Participants:
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR200011S
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00:01 Stay tuned for a sneak peek into a film
00:03 that's going to demonstrate 00:04 just how far God will go to save us, 00:08 to show us His love 00:09 even when it means 00:11 snatching us from the dark side. 00:13 My name is Yvonne Shelton 00:14 and you're watching Urban Report. 00:39 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:42 My guest today via Skype is Chris Lang, 00:45 producer and director of the film 00:48 Charmed by Darkness, 00:49 and founder of Livestream Media, 00:52 a non-profit film company. 00:54 Welcome to Urban Report, Chris. 00:56 Welcome back. 00:58 Thank you very much, Yvonne. 01:01 You are such a busy guy. 01:04 We know you are a busy guy. 01:07 You have been working on this project 01:09 and it is now ready and we are so excited for you. 01:13 Tell us a bit about Charmed by Darkness 01:15 and the whole journey? 01:18 Thank you, Yvonne. 01:21 You know, I was sharing with you 01:23 before we started taping today 01:24 that I have to be reminded 01:27 sometimes that God doesn't wear a wristwatch. 01:29 Yeah, right. 01:31 And I'm so thankful that God has already gone 01:36 around the corner in the future and seen what's coming. 01:40 And He's prepared things for you and me 01:42 and whoever's listening today 01:44 to fulfill that purpose for which they were born. 01:49 And this six and a half year journey, 01:52 Yvonne, I met you years ago 01:54 when we were just getting started. 01:56 And you might remember seeing this book. 01:59 I read that book and I... 02:01 What was it, two or three days? 02:03 I couldn't put it down. Yeah, that's... 02:05 Fascinating. 02:07 This book came out in 2015. 02:11 And it was, 02:13 it's the full manuscript 02:15 of Roger's original conversion story. 02:17 Roger Morneau was a demon worshiper 02:20 who became a Christian, 02:22 an Adventist Christian author 02:24 and founder of an international prayer ministry. 02:29 And in your opening today, 02:30 you said that God has the ability 02:32 to reach down into the darkness and pull people out at, 02:36 well, the Bible even says to the uttermost... 02:39 That's right. He can save. 02:40 That's right. 02:42 And I like to tell people 02:44 this is one of the most compelling conversion stories 02:47 of the 20th century. 02:48 Yes. 02:50 And it was a, it was a great honor 02:53 to finally connect with Roger's family. 02:55 Roger Morneau's family, 02:57 who's southwest and I had spent years, 03:01 just impressed that to ask them 03:03 if anyone had ever asked permission 03:05 to dramatize his conversion story 03:10 after so many years. 03:12 For those that don't know about Roger Morneau's story, 03:15 he grew up in the... 03:17 He was born in the 20s, 03:18 grew up in the 30s in a Roman Catholic family. 03:22 And at the ripe old age of 12, he was told that his mother, 03:28 who had just passed away 03:29 had escaped purgatory and gone straight into heaven. 03:35 And that was because his father was wealthy 03:36 and was able to pay for 300 masses 03:39 simultaneously across Canada, 03:41 which, by the way, 03:43 Roger was born in New Brunswick, Canada. 03:45 Well, there was a poor old woman 03:49 who was a close family friend 03:50 who had also recently passed away 03:52 and this young 12 year old's correct mind 03:56 when the priest told him 03:57 that this kindly old lady was suffering in purgatory 04:02 and she was just as godly as his mother. 04:04 He decided God was a tyrant. 04:06 He turned his back on religion as soon as he left home. 04:11 And that left a huge vacuum in Roger 04:13 and he actually became an atheist. 04:16 During the World War II, he served his country in Canada 04:19 on a merchant navy ship, cargo vessel, 04:23 and many of his friends died 04:25 while during this period of his life 04:27 when he hated God. 04:29 You know, let me just interrupt you 04:30 for a second, Chris, 04:32 because it's so interesting to me how the devil 04:36 will distort God's character. 04:39 So he, there's so many people who believe that, 04:43 you know, when you die, 04:44 you go straight to heaven or hell, 04:46 and if you're in hell, 04:48 you're burning up and you're burning forever. 