Power couple Mark Burnett and Roma Downey said their excitement is building up for the upcoming release of their latest film "Ben Hur."
Speaking to participants of Proclaim 16, the National Religious Broadcasters' annual convention, they said the movie is about a Palestinian Jewish man who was betrayed by his friend and spent the next couple of years of his life plotting revenge until his life was changed because of Jesus Christ.
Downey described the film as "the most riveting opportunity of our careers."
"It's a feast, a beautiful re-imagining of this epic story. I think that the movie in many ways is a Trojan horse, because it's an action/adventure movie and it delivers on that, and viewers won't be disappointed with that. It's epic. But...it's a story of redemption, a story of reconciliation, a story about forgiveness," she said about the film.
Downey said they hired the best stuntmen and designers to work on the film just so they can create the perfect backdrop of the Roman empire.
Burnett and Downey also revealed that they used the same horse trainer and makeup artist from the classic 1959 film, which starred Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd.
"This film has been made lovingly," said Downey. "This is a message of mercy and love and compassion and forgiveness."
The producer also talked about her days as an actress for "Touched By An Angel." Downey said the faith-based series still impacts her work and decision-making process today.
"'Touched By An Angel' had a very simple premise: there is a God and he loves us and he wants to be part of our lives," Downey said. "We've taken that premise and weaved it through the work that we're doing."
"Ben Hur," which stars Jack Huston and Toby Kebbell, will be released in cinemas nationwide on Aug. 12, 2016.
