THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 37, Number 22 Thursday, June 10, 2021 An Experience Like No Other by Andrew Tallackson Editor’s note — The extras, though, This article is not de- were steadfast. Cam- signed to impart any eras began rolling, religious views on and actor Jonathan readers, but to convey Roumie appeared as the experience of be- Jesus. ing an extra in a TV “Most people there show that is becoming were fans of the a global phenomenon. show,” Knouse said. “And here you are, with the character To say the moment of Jesus, where he was surreal for Dale comes down to the Knouse is putting it middle of the crowd, mildly. where he does large Standing amid a chunks of dialogue. sea of extras, and cov- It was pretty remark- ered head to toe in able. It impacted the trappings of the you.” time, Knouse listened It was an experi- intently as director ence like no other for Dallas Jenkins is- Knouse, who grew sued a set of remind- up in Michigan City ers. No cell phones and now lives in La- visible. Don’t smile or Porte. For him, to be wave at Jesus. Don’t part of a TV series nod your head up and he once resisted, but down as if in church. now embraced mind, Just be natural. body and spirit, was The scene at hand? extraordinary. The Sermon on the “The Chosen” is Mount, slated for defying the conven- the Season 2 fi nale tions of “bingeable” of “The Chosen,” the television. Jenkins fi rst TV series – creat- (2017’s “The Res- Dale Knouse, on the set and in costume for “The Chosen.” ed outside the Holly- urrection of Gavin wood system — that takes a multi-season approach Stone”), the show’s creator, director and co-writer, to the story of Jesus, but from the perspectives of wanted to achieve something unique, to fi ll in the those who knew him. Texas provided the location gaps, in a way, through backstories of people in the for the shoot that day. Conservative estimates place Bible. Some are Disciples, others fringe characters. the number of extras at 2,000. Knouse believes it The plan is to produce seven seasons made avail- was anywhere from 2,500 to 3,000. Temperatures able free to viewers. The goal is to remain true not for the Feb. 10 shoot hovered at a frosty 25 degrees. Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 June 10, 2021 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 Beacher Company Directory e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] Don and Tom Montgomery Owners email: Classifieds - [email protected] Andrew Tallackson Editor http://www.thebeacher.com/ Drew White Print Salesman PRINTE ITH Published and Printed by Janet Baines Inside Sales/Customer Service T Becky Wirebaugh Typesetter/Designer T A S A THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Randy Kayser Pressman Dora Kayser Bindery Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is Jacquie Quinlan Production also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. John Baines, Karen Gehr, Tom Montgomery Delivery How did Knouse get hooked? An Experience Continued from Page 1 First, a little about him. He was born in Fort Lau- derdale, Fla., but raised in Michigan City. He grad- just to Scripture, but also to the historical context uated from Rogers High School in 1984, then from of the period. A particular emphasis of the show are Worsham College of Mortuary Science, Wheeling, the Jewish customs and practices of the characters. Ill. He has been with Cutler Funeral Home for 28 The show’s advisors review scripts and offer not just years, co-owning it with his wife, Tonya, for the past Biblical insight, but also cultural and sociopolitical 10 years. They have two sons: David, 22, and Mat- context. thew, who soon turns 20. Dale’s brother, Andrew, Jenkins turned to online crowdfunding as an al- is a captain with Michigan City Fire Department. ternative fi nancing source. Season One, which de- Their mother, Alice, worked for years at Carson buted in 2019, remains the highest crowdfunded TV Pierre Scott. series or fi lm project to date, generating more than Dale fi rst learned about “The Chosen” through $10.2 million from more than 16,000 investors. Facebook. Social media, in fact, has been a vehicle The series is now in the middle of Season 2, re- for promoting the show. The heavy marketing ap- leasing episodes as they are completed. The most proach caught his attention, but