04:51 And if you are in that in between place of purgatory, 04:56 you know, it's just, 04:58 it's such a distortion of the loving character 05:01 of the God that we know. 05:03 So, you can kind of understand how people 05:06 because they don't know who God is, 05:08 they get sidetracked into thinking 05:11 that God is this tyrant 05:12 who is going to burn you forever 05:14 or who's going to have you writhing in pain forever. 05:17 And so, 05:19 if that's what led Roger into atheism, correct? 05:24 That's right. There was this big vacuum. 05:26 And as soon as the devil gets people to turn their back 05:29 on the scriptures on the ancient book, 05:32 that is the only book in world history 05:34 that actually tells us 05:36 about a creator God who knows our names, 05:39 and actually became flesh and blood 05:42 and died to basically save us from ourselves 05:47 from the fallen angels 05:49 who were kicked out of heaven 05:50 because Lucifer rebelled against Jesus Christ, 05:54 a pre-incarnate Jesus 05:56 and ultimately the fact that Jesus came to save us. 06:00 It's only one book in history 06:01 that tells us the truth about this, 06:04 this great God 06:06 who became one of us to save us, 06:08 and today intercedes for us to save us even still today. 06:13 And I think that's what's so exciting 06:15 about Roger's story 06:16 is that God knew that Roger was deceived. 06:20 And for those who are watching today, 06:22 who maybe grew up in a Christian home, 06:24 maybe grew up in another worldview, 06:26 and they've heard about Jesus, they've heard about God, 06:30 but maybe to them God is a impersonal force 06:33 in the universe 06:34 who doesn't have a heart or a nurturing spirit 06:38 to actually help me in my situation. 06:41 So many of these traditions 06:44 that you were talking about earlier, 06:45 like paganism, like Hinduism, 06:47 they teach you to worship the ancestors, 06:51 who actually are the ones interceding for us 06:54 in the afterlife. 06:55 And actually, the Bible is the only source 06:58 also that teaches us the truth about death. 07:02 And a lot of people may be watching today 07:05 and say, well, but the Bible, 07:07 does the Bible really teach the death are asleep? 07:10 Yes, it does, absolutely. 07:12 And, you know, 07:14 we didn't take a lot of time upon in this film 07:17 to give a Bible study about death. 07:20 But it was something 07:21 the Lord impressed me to touch on. 07:25 Those who watched Charmed by Darkness, 07:28 they will see that is touched on. 07:32 And then by God's grace, 07:34 they'll connect with our other film, 07:35 a companion program called Beware of Angels, 07:38 which we talked about last time I was on your program. 07:41 Which is all about this deception, 07:43 this original lie in the garden from the serpent, right? 07:46 Yes. You will not surely die. 07:47 Yes. 07:49 And so really Charmed by Darkness 07:53 really was an opportunity 07:54 to really expose that Lucifer is Satan. 07:59 And that Satan is a real person. 08:01 Yes. 08:02 And he and for any, 08:04 and people doubt his existence at the peril of their own soul. 08:10 That, you know, I was talking to someone 08:13 not long ago 08:14 who believes doesn't believe that, 08:18 that there's a Satan. 08:20 They don't believe in Satan. 08:22 They don't, so, I'm like, well, 08:23 where does the evil come from? 08:26 And you know, if you believe in God, 08:29 but you don't believe in Satan, 08:30 then where does evil come from? 08:32 Well, they just don't believe in that being. 08:34 That's one of the deceptions 08:36 that Satan the enemy has brought to people 08:40 that he doesn't really exist. 08:41 Because if you can think that he doesn't really exist, 08:43 then you don't have to answer for what you do 08:48 because, you know, 08:49 there's no evil, it's just there. 08:51 And then there are other people 08:53 who will admit that there's evil, 08:55 but there's still not a being that personifies evil. 08:59 There is, the Bible teaches who Lucifer is, was, 09:05 who Satan is and how it happened, 09:09 and what has happened to earth as a result of it. 09:12 It's all there. 09:13 And so, I'm so glad 09:14 that you've used media to teach 09:20 because it is such an important tool. 09:23 It's such an important tool 09:24 and you are using media to teach, 09:26 we have a trailer of the film 09:29 that we want to show in just a second. 