Leap of Faith (film)

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Leap of Faith
Leap of Faith original theatrical poster
Directed by	Richard Pearce
Produced by	Michael Manheim David V. Picker
Written by	Janus Cercone
Starring	Steve Martin Debra Winger Lolita Davidovich Liam Neeson
Music by	Cliff Eidelman
Cinematography	Matthew F. Leonetti
Editing by	John F. Burnett Mark Warner Don Zimmerman
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	1992
Running time	108 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Leap of Faith is 1992 film starring Steve Martin as a fraudulent Christian faith healer named Jonas Nightengale who uses his revival meetings to bilk believers out of their money. He eventually sees the error of his ways. The story is similar to that of Peter Popoff, but it is unclear whether the film is based on his life. Steve Martin has said he based his performance on "the famous Christian charlatan Benny Hinn".^{[citation needed]} The story is similar to the book The Faith Healers by James Randi surrounding Peter Popoff. Randi notes the movie borrowed heavily from his book.[1]

[edit] Selected cast

Steve Martin — Jonas Nightengale
Debra Winger — Jane Larson
Lolita Davidovich — Marva
Liam Neeson — Sheriff Will Braverman
Lukas Haas — Boyd
Meat Loaf — Hoover
Philip Seymour Hoffman — Matt
M.C. Gainey — Tiny
La Chanze — Georgette
Delores Hall — Ornella

[edit] Trivia

Steve Martin took over the lead role after Michael Keaton quit the production.

Jonas' "mind-reading" trick, wherein he receives intimate details about his marks via a small radio, loosely follows the exploits of televangelist Popoff.

In a scene where Neeson's character reveals "Jonas Nightengale"'s true past, he states that Nightengale's birth name was "Jack Newton". John Newton was a slave trader who converted to Christianity, became a priest and later an abolitionist, and wrote the hymn Amazing Grace.

Part of the filming took place near Denton, Texas. Then televangelist Robert Tilton, who was in nearby Dallas, was a fan of Steve Martin and wanted to very much meet him. Steve Martin told the movie production staff that he didn't want anything to do with Mr. Tilton.^{[citation needed]}