Since the Mormon movie movement was kick-started three years ago by Richard Dutcher's impressive -- and let's say it, surprising -- one-two punch, "God's Army" and "Brigham City," it's caused much more than a snowball effect. It's an avalanche.
The number of films about Mormons by Mormon filmmakers has grown to several a year -- and this year, most of them are bunched together over the next couple of months. That's either good news or bad news, depending on your perspective.
It's always good news when independent filmmakers manage to get their pictures on the big screen. Many independents still never quite get that far.
But there's also the danger of these films canceling each other out. The audience simply may not be big enough to support so many all at once or in tandem, especially since they'll be in competition with Hollywood's serious-minded, end-of-the-year Oscar-contenders.
Then there's the issue of quality. So far, the law of diminishing returns has been in effect. If none of the upcoming films are any better than the majority that have followed Dutcher's, this entire genre . . . if that's the word . . . could be in trouble.
And those who indiscriminately heap praise and support on all of these movies do the filmmakers no favors. What's the incentive to improve if all you hear is that your work is great? Hence, "Singles Ward" is followed by "The RM." And soon, "Home Teachers." And next year, "Church Ball." These aren't movies; they're road shows with money.
But all of this is subjective, of course. One man's "Citizen Kane" is another man's "Caddyshack."
Which makes me wonder what Dutcher might do next.
It's a shame his biographical film of Joseph Smith fell apart, but he apparently has a couple of scripts ready to go, and he's on the verge of making a third film fairly quickly. Hopefully, the Joseph Smith project will be resurrected down the road.
When Dutcher started "God's Army" in 1999, he called me from Los Angeles to introduce himself and tell me what he was up to. He got my attention because I have a strong interest in Mormon characters in motion pictures.
The idea that we might soon see a movie to counteract such derisive Hollywood depictions of Mormons as the hypocritical FBI boss in "Donnie Brasco" or the naive twit police detective in "Goodbye Lover" (or subsequent shady characters in "One Night at McCool's" and "Ocean's 11") filled me with hope.
But also with dread.
Back then, I didn't know Dutcher or what he was capable of, and I am often on the receiving end of calls or e-mail from hopeful filmmakers who want to be the Mormon Steven Spielberg.
I enjoyed speaking with Dutcher, but I wasn't sure I'd ever hear from -- or of -- him again. So imagine my surprise when, a few months later, he sent me a VHS copy of the film's trailer.
It's hard to tell anything from a trailer, but I remember saying to our film critic Jeff Vice, "I'm glad you're doing the movies these days."
Suffice it to say I was happy to eat crow when "God's Army" proved to be well-made, entertaining, humorous and quite moving.
Hollywood wisdom has it that a "sophomore slump," or failed second film, follows most filmmakers whose first film hits it big (relatively speaking, of course). Dutcher proved that theory wrong as well. "Brigham City" didn't have the financial success of "God's Army," but it won critical kudos, and some national reviews were better than he received for "God's Army."
Let's hope that third film comes soon. After all, Dutcher remains the only "name-brand" Mormon filmmaker among the current crop.
Whatever he does next, all eyes inside and outside the Mormon movie industry will be on him.
It started with one.
In March 2000, Richard Dutcher's "God's Army" stormed Utah theater box offices, earning $88,584 in just three days. The film, which cost $300,000 to make, went on to gross a total of $2.6 million before going to video.
This fall, six LDS-themed films are planned for theatrical release, and at least two more are scheduled for early next year.
"The power of the niche market is very much at the forefront," said Mary Jane Jones, of Excel Entertainment. "So far, we've done a good job of showing that there is a market for these niche films . . . films that speak to a specific audience."
Excel's niche is movies, videos, audio CDs and other materials that are LDS-oriented -- something the entertainment industry has noticed.
"I think people take us seriously within the industry as a whole," said Jones. "The numbers speak for themselves."
According ACNielsen EDI Inc. -- a company that compiles box-office statistics -- Excel ranked eighth in the nation for limited-release film distribution in 2002. Excel released "God's Army," "Brigham City," "The Other Side of Heaven" in fairly quick succession in 2000 and 2001, and "Charly" in 2002.
Other films, including "Out of Step," "The Singles Ward" and "Handcart" were released in 2002, followed by "The R.M." in January of this year.
Together, all those movies earned a total of $11 million, according to Jeff Simpson, president and CEO of Excel. He added that $9 million "has gone through (Excel's) doors."
Though none of the later films has quite matched the millions earned by "God's Army" and "The Other Side of Heaven," there is no question that the market for Mormon movies is booming.
A quick glance at www.ldsfilm.com, which follows movies made by and about LDS Church members, reveals more than 30 announced or rumored Mormon films. And the filmmakers themselves anticipate that 2003 will be a defining year for LDS cinema.
"This is the year that is really going to make the difference," said Ryan Little, director of "Saints and Soldiers," a World War II drama scheduled to open in Utah theaters in early 2004. (He also directed "Out of Step" and was director of photography on "The Singles Ward," "The R.M." and the upcoming "The Home Teachers.")
