Fiona Palomo, Milo Manheim & Antonio Banderas Set For Sony Affirm & Monarch’s Nativity Musical

EXCLUSIVE: Fiona Palomo is Mary, Milo Manheim is Joseph and Oscar nominee Antonio Banderas is King Herod in Sony Affirm’s upcoming untitled holiday musical centered around the Nativity.

The movie is currently in production with Monarch Media on the coast of Spain for a Nov. 10 theatrical release.

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Award-winning music producer Adam Anders (Glee, High School Musical, Descendants, The Passion) is making his feature directorial debut and wrote the script along with Peter Barsocchini (High School Musical franchise) and wrote the music with Nikki Anders (Glee, High School Musical, Descendants) and Peer Astrom (Rock of Age, Glee, High School Musical, Descendants).

Logline: A young woman carrying an unimaginable responsibility. A young man torn between love and honor. A jealous king who will stop at nothing to keep his crown. This live-action Christmas musical celebration for the entire family, weaves classic Christmas melodies into new pop songs in a music-infused retelling of the timeless story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus.

Filling out the cast are Moriah, Stephanie Gil, 4x Grammy award-winning Joel Smallbone from the pop duo FOR KING + COUNTRY as King Herod’s son, Antipater and multiple Grammy award-winning Lecrae as Gabriel, Rizwan Manji as Gaspar, Geno Seagers as Balthazar, and Omid Djalili as Melchior.

“This joyous and fresh take on Mary and Joseph’s journey, combined with the infectious music and insanely passionate vision of Adam Anders made this an undeniable fit for Affirm Films and Sony Pictures to come alongside and help turn this amazing story into a Christmas classic that will resound with young children, families, teens and adults” said Rich Peluso, EVP and Head of Affirm Films.

“We’ve been amazed at Adam’s ability to tell the widely known story of Mary, Joseph and a jealous king in a way that feels fresh and contemporary, like you’ve never heard it before.” says Alan Powell of Monarch Media.

Anders counts more than 100 million albums sold, earned 4 consecutive Grammy nominations, won 2 Golden Globes and 2 People’s Choice Awards, and holds the record for the most single entries on the Billboard Hot 100, eclipsing both The Beatles and Elvis Presley.

“I first had the idea for the film years ago when I was looking for a musical to watch with my family at Christmastime,” says Anders, “I want this movie to be a bright light this Christmas season — as bright as the star of Bethlehem.”

Pic is produced by Alan Powell (A Week Away, VALIANT ONE), Steve Barnett (A Week Away, PRICELESS) and Executive Produced by Vicky Patel (A Week Away) for Monarch Media. Also produced by Ryan Busse (THE STRANGERS’ CASE), Stephen Meinen (POWER RANGERS, NERVE), Brandt Andersen (THE STRANGERS’ CASE, SILENCE) and Adam Anders (THE PROM, The Passion).

Palomo is repped by Luber Roklin and Innovative Artists. Manheim is repped by Framework Entertainment, UTA and attorney Rick Genow.  Banderas is repped by NuCo Media Group and Hirsch, Wallerstein, Hayum, Matlof and Fishman.  Anders is repped by attorney Loeb & Loeb.

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