By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Apa/Lorenzo Pesce; Stewart/Getty
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is an iconic Christmas movie. James Stewart is the leading man in the film that was released in 1946. The interesting thing is that there’s a backstory to the film that almost no movie fan knows about.
Filmmaker Aaron Burns, of the new James Stewart biopic, Jimmy, revealed some facts about Stewart in an interview on CBN News. The director did some research and spoke with many people, including Stewart’s family. He had no idea about the backstory.
“Jimmy won an Oscar in 1941 and was on top of the world,” Burns said. “But then very quickly realized that he was feeling empty, that he’d pretended to be a hero, and he wanted something more.”
Stewart grew up in a Christian home. His dad had a strong impact on him. Stewart learned what’s the right thing and what’s the wrong thing from him.
“He chose in 1941 to leave Hollywood behind and enlist in the US Army Air Forces,” Burns said. “He goes on to serve as a combat pilot flying 20 missions over Germany.”
“He comes home completely broken by PTSD, and the first movie he makes when he gets back is It’s a Wonderful Life,” Burns said.
Psalm 91 is one of the most powerful psalms in the Bible. Stewart’s dad gave him a copy of Psalm 91. It is one of the psalms everyone should read and keep in mind, especially when they’re going through tough times.
“Jimmy said that his father’s prayers and his daily reading of scriptures before he went on a mission; he would read those scriptures and reflect on them. That’s what kept him alive during the war.”
Stewart survived the war. If it wasn’t for the prayer, God knows what would’ve happened to him in the rest of his life and career. In this new movie, Burns unpacks Stewart’s Biblical readings, his faith, and prayers.
Jimmy was filmed in Ireland. The biopic hits theaters today. KJ Apa plays James Stewart. Burns spent two years working on this project. Burns is friends with Jimmy’s daughter.
“I think a lot of times in our lives we get caught up in the day-to-day things that we’re trying to get done that we can forget the big picture,” Burns said.
It’s going to be an exciting movie for movie buffs and for fans of Stewart’s work and history. It’s also a movie for people of faith. Burns did the right thing to put his heart into making this picture.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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