09:31 Set us, set it up for us. 09:34 Sure, sure. 09:37 Well, one of the goals 09:40 is that you always want to have a trailer 09:42 that's less than two minutes long. 09:43 That's the first thing because people are ADD 09:45 in our culture today, right? 09:47 So, you only have a few seconds, 09:51 you got a few seconds to get their attention. 09:52 Right. 09:54 And so, I'm kind of lifting something 09:56 out of Roger Morneau's philosophy 09:59 and by God's grace 10:00 we will capture people's curiosity 10:03 enough to make, make them want, 10:04 by the Holy Spirit's curiosity 10:06 and to want to watch and see 10:08 who this man Roger Morneau was. 10:10 And all the people connected to his story. 10:12 This just gives you a little taste. 10:14 Great. Let's check it out. 10:29 Mr. Morneau. 10:31 This man is connected with the guy above 10:34 and he wanted to talk to and pray for. 10:37 Roger ministered to thousands I know of, 10:40 maybe million. 10:45 I wanted to know what he knew 10:47 and why his prayers were so powerful. 10:53 Does the author of this book live here? 11:03 There's power in Roger's story. 11:04 There's something that doesn't want me 11:05 to continue typing this. 11:10 Welcome to our home. Thank you. 11:12 How were the scriptures given? 11:14 And we read the questions and looked at the scriptures. 11:19 He never blinked. 11:20 The sweat was pouring from his face. 11:24 And I said, "What are you doing?" 11:26 He said, "Oh, just trying something." 11:28 Better pray. 11:29 This weird situation we're in. 11:33 I still was not a believer in the devil. 11:37 There's only spirits and union workers 11:40 know just how to handle those type of people. 12:01 Wow, that was powerful. 12:04 That was powerful. 12:06 That does whet your appetite, 12:08 like you want to know more 12:09 what's gonna happen and who is this guy, 12:11 Roger Morneau. 12:13 And just, yeah, that's really good. 12:16 And it addresses 12:18 some of the weird things that happened, 12:20 you know, during even the production time. 12:23 And we're going to talk about that in a bit. 12:25 But what were 12:29 some of the activities and research 12:33 that you had to do, like you, 12:35 you must have had to do a lot of research 12:38 because this was, what in the 40s and 30s. 12:44 How did you do all that research 12:45 and what were some of your findings? 12:49 Yeah. Yvonne, it was a... 12:52 I think part of the reason 12:54 why this took so long to produce 12:56 is that, first of all, 12:58 from a journalistic perspective, 13:00 you don't want to make statements 13:01 unless you have sources for what you're saying. 13:05 And I had prayed all along in this journey 13:08 that God help us to be able to prove 13:12 through documentary evidence, 13:14 the things which we can prove, 13:16 so that it will add credibility 13:18 for the things which we can't prove. 13:21 Oh, excellent. 13:23 Because there's nobody, see Roger, 13:25 Roger never gave names of the people that he was with 13:28 and the secret society, for example, right? 13:31 He didn't say who George the jazz musician was 13:34 that rose to fame in the blink of an eye 13:37 and invited him into this elite group. 13:40 We think we know who it is. 13:42 But quite frankly, that doesn't change 13:44 the trajectory of Roger's testimony. 13:46 Right. 13:47 And also because we can't make statements for things 13:50 that we don't have. 13:52 We don't have documentary proof about. 13:55 All that being said, 13:56 I'll just give you a couple of highlights. 13:58 Yes. 13:59 One of the amazing revelations that I thought was, 14:02 was really exciting 14:05 was how God showed me 14:07 the history of the Golden Square Mile 14:09 in Montreal. 14:11 I knew nothing 14:12 about that part of Montreal's history. 14:15 But did you know that at the turn of the 1900s, 14:19 there were the families 14:22 that controlled 70% of Canada's wealth 14:25 lived in a one square mile area of Montreal. 14:28 Wow. 14:30 Seventy percent of Canada's wealth 14:31 was owned in a square mile of families. 14:35 Isn't that something? That is amazing. 14:38 So there was this one wealthy super, super wealthy area 14:42 that people lived in one square mile. 14:46 One square mile. Wow. 14:47 And it was, it was nicknamed the Golden Square Mile. 14:52 And when Roger, 14:53 when Roger left World War II 14:55 and was and came into the 40s era of Montreal, 14:59 that square mile still had 15:01 many of the elite families that lived there. 