Hey, welcome back to The Covenant Eyes Podcast, Karen Potter here, the host of The Covenant Eyes Podcast, and I am so glad to have you with us for this bonus episode. We are actually talking with Bailey Chase, who is in a new film by her friends over at Angel Studio. The film is called Homestead. I have watched the movie and it's incredible. You're going to love it. Stay tuned for this episode. Everyone wondered how the world broke. We’re under attack. Deep down, before society collapsed, we were already falling. It was only a matter of time before it all crumbled. Try to hold your breath? Hold your breath. I saw this. Saw what? Are you scared? America's just been attacked. Get it? Get to the Homestead. Is this an ark, or is this a fortress? It would take a miracle for this to work. But I believe in miracles. Everyone wants to know how the world ended. This is the story of how it began. Again. Well, Bailey, thanks so much for joining us. This film is incredible. It was a great film, and I am so excited for people to get out there and watch it. It opens on December 20th. Is that correct? That's that's correct. Select theaters will start getting it tomorrow on Thursday and then nationwide Friday the 20th. That's awesome. We'll talk to us a little bit about how you got tapped into this film. Are you a prepper guy yourself or is this new territory? I wish, I wish I got sent off to boarding school when I was 15. So I learned how to do, like, laundry and, make eggs, things like that. But in terms of being prepared, not not so much. I was, you know, 20, 20 plus years and, L.A. and New York. You know, you kind of get softened into being a city boy, if you will. And then three and a half years ago, my wife and I moved with our young kids to the mountains in North Carolina. So loving being back in the country, back in the real world. And, yeah, Homestead. The shooting. This film has had a profound impact on me in many ways. One being more prepared, having, more of an ability to protect my family and provide for my family. And, we also, you know, unfortunately, you know, where I live, right outside of Asheville. We got hit with a hurricane a couple months ago. But talk about a positive coming out of a negative. It's really pulled that community together. You know, young we are, I've got a hat that says Yancey Strong. That's, a neighboring county who probably got hit the hardest. And, man, these people aren't. They aren't sitting around complaining. They're out there as part of the solution. Wow. Well. And so sorry. That was a terrible tragedy tragedy out there. My gosh. And it's good to hear that people are coming together as a community. And that's kind of the vibe you get from this film too is like people coming together. Now let's talk a little bit about what you did to train for this role, because you're playing an ex-Green Beret. So like, what went into that preparation for this type of role? Yeah, I had pretty big boots to fill on this one for for sure. They're like, yeah. Oh, and by the way, he's decorated, you know, Green Beret, you know, veteran I don't know. You know, just just a top level operator and DEA and CIA and all the other things. So but, you would know it if you've hung out with, you know, a handful of those those guys, they've got a motor and and an intensity about them. But, this guy Jeff, the real life Jeff, I mean, he's he's a teddy bear when you meet him. You know, gave me a hug and and broke the ice right out of the gate. I had some real. We didn't have a lot of time to prepare. But but we were able to go to the shooting range, and that definitely helps, you know, gives me, if nothing else, it it just gives me the confidence to know that I'm, you know, holding. Right. And. There's a whole art to drawing and all the things. So it was great to get a refresher. Yeah, I've played some of those guys in the past, but there was just something special and unique about this one. I was able to, to lean into the flaws more if that makes sense. As, as I'm getting on in, in years, I find that I try to be less perfect and just lean into the reality of, you know, that guy that I'm playing and and the situation and the devastation that is all around me and Homestead. And, you know, the that's applicable to the real world. You know, when that happened with the hurricane, you know, I was out there with my neighbors with chainsaws within hours, clearing roads and, you know, again, be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Absolutely. And I think that is a theme that just comes through this film. And the thing that's unique about this film is it actually starts off as a theatrical movie, but it spins into a series that Angel Studios is launching. Can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah. This is this seems to be a new model. I've now done two and, maybe, maybe a third one around the corner, where, where they'll start out with the feature film and it's it's really smart, in my opinion, because even if the series doesn't quite take off like Hollywood studios, you know, waste so much money on these failed series. But if you start out with the movie, then you kind of know if you have something or if you don't have something. Fortunately, Angel feels like they have something really special. So they went ahead and jumped into the series and we shot the first two episodes, and those will be available on the app. December 20th is right after you, you know, watch the movie. The series will pick up where where the film leaves off. But, you know, you have a marketable product and a feature film that can live on in perpetuity, whereas if you have a canceled TV show, it just kind of goes away. So I think it's really smart model, and I'm starting to see more and more of these. That's super cool. Well, you know, the thing that's interesting is that are you going to be playing in the series that happen. Yeah, yeah yeah I, I don't want to spoil anything but yeah, everybody's everybody's back in the beginning of the series and you know things it's post-apocalypse. So things are going to get worse before they get better. But, you know, that's that's all part of part of a good story. And, I can't I can't wait for people to go on this journey with us. And I've been blessed. I was able to go to the premieres in LA, Salt Lake and Nashville last night, and it's just different watching it in a packed theater, you know, live audience. You're getting real time reactions, and then you get their unfiltered, you know, reviews minutes later. And, it's been it's been really nice for me. That's so cool. And what was the response? Did everybody love it as much as we did? It has been overwhelmingly positive. You know. You know what stood out to me most in particular, my friends in LA who were there at the premiere, who are maybe, you know, atheist, agnostic, you know, whatever. And they there's obviously, you know, Angel Studios, there's a faith element to it. And the ending of the movie, it's got me every time I've seen it five times now. And, I'm in tears every time. But they said what they loved about the end of the movie. They didn't feel force fed that. They just went on the journey. And at the end of the film, they believed, you know, and so if you