Richard Dutcher, LDS filmmaker, discusses the recent LDS-themed movie trend. He said the films have had a critical lack of quality in the last few years. Dutcher created, among others, God's Army and Brigham City.
Richard Dutcher, a pioneer filmmaker of Latter-day Saint cinema, told a BYU-Idaho crowd Thursday he agrees with some critics that the genre has hit a rut.
Seven LDS-themed films have made it to local screens since 2000, including two of Dutcher's movies, God's Army and Brigham City.
Recent films such as The Singles Ward, Handcart and Charly mark a sophomore slump for the films, which are based on themes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah film reviewers said.
"We finally get a chance to say something, and we're just reinforcing stereotypes," Dutcher told more than 800 BYU-Idaho students and faculty Thursday during a speech on the LDS film industry.
But LDS cinema is headed in the right direction, and it has made great strides in recent years, Dutcher said.
"Three years ago nobody thought we'd be where we are now," he said.
Dutcher began the LDS movie trend in 2000 with his first film God's Army. The movie cost $240,000 to make and netted $2.6 million.
"He is the pioneer," Jack Weyland, author of the book Charly, which recently was released on film, said. "Without God's Army none of these other films would be possible."
Weyland said he understands Dutcher's point about stereotypes, but he also said there needs to be a variety of films in LDS cinema.
Dutcher's next project is to bring the life of Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS Church, to the big screen, he said.
The $10 million project has been stalled because of a lack of money.
Dutcher is now concentrating on getting funding for the film and he is keeping a backlog of other stories he has to tell.
"I really think Richard Dutcher has the perspective of where we need to go with Mormon cinema," BYU-I student Spencer Stapleton said. "He's out to make an impact through his film's content."
Dutcher is just one of many high-profile names in the LDS community to recently speak on the BYU-I campus. Others include Sheri L. Dew, chief executive officer of Deseret Book, and Rear Adm. Richard B. Porterfield of the U.S. Navy.
With the 2000 premiere of "God's Army," the story of the struggles of missionaries in Los Angeles, the nation was hit by a new genre of film -- the Mormon movie.
Since then, numerous movies with Latter-day religious undertones, including "The Singles Ward," "Brigham City" and "Charly," have graced the screens.
The more popular LDS movies are available at most local video stores. Blockbuster assistant manager Judie Meyers said "Brigham City" and "The Singles Ward" are often checked out. When the store's distributor didn't include The Singles Ward in its recent shipments, Meyers said, the local store went out and bought copies just to meet rental demand.
"We had to go out and buy four copies," she said. "There's always at least one checked out."
Although they serve a primarily LDS audience, "Charly" screenwriter Janine Gilbert said, the themes of her movie can touch anyone.
"We tried to make it accessible to all audiences," Gilbert said. "I think the themes are universal. It asks us to think about what is most important in our lives."
The film, "Charly," based on a novel by Jack Weyland, is a romance story about a couple from different walks of life, and the troubles they face as a family.
Director Adam Thomas Andregg read the novel as a teen and fell in love with the story. The book, he said, addressed serious issues like death in a way he had never seen before.
"It was a very emotional experience. It was a very unexpected experience," he said.
Charly is currently playing at the Centre Theatre in Idaho Falls, and will open Jan. 24 in theaters in California, Arizona and Alaska. The movie will hit major cities on the East Coast later this year and will come out on video after it leaves theaters.
Andregg said most people who go to the movie are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but they, like all movie-goers, simply want to see a good film. Gilbert said the movie is something a family can do together.
"It gives audience members a chance to reconnect as a family," she said.
Pocatello First University Stake President Scott Waldram hasn't seen "Charly" or other LDS movies, but has heard his congregation rave about comedies like "The Singles Ward," a movie about LDS single life.
Most people, he said, turn to LDS movies because they want to see a good movie without the lewd nature of many mainstream films.
"I think they'd like to go to a movie and feel good about it afterwards," he said.
Church member Ryan Bitton saw "The Singles Ward" twice.
"I really enjoyed it," he said. "I laughed."
