When you see the shot in the movie you will see the great value of it. Below is a breakdown of the expenses from the shoot. The wardrobe was the soldier costumes, helmets, armor. We also had to feed over 100 people for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in order to optimize filming time. The team picked up equipment and props from 7 different locations. From spears, swords, mallets, chairs, benches, ladders, carts, blue screens, with the frame, sand bags, tripods and other items. Within the horse rental amount, there was a rider cost for being present for 2 full days as well as a horse rental and transportation rate.
There are so many people to thank for this day. First of all, to our amazing actors who had prepared for this day. Our main actor who played Jesus, Robert Renzi, did an incredible job! It is not easy to hand on the cross for many hours but no matter what challenge came his way, he offered it up for the salvation of souls! Robert said that even “the tips of my fingers were numb even a week after filming”. He is a virtuous man!
He also had two of his brothers play roman soldiers and it was a priceless moment for them.
Our actor playing Simon, Dom Raso, flew in and brought several of his children to witness him carrying the cross. They had a beautiful family scene together! Dom is a well-known veteran Navy SEAL who has traveled the world and fought for freedom said that his time on set was, “the coolest thing I have ever done in my life is as to be a part of this amazing story.”
Our Lady, the good and bad thief’s, John the Beloved, Mary Magdalene, and others had moving performances. We cannot wait for this footage to bring the gospel to life in a new way!
We had over 100 extras who drove in from several areas of California. We are so grateful for all of the great extras that came out to support this filming! It was two hot days and their dedication showed their great love of Christ!
It was a very busy weekend and God provided so much grace! We have several more live action scenes to film so please keep our team in your prayers. As we complete those filming’s we will keep you up to date!
If you would like to read more about the filming’s we have done so far, feel free to look at the updates here.
God Love You,
Angelo and Ray
January Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
In January we filmed the Exodus. Countless souls will be amazed when they begin to understand why John the Baptist called Jesus “The Lamb of God”. All Christians accept this title but when they see what this term means, we pray it will open their eyes to the reality of the Eucharist.
It was not an easy task to choreograph this scene. We had 2 days but needed to match the sun time and shadow casting which was quickly changing, in addition to the many hours necessary to prepare the location. One of the hardest tasks was the lamb present in the scene. We had to find a company who sold a full lamb, keep it on ice between the filming days, then cook it with a torch because, due to the dry weather, we were not allowed to have fire on set. At the last minute we had to be creative and try to build a fire pit without real wood while also looking convincing enough. Everything revolved around the lamb which was an essential element we needed. Below you can see Moses with the lamb.
We had to have this iconic doorpost scene as it represents an important command that God gave to the Jews. Sadly, our Protestant brothers and many Catholics, including us prior to full study of the Bible passages, do not realize that there were more steps the Jews had to follow and that the lamb had to be fully consumed, including all the bones and cloven hoof. This parallels and prefigures the Eucharist which is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.
The bronze serpent footage will be used in gospel of John chapter 6 and prior to the Crucifixion to visually address the claim of idolatry. We see that Moses created a statue, which points to Christ, and God asked for it to be built to heal the snake bites of those that were sick.
We also filmed Jesus in the synagogue. This took place in John 6 and here you will see the discord between Jesus and the pharisees.
In our movie we want to emphasize how Christ explained His words of salvation to everyone, and the multitudes that left Him truly understood what He was talking about. This scene took many hours to light properly coupled with many permits and protocols imposed from the owner in addition to almost 2 days of preparation.
An important element for the synagogue was this Jewish scroll. It took weeks to build a big scroll prop that quickly brought the audience back to a specific time period. This prop was designed and finalized by Angelo but build by Sean Quandt. The Thora letters were painted by our apostle Phillip, Danny Galieote. This real, beautiful, historic scroll we found during our research. This prop would have cost us thousands of dollars to buy but we were able to make it due to the donation of time and material from faithful people who know the importance of this movie.
Thank you to our great gaffer Marty, who worked on “Star Trek”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Jack and Jill”, and other movies. He brought incredible experience to perfectly light the scenes as the Director/DP envisioned it. A special thank you to Paul Vigil, our special effect specialists, who took care of all the torches, flames, and smoke effects. He has worked on “Ocean’s Eleven”, “Fast & Furious”, and more. What incredible shots the team got!
Right now, our filming is at a halt as we do not have funds to continue filming. Just to put it into perspective here is the cost of filming so far. Your support has allowed this to happen and it is definitely not cheap. The countless attacks from Christ’s enemy have led to many delays that increased our costs.
All 2021 donor acknowledgement letters have been sent out. Thank you for your contributions last year! If you are able to support us again, we would appreciate it!
December Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
This was our biggest live action filming month so far! We started December with filming our most complicated scene, where Jesus walks on water. Angelo spoke with Jonathan Roumie who connected us with the right person within The Chosen team to identify the proper boat. The boat was driven by Mauricio from Texas to California. That was a huge labor of love!
The scene would begin with the apostles getting into the boat and therefore we need to first get this footage. A generous donor, Mark, allowed us to use his property to capture these scenes.
The scene will then transition to the moment of Jesus walking on water and for that we needed a pool, blue screens, as well as wind and rain special effects. We had experts in the business support us; some who had worked on “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, one of the newest Marvel movies, “Mission Impossible”, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”, and other blockbuster films. The rain was possible due to a Hollywood special effects veteran, Paul Vigil, who worked on “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Ocean’s Eleven”, “Fast & Furious”, “Escape from LA”, “Demolition Man”, and more.
Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra Heights generously allowed us to use their pool at no cost; a special thank you to Donna and Terry who connected us with Hacienda and also offered food to all the crew, that was a huge blessing and an expensive gift that we appreciated! We would also like to thank Villanova Preparatory School in Ojai, CA who initially offered for us to use their pool. We ended up using Hacienda but we were grateful for that option.
It was 6 days of filming and preparation that made these scenes a reality. Many thanks to the dozens of people who came together to make this a reality! This movie would not be possible without you!
The actor on the left side of the image is Andy Davoli. He is a great Catholic actor, who is playing Jude the apostle.
Andy has acted alongside the following actors: Vin Diesel in “Knockaround Guys”
George Clooney, William H. Macy, Michael Jeter, Sam Rockwell, Patricia Clarkson, and Isaiah Washington in “Welcome to Collinwood”
Joaquin Phoenix in James Gray's "The Yards”
He has also worked with Al Pacino, Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Garner, and others.
We also had Hollywood actor Bas Rutten join the movie. He has been in movies like Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Here Comes the Boom, and more. Angelo has known him for years and he was excited to be a part of the movie. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three-time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22-fight unbeaten streak. He was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Rutten is acting as one of the Roman soldiers during the scouring and carrying of the cross. His years of acting will make these scenes even more powerful.
What a blessing it is to have Hollywood actors use their talent to glory God!
In just 2 days we filmed the scourging, crowning with thorns, and crucifixion. We have been preparing for this for months. The scourge marks were based off of the Shroud of Turin and make up artists have been working to make this as realistic as possible. Below you can see images from the filming.
Our awesome actor Robert Renzi gave his all to show the love Christ has for us. Thank you for your donations which are allowing this to happen!
Robert’s brother was one of the Roman guards and took him down from the cross. You can see the picture below. It was a touching moment!
While we maximized our filming, some scenes will have to be filmed again. There is only so many hours in a day and during the editing process, there will be additional shots needed. Please pray that we receive the funds to complete this!
January is the last opportunity to be an extra in this movie. Please sign up here to join us for the filming of the Passover. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the New Passover and what we are filming will emphasize this.
For those that donated through The Catholic Connect Foundation link, or wrote a check to The Catholic Connect Foundation, you will be receiving your 2021 contribution letters for tax purposes in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for your tax-deductible donations!
November Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
“Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.” To hear the words of John 6:54 said by Robert Renzi, playing Jesus, was priceless! On November 6th nearly 300 people were on set to film the Bread of Life discourse for the first time ever! Seeing the multitudes leave Jesus was breath taking and I cannot wait to see the final version.
At the end of November, the Last Supper was filmed.
We are stressing the fact that this was no normal Passover but the institution of the Eucharist. Below is the chalice we used.
This set took placed within a barn that a supporter allowed us to use. Again, this movie would not be happening without the incredible generosity of you all.
I want to take a minute to praise Angelo for all of the hard work that he has done. He turned this barn into the upper room through many sleepless nights. Plastic rocks sheets were purchased from Warner Brother and Angelo spent two days with volunteers assembling the wall that supported it as well as painting the plastic. The ceiling was created with long tree branches where hay was placed between the branches. There were also the hundreds of props that you see in the images. Between designing the set, picking up props, creating storyboards, finalizing the script, and working with the actors, he has gone above and beyond for this movie. Please say a prayer for him as he has sacrificed more than you could ever know. I know he would not say this himself but as someone who has been in the trenches, I want you to get a glimpse into what it takes these scenes a reality. All of this is for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Please ask the Holy Spirit to guide the actors and the crew as we aim to create a movie that radiates the truth of Jesus Presence in the Holy Eucharist.
If you would like to be an extra, there is an opportunity for the carrying of the cross and the crucifixion in December. We hope you can join us!
