'God's Country' - Where Life Meets at the Crossroads

'God's Country' - Where Life Meets at the Crossroads
Another sparkling performance by Jenn Gotzon which will be featured on Uplifting Television Network (UPtv) at 9p & 11p (EST) this Friday

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

LOS ANGELES, CA (ANS) -- Christian actress, Jenn Gotzon (Frost/Nixon, Doonby), who never seems to stop working these days, has done it again with a sparkling performance in "God's Country," in which she plays the lead as Meghan Doherty, a young, successful realtor who neglects her mother and close friends to focus on one goal MAKING MONEY!.

Poster for the movie

Meghan, a beautiful and jaded Los Angeles realtor in designer clothes, has it all -- a Ferrari, expensive jewelry, designer clothes, and a rapidly ascending career, but then she is given the task by her boss, Mr. Randolph Whitaker (her boss/CEO) to close a deal of a lifetime, and played by Daniel Hugh Kelly.

He wants her to take her talent to the Mojave Desert in hopes of getting a Christian land owner to turn over his land before auction. With a $100 million dollar potential deal looming in which he wants to develop the property into a casino-themed resort, there is nothing that will stand in the way of her getting what she needs to further her career. Not even GOD?

The foreclosed land in question, called "God's Country," is owned by Eden Graham, a minister who runs a youth camp there, along with his wife and son, Jake, whose dream is to turn "God's Country" into a next-generation Christian College campus.

Jenn and Gib taking the Ferrari for a spin in 'God's Country' (Photo courtesy of Scott Wright)

Upon her arrival at the camp in her Ferrari and designer clothes, Meghan is clearly not a good fit, but Eden persuades her to stay; he promises to sign over the property to her if, during her weeklong sojourn there at the camp, she is not convinced of the value of what they are doing.

The minister, Eden Graham, played by Michael Toland, is currently down on his good fortune, but not his faith, "God's Country" is in foreclosure and Eden is being pressured by Meghan to secure title on the land. Jake is portrayed by Gib Gerard, who works with his father at God's Country and is charged with attending to Meghan while she stays at the camp.

Produced by Triumphant Pictures' Silent Noise Productions and directed by Chris Armstrong, the fictional "God's Country" is based on real-life events, according to producer and screenwriter Cecil Chambers, whose co-producing and writing partner John Atterberry, 40, who had worked with Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls and Jessica Simpson, died from gunshot wounds three days after being senselessly shot in Los Angeles on December 9th, 2011.

Dan Wooding interview Jenn Gotzon on the Red Carpet at the Movieguide awards

On hearing of the tragic news, Jenn Gotzon tweeted: "RIP #JohnAtterberry (my writer-producer for @GodsCountryfilm) He died today after being shot in the face. pls pray."

It was the first movie that Atterberry wrote and produced and was inspired by true life events when he said that he and his fiancé-to-be came to know God through a church camp. But sadly, he was not there to see it through to completion.

Another tragedy also occurred when Hollywood publicist, Scotty Dugan, a great friend of the ASSIST News Service, died on December 21, 2011, of a brain aneurism going to John's funeral. Scotty had climbed onto his bike to head to the North Hollywood train station with a pro bono press release and song he'd composed in memoriam for Atterberry's funeral, but he would never complete the ride. Bystanders at the station saw him grab for his head in pain and immediately collapse. Although paramedics worked to revive him, he died 10 minutes after arriving at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CA at 11:30AM.

A news release that ANS carried at the time said, "In a way, however, it seemed typical, if not almost fitting that one who had always served others first, was doing that very thing even at the moment of his death."

A series of shots of Jenn trying to walk in her high heels in 'God's Country'

"God's Country" is set against the spectacular backdrop of the Mojave Desert, and was the 2011 Gig Harbour Film Festival Directors Choice, has been widely praised by the critics.

Dr. Ted Baehr, founder/movie critic for Movieguide® gave it a 4+ for content and said, "Jenn Gotzon does an extremely good job in 'God's Country.' She's perfect for the role. Having known Jenn for years, it's gratifying to see she can play a person who's nothing like herself in real life... 'God's Country' is worth watching, entertaining, convicting, and transformative."

Dr. Fred Eichelman, publisher for Point North Tiding Magazine, said, "Certainly the director Chris Armstrong, who put this together, deserves credit for knowing his craft. However, I have to single out one element in particular. Though the overall cast is good, this is a Jenn Gotzon film and were this theatrical we would be talking Oscar."

He added, "Gotzon plays a top notch business woman who knows the art of the deal and is at the pinnacle of the ladder of success. Her assignment is to talk a preacher and his family into giving up his land, his dream, which is used as a camp for young people. The preacher challenges Jenn to wait six days and during this time... well I don't want to be a spoiler. I will just say that seldom has an actress had to make herself believable in so many settings and she pulls it off in the style of the great actresses during Hollywood's Golden Age."

The Dove Foundation says of the film, "The scenery is as beautiful as the story in this wonderfully-made tale of friendship, trust and faith."
You can view the trailer for the film at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXcKvJuz3Lo and buy or rent it at just about every retail outlet or via the Internet.

Now Uplifting Television Network (UPtv) is airing "God's Country" 9p & 11p (EST) this Friday (August 9, 2013). http://www.uptv.com/movies/gods-country

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