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George Lopez is God's Harley-riding messenger, who saves a broken man (Edward James Olmos) in "Walking With Herb." See the exclusive trailer. USA TODAY

On a drive to El Paso from Las Cruces, NMSU film professor Ross Marks changed the radio station from a negative, ranting DJ to televangelist Joel Osteen.

"He was preaching this message of hope — that trust, belief and life can be great. I thought, 'That's a wonderful message. That's the type of movie I should make,' " the director and producer said. "I remembered my friend Joe Bullock had written this fabulous, faith-based novel called 'Walking with Herb,' about a man who is contacted by God and challenged to go on this great journey to trust and believe in God's word."

The film, which opens April 30 in theaters, stars Edward James Olmos as a golfer struggling with his faith after an unexpected tragedy, George Lopez as the messenger of God, and Kathleen Quinlan as Olmos' wife. The two well-known Hispanic actors were Marks' top picks for the film and he feels fortunate they were on board from the get-go.

"In the novel, the lead characters are Caucasian males, Joe Goodman and the character Herb. Because I live in Las Cruces and teach at New Mexico State University, where it's predominantly a Latino community, I wanted to do the movie to honor that community, to honor Las Cruces," he said.

"When you talk about a 70-year-old Latino male actor, the number one dramatic actor by far is Edward James Olmos," he said. "And then I wanted God's messenger, this angel he sent down to guide this man, to be a comedic actor. When I thought of great comedic actors, the first choice was George Lopez."

Marks said Lopez brought a sense of humor that is always needed in an uplifting movie.

"I wanted a comedic actor that would make the audience laugh ... and he has some powerful, dramatic moments in the movie, but it's really important for me that the audience enjoy the film and laugh and cry," he said.

For Quinlan, the film was one of her last projects before the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020. The movie was filmed from September through mid-October 2018 in Las Cruces and Artesia, New Mexico.

At the time, she only knew that she was excited about the opportunity to work with Olmos and Lopez.

"I've been fans of their work for a long time ... and then when I read the script, I realized it was written by Mark Medoff, whom I had worked with on 'Clara's Heart,' with Whoopi Goldberg. He's a great writer and I was honored to be able to work with him again," she said in a Zoom interview.

Quinlan said she is not religious, but she does have faith, adding it's a good movie for these times.

"We tend to be a little more cynical these days as people, somewhat understandably so. There is something refreshing about this movie," she said. "In these dark times, it's really important to have a little infusion of some joy, humor and some light. George and Eddie will make you laugh."

For Marks, teaching and making movies allows him to provide work for his students and when possible promote the cities of Las Cruces and El Paso. He is also the executive director and founder of the Las Cruces International Film Festival and is passionate about growing the movie industry in Las Cruces.

The production employed about 50 New Mexico crew members, 25 New Mexico actors and approximately 581 New Mexico background talent.

Over the years, Marks has made several movies, including "The Twilight of the Golds," "Homage," which won the Best Director Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and "The Heart Outright," which his late father-in-law Medoff wrote and co-produced.

"Walking with Herb" is Marks' fifth feature film and he feels honored to have been able to work with Medoff, who was the screenwriter and one of the producers. Medoff died in April 2019 at the age of 79.

The two had worked together on different projects for 30 years.

"The most meaningful thing about this film is that sadly Mark passed away when we were in postproduction. He couldn't see the film finished. The film is dedicated to him and this is the last project that he ever worked on — and I think he would be so proud," he said.

Marks added: "This is the most personal movie that I've ever made in that Mark, my mentor, my father-in-law and partner, was an atheist. And he was very ill when we were making the movie. I think the movie brought about peace and brought Mark some faith. At the end of Mark's life, he became a believer. I think he found something that he wouldn't have found had we not made this movie.

"The thing that I most want audiences to take away from the film is that they're not alone, no matter how difficult their days are," he said.

More film talk: See Oscar-nominated films at two Cinemark Theatres in El Paso this week

More: Las Cruces filmmaker's 'Broken Gaiete' wins Best Feature at 2021 Santa Fe Film Festival

María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @EPTMaria on Twitter.

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