A while back, the riveting after-death experience of Don Piper was told in his book, "90 Minutes in Heaven," where Piper was pronounced dead following a horrific accident involving an 18-wheeler. When God put it on the heart of a man to pray for Don at the grisly scene, he was suddenly brought back to life, stunning emergency workers.

Now Don Piper's story of dying, experiencing Heaven, and coming back—and his long road of recovery—is being portrayed in a new movie, titled after his book: "90 Minutes in Heaven."

The movie hits theaters across the U.S. this Friday.

Recently, I spoke with Don and his wife, Eva Piper about the making of the movie from his own testimony...

BCN: Don, your story has been out for a while, in the form of your book—yet it's taken till now for a movie telling your amazing story... (Photo: Don and Eva Piper/via 90MinutesinHeaventheMovie.com)

Don Piper: Well, they came to me [about doing a movie] 6 or 8 years ago, and it's been through various forms. My book came out in 2004, so it's an 11-year-old book about a 26-year-old event. I wanted to do a movie, if it was an accurate portrayal. If it was a ministry tool, that's what I wanted it to be. Some of the other companies—while prestigious—wanted to do something that was inaccurate, and didn't follow the book at all. That caused it not to happen repeatedly. So, when we had a company come to us last year that wanted to do the movie as an accurate reflection of the book, then I entertained that idea again. And especially since that company would be giving away profits [from the movie] to charities.

I was on the set about 80 percent of the time, and Eva and our kids were all invited to the set, so we were there and saw them making the movie in an accurate and forthright kind of way. It was very surreal—to relive those experiences after all these years [through the acting]; it was not an easy thing to do.

BCN: On that note, you know when filmmakers go about depicting Heaven in film, it seems like a very difficult thing to do. You experienced Heaven—how did they do in this movie? Was it close?

DP: Oh, it's very hard to portray. I didn't talk about Heaven myself for well over a year because I didn't have the earthly words for it. If that's the case on a personal level, just try to make a film about it! The parts of Heaven that they chose to portray are mostly accurate. But they can't do the colors that I saw there, that I can't see here. They can't do the aromas that I smelled there, that I can't smell here. So, it was accurate in depicting the things they could display, but there's so much more—to say the least—to Heaven than you could make in a movie. They did the best they could—but it's Heaven! There are no earthly words, or pictures, or sounds that we could use here, that would actually do justice to portraying Heaven. (Photo via 90MinutesinHeaventheMovie.com)

BCN: You mentioned the cast portraying your lives and how surreal that was. What did you think about the cast, and did you have a say in the casting at all?

DP: Not really, but we had a really good relationship to the actors chosen to play us before the filming began. Eva and Kate (Bosworth) are like BFFs! (Laughs) They've really become good friends. We talked often with the cast members and spent time together. But I couldn't be more pleased with the cast, I think they did a great job. Not just the lead roles, but also cast members like Michael W. Smith, Fred Thompson, Dwight Yoakum and Jason Kennedy—this is a great cast and a lot of them really wanted to be in this movie.

BCN: Eva, as you watched this whole filming process come together, it likely brought everything back—what was that like for you?

Eva Piper: It was hard. I remember when I was on set that first day—when you film movies you don't film scenes sequentially, it's kind of disjointed—they started with the ICU. When I walked into that room, and the prop people had done a phenomenal job, from the 1989 calendars on the wall and the computers of that time—I had to walk off and catch my breath. It brought back a flood of memories. There were very many times where it was painful to watch [the filming]. Watching the wreck—when they actually wrecked the car—seeing that was very difficult to watch. But, on the other hand, it was very uplifting to see the portrayal of how our friends and family upheld us and kept us going through that dark time. It ran a whole roller coaster of emotions, similar to what we went through when we experienced it back in 1989. (Photo via 90MinutesinHeaventheMovie.com)

BCN: The movie release date is September 11th. Is there a reason you chose that date?

