LOS ANGELES, May 11 — Jessica Chastain is to play Tammy Faye Bakker, glamorous wife of 1980s televangelist Jim Bakker, in a movie about the couple’s fame, downfall, and post-scandal lives, according to Variety.
Christian broadcaster Jim Bakker and his then-wife Tammy Faye built an empire out of “The PTL Club,” their flagship 1970s programme.
The show was such a success that funds raised through its viewers even went far enough to create a religious theme park, Heritage USA, in addition to supporting the Bakkers’ luxurious lifestyles.
But as the ‘80s went by and they accrued more and more money, Jim’s career came crashing down following an accusation of sexual assault, the discovery of a related hush money payoff, and five years in jail for fraud.
PTL was handed off to another televangelist, Jerry Falwell, to avoid an acquisition by rival Jimmy Swaggart (whose own sex scandal had not yet hit), but Falwell then condemned Bakker and blocked his return.
Now Jessica Chastain of The Help, Zero Dark Thirty and the upcoming It: Chapter 2 is to play Tammy Faye Bakker in a new movie called The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
It’s based on a year 2000 documentary of the same name, but will be directed by Michael Showalter of 2017 romcom The Big Sick and self-help comedies Hello, My Name is Doris and You’re Whole.
Andrew Garfield, the Amazing Spider-Man, The Social Network and Hacksaw Ridge actor last appeared in theatres in conspiracy theory crime drama Under the Silver Lake, and will be appearing opposite Chastain as Jim Bakker.
The role was filled by Kevin Spacey in 1990s partial biopic Fall from Grace, which co-starred Bernadette Peters as Tammy Faye. — AFP-Relaxnews