LDS Movies Available on Video:
- Brigham City: Peace in a small Utah town is shattered when Sheriff Wes Clayton discovers a dead woman on the roadside. Clayton, an LDS bishop, must solve the mystery and keep the town together.
- God's Army: The story of young Mormon missionaries in Los Angeles, and their trials and triumphs.
- The Singles Ward: The Singles Ward is a comedy about the struggles of a newly-divorced returned missionary adjusting to single life in the LDS Church.
For hundreds more LDS film titles, check out www.ldsfilm.com.
On the big screen
- Charly, a movie based on the novel by Brigham Young University-Idaho physics professor Jack Weyland, is playing at the Centre Theater in Idaho Falls tonight at 6:45 p.m. The movie is a double feature with Tuck Everlasting. For more information, call 525-3340.
- Handcart, the fictional story of Samuel Hunter, a man whose faith is challenged as he makes an arduous trek to Utah with the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company, is showing at the Paramount Theater in Idaho Falls at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. For more information call 523-1142.
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Kurt Cox, an employee at Blockbuster Video, restocks DVDs of "The Singles Ward" next to the DVD "Brigham City," two of the LDS movie titles they carry.
Cover of "The Singles Ward" DVD.
Latter-day Saints are becoming a popular focus for movies, causing both excitement and controversy within the LDS community.
"It sometimes seems as if everybody who took a film course at BYU or the University of Utah saw 'God's Army' and said to themselves, 'Hey, my buddies and I can do that!' grabbed their camcorders and hit the town," Sean Means said in a review of the LDS movie trend in The Salt Lake Tribune.
BYU students, a target audience of LDS filmmakers, have much to say on the subject.
"[The movies are] funny and I think so far they've been within OK boundaries," said MBA student John Wester from Boise, Idaho. "You hope they don't step over that line where you're taking sacred things too light."
Wester, however, has only seen "Singles Ward." Many students argue that some other LDS films have already crossed that line.
"I didn't like 'God's Army,'" said Josh Aston, a junior from Burley, Idaho, majoring in history. "I think some things relating to missionary work don't need to be portrayed to the public, such as priesthood blessings. My mission sure wasn't like that."
Susan Curtis, a junior from Glendale, Wis., majoring in marriage, family and human development said she thought parts of "God's Army" were blasphemous.
Yet many filmmakers said they have tried to stay away from controversy. The makers of "Singles Ward" said they purposefully avoided displaying anything about Latter-day Saint religion.
"Singles Ward" director Kurt Hale said the movie didn't show any prayers or ordinances because there is not anything funny about those things and they aren't something that should be shown in a movie.
However, Mormon culture is something completely different, he said.
"Frankly there was just a lot of comedy staring us in the face, so we thought, 'Hey let's take a crack at it,'" he said.
Richard Dutcher, the director of "God's Army" said he isn't happy with the trend of LDS films.
"We finally get a chance to say something, and we're just reinforcing stereotypes," Dutcher said.
But BYU students expressed support.
"I like it because it provides entertainment that's a good alternative to what Hollywood puts out," said accounting major Andrew Averett, a sophomore from Springville.
As yet, church officials haven't offered a position on films with LDS subjects, Hale said.
However, Hale said David B. Haight's wife loved "Singles Ward," and President Gordon B. Hinckley's personal secretary called Hale and said President Hinckley wanted a copy of the DVD.
"As a people we've come far enough to kind of have a good time with our cultural peculiarities," Hale said.
The LDS film trend doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. "The RM," directed by Hale, hits theaters Thursday. Another comedy titled "Church Ball" is scheduled for release in January 2004.
"We can make 50 movies based on how strange we are," Hale said.
[EXCERPTS]
Question: What was the first commercial LDS-themed film ever produced?
a) "Legacy"
b) "God's Army"
c) "Together Forever"
d) "Corianton"
Answer: "Legacy" and "Together Forever," while LDS, are hardly commercial. And while "God's Army" was the first successful LDS-produced film, the honor of creating the first commercial LDS film belongs to Lester Park, for his feature length film "Corianton," which hit Utah theatres in 1931.
So why have most of us never heard of the film? Because "Corianton" was a complete flop. ...the reason it flopped in Utah is because Mormons were outraged."