"This is the year that's going to say, 'This genre has legs or this genre needs to go away,' " Little said.
He added a cautionary note, however. "I think that it's kind of neat that people are doing (LDS-oriented films). I think the danger is when everyone kind of gets excited and jumps on the wave and tries to create pictures. What happens is, you get a broad selection of quality level. . . . And, if LDS films do bad, or if a bunch of films come out consecutively that are poor quality or a bad story or a bad script or whatever, I wonder if the intended audience will say 'You know what, I think I've just had enough of that.'"
"I think there are potentially eight or nine Mormon films coming out between now and January," said Kurt Hale, director of "The Singles Ward," "The R.M." and "The Home Teachers," which opens Jan. 9. "So, I think this year is going to be a very interesting year, because not all of them will be successful -- and mine may be one of those."
Hale added, "I have a feeling there's going to be some Mormon independents that will be squeezed out pretty quick this year."
Simpson -- a former executive at Disney Studios -- said he has been approached by most of the LDS filmmakers releasing films this fall. "I think, not just in Mormon movies, but in the whole movie business in general, you'll see some good performers and some bad performers. . . . With eight films, not everyone will perform as well as the others."
And what's the quality level of the films he has seen so far? "I have seen some of them and parts of others. . . . I think we'll see a maturing and a thinning all at the same time."
For Simpson, that "maturing and thinning" is exciting. "It ultimately comes down to if they're good, well-told and well-crafted," he said. "That's the evolution that's exciting to watch."
Meanwhile, the man who started it all is getting ready to make his third film. Richard Dutcher, who directed and starred in "God's Army" and "Brigham City," announced with Simpson in April 2001 that he would film a biography of Joseph Smith, titled "The Prophet." But financing fell apart.
Still, Dutcher is optimistic and says he is actively trying to pull together a budget for that film.
"Hopefully I'll be shooting that this coming spring, and we'll be set," he said. "Some people have said ('The Prophet') is on the back burner, but that's not true, it's on the front burner. I have two front burners on my stove, so I can keep it on the front burner. And then, I'm also working on a sequel to 'God's Army' that I hope to shoot within four to five months."
Dutcher has strong feelings about the genre he started and is also optimistic about the future of LDS films. "It's an exciting little genre, it really is," he said. "And I think people really don't understand how healthy it is. People feel too much anxiety about the poor films that come along."
According to Dutcher, even bad films can be good for the Mormon-movie genre.
"I think even if some film that's so poorly made that it's offensive to all of us comes out, I don't think even that is going to affect the market because there's just a pretty constant niche (audience) out there that will go see these films. And, I think that if a bad one comes along, they'll just forget about it, and it will make them want a good one even more."
When a niche film does poorly at a theater, however, it makes it more difficult for the next film to get in, Dutcher added. "And that could be one thing that could be a challenge for us is, if a few films go out and do poorly -- whether because they're poor films or because they're poorly marketed or whatever. Then that causes us to have to negotiate a little harder with the theatre chains in order to get the films in there.
"And the reason why the doors were open after 'God's Army' was because it did extremely well. And so, the theatre chains are in the business of making money, so they wanted anything else that could bring in that kind of an audience, and so they were open to whatever came along and now they're getting a little more discriminating."
However, Dutcher also feels that the market for LDS films can only improve.
"I have absolutely no anxieties about the economic stability of this genre. Because there is enough of an audience there, if you make your films for the right price, if you don't overspend, then you're going to do well in that market. And, I think if it's an honest story, if it's very straight-forward, very honestly and sincerely told, then it will attract other people.
"We'll just try to ignore the really bad movies and really celebrate the great ones, and 10 years from now maybe we'll have our own big studio, cranking out our own product with a lot of experienced filmmakers. . . .
"We have this incredible potential to provide world cinema something that they don't already have -- which is spiritual cinema."
LDS-themed films
SCHEDULED FOR FALL RELEASE
- "Suddenly Unexpected" (special screenings in Houston theaters)
- "The Work and the Story," Aug. 29 (limited digital-video screenings)
- "The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey," Sept. 12
- "Day of Defense," Oct. 10
- "Best Two Years," Oct. 10
- "Pride and Prejudice," fall 2003
SCHEDULED FOR WINTER 2004:
- "The Home Teachers," Jan. 9
- "Saints and Soldiers," early 2004
ALSO
- "The Legend of Johnny Lingo," Aug. 29
[EXCERPT]
...In 2000, Richard Dutcher's God's Army proved the existence of a huge, virtually untapped market for films about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Made on a $300,000 budget, that movie grossed more than $2.6 million -- and inspired a sly slew of filmmakers to enter the genre...
[EXCERPT]
..."Saints and Soldiers" is the latest entry in the Mormon cinema movement that began three years ago with "God's Army." The story is of a group of American soldiers in Germany in World War II, one of whom served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany just before the war...
