LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legendary athlete Herschel Walker, executive producer of the new feature film “One Nation Under God,” is extending an invitation to the public in and around Baton Rouge, where the film was shot, to attend an exclusive first-look screening on Friday, September 22 at 7:00 pm, to be held at First Baptist Church in Covington, Louisiana. First Baptist Church is located at 16333 Louisiana Highway 1085, and has plenty of free parking. The screening is free to attend.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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“One Nation Under God” stars Kevin Sorbo, Antonio Sabato Jr., Casper Van Dien, Lois Robbins and Isaak Presley, and was written and directed by Lisa Arnold, who co-produced the hugely successful 2014 “God’s Not Dead.” “One Nation Under God” is based on a true story of patriotism which dramatizes the ongoing debate surrounding the First Amendment, freedom of speech and censorship, when a new student at a Louisiana magnet school questions a policy in which the words “under God” are omitted in daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Herschel Walker, one of the film’s executive producers, also appears in the film, as an alumnus of the school which becomes the center of a debate surrounding the right to free speech.
“I am pleased to be a part of this true story in which one young man stood up for his right to free speech,” said Walker, “and I want the folks of Baton Rouge who made us feel so welcome during production to join us Friday night for the first look at the film. This country and its people must never give up our right to freedom of speech. We are a diverse people, and that diversity extends to our opinions as well, a basic right we must defend at all costs.”
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791 and states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Today, 225 years hence, the debate over Freedom of Speech continues unabated. Last Friday in a speech before the Future of Speech Online forum, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said that, “Free speech in practice seems to be under siege in this country,” in reference to college campus protests aimed at silencing speakers, attempts he calls “especially distressing.” He went on to say, “Fewer today seem to be willing to defend to the death others’ right to say things with which they might disagree.”
In “One Nation Under God,” a magnet school teacher (Sorbo) is confronted by a new student (Presley) who questions the school’s policy toward his First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion, and the subject becomes the basis of a debate in a juried showdown with a rival school. Casper Van Dien plays the school’s principal who staunchly defends the policy, and Antonio Sabato Jr. plays a senator who has his eye on the White House, yet whose public comments supporting a place for faith in education get him in political hot water.
Former professional football player, bobsledder, sprinter and mixed martial artist, Herschel Walker played college for the University of Georgia, earning consensus All American honors three times and winning the 1982 Heisman Trophy. Walker began his pro career for the New Jersey Generals of the USFL before joining the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, where he also played for the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. Walker first met Donald Trump when the latter purchased the New Jersey Generals in 1984. He appeared in Season Eight of Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice,” and was an outspoken supporter of Trump’s presidential run.
“One Nation Under God” is a Suretone Pictures/Film Incito co-production. Nick Thurlow, Jordan Schur, Jarred Coates and Lisa Arnold are producers. Christian Briggs, David Mitchell and Keith Jensen are executive producers.
WEBSITE: onenationundergodmovie.com
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INSTAGRAM: @onenationundergodmovie
FACEBOOK: @onenationundergodthemovie
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