Billy: The Early Years

==Production==

===Casting===
Screenwriter-producer William Paul McKay and producer Lawrence Mortorff originally wanted [[John Hagee]] to portray [[Mordecai Ham]] but director [[Robby Benson]], concerned that Hagee's controversial public persona would cause a distraction, cast Cliff Bemis instead.<ref name="LATimes"/>

To find the lead actor, producers held talent searches in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.<ref name="tn.gov">{{cite news |url=http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/371 |title='''Billy: The Early Years''' Opens Nationwide Today |date=October 13, 2008 |publisher=tn.gov |access-date=2009-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820045740/http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/371 |archive-date=August 20, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Filming===
The film was shot in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] and [[Watertown, Tennessee]]<ref name="TCP1">{{cite journal| last=Riley| first=Jennifer |title =Film on Billy Graham's Life in Production |journal =[[The Christian Post]]| date=May 7, 2008|url= http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080507/film-on-billy-graham-146-s-life-in-production/index.html| access-date = July 31, 2009}}</ref> with a production budget of $3.6 million.<ref name="LATimes">{{cite journal|last =Roston | first =Tom | title =An Odd Career Twist for a Former Screen Heartthrob | journal =[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=October 12, 2008|url =http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/12/entertainment/ca-benson12. | access-date =January 11, 2009}}</ref>