tonight on "nightline" -- he handled hundreds of poisonous snakes, got bitten by nine, and told us he prayed his way back every time. >> i know it's life or death every day. >> but now a pastor's test of faith turns tragic. >> pray to him and he will listen. >> for the first time in years jesus goes hollywood. a major motion picture "son of god," coming to the silver screen. and it's backed by mega church marketing. >> god wants you to be celebrated. >> from christian bale as moses to russell crowe's noah, movie studios now betting big on the bible's leading men. i am here today because i am gay. >> and leading lady. ellen page thanks supporters

after this speech goes viral. now she's teaming up with julianne moore to play a lesbian couple. >> keep it right here, america. "nightline" is back in just 60 seconds.

good evening. tonight a pastor is dead from a poisonous snake bypiety. the 10th time he'd been bitten and the 10th and final time he refused medical treatment. he's one of the community of christians who say vipers are as vital to their services as the bible itself. tonight we revisit abc's juju chang's encounter with pastor jamie coots, where he discussed religion, risks, and even how he'd want to die. >> reporter: this was pastor jamie coots three months ago

doing what his father and grandfather did before him in this tiny church in rural kentucky. ♪ risking his life to praise the lord with poisonous snakes. >> i know it's life or death every day. i realize that. i choose that. i believe this is what the bible means. >> reporter: coots and his followers believe they are called by god to handle venomous serpents. it comes from a passage from the bible that they take literally. "they will take up serpents and if they drink deadly poison it will not hurt them." by the time we met him coots had himself sustained nine separate snakebites. >> a rattlesnake bit me here. rattlesnake here. >> reporter: including on his middle finger. each time refusing medical treatment in a demonstration of his faith. >> it was the most pain i guess i've ever felt in my life during the time it was rotting and i

knew something was going on, i just didn't know what for the first month. that much of the bone was exposed before it broke off. >> reporter: that's crazy. not so much as an advil. >> no. >> reporter: not so much as an aspirin. >> no. >> reporter: why keep it? >> my wife told me when this broke off in the yard, she said i want to keep this. i said why would someone want to keep that? i said why? she said, i'll always have a piece of you no matter where you go. >> reporter: in another small church, of fervent believers we saw the pastors lay hands in healing prayer and dance to the collective adrenaline. pastor andrew hamlin appears almost possessed by the holy spirit as he handles poisonous snakes. >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> i am in the united states of america, and i have a constitutional right as a, you know -- at my right mind adult that if i believe so strongly that the spirit of god moves in

me to take up serpents that i should have my constitutional right to do it. >> reporter: but local authorities see the snakes as a reckless, dangerous menace to public safety that's already taken lives and will take others. >> he admitted that he had snakes and took us to the church, and our officers went in, picked the snakes up out of his snake room. >> reporter: last november the state of tennessee seized 50 poisonous snakes from pastor andrew hamblen and cited him for illegally possessing them. >> the list just goes on and on for qualifications that you have to meet to possess these species. >> reporter: how on earth is handling a snake a religious expression? >> just the same way -- to me taking up serpents in our religious ceremonies is just like the catholic who use wine in their communion on sundays. people has their right to do things that maybe i don't agree with. and maybe i don't uphold. i'm not going to judge them. ♪ >> reporter: using snakes during services is a long-standing tradition, one that took root here more than a century ago.

so this is quite a collection of photos. >> yeah. this is pictures we've taken, had taken down through the years. this one here is dad. it was probably in 1991, '92, maybe somewhere along in there. this is a black timbarella. >> reporter: it's estimated that 125 churches use poisonous snakes during services in the u.s. many clustered in the south. both preachers offered a rare glimpse inside this extreme branch of the pent costal tradition. for the nat geo show "snake salvation." >> good lamb of god. >> reporter: the tennessee law banning ownership was passed back in 1947, after five worshippers were killed over the course of two years. pastor coots even had a parishioner die in 1995 after refusing anti-venom following a bite from a timber rattlesnake during service. no charges were ever filed in