And the phenomenon continues today.
LDS films such as Dutcher's "God's Army" and "Brigham City," along with HaleStorm Entertainment's "The Single's Ward" and "The RM," leave some anti-Hollywood Mormons with bitter-herb aftertastes of irreverence and even blasphemy.
Some complain about showing blessings, baptisms, or sacrament meetings. Some complain about pop rock hymns. Others, still, complain about the quality of the films, vying [sic] never to see an LDS film until it opens in theatres across the country with a couple big names attached.
...A quick comparison shows "God's Army" cost $250,000 to produce, and grossed $2.6 million. "Brigham City" on the other hand cost $3 million to produce, but has grossed only $850,000.
...Commercial LDS films of note include: "God's Army," "Brigham City," "The Other Side of Heaven," "The Singles Ward," "Out of Step," "Charly," "Handcart," and "The RM." Scores of LDS films are currently under production as BYU film graduates try to produce films fast enough to write their story on the plates of gold that Dutcher has unearthed.
[EXCERPT]
SIERRA VISTA -- In three years, a growing list of theater-release films featuring characters who just happen to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or centered on church-related themes have hit movie screens across North America...
Among the offerings are: "God's Army," "Brigham City," "Handcart," "The Other Side of Heaven," "Out of Step," "The Singles Ward," "Charly," "The R.M.," "Suddenly Unexpected" and "The Work and the Story."
Many have played across Arizona and the West from Washington to California and Nevada to New Mexico -- sometimes showing up in North American theaters as far away as Ontario, Canada, and in movie houses in sunny Hawaii.
Just as one needn't be Jewish to enjoy "Fiddler on the Roof" or a member of the Greek Orthodox church to relate to the humor in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," one needn't be LDS, more commonly referred to as "Mormon," to enjoy LDS cinema.
In fact, some of the strongest local supporters of the burgeoning LDS film genre are not LDS.
Filmmaker Richard Dutcher is used to breaking new ground. His "God's Army," a story of Mormon missionaries, released in 2000, is credited with opening the doors for commercial LDS filmmaking.
So, it is fitting that he -- and the film -- are again achieving a first. When "God's Army" opened in Mexico City on Jan. 31, dubbed in Spanish, it became the first LDS film to play internationally in a different language.
"This is a breakthrough moment for Mormon cinema," said Dean Hale, vice president of motion-picture distribution for Excel Entertainment, which is co-ordinating the Mexico release. "We had to fight to get this film in Mexican theaters -- it's been an uphill battle."
Hale said that because the film had already been dubbed in Spanish -- as opposed to being subtitled -- and because Excel was a new distributor to the Mexican market, "regulatory forces in the Mexican government had us jump through a lot of hoops."
Dutcher added that "there are a lot of LDS people in Mexico, so we're hoping it takes off."
For Dutcher, it is particularly satisfying to have the film shown there; he served an LDS mission in Veracruz from 1984-86, and parts of the film were based on his own experiences.
Even more than that, Dutcher hopes the film "will have the same effect there as here, that it will inspire Latin LDS filmmakers to tell their own stories from their own point of view, and share that point of view with the world."
That, said Dutcher, is really what it's all about. "LDS filmmaking is still in its infancy. It will take years to reach the level we're all hoping and wanting. What we're seeing now are a lot of first attempts, and they are being judged harshly compared to what's out there. But I want to see the third and fourth attempt."
Or, the 20th, or the 100th. Because, he said, "we'll keep moving forward. It's the only direction to go."
"God's Army," he said, "was a new concept, a new idea. And we did meet resistance." Sometimes he gets a little tired of defending his work to those "who see it purely as entertainment, who see no artistic value in film." But he's also convinced that if "you tell an honest story, you'll break down resistance."
Dutcher is currently working on his first big-budget film, a story of Joseph Smith called "The Prophet." "It's a big project," he said, "and the economy has been fighting us. But we're pushing forward. I'm hoping it won't be my 'Gangs of New York,' and take 25 years to get to the screen."
The cast is still "in flux," he said, with some actors committed, but some still be to signed. And until that is done, "all plans could change. We're still hoping to shoot this summer in Canada. If not, then we'll shoot the next summer. Or, the next."
