New Movie "The Masked Saint" Tells the Story of a Wrestler Becoming a Pastor

Coming to Theaters on Jnuary 8th is the faith-based movie The Masked Saint. The film was directed by Warren P. Sonoda. It is based on the 2009 book of the same name by Chris Whaley. The film stars Brett Granstaff, Lara Jean Chorostecki, T.J. McGibbon, Diahann Carroll, Roddy Piper, and James Preston Rogers. It was produced by Cliff McDowell. This was Roddy Piper's final film and the movie is dedicated to his memory. 

Lead actor Brett Granstaff says the film's message, told through the lens of wrestling, will reach a whole new audience. "For people that say wrestling is bad or movies are bad, well, my gift is story telling and making movies, and maybe that's where God wants me to bring the Word to more people," Granstaff told The Christian Post.

"I think God gives a gift to everyone. Anyone can use a talent to help people find Christ," he said. "If you look at this movie, it might not be the typical faith-based movie [but] one of the reasons I wanted to do this film was because I think Christian films in general kinda preach to the choir."

The Masked Saint tells the story of a former professional wrestler Chris Samuels, who retires from the ring to settle down as a small town pastor. When the pastor witnesses rampant problems in the community, he decides to moonlight as a masked vigilante fighting the injustice. While facing crises at home and at the church, the Pastor must evade the police and somehow reconcile his secret, violent identity with his calling as a pastor.

What compelled Brett Granstaff to star in "The Masked Saint?" "Lots of reasons. I guess the biggest one was I always wanted to get into the faith-based realm of filmmaking, and I'm a person of faith myself," he said. "Many faith-based films might have good stories, but often they do not have high values like the Hollywood standard I am used to dealing with. I thought I could bring in a higher production value to the faith-based market."

To prepare for his part as a pro wrestler, Franklin's Brett Granstaff trained with James Preston Rogers, a former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler. "Everybody gets banged up," he said of his time in the ring. "I was completely bruised top to bottom, and they had to put makeup on my back after the first day of wrestling." 

"Everybody gets banged up," he said of his time in the ring. "I was completely bruised top to bottom, and they had to put makeup on my back after the first day of wrestling."

As for the best tip he learned from the real wrestlers, he said, "Just commit. If you're gonna get slammed, just take it. Make it big and go for it."

Inspired by true events, The Masked Saint is based on the highly popular book of the same name by Chris Whaley. It was filmed entirely in Northern Ontario, and features icons of the screen like Diahann Carroll and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper alongside stars Brett Granstaff and Lara Jean Chorostecki.

 

 

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