15:05 And, of course, we included pictures 15:07 of some of these areas, 15:10 mansions, locations, 15:11 because so many people are curious 15:13 about that part of Roger's story, 15:15 obviously we can't prove. 15:17 But there are, there is documentary evidence 15:20 contributing to the credibility of that part of his story. 15:23 There was truly an elite culture there. 15:26 The other thing that we didn't talk 15:28 about in the movie that was equally helpful 15:31 was the fact that the Jewish culture there, 15:34 90% of them live in an area 15:37 where most of the garment factories were. 15:40 And most people when, 15:42 when Roger tells his story about how Cyril, 15:46 right, talked to his boss about keeping the Sabbath. 15:49 And the Jew asked him, "Are you a Jew?" 15:51 And Cyril says, "No, I'm a Christian." 15:56 You know, the truth is that part of, 15:59 that part of the history is absolutely provable, 16:02 that the, you know, 16:05 this part of the story is completely logical 16:09 and historical precedents was there to back up 16:11 that the Jews basically owned most of the garment factories, 16:16 in fact, over 90% of them. 16:17 So that just gave me a lot of confidence 16:20 when we made statements about Roger and Cyril 16:23 and Cynthia story in the film, 16:25 that they were really based on historical evidence, 16:28 including documents that God helped us find 16:30 from World War II. 16:32 Wow. 16:33 Praise the Lord 16:35 that you were able to authenticate 16:36 a lot of what you talked about. 16:38 That's a real blessing. 16:40 Let's talk about the actors that you cast 16:42 in the roles of Cyril, and Roger, and Cynthia. 16:47 Let's talk about them. 16:49 How did you find them, 16:50 like what went into casting them 16:52 in those roles? 16:55 Well, it was, it ended up being a huge blessing 16:58 with every one of them. 17:00 And, you know, 17:02 it took six months actually to put together 17:05 the two movie sets 17:06 with all of the different props and furniture. 17:11 And all of those things that you see 17:13 kind of in the core foundation of the film 17:16 is actually this 1946 Bible study 17:19 that happened and sort of the commitment 17:21 to having wardrobe 17:23 and paint colors and all of that stuff. 17:25 So that it could kind of bring it to life 17:28 and the fact that we actually hadn't planned 17:31 to have spoken lines during the shoot, 17:34 it was actually just going to be B-roll. 17:36 And for those that are watching that don't know what B-roll is. 17:42 Your actors don't have spoken lines, 17:44 scripted lines, right? 17:47 But when they got there, 17:50 I knew that they were the ones 17:51 the Lord had chosen for several reasons. 17:53 First of all, they were super patient. 17:58 It's because all of them had the understanding 18:01 that when they came on set that day, they were just, 18:04 they weren't going to have a spoken line story about. 18:06 Well, at the last minute I felt the Lord impressing me, 18:10 we needed a live mic on the set. 18:12 And we ended up 18:14 changing kind of pivoting right there at the last minute, 18:17 and they were very cool, 18:19 they put their heart and soul into it. 18:21 And God blessed us. 18:22 I mean, we had to shoot 18:24 more takes than we had expected, 18:25 but they did a tremendous job. 18:28 And I think most people who, 18:30 the people out there who'd read any of Roger's books 18:33 or know anything about the friendship 18:35 between Roger and Cyril. 18:37 Well, the last thing I'll mention 18:38 that kind of gave me 18:39 this total confidence that God chose 18:42 these young people to be in these role. 18:46 The young Cyril actor and the young Roger actor 18:48 had never met before, 18:51 they didn't know each other 18:52 and they came to this set on the day of the shoot, 18:56 and they met on set for the first time. 19:00 Their chemistry was so natural, so unbelievable. 19:04 We laughed more than we deserved to laugh 19:06 on the set. 19:09 And pretty soon when the viewers who see this, 19:13 later we're going to post some outtakes, 19:15 some bloopers and things like that, 19:16 so that people can see 19:18 how naturally they worked together on set. 19:20 And that was just a blessing. 19:21 And you know why, Yvonne? 