But it will get done, because filmmaking is not only his job, it is his passion. "I can't remember a time when I didn't want to make films. As a boy, I saw every movie I could see. 'Jaws' clinched it for me. I must have seen it a hundred times. It's a brilliant film."
Woody Allen movies got him thinking about being behind the camera. "And then I saw a couple of foreign films, 'The Bicycle Thief' and 'Blue Angel.' They were so powerful. I realized for the first time that film had the ability to approach the depth and humanity of great literature. Someday, I want to make a movie as good as those."
"God's Army" was actually not Dutcher's first commercial effort. He spent two years working on a low-budget film called "Girl Crazy," which received limited showings on HBO. "It taught me the process, but I realized I would never again commit so much time, money and energy to something so trivial. I needed to do the things that were important to me, the films that only I could make."
At that point, Dutcher said, his writing improved. He also realized that if he wanted to do his own stuff, he would want to do it all -- not only write and act, but also direct.
The interesting thing about moviemaking, he said, is that "you have all these creative people, and sometimes they are all making a different movie. Any film benefits from one unifying vision, and the director tries to get everyone to buy into his vision. If the writer, the actor and the director are all the same person, it's a little easier."
Dutcher said he is gratified to think he may have started something with "God's Army" that will continue to grow. But he sometimes wishes there was more talk about LDS film "making," and not as much about "marketing." "There's a potential for so much more, and I'd hate to see it get hijacked by marketers."
Mormon filmmakers should, he said, "be making films no one else is making. We need to reach deep into our experience and doctrine and history and tell stories no one else is telling. And those will be powerful, beautiful movies."
[EXCERPTS]
...For their part, critics have had plenty to say. Even Richard Dutcher, whose "God's Army" was the first of a string of LDS movies, has been publicly disapproving of the movies that followed in the genre.
"The Singles Ward" director Kurt Hale said Utah critics were not always kind. His company, HaleStorm Entertainment, will release "The RM" tomorrow. This time, Hale said, "We kind of hope they give us a more fair shake."
Orson Scott Card, a long-time champion of LDS art, laughs off the criticism of Mormon film, but at the same time he cautions that when the novelty of LDS films wears off, quality will have to carry the genre.
Card is an award-winning author who has published in both mainstream and LDS markets. His mainstream work includes the science fiction "Homecoming" series and "Ender's Game," a book that is being developed for a movie of its own, according to Card's website. He spoke to The Herald Journal by telephone interview.
"God's Army" came to Card's town in North Carolina, he said, and he applauded the movie. It was courageous work, he said, and it created a genre. He hopes the success can continue, following in the footsteps of LDS printed media.
Mormon fiction didn't exist until the 1970s, he said; now it's a real genre.
...Like HaleStorm's earlier release, it's crammed full of Mormon insider jokes. (The main character drowns his sorrow in a Diet Coke after his girlfriend dumps him; his parents have 11 children with another on the way; he goes to a cinema where a promotional poster for "God's Navy" is displayed; it goes on and on.)
...What do Utahns say?... Whatever "The Singles Ward" made the outside world think about the Mormon one, USU students Logan Wood and Katrina Lyman were happier with the comedy than they were with "God's Army." Both Wood and Lyman are returned missionaries; both objected to the film's portrayal of mission life.
But as long as someone keeps making Mormon movies that are worth seeing, Wood and Lyman will keep going to them. Mormon life and Mormon history could provide a lot of material, they said; filmmakers won't run out of stories.
[EXCERPT]
"A lot of people have had stories to tell for a long time, and now they feel they can do that," [Kurt Hale] said. "The success of "God's Army" and "Single's Ward" says that you can make the films and get a small profit."
These movies tend to do well in areas with an LDS community such as Utah, Arizona, California and Idaho, but they also attract people who are curious about the LDS Church.
[EXCERPT]
Welcome to the glamorous world of making independent movies, LDS style.
OK, so maybe making movies isn't exactly glamourous. But it can be fun. And in this case, it fulfilled the long-time dream of Mark Potter who has wanted to make this film since 1993. He tried to get backing for it then, again in 1994 and again in 1995.
