Synopsis: Reverend Bobby Paradise, a former astronaut and now a world-famous spiritual leader, is facing a long, dark night of the soul in this original picture. Bobby's got his hands full just keeping his ministry afloat, but a senate hearing, a sex scandal, a corporate merger and a son about to be paroled from prison are about to make his life a whole lot more complicated--and his faith a lot more difficult to muster.

Cast:
David Strathairn .... Reverend Bobby Paradise
Barbara Hershey .... Elizabeth Paradise
James Le Gros ..... Matthew Paradise
Kiersten Warren .... Grace Paradise
Patrick Flueger .... Luke Paradise
Elaine Stritch ..... Isabella
Kirk Acevedo .... Mannie
Vivienne Benesch .... Allison Paradise

Favorite Quotes:
• "Why do we need God? Because he needs us!" - Reverend Bobby Paradise

• Isabella: "This was your dream, Elizabeth. Not his."
Elizabeth: "Bobby was chosen by God to lead the Paradise Ministries."
Isabella: "Well, I hope he got a finder's fee."

• Bobby: "God, she wasn't suppose to die."
Elizabeth: "No. No, she wasn't suppose to live as long as she did. You made a difference."
Bobby: "I didn't do enough."
Elizabeth: "You're not in control. You do God's work, not his job."
Bobby: "God, I loved that little girl."
Elizabeth: "I know. You know, I learned how to love from you. Whenever anyone needed it, your hand was always there. All you can do is extend it. Some will take it, others won't."

• Isabella: "Bobby, you're drifting. You are. You're drifting. I'm concerned."
Bobby: "I know, but don't be. You know I always come back."
Isabella: "How about now?"
Bobby: "Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. I'm right here."

Notes:
• Paradise was actually made in early 2003 and set to be shown that year but was not televised until 2004. It was meant to be a pilot for a series, but the series never took off.
• David and Barbara Hershey previously co-starred in A Dangerous Woman.

Critical Praise & Commentary:
(David On His Role:)
• [on the film] "Timmy Swagger... There's a lot of them. I don't think there's ever been a project to deal with a global ministry through the means that are avaliable today. Some of the great saints that have walked the earth, they don't need any money. They just use their own spirit to get the word out." -David Strathairn, 2003, DVD interview

(Richard Christian Matherson and Norman Steinberg On David:)
• "David Strathairn, who has had an extensive career not only on film but on the Broadway stage, [we were] lucky enough to land him and we met him--he flew out from his home in New York and was thrilled with the script and we were thrilled to meet him. He's a very, very thoughtful and interior actor. I call him an interior actor. He really became this character, Bobby Paradise." -Norman Steinberg, producer/writer, DVD commentary

• "He's [David Strathairn] a naturally contemplative man and in those very ways that Bobby is." -Richard Christian Matherson, producer/writer, DVD commentary

• "What's striking about this sequence is to realize the enormous amount of dialogue that David had to keep in mind and that, in order to capture all the angles and to really cover it fully, it had to be shot--I remember him going through this maybe 10-15 times. And he had it memorized from one end to the other, and it was really something to watch him do it over and over again, and each time he did it it was superb. And just to see him do it, it was really something." -Richard Christian Matherson, producer/writer, DVD commentary

• Norman Steinberg: "The original speech, as written, was, I would say, twice as long, wouldn't you?"
Richard Christian Matherson: "Yeah, what you see here was edited down but in David's performance, he did the entirety of it. And, I mean, it was really galvanizing." -producers/writers, DVD commentary

• "We were really blessed from one end to the other with wonderful actors." -Richard Christian Matherson, producer/writer, DVD commentary

• [regarding an emotional scene between David and Barbara Hershey as Bobby and Elizabeth Paradise] "It was a very touching scene to watch. They were just both so moving. I love watching them together. They just look like a couple who've been through everything together, don't they?" -Richard Christian Matherson, producer/writer, DVD commentary

Related Links:
Official U.S. Site (off site)