Ensemble Cast of Celebrities Unite to Record Audio Bible

Ensemble Cast of Celebrities Unite to Record Audio Bible

Zondervan and Inspired By Media Group Partner to Deliver Inspired By ... The Bible Experience

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Zondervan and Inspired By Media Group will release Inspired By ... The Bible Experience, a dramatized audio recording of the Bible featuring an unprecedented roster of stars from stage and screen. More than 80 stars such as award-winning actors Angela Bassett (Esther), Blair Underwood (Jesus), Denzel Washington (Solomon) and Cuba Gooding Jr. (Judas) lend their voices to this project of biblical proportions to form an all-star ensemble cast.

Releasing this fall, a reenactment based on the entire text of the New Testament, Inspired By ... The Bible Experience includes dramatic performances set to sound effects and an original musical underscore. Developed and produced by Inspired By Media Group, a company comprised of new media and entertainment industry veterans committed to producing creative and culturally relevant products for the faith-based and family markets, this first-of-its- kind audio Bible will be published and distributed by Zondervan, the world's leading Bible publisher.

"With the recent resurgence of faith-based entertainment and its appeal to both urban and mainstream audiences, this project serves as a cultural bridge connecting people of all races and ethnicities," said Ron Belk, president and CEO of Inspired By Media Group and one of four of the audio Bible's executive producers. "We are excited to partner with Zondervan to produce this unique and inspiring Bible."

Veteran television and film producer Kyle Bowser, Grammy-winning music producer Louis "Buster" Brown and Emmy-winning casting director Robi Reed also serve as executive producers for Inspired By ... The Bible Experience and comprise the multimedia company's senior management team.

In addition to Bassett, Underwood, Washington and Gooding Jr., Inspired By ... The Bible Experience audio Bible features a cross-generational roster of talent representing a wide variety of entertainment genres and personalities. With more than 80 African-American celebrities and notable personalities recorded to date, television and film favorites such as James Avery, Tisha Campbell Martin, Loretta Devine, Charles Dutton, Robert Guillaume, Jasmine Guy and Boris Kodjoe are among the ensemble cast. NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, inspirational speaker Iyanla Vanzant, minister Juanita Bynum and legendary gospel singer Shirley Caesar are also featured. Voices from the music world spanning gospel, hip-hop and R&B include Common, Faith Evans, Heavy D, Anthony Hamilton, Kirk Franklin, MC Lyte and Angie Stone.

The company also plans to launch Inspired By ... The Bible Experience, Old and New Testaments in 2007, as well as a number of other Inspired By ... branded products, including an accompanying soundtrack.

"I am proud to be a part of this landmark project that has afforded me the opportunity to collaborate with so many of my peers to bring this unique and timely version of the Bible to the global marketplace," said Blair Underwood.

Inspired By ... The Bible Experience will be recorded using Zondervan's Today's New International Version (TNIV) Bible translation, a version selected by Inspired By Media Group because it represented the best combination of accuracy and readability for the audio Bible product and is targeted specifically for the 18- to 34-year-old demographic.

"Zondervan recognizes that there is a large and powerful audience looking for this type of culturally relevant product," said Paul Caminiti, Zondervan vice president and publisher of Bibles. "We're excited about the opportunity to bring Inspired By ... The Bible Experience to the urban Christian market and expect it to have strong crossover appeal."

About Inspired By Media Group

Branded by its signature banner Inspired By ... , Inspired By Media Group, Inc., is committed to serving the faith-based and general markets by creating family oriented products that are culturally relevant in scope. With more than a combined 40-years in the convergent areas of music, television, film, theater, literature, new media and technology, the company is an industry leader in delivering contemporary multimedia products. Visit Inspired By Media Group on the Web at http://www.inspiredby.com/ .

About Zondervan

Zondervan is the leading Christian communications company in the world. Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, produces Bibles, books, new media products, gift products from its Inspirio group and children's products from its Zonderkidz group. The world's leading Bible publisher, Zondervan holds exclusive North American publishing rights to the New International Version of the Bible, the best-selling modern English translation in the world. More than 215 million copies of the NIV have been sold or distributed worldwide. Visit Zondervan on the Web at http://www.zondervan.com/ .

Source: Zondervan

CONTACT: Vicki Cessna of Zondervan, +1-616-698-3214,
vicki.cessna@zondervan.com ; Charmaine Chapman of BTB Communications,
+1-310-242-8407 (main), char@btbcommunications.com

Web site: http://www.inspiredby.com/
http://www.zondervan.com/

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