"No one believed there was any interest for Latter-day Saint theater," he said, saying potential investors told him no one -- LDS or not - would come see a film about Mormon life. Mark Potter said he held the faith that they would.
"No one believed that," he said.
Everything changed when Richard Dutcher's God's Army packed theaters in 2000 with audience members hungry for something that Hollywood had failed to give them in quantity: morally clean entertainment.
Since then, numerous films have captured the attention of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and people of other faiths alike, as a new film genre emerges featuring LDS themes and characters.
[EXCERPTS]
A large crowd of movie-goers wait in line for popcorn and tickets to the newest attraction to come since snow hit Rexburg.
These film-goers aren't dying to see an action film, or the latest Sarah Michelle Gellar drama.
They are in line to see the latest in a film frenzy that has swept Utah, Idaho and other states: Mormon cinema.
More commonly referred to as LDS cinema, the movies and directors of these films try to portray aspects of Latter-day Saint lives.
What types of films draw attention to Latter-day Saints? In the last two years, Mormon film-makers such as Richard Dutcher have attracted large audiences to productions such as God's Army, Out of Step, Singles Ward, and most recently, Handcart.
...Local BYU-I students have contrasting views of the new LDS genre. Shawna Hulme, a sophomore from Danville, Calif., said there are good as well as bad elements of Mormon Cinema.
"There are some parts that aren't funny, [and] when [nonmembers] watch it, they may get a tinted view of what our religion really is," she said.
Some parts of LDS Cinema, such as jokes among missionaries or members praying, may offend those who feel these things should not be made light, she said.
The most successful of the Mormon movies are God's Army and Brigham City, according to www.ldsfilm.com. In 2000, Dutcher began as a pioneering director of God's Army, making approximately $2,628,000 after using a $300,000 budget. This comes to a profit of about $2,328,000, showing a demand for more LDS cinema...
[EXCERPTS]
Wanted: rich Mormons to fund big-screen movie about Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, starring Val Kilmer as Joseph and F. Murray Abraham as Illinois Gov. Thomas Ford. Written and directed by Richard Dutcher, creator of "God's Army," and father of the LDS movie genre. Movie has built-in audience of 12 million Mormons. Call Richard Dutcher. Need $10 million or, short of that, next week's groceries.
The last time we checked in with Dutcher he was riding out the surprising success of "God's Army," waiting to see how "Brigham City" would fare and plotting his next move. Having survived poverty and 4 1/2 years of hunting for investors for "God's Army," he had finally found success. He bought an acre of land and planned to build his first house on it.
Now he's virtually right back where he began. For a man whose first major movie grossed millions of dollars, he doesn't have much to show for it. He had to sell the land. He went into debt. He lives month to month, waiting for royalty checks from "God's Army" and wondering how he'll make his next house payment.
"Every time someone buys 'God's Army,' I can get a loaf of bread," he jokes over a Caesar salad in a Provo restaurant.
Dutcher is doing what he has always done, chasing art and dreams instead of money. Instead of sinking the profits from "God's Army" into the stock market or a bank account, he ignored his accountant's advice and funded his dream project -- "The Prophet," the Joseph Smith story.
...Running out of money, Dutcher recently decided to begin production of "God's Army II," which he actually wrote three years ago. He has a wife and five children to think of.
The irony is that Dutcher started the LDS movie genre, but others are capitalizing on it. Consider the movies that have been released since "God's Army" -- "Singles Ward," "Other Side of Heaven," "Out of Step," "Charley," "R.M." Three more are on the way.
"It's fun," Dutcher says. "I went to an LDS bookstore recently and the video section looks a lot better than it did a few years ago. There weren't just kids movies. There was some personal satisfaction in that."
As for the Joseph Smith story...
[EXCERPT]
You'd think it was the first "Star Wars" movie -- or maybe "God's Army, Part Deux" -- based on the response from one South American country. "I don't know what's going on in Brazil," Rogers mused. "About every other e-mail comes from Brazil. Sao Paulo is going nuts." There will be prints dubbed into Portuguese and Spanish for international viewers, as well as language options on the DVD when it is released after the theatrical run.