can get nonbelievers believing in miracles and under two hours, you're doing you're doing something right. Absolutely. Yeah. And it's funny because when my husband and I were watching it, my husband, of course, went into this movie thinking, oh, this is going to be great, you know, because he's super into survival and Homesteading and all that. But the, the theme that came through just the faith and the miracles and, you know, at the end of it, he was like, that was not where I was expecting to like, end the movie, you know? But it it felt so good because as people of faith, like, really drew us in and he was just really moved by it. So I love. It. Yeah. Yeah. It's certainly one, you know, big component of, of the film. And just a great character to play and, and Neil and all the other military guys, you know, being their alpha male selves. But you know then then there's, you know, Dawn Olivieri and her, her boss of herself and wow, what a performance. And, you know, my wife Kearran Giovanni is great. It's just top to bottom. It's really special cast. And then there's the young romance that that gets me every time. And it adds levity to a film that needs moments of that. So, Yeah, I think we kind of check all the boxes on this one. Absolutely. Well, talk to us a little bit about maybe how this film might even change. You know, how you think about things like, have you changed or are you going to start Homesteading? Has your family watched the movie and thought, oh my gosh, let's get some backyard chickens and make this happen? Oh, my kids want chickens so bad. Wait, so they wait till they see this. They're going to be like, yeah. So that's definitely on their Christmas list. Thank you for reminding me. I have to tell Santa Claus. Yeah. And I, you know, I've always wanted that, chickens would be the first baby step for us. We could do that right away. Goats would take a little more doing for for us. And then. Yeah, I mean, you know, I, I wouldn't be lying if I said I am, better prepared if, I were to, unfortunately, you know, have to protect my home and family. So I'm more prepared on that front, and I feel good about that. And, and then gardening is on the to do list. Maybe next summer. My wife and I are known for our green thumbs, so, but fortunately, there's also a reality show called called Homestead Family Survival that's already up on the Angel Studios app. And you get the real your husband should go on. You get real life preppers on there teaching people like myself like, okay, this is how you plan. Say, dude. That is so cool. Yeah, I love that and I love that. That's kind of the theme that they're going with too. It's like teaching people just to be better prepared. You know, it's not all doom and gloom. It's just, you know, being able to help our neighbors. If there's emergencies like you experienced in North Carolina, like we need to be accessible and available to help one another when there is an emergency. And I think that such a an important theme. So as you're thinking about, you know, the future of this series as it continues to grow, where do you see it going? So I've seen all the way through the end of season one. There's there's ten books in the series, the Black Autumn series, and, and so I'm not that far down the line, but a lot of the audience is. So they have an idea it won't be the exact same, but they have an idea of where it's headed. What's cool about the TV series? It's different from the film. In the beginning. We get to leave the Homestead, so you get to see life, you know, outside the gates if you will post apocalypse and then just get a little taste of it. And as we get down to the to the to the wire there at the end of season one, it's going to be full on it's it's pretty epic. And, yeah, again, I can't wait for everybody to go on this journey with us. It's awesome. That's awesome. Well, great. Well, we'll definitely, point our listeners to where they can check out how to get tickets to the film. I believe does Angel Studios still do the Give It Forward program as well? So they have the they have the pay it forward. So my costar Jesse Hodge, who you all love after this movie and he and his comedic timing, he's great. He balances out my very intense portrayal of of death. And, so Jesse Hutch is going to pop on the screen after after the feature film, and, there'll be a QR code, and he's going to tell everybody how they can pay it forward to, you know, people to families who may not be able to afford to go to the movies so they can watch it as well. And, and then, yeah, it's just it's a link from there. Awesome. So fun question. Just what was your favorite part of the movie like? What was your favorite scene or something special that you can share? You know, the one that's been coming up and, it got me again last night, the one that I'm in, because there's so many good scenes, like. And I mean that honestly, I go off on that young romance and Dawn gets me at the end and with, you know, what she does and her miracle. There's that scene with with Jesse where things, you know, things are not going well. And Jeff, has reached his breaking point, and we all, we all need that community. You know, we need people around us who can't because we all get broken. And we, you know, we need people around us who who can help get us back on our feet. And, and that happens in that moment. And there's another guy in the scene that we get to make a little fun of. And, and then, you know, some kids go running by. And how can that not affect you? And, yeah. So I look forward for everybody to see that scene too. Well, awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking time today to introduce the film. And I want to encourage all of our listeners to go check it out. You will not be disappointed. And I'm just excited that the series continues. So we'll definitely be following along. And then do you have any other special films coming out soon that you want to share with our audience? Maybe. First and foremost, you know this this is the big one right now, and I'd love for people to check out the series and get that going, because I really do want to finish season one. So we need people to, you know, get online and check out the app and watch the show that way. But beyond that, I've got another one coming out, same, same model that we're talking starting as a feature. And they want to go to a series called Florida Wild. It was always a dream of mine to work in my home state of Florida. So that was really cool. And there's a guy down there, Mark Pentecost, who's, who's making moves to to get more TV and film production down there. And, we shot that in the spring, so that should be ready early 2025. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciated and good luck with the film. I know everyone's going to love it, and we'll definitely make sure all the links are in the show notes. So thank you. And thank you to Angel Studios for producing another hit film. I mean, amazing work. You guys are doing amazing stuff and it's so good to have good, wholesome, clean content that you can enjoy with your family and take away a really important, lesson from the film. So thank you so much. Thank you Karen. God bless. Yeah. God bless. Take care.