DP: I think there is—a practical and spiritual aspect to releasing it on 9/11. For one, it's a date when not a lot of other movies are being released. But in a very real sense, on what date in our recent history would we need more hope? It's a day when we're reminded of searing tragedy and the painful separation of death. So we have a movie coming out on that day, that's hopeful, about life AFTER death, and about overcoming tragedy and pain.

The subtitle of the movie is: "Hope Lives." We DO think hope lives, but frankly, we had to find it after I had gotten hit by the truck. The news was not good for a long time. And even when it was thought I would live, the doctors thought I would be severely challenged for the rest of my life. While in some ways I still am; I did walk into the room in which I'm sitting now and when I'm done, I'll walk out. That was NEVER a possibility at the start. I'm using my arm that was found in the back seat of the car—they weren't even sure they could save the arm much less have me use it... so I have been knocked down, but I'm not out—by the grace of God. So, it's a very hopeful movie and we intended for it to be one.

BCN: In light of Alex Malarkey's confession of having made up his experience in "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven," have you received resistance to your movie, and your own experience? And what would you say to those who may discount what you've seen and heard?

DP: Well, I would've been the last person to believe had this not happened to me. I was on my way to church to teach a Bible study, but I got hit by that truck on the bridge that day and it changed everything. I believed in Heaven by faith, but now I know it in reality. I've seen Heaven. Other people will have to believe in Heaven, and my testimony, by faith, not experience, and there's not much I can do about that. (Photo via 90MinutesinHeaventheMovie.com)

There's actually a lot more to the Malarkey story than most people know. It's extraordinarily painful because the young man became victimized through no fault of his own, and the family imploded.

I respect those who disagree with me about Heaven. They probably use the brakes on their car, and yet don't understand anything about them either—they use them by faith, the car stops. We exercise faith all the time regarding things we can't see or don't understand, so it shouldn't be any less with a story like this. But it's their call. I just ask people to see the movie, and make their own judgment call.

BCN: Have you met and spoken with Colton Burpo from "Heaven is For Real" and compared Heaven experiences, and are they similar?

DP: Oh sure—with him and many other people. It's remarkable; the similarities are much more vast than any of the differences. But we're all human beings with different personalities—so we're always going to look at it a little differently. I might focus on one thing, he might focus on another. There will be some variations, but for the most part—in all of them, worldwide—it's almost universal agreement about the life-after-death and what happens. It's IN us, we know there's a better place than here.

BCN: Do you ever have flashbacks, or dreams of what you experienced in Heaven?

DP: Sure! When I saw this movie! (Laughs) Yes, I can hear the music, still, that I heard in Heaven. And many of the things that happen here remind me of what happens in Heaven.

BCN: Don and Eva, what would you both say to someone who tells you "No, I don't believe in Heaven at all"?

Eva: To someone who doesn't believe in Heaven at all, I would say, let's just say that you're right. Then both of us will be in the same boat if there is nothing there. But if I'm right, and there really is a Heaven, what are you going to do? I'd rather believe that something is really there, than to believe in nothing. There are just too many people who have experienced Heaven and seen it. For me, it gives me such hope to know that there is a better place that we can go to, through Jesus Christ.

DP: Well, I think within us, there is the knowledge that we take our last breath here and our first breath somewhere else. That if this is all there is to life, then there's not much to life really. The death rate here is 100 percent, no one gets out alive. So there must be more than this. We've seen it in a baby's face, in the mountains—creation demands a Creator. We were intended to have eternal life, but we blew it—so He's made us a better place. One of Jesus' last statements before He left was: "I go to prepare a place for you..." So Heaven IS a real place, whether you believe in it or not. I believe you get there through Christ. But I also believe that Hell is a real place, and we condemn ourselves to it when we are disobedient and have no relationship with the One who created us. God wants to have a relationship with His children, and when we do, then one day we can be with Him forever in a place called Heaven. (Photo via 90MinutesinHeaventheMovie.com)

To find out where the movie is playing in your area, visit: 90MinutesinHeaventheMovie.com

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