Garrett Hedlund and Forest Whitaker in Burden, | Garrett Hedlund as Mike Burden; Forest Whitaker as Reverend Kennedy; Andrea Riseborough as Judy; Tom Wilkinson as Tom Griffin; Jason Davis as Jameson; Crystal Fox as Janice Kennedy (as Crystal R. Fox); Usher Raymond as Clarence Brooks. This has always been the most powerful story that I’ve ever come across. For much more on Mike Burden and Rev. We don’t have any food. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. Sonaiya Kelley is a film reporter at the Los Angeles Times. How far would his compassion go? muskets and sabres, but hate and fear, gasoline and rope. hang that Confederate flag, Kennedy preaches love to his congregation. It’s the reverend, the peo­ple who work.”.

But if I call you my friend, I’ll walk through hell, and I’ll slap the devil for you.”.

NOLAN: HE HOPES PEOPLE WATCH AND READ. Advertisement. “Hey, Reverend,” Tom says, with a wave and a snear toward black minister “I can sell anybody just about anything, so I sold the Klan,” Burden said. everything he knows. “They are, and will THE STORY NOW TURNED INTO A BOOK AND A MOVIE NAMED "BURDEN." people, they’re like my family.”. The only way we can get it is by having those stories of redemption. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. “I had never had no one love me,” Burden says about why he decided to join the KKK. If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. The film — which stars Garrett Hedlund and Andrea Riseborough as Mike and Judy Burden, Forest Whitaker as the Rev.

The real men involved in the story, Mike Burden and the Rev. always be, love.”. Burden said he was not a fan of the pastor. The Rev. Mike’s own racism is deeply ingrained, so even as he starts to turn his life around, that bitter bigotry often rekindles and gets in his way. “See you at the opening. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. “I was looking for someone in Clarence that was honest, truthful and very plain-speaking,” Heckler said. The racial hate we see and hear can feel pervasive. It was brutal for me.”. But some are still fighting.

Victor Garlington and his daughter, Victoria Ferguson, said they liked the movie’s theme of transformation and redemption, and its portrayal of the black preacher who “did the godly thing.”. She can do pretty much anything. Mike loves Tom like a father. Of course, he took some liberties in order to heighten the drama and provide a more satisfying entertainment experience. WEBVTT ALL NEW AT 6:00. Burden never lived with Kennedy and his family.

Their story is the basis for the new movie Burden, starring Garrett Hedlund and Forest Whitaker, written and directed by Andrew Heckler. (That foul act is visually referenced on a shirt for sale at the KKK museum as well.) A truck smashes into the KKK museum, forcing its closure for a time. When a museum celebrating the Ku Klux Klan opens in a South Carolina town, the idealistic Reverend Kennedy strives to keep the peace even as he urges the group's Grand Dragon to disavow his racist past.

We sold anything and everything we could, even down to a membership in the Klan.“I thought I was going to learn the history of the Klan, the positives,” Burden said. customer.”. Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. We see the two of them cuddled up on a couch, with a sleeping Franklin beside them both. 25 years later, Kennedy’s act of grace reverberates for both men, and the town. “You kind of learn it while you’re in there.”. But when he meets Judy, he discovers a different sort of love. He brings them into his house and allows them to live there for a while. “I love him as a person, as an individual, because he spent money to put us in a motel. The head of a fish is chopped off. out to wage war, but he still talks about their weapons—weapons to fight fear. The story of an unlikely friendship between a former Ku Klux Klansman who worked at the infamous Red Neck Shop in Laurens and an Upstate minister has been a book and is now a soon-to-be-released major motion picture.The story and the making of the movie were spotlighted Monday on “Megyn Kelly.”The real men involved in the story, Mike Burden and the Rev. “We came into it about seven months after Sundance,” Glasser said. mike and judy burden There’s a great film in the minor beats between Mike and Judy and the choices made by the great actors playing them—I just wish I believed more in everything around them. the cinematography, the acting, the dialogue, everything is absolutely spot on! One woman greets the pair by the door in her skivvies. “But I’m not so sure I share your faith in men.”, While Kennedy’s convictions carry the movie, Tom would also claim to be a man of deep faith: His KKK ceremonies are filled with references to God, misguided though they are. Housed him. “I love your heart, and you know I share your faith in God,” she tells him. He spent money to feed us. “That’s what I thought the Klan was for me. California’s November election will feature 12 statewide ballot measures. >> I’M NOT FASCINATED BY BIG THINGS LIKE THAT. Judy Burden had two children, and it was a daughter, not a son, who figured in Burden’s life. “I had to feel it, and I had to see it.”, “Jesus Christ did some very unpopular things,” adds the reverend. "Burden" is a tough sell, a film with a logline that makes most people roll their eyes: a KKK member discovers the error of his ways. And we all know in the movie business, the second you start losing heat on something it’s very difficult to regain it. “It was easy to direct those scenes because we were able to create family,” he said.

Eventually, Mike’s change in attitude culminates in being baptized and offering a contrite confession. “I was told to put the fear of God in them, to scare them. “The last person I expected to help me, honestly,” Burden said. He did so much work and preparation that when he showed up on set, he felt like Clarence.”. Your guide to the 2020 election in California.

bit. They need food.”Kennedy kept his word and helped the family.“The last person I expected to help me, honestly,” Burden said. Heckler was there too, eager to assess reactions from the community most impacted by the events portrayed in his film, and to show his support of Kennedy. In 1996, the two men opened the Red Neck Shop, a museum and shop in Laurens that celebrated the Klan. While this is happening across town, a love story brews between Mike and a single mother named Judy (Andrea Riseborough), who also happens to be friends with one of Burden’s childhood pals, Clarence (Usher Raymond). “You don’t get to be Usher by being lazy.

“I had nothing left for the Klan.”. Housed him. Imagine the story told in reverse—from, say, the perspective of Kennedy’s son, who has to balance his trust in his father and God’s teachings against a man in his house who he knows is a monster. Credit: 134 Columbus Street We also hear him tell someone this: “If I call you my enemy, I’ll walk through heaven, and I will punch God just to get you. Is it too timely?’ ” Brenner said. It is, of course, Mike Burden’s last name. ), But Mike eventually recognizes the barrenness of Tom’s faith. Burden is a 2018 American drama film, inspired by true events.The film was produced by Robbie Brenner & Bill Kenright, and was written and directed by Andrew Heckler. Partly cloudy skies.

“It’s the small people in this world who are going to make this change,” says Burden. Credit: “The streamers came out for the first time and said, ‘We’re not in the acquisition business, we’re going to make our own movies,’ and you had the Harvey Weinstein implosion and Time’s Up. We hear that Kennedy’s uncle was the victim of a lynching years earlier—a lynching that perhaps Tom had something to do with. Still, the Sundance reception was proof to the filmmakers that “Burden” could connect with audiences. This is barely explored in this cut of “Burden” (which is a little shorter than what played Sundance), and the section in which Mike and Judy go from homeless to living under the roof of a man that Burden almost killed earlier in the film feels rushed and thin. “This film feels like a relevant conversation,” Usher said. Dramatic Audience Award.