kentucky. >> if someone gets bit in my church and they're not immediate family, i will call 911, have the paramedics come out, and let that person tell them i don't want medical attention. >> so you don't think you're taking the bible out of context or too literally? >> no, ma'am. not at all. i mean, to me that's what god taught us -- or taught me to be right. i'm not telling people to go out here and handle snakes. to me a cult is somebody that stands up and says if you don't do this you're hellbound. >> are you a cult? >> no, we're not a cult. we're christians. we're just look any other christian on the face of this earth. >> reporter: do you see yourself handling snakes in the future? >> honey, i see myself as long as there's breath in my body taking up serpents. >> if they're lying, cheating, stealing, fornicating -- >> reporter: coots says they live by a stricter moral code than most. >> holy ghost ain't there no more. >> reporter: and their way of life along with the way they choose to worship sets them

apart. they believe it brings them closer to god. >> it's an inner peace. you don't think about nothing else. you have a love for everybody. there's no ill feelings, nothing in your mind except, you know, god has honored me to let me feel his spirit. >> some people feel that that is the presence of god. and some people think it is a biochemical reaction that your body is having to fear, to danger, to life and death situations. >> if the bible told me to jump out of an airplane, i would. >> reporter: last saturday night in a scene much like this one, the rattlesnake pastor jamie coots was handling turned on him, biting him on the hand. >> i was just standing there, and i seen him get bit. and he dropped the snakes. and he picked them back up. >> reporter: cody coots, the pastor's son, then brought his stricken father home. when paramedics arrived, they examined coots and pleaded with him to receive medical treatment. but the family declined. >> everybody that knows mr. coots knows what his belief is in this. and he had no intention of going

to the hospital. and he refused treatment. >> if he woke up in a hospital he'd have blamed every one of us. because he was a firm believer he would not go to hospital. he always told me you get bit you either die at home or god brings you through. >> reporter: pastor jamie coots lost his life but held strong to his faith. >> if this is the way god means for me to die, fine. let me say i don't wish to die of a snakebite because it's excruciating pain, it's suffering, and it causes persecution to be brought upon the church. but i had rather die by a snakebite at home with people praying. >> juju, thanks for that report. next, hollywood's top talent preparing to tear a page from the ultimate script. the bible. we're behind the scenes with the cast of "son of god."

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for its latest source of inspiration hollywood's looking

back. way back. to the most familiar of stories. it was the basis for a tv miniseries and saw huge ratings, bigger even than "walking dead" or "breaking bad." so it's only surprising that it's taken this long to see a new movie adaptation of the story of jesus. one of anumber of big-budget efforts to bring the bible to the big screen. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: believe it or not, this is part of the marketing blitz for a major hollywood movie. the critic that counts, the pastor of lakewood church in houston, texas. >> come on up and brag on you. >> reporter: televangelist joel osteen is no movie critic but his blurb could easily sell out a megaplex. >> the movie is coming out, "son of god," in just a couple of weeks. so we're excited about that. >> what is his name? >> reporter: this is the movie he's plugging. >> jesus. his name is jesus. >> reporter: "son of god."

due in theaters at the end of the month. a biblical blockbuster like we haven't seen in years. >> jesus hasn't been on the big screen for ten years. >> reporter: actress roma downey and her husband, producer mark burnett, are the creative team behind "son of god." you may recognize her from the character she played in "touched by an angel." >> i put some muscle in it. >> reporter: as for mark burnett, you've seen his work. ♪ he pioneered the genre of reality tv. >> the ultimate human experiment. >> reporter: creating "survivor." his current hits also include "shark tank" and "the voice." last year burnett and downey switched gears, producing the miniseries "the bible" on the history channel. >> i will crush any rebellion. >> reporter: a sunday school epic that was wildly successful in its own right. >> i am coming soon. >> reporter: so much so that on

twitter the hashtag hotjesus started trending. the bible was the number one miniseries of 2013, an audience that easily rivaled "breaking bad," "mad men," and "the walking dead." >> my favorite headline of the whole bible series was "god beats zombies." >> beat walking dead. yeah, our finale beat both "game of thrones" premiere and the "walking dead" finale. >> reporter: now the couple is hoping to parlay that success onto the big screen with "son of god." >> come with me. >> what are we going to do? >> change the world. >> this thing that couldn't be further from reality tv. is this redemption for you? >> you know, we obviously have a lot of hit shows. without those other shows we probably wouldn't have got listened to and therefore we wouldn't be opening on 3,000 screens this movie "son of god" on february 28th. >> reporter: it's the first of several old-fashioned bible movies due out this year. there's also "noah" starring

