Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, the movie adaptation of Anne Rice‘s novel about Christ’s early years, will begin shooting in Israel this October.

Good News Holdings, which produces faith-based content in multimedia formats, acquired the rights to the best-selling novel last June and states that the decision to film in Israel has the full support of the Israeli government.

Casting has begun in Israel to find the boy who will play Jesus at the age of 7.

During her 30-year career, Rice has been the reigning queen of supernatural fiction, staking her claiming in the industry with her books about vampires and witches. In 2005, upon Christ‘s release, the author declared that from then on she “would only write for the Lord.” Rice intends Christ to be the first installment in a four-book series.

A theatrical release for Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt is planned for Fall 2008.