‘Miracles’ premiere in Burleson shines spotlight on Beam family

A little slice of Hollywood is coming to Burleson on Tuesday night.

That’s when the Beam family will walk the red carpet and host a screening of the new movie based on their life, Miracles From Heaven. The film, produced by Dallas pastor T.D. Jakes and based on the book by Christy Beam, opens nationwide Wednesday.

Jennifer Garner stars as Christy, the mom determined to find a cure for her daughter Anna’s rare and potentially fatal digestive disorder. Her faith is tested after an exhaustive but fruitless search for medical answers, but then a miracle happens: Anna is involved in a freak accident, falling 30 feet from a cottonwood tree in her yard. She is trapped in the hollow for six hours, but when she is rescued, not only have her symptoms disappeared, so has any trace of the disorder.

Anna’s explanation was that she went to heaven, where Jesus told her: “I have plans for you on Earth ... Whenever I send you back, there will be nothing wrong with you.”

Beam’s book was embraced by the faith community and now the star-powered film, which has already had its Los Angeles and Miami premieres, opens Wednesday with high expectations. Sony Pictures claimed the trailer set a record for 132 million views across YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. And the movie’s March 18 premiere date comes about a week before Easter.

In addition to Garner, Queen Latifah co-stars and Kylie Rogers playing Anna. The film is set in North Texas, and includes multiple references to Fort Worth, but was shot on location in the Atlanta area.

On Tuesday night, the spotlight will focus squarely on the Beams -- Christy, Kevin, Anna, Abbie and Adelyn -- as they host their hometown premiere, an invitation-only event at Premiere Cinema 14 in Burleson.

Garner told USA Today that playing Christy helped her reconnect with her faith.

“We talked about everything” during filming, she said. “No stone was left unturned, from how she kept her nails while she was in the hospital to what her favorite hymns are from church.”

Since filming the movie, Garner said she and her children have started going to church again. “We’ve gotten so much from it; it’s like a gift Christy gave me.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 3:11 PM with the headline "‘Miracles’ premiere in Burleson shines spotlight on Beam family."