he was hesitant. regularly used platforms include VidAngel, You- The quality, or what he saw as the lack thereof, of Tube, Peacock and “The Chosen” app, which allows much faith-based entertainment kept him at bay. viewers to “mirror,” or send, an episode to a Smart- Last September, however, he attended a virtual TV. faith-based concert that included Michael W. Smith Jenkins has said in interviews his desire is to at The Melody drive-in theater in Knox. Friends at- have the show seen by more than a billion people tending the concert suggested he give the show a try. globally. As of March, Season 1 has been viewed So, he and Tonya watched the fi rst episode through more than 100 million times. The show also is being YouTube’s streaming service. They were hooked. translated into 70 languages. The episode, which details how Jesus reaches out Dale was part of a wave of extras who arrived on the set at 5 a.m. THE June 10, 2021 Page 3 P 61 ÿ1 16æ- ø- [B \"& ?& ÿæ 9Â-âæ1 Ýæ1 Â-æ 1Âæ\b§ ø-æâ1ÿ*ÜÂÝùÂ-âæ1-ù PÿH ¦ P6æ P6H 6ùæ* bÝ * U }-æ6H Dale, a longtime “Star Wars” fan, waits during the shoot while wearing a Chewbacca face mask. H*ÿH b-Ýÿæ1- to Mary Magdalene, spoke to his faith thanks to the P6H * caliber of the writing, acting, directing and overall production values. ÂÜÂ-æ \ùÿ øæÂ6-æ “Here is Scripture, but not in a medium that’s al- ways done well, but then again, it’s outside of Hol- -11 ø- ÿæ 9â ÿæÂ-æ lywood, so it’s freeing. Not confi ning. Every episode P6H P6H has been that way,” he said. * “We all get hooked on sitcoms, or things we binge on Netfl ix. This, to me, was the same caliber of what I was already seeing. You get to know the charac- ters. You’re invested in them on an emotional level. It’s told from a perspective we haven’t seen, and it’s written to where it’s relatable.” Now a fan, Knouse learned of the show’s “Pay It Forward” element, where viewers can contribute so it remains free. Contributions can range from $14.99 to $999.99. Last October, Knouse learned of the possibility, through contributing, of being an extra during the Sermon on the Mount. Inter- ested, Knouse pursued that option. A month later, "-æÝ ø- -Ââ ÂH \æ ­- ÿæ * H1 6ù61 * -**æ-ææ æ*æÜæ- * 5 1 6 $$ 4 D*B* 7 ! < 2 X 8= #%"% Dale Knouse (second from right) is photographed with his son David (from left), wife Tonya and son Matthew. m * - !(.c'&'c(''$ Continued on Page 4 THE Page 4 June 10, 2021 Knouse’s fellow extras hailed from all 50 states, An Experience Continued from Page 3 along with a few from countries abroad. The 25-de- gree temperatures made wearing sandals a bit he received an email stating fi lming was slated for chilly. Individuals, however, were allowed to wear February in Texas. He would have to cover travel coats and regular shoes during downtime. Warming and housing expenses, and take a COVID test three tents were available. days before heading to Texas. The cold, however, did deter some extras from re- Knouse was game. maining with the shoot. The day of the shoot, he was among a wave of ex- “We maybe lost a couple hundred people,” Knouse tras that arrived at 5 a.m. for a rapid COVID test. said, “but most were in great spirits.” Once cleared, they boarded a bus for the shoot. An- Once fi lming began, Knouse says he was im- other wave of extras arrived as the morning pro- pressed by everyone, from Jenkins, to the produc- gressed. ers, to the camera crew. The focus was for everyone The extras receive instructions before fi lming begins. Anyone who has experienced a fi lm or TV shoot to have a good time, but to embrace the weight of knows the day can be long. Tedious. Plenty of stops the series. What was being fi lmed at the time. and starts — setting up shots, prepping cast mem- “They were very cordial,” he said of the crew. bers with costumes, makeup and props. To offset “They were glad everyone was there. that for the extras, “The Chosen” set included food “The series,” he continued, “it’s a lot of imagina- and live entertainment, all of it outside to ensure tion and conjecture because you’re telling stories social distancing. Knouse said a brief scene was with the fringe people, people we’re getting some fi lmed at noon, following by a shot of 300 people glimpses of what they were like and possibly did. walking across a fi eld. Extras for the Sermon on the That’s what makes the show interesting.