19:23 Because Roger and Cyril actually became best friends 19:28 and for the rest of their lives 19:30 after they met in the factory that week, 19:32 when they ended up studying the Bible together. 19:35 And do you know, 19:37 the young Cyril and young Roger, 19:39 they now see each other on a weekly basis 19:42 ever since they worked together on the set of this film. 19:45 Aw! 19:46 What a neat story. 19:48 So they became close friends like the real, 19:50 like the characters they played. 19:52 Wow. 19:54 What did the families 19:55 of Roger and Cyril think about these actors? 20:00 You know, they love these actors, 20:03 they felt like they were very believable. 20:05 And that was such a huge affirmation 20:10 to have a blessing from the families 20:11 of, you know, Roger's daughter, Linda, 20:14 who also appears in the film. 20:17 She told me that she cried a lot of times 20:21 since she watched this film out of joy, 20:24 because there's so many things that come out in this film. 20:28 The family is such a private family, 20:30 Yvonne, 20:31 they don't go on camera, they don't go give interviews, 20:35 in a way they've been living in the shadow 20:37 of this huge legacy. 20:39 Yes. 20:40 And this film actually gave them, 20:43 God gave them an opportunity to speak a word 20:48 about this journey they've all been on together, 20:51 and what it means 20:53 and how it connects to God's bigger plan for them. 20:57 And one more thing I'll mention 20:58 that was so affirming from Cyril's daughter-in-law, 21:03 her name is Olive 21:04 and we become very good friends. 21:06 Since Cyril passed away, 21:07 since both Cyril and Cynthia passed away 21:09 soon after I worked with them. 21:11 And Olive, an author, 21:13 her daughter and her grandchildren 21:15 who were the great grandchildren 21:17 of Cyril and Cynthia, 21:19 these young girls were all sitting there 21:20 in front of the TV watching Charmed by Darkness together 21:24 and they, every once in a while, 21:25 Olive said they would pause it, 21:27 they would look at their grandmother 21:28 and they would look at her with this expression. 21:32 And they said, 21:33 that's exactly how grandpa used to tell us. 21:36 Wow! 21:37 But they were seeing it being reenacted. 21:40 Yes. 21:41 And Olive said that those little girls 21:43 did not budge an inch 21:45 the whole time the movie was playing. 21:47 Which is a true test, right? 21:49 Which is a true test of how compelling the film is. 21:53 If you can hold the attention of youngsters, 21:55 you can really hold some attention. 21:59 I just praise the Lord, 22:00 you know, for that kind of family centric. 22:05 They know the story better than anyone, right? 22:07 That's right. That's right. 22:10 They know the story better 22:11 and they could see the parallels, 22:15 the similarities between the actors 22:17 and the real characters, 22:19 which is a blessing because that was his family. 22:23 And just the miracle of how it all fit together, 22:28 you know, these flashbacks when people see the film, 22:31 they'll see that the Bible studies, 22:33 the foundation and then there's flashbacks 22:35 to different parts of Roger's life 22:37 and there's, 22:40 it's constantly moving different places. 22:42 So the viewer isn't just sitting there 22:43 in a Bible study the whole time, you know? 22:46 That would be kind of rough. You're right. 22:49 That is so, so good. 22:50 I mean, for a non-believer, of course. 22:52 Right, right, right, right. 22:54 This is so good. 22:56 I'm so excited about this film, 22:58 and I know that the viewers are going to love it. 23:00 And I know also that behind the scenes 23:03 during the shooting of the film, 23:05 you had some unusual things happen. 23:07 Tell us about that? 23:11 Yeah, the last time 23:13 I was on the program with you, Yvonne, 23:15 I shared how a bear 23:16 after living in this house for 20 some years, 23:19 broke through my fence the night I was scanning 23:21 those little Bible studies that are out of print. 23:24 And Cyril mailed them to me. 23:26 And, you know, 23:28 just a few months before we finished 23:30 post-production, it was my birthday last fall. 23:33 And at 3 am I heard a crash that woke me up, 23:37 this time I got a security camera video 23:40 of this big bear 23:41 who crashed through my fence again. 