russell crowe. ridley scott's "exodus" with christian bale playing moses. and "mary mother of christ." all due out later this year. >> behold his mighty hand! >> reporter: there is a precedent, of course. decades ago charlton heston led the way with "the ten commandments" and "ben-hur." >> i grew up in ireland, and i was raised on all those old bible movies. we would sit there on rainy sunday afternoons on the couch lined up. you know, i believe i couldn't consider thinking about moses and in some way remember charlton heston. >> they're hoping "son of god" will be that for a new generation of moviegoers. >> we're aware that many people learn through visual storytelling, and for many people, people who don't go to church, people who maybe have never read the bible. this movie, "son of god," will be the first time that they hear

and see the story of jesus come to life. >> reporter: in the movie downey plays what's really the female lead, the virgin mary. >> my son. >> as a believer what did you learn from becoming her? for the screen. >> it was profoundly moving. to step into the role. because we know mary was the mother of the son of god, but she was also the mother of a son. she knew that he was born to be extraordinary. >> but she must not have known that he would die in quite that way. >> absolutely. i don't think that she knew. >> don't be afraid. everything is possible. with god. >> how could you stand there and witness this? >> reporter: passion too has a precedent on the big screen. mel gibson's "the passion of the christ," maybe the only movie ever made in aramaic.

supposedly the pope himself gave his blessing. after john paul ii saw it he reportedly said, "it is as it was." now, that's one hell of a movie blurb. gibson's movie has gone on to make more than $600 million. >> it's a story that everyone knows. and yet a story that wars have been fought over. kingdoms have been lost over. mel gibson went out of his way to make what he thought was the definitive movie. and he got into some hot water from the jewish community over allegations of anti-semitism. were you worried about that? >> we consulted with rabbis and in particular with the anti-defamation league, just to understand the sensitivities and what could we do while keeping to the gospels, but being

sensitive to the jewish faith. jesus and the disciples were all jewish. there were no christians, jews, and romans. it was simply the jewish people and the romans. >> reporter: even before the critics have weighed in, the film has a built-in audience. >> your hunger for righteousness will be filled. >> if you didn't know jesus and you came to this movie for the first time, i think you would get a beautiful understanding of what he came to do. >> blessed are the pure in heart. for they shall see god. >> we tried to tell the movie as a thriller to create the tension and the drama, to make it compelling. >> you are charged with blasphemy. >> reporter: clearly a labor of love for them. now also poised to be a huge commercial success. i'm david wright for "nightline" in hollywood. >> "son of god" will be in

theaters on february 28th. next, why did kevin spacey say "house of cards" is too close to the real-life politics on capitol hill? with over 100,000 miles. most vehicles on the road that's the power of german engineering. ♪

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when you think of a menacing dog, doberman or pit bull might come to mind. not a pack of wild chihuahuas. but it seems they found strength in numbers and they're actually terrorizing a community in arizona. animal control workers in phoenix say they've had thousands of calls about the strays. and kevin spacey's frank underwood from the show "house of cards" is also finding strength in numbers. the viewing kind. >> there is but one rule. hunt or be hunted. >> welcome back. >> netflix released season 2 this weekend, leaving many of the estimated 13 million fans to stay glued to their couches for a 13-hour marathon. even the twitter page associated with president obama tweeted "no spoilers please." and the show's fictional

washington, d.c. may hit a little close to home. according to spacey. >> we can get done shooting on a day and i'll come home asand tu on the news and i'll think, you know, our storylines are not that crazy. they're really not. here i am. an actress. representing at least in some sense an industry that places crushing standards on all of us. >> "juno" actress ellen page came out in front of hundreds at a conference for the human rights campaign foundation. >> and i am here today because i am gay. >> the inspiring speech quickly found a much larger audience. and nearly 4 million views later page tweeted she is profoundly grateful for all the support. will there be box office support too? she's set to play julianne moore's lover in the upcoming indie drama. thank you for watching abc news. world news now is coming up soon with overnight breaking news. tune in to "good morning america" tomorrow. and as always, we're online at abcnews.com. good night.

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