Finally, I mentioned last month that we needed $80,000 to film the walking on water scene. Since I sent that message, we received $83,346. God continues to show us that this is His movie! Thank you so much and feel free to share our project with others!
God Love You,
Ray
October Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
On October 23rd we had hundreds of people on set for the multiplication of the loaves and fish, which is the beginning of the Gospel of John, Chapter 6. It was a day that we will never forget. We were blown away by the amazing costumes, continuous joy, and unbelievable dedication of everyone who came out!
Look at those great images! The film is going to look incredible. More images can be seen here
That filming was actually covered by the Catholic News Agency - https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249460/eucharistic-miracles-movie-begins-filming-seeks-extras-and-financial-support-to-complete-project
This will show the audience several miracles Jesus performed and yet how those that saw Jesus perform miracles could still not believe that bread could become His Flesh.
The live action portion has been the most expensive part but your support has allowed us to continue filming for this scene and the bread of life discourse. In the beginning of December we will film Jesus walking on water and that scene alone will cost over $80,000. We do not have the funds now and if we do not receive them by November 23rd, we will have to delay the scene. Please share the movie with anyone you know so that we can continue with production.
God Love You,
Angelo and Ray
September Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
September was an incredible month! We scheduled our two John 6 scenes!! These are critical moments of the film and scenes that we pray will bring countless souls to the glory of the Eucharist!
Here is the information for the scenes:
What: John 6 Part 1 - Feeding of the 5,000
When: October 23, 2021 starting at 8 am
Where: Indian Hill Ranch, 18061 Arosa Rd, Tehachapi, CA 93561
What to Wear: Below
Schedule:
8 am - 9 am (PST) - Arrive and get into position
9 am - 12 pm (PST) - Filming
12 pm - 1 pm (PST) - Lunch (Food will be provided)
2 pm - 7 pm (PST) – Filming
What: John 6 Part 2 - Bread of Life
When: November 06, 2021 starting at 8 am
What to Wear: Below
Schedule:
8 am - 9 am (PST) - Arrive and get into position
9 am - 12 pm (PST) - Filming
12 pm - 1 pm (PST) - Lunch (Food will be provided)
2 pm - 7 pm (PST) – Filming
These will be important parts of the movie. They will be long days as we will be filming the whole scenes in one day. Typically scenes take several days or week to film and we are trying to complete it all in one day due to our budget.
Below are several wardrobe options for purchase. Greater details and videos for costumes can be seen at www.eucharisticmiraclesmovie.com/costumes
Men's Gown 1 (this one ships the fastest)
We have also begun development on our application where the movie will be streamed from. This will contain the bonus features, cartoons made by Antonia Acutis, and much more!
We pray that God will provide the funds to finish this film. Please share this with any organization and people you know. This is going to be an amazing month!
God Love You,
Angelo and Ray
August Eucharistic Miracles Movie Update
Thank you for the prayers and support you have provided so far! We could not make this movie without you! The last month has been a time of preparation for the live action filming. We purchased insurance that will cover the boat and filming locations. This insurance covers any accidents that could occur while filming as well as damage done to the property. Almost every location that filming is done on requires proof of insurance before securing the location. Rob Renzi, who will play Jesus in the movie, explains the scenario well here.
We are working on costumes for multiple roles in the movie. The costumes need to be different for each person as it distinguishes the elements of their character arc.
For example, Angelo, the director, wanted Matthew to have some red elements in his costume. This will unify his past, working with Roman soldiers, showing that he is still attached to his past until Christ’s resurrection, when all the apostles are reborn with the coming of the Holy Spirit. Below you can see a rough markup the director drew with his finger on the spot, left, indicating where red would be preferred and the image of the updated costume, right.
We are continuing to work with the actors. Acting practice and rehearing is ongoing. We are rehearsing on Zoom with some of the actors and in the studio with others. We have partnered with some great Catholic friends and new members of the team that are allowing us to use their facility with acting coaches to bring the best movie to all of you.
At the same time, we are improving our wardrobes for Christ and Mary. The pictures below are some shots of Jesus. We are trying to select the right color for his sash.
Angelo is perfecting the storyboards to create the most quality film. With the help of the actors, we started to record their acting to see ways to make their performance as natural as possible on set. Below is a storyboard for the live action filming of John 6.
It was a blessing to do an interview with the Catholic News Agency, CNA. This article
was shared hundreds of times and then later republished in the National Catholic Register, The Loop, and CNA Deutsch (translated into German).
Last but not least, future donations will soon be tax deductible. We will be releasing a video announcing this and revealing some of the amazing footage we have taken so far. Be on the lookout for that on The Joy of the Faith channel! We pray that when financial support is tax deductible, additional donations will make this an even more impressive movie.
God Love You,
Angelo and Ray