23:44 The same bear came back five years later, Yvonne. 23:47 Wow! 23:49 That is so, that's scary. 23:54 Also, the day we announced post-production for this film, 23:58 a microburst came up 24:00 and for those who don't know what a microburst is, 24:02 you can search on the internet, you can Google it. 24:04 It's a small tornado 24:07 that just came out of nowhere 24:08 and suck the tops off of two of my big oak trees 24:11 and smash them down on the roof of my house. 24:15 I saw it happen 24:16 right after I got off a phone call. 24:18 And during that same hour, 24:20 you know, some people 24:22 who don't believe the devil exists, 24:24 they say, oh, that that could happen, 24:26 that was just a coincidence. 24:28 Well, within the same hour, Yvonne, 24:30 a fire broke out 24:32 in our associate producer's neighborhood 24:34 on the other side of the United States 24:35 and right in California, 24:37 it was such a bad fire 24:38 that they had to evacuate their whole family. 24:41 And it burned down a neighbor's house 24:44 just nearby where they live. 24:48 The forces of evil were very angry. 24:50 Well, at the same time, Yvonne, 24:52 God was working miracles, you know. 24:55 And I just wanted to share this sweet story 24:57 I just heard this morning from Yvonne, from Amanda, 25:01 the young blonde girl that you see, 25:03 you saw in the trailer. 25:05 She typed the manuscript for this book, 25:08 Charmed by Darkness, 25:10 and as a result became a Sabbath keeper. 25:13 Oh, praise God. 25:15 So in the movie, you will see 25:17 what happened during that first Saturday 25:19 that she kept before the Lord. 25:23 But today she's still a Sabbath keeper, 25:25 and the devil sometimes will do small things, Yvonne, 25:28 to try and discourage and crush you. 25:32 Last Friday, she was backing out 25:34 to go pick up one of her kids 25:36 and she backed over the family cat. 25:39 And for all, for all they knew the cat was dead. 25:43 The animal control came and picked up the cat 25:46 and took it away 25:47 and we're gonna put it down because the cat was just, 25:50 well, she heard it, 25:51 she heard the crunch when she rolled over it. 25:54 Well, this morning she texted me, Yvonne, 25:56 after almost a week of grieving the loss of their family cat 25:59 because she has several children, 26:01 they are heartbroken. 26:03 That family control, animal control called them back 26:06 and said the cat is alive and has no scratches, 26:09 no injuries, nothing at all. 26:10 Wow! 26:12 Oh, what a blessing, what a blessing. 26:14 We have like one minute 26:16 you got to tell us what you need 26:18 and how can the viewers help? 26:22 The film recently came out on Amazon Prime, 26:26 and you can watch it for free. 26:27 If our viewers 26:29 are able to share this link on Amazon 26:33 with their family and friends, 26:34 we need as many reviews as possible, Yvonne, 26:36 because every review actually helps this film 26:40 to rise in its ranking 26:41 so that more people can see it. 26:43 And our goal is to actually have 26:45 a strong performance in the near future 26:47 so that more platforms will want this film 26:49 and we can spread the word 26:50 to many other platforms around the world. 26:53 So I thank your viewers in advance for their support. 26:57 What a blessing, Chris. 26:58 We are so thankful for what you do, 27:01 and for the fact 27:02 that you have brought this story to the world. 27:05 We know that people are going to watch 27:07 and be blessed 27:08 and many will come to Christ as a result, 27:10 and we praise God for that. 27:12 So thank you so very much for doing it 27:14 and for being with us. 27:17 Thank you for having me, Yvonne. 27:19 We appreciate you really, really very much. 27:22 And we thank you for being with us. 27:23 Make sure that you support this effort, 27:26 go to livestream.org, livestreammedia.org. 27:31 I think we put the website up anyway. 27:34 And make sure that you donate and support Livestream Media 27:38 because they are doing some amazing work. 27:42 Well, we've come to the end of this program, 27:44 I can't believe it. 27:46 This time goes by so fast, 27:47 especially when you're talking about the Lord and the work 27:50 that's being done in the world. 27:52 Make sure you tune in next time because you know what? 27:55 Just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2020-06-18