“Secret’s out!”
That is how Carly Pearce broke the news on Instagram this week, and she did not make fans wait for the rest. “So excited to be making my film debut,” she wrote, adding that she “can’t wait for y’all to see it!”
The film is “My Jesus,” from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company. Country Now and Taste of Country reported the casting on Nov. 10. The timing is good for Carly. She is nominated for Musical Event of the Year at the 60th CMA Awards, which air Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC with Lainey Wilson hosting.
If you know Carly from the radio, she is the Kentucky singer behind “What He Didn’t Do” and “Every Little Thing.” The Grand Ole Opry’s own biography says she left home and high school at 16 to take a job at Dollywood. She made her Opry debut in 2015 and became a member on Aug. 3, 2021.
The movie tells the story of another Kentucky girl. Anne Wilson grew up in Lexington with no plans to sing for a living. In 2017, her family lost her big brother, Jacob, who was 23. Anne was a teenager, and she sang at his service.
“In front of 1,200 people for the first time ever,” she told Faithwire in 2022.
Later she posted a video of herself singing a worship song, and it found its way to people in the music business. She signed a record deal at 17. Her first single, “My Jesus,” came out in April 2021 and spent seven weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart. “I would trade all of this to have him back,” she said in that same interview.
Anne wrote a book about those years in 2022, and the film is based on it. According to Country Rebel, she told fans on Facebook, “What started as a testimony became a song,” and that somehow it is now becoming a movie.
Newcomer Aliza Kate Barlow plays Anne. Gavin Casalegno plays Jacob. Monica Potter and Charles Esten, who fans will remember as Deacon on “Nashville,” play their parents. Beau Bridges is their grandfather, and Cheyenne Jackson plays the general manager of the Grand Ole Opry. Kay Oyegun wrote the script and is directing.
So who does Carly play? Nobody is saying. Every outlet lists her the same way, as a “special appearance,” with no character name next to it.
What the producers have shared is more surprising. They still need people for one of the biggest scenes in the film, and they are asking the public to fill the spots.
Kingdom Story Company has a sign-up page for a shoot at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville this Sunday, Nov. 15, from 1 to 7 p.m. The page describes “a pivotal concert scene where Anne is introduced by a special guest to the Grand Ole Opry crowd.” That crowd will be made up of everyday fans. Country Rebel reports the call is open to “men, women, boys and girls,” and that families are welcome.
The dress code is short: “Your best Grand Ole Opry concert apparel.”
Whoever gets a seat will reportedly see the real Anne Wilson and singer Matthew West perform between takes. The special guest has not been named, and the studio has not said whether Carly is part of that scene.
Here is the song the whole film is named for.
Anne Wilson sings “My Jesus” in the official music video
Anne has also shared her own look at the Opry on her official channel.
Anne Wilson goes behind the scenes at the Grand Ole Opry
No release date has been announced for “My Jesus.” The sign-up form for Sunday is on the Kingdom Story Company website. Carly’s fans will have to wait for a trailer to see what she does on screen, unless a few of them end up sitting in the Opry House on Sunday and find out early.