The Eyes of Tammy Faye is an upcoming film starring Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield, which is set to be released in the US on September 17th 2021.
Searchlight Pictures describes the film as: “an intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker.”
Tammy Faye is described in the trailer description as “legendary for her indelible eyelashes, her idiosyncratic singing, and her eagerness to embrace people from all walks of life.”
Who is Tammy Faye Bakker?
In 1974, Tammy Faye and her husband Jim, started the PTL club, a televangelist Christian news club which stood for “Praise the Lord” or “People that Love.”
Four years later, the couple opened up a Christian amusement park called Heritage USA in South Carolina. At its peak, it was the third-largest park in the USA behind Disney World and Disney Land.
In 1987, the Charlotte Observer began investigating their finances and revealed that Jim Bakker had paid $279,000 to Jessica Hahn, a church secretary.
Hahn alleged that she had been raped by Jim Bakker in 1980, when she was 21. Jim acknowledged that he had once had sex with her, but stated that it was consensual.
Then, 1989, Tammy’s husband Jim was found guilty on 24 counts of fraud and was originally sentenced to a 45-year prison sentence. However, he only spent five years in prison.
Tammy remarried, but in 1996, her husband Roe Messner was sentenced to nearly three years in prison on bankruptcy fraud charges.
In 2000, The Eyes of Tammy Faye premiered at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The documentary told her life story, and love of make up.
In 2007, Tammy appeared on Larry King Live, where she told fans that she wanted to be remembered for her “walk with the Lord.” She died just two days later.
Jessica Chastain stars as Tammy Faye in upcoming film
The Eyes of Tammy Faye stars Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker, and Andrew Garfield as her husband, Jim Bakker.
As part of her transformation into Tammy Faye, Jessica had to spend four hours each day in the make up trailer. She said that she decided make the movie after seeing Tammy interview Christian gay minister and AIDS patient Steve Pieters.
Jessica told People Magazine: “I just was so blown away by her and her story. The thing I loved the most about Tammy is her capacity to love. She knew what it felt like to not feel important, and she didn’t want anyone to experience that.”
The actress continued: “People were always making her into a clown and punishing her for the mistakes of her husband, which all throughout history women have been the victim of, atoning for the sins of men.”