[EXCERPTS]
..."The Other Side of Heaven" represents part of the first wave of Mormon Cinema -- along with the missionary dramedy "God's Army" and the small-town murder mystery "Brigham City," the two films by pioneering LDS filmmaker Richard Dutcher...
..."The Work and the Story" takes aim at that second wave, what director/star Nathan Smith Jones calls "the gold rush" of LDS filmmakers trying to repeat Dutcher's box-office success of "God's Army" (which made $2.6 million, about 10 times what it cost to make).
The satire is a mock-documentary, following a pretentious LDS filmmaker (played by Jones) trying to claim the mantle of "the Mormon Spielberg" after Dutcher (who plays himself) mysteriously goes missing...
[EXCERPT]
The Work and the Story" poses an interesting question: If Richard Dutcher, founder of the Mormon cinema movement, disappeared, what would become of the movement?...
[EXCERPT]
...The 36-year-old writer/director came up with the idea for his new film early in the year 2000, before the huge rush of movies in Utah began.
"I've always loved film," Jones said. "When I saw "God's Army" I decided to write a movie about Mormons and how so many of them want to be the next [Steven] Spielberg."
The film takes place in July 2000, four months after the movie "God's Army" stormed through Utah theaters. In the plot, the director of "God's Army," Richard Dutcher, is missing. The story is about three eager filmmakers who are striving to take his place.
Since the release of "God's Army" several films about the lifestyles of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been made...
LOS ANGELES -- With Jewish groups warning that Mel Gibson's graphic film about the death of Jesus could resurrect charges of Jewish responsibility for the crucifixion, some in Hollywood appear to be spooked. Despite the movie's rave reviews from prominent Christian conservatives, 20th Century Fox, which has the option of first refusal to distribute films by Gibson's production company, said late last month that it would take a pass on "The Passion."
But at least one group in heavily Jewish and overwhelmingly secular Hollywood cannot wait for the movie's slated Easter 2004 release: the entertainment industry's small community of devout Christian filmmakers, screenwriters and producers.
"I haven't seen this much excitement about one particular film in a long time," said Father Wilfred Raymond, a Catholic priest and national director of the Family Theater Productions, which produces religious programming and has a billboard above its Sunset Boulevard offices emblazoned with its slogan, "The family that prays together stays together."
While violence, profanity and sex are widely accepted as normal entertainment fare, much rarer are Hollywood projects offering explicitly religious viewpoints. For many Christians toiling away in Hollywood, it is particularly gratifying to see a major star, such as Gibson, who practices a traditionalist brand of Catholicism, devote himself to a movie project that is an unabashed expression of personal religious devotion.
Zena Dell Schroeder, associate director of the Christian screenwriters' program Act One, has seen a rough cut of "The Passion" and compared viewing it to "an act of worship. This film is beautifully done; it's not meant to be anti-anything."
"There's still a gulf in Hollywood between people who have traditional religious faiths and the mainstream entertainment community," said Ron Austin, who worked in Hollywood for three decades, producing the 1970s hit "Charlie's Angels" in the days before he embraced Catholicism. "It's acceptable in Hollywood now to be spiritual but not really religious, which applies to a more traditional understanding of the faith and traditional morality."
Major entertainment companies have curious relationships with Christianity. Studio and television network executives are wary of explicitly Christian films and TV shows, although their parent companies' music labels make money with Christian groups.
The closest that movie studios get to Christian fare are films like 1996's redemption-driven "Spitfire Grill" or Gibson playing a widowed minister in 2002's UFO-anchored hit "Signs" or "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and its rich Catholic metaphors -- though none are explicitly Christian films.
Some Christians have decided to bypass the Hollywood studio system entirely and have achieved modest success. The premillennial Christian hit "The Omega Code" grossed $12.6 million in the United States. Richard Dutcher's 2000 film "God's Army," a clear-eyed drama about Mormon missionaries in Los Angeles, cost $300,000 to make and grossed $2.6 million, screening at theaters in the heavily Mormon Rocky Mountain region.
Others believe it is important to work within the Hollywood system.
The stated goals of the Act One program, sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, include preparing writers "to be apostles through their lives and work in the heart of the entertainment industry" so they can produce "entertainment alternatives that will be redemptive and deepening for the whole human family." Its instructors include successful Hollywood figures such as comedic actress Bonnie Hunt and Barbara Hall, executive producer of the CBS series "Judging Amy."
And those Christians who have opted for Hollywood careers can often be found working in some surprising capacities.
Act One instructor Scott Derrickson has directed and written screenplays for horror films such as "Hellraiser" and "Urban Legends." For him, this mayhem genre makes perfect sense as a Christian artist's home.
"It deals so directly with good and evil; spirituality and metaphysics are not only respected in that genre but they're requisite for that genre," said Derrickson, a Presbyterian.
Derrickson suggested that "The Passion" might be able to tap into a yearning on the part of movie audiences for more faith-based fare.
"It's a relatively good time to have a perspective of faith in the writing process," he said, "because I think that Hollywood is very aware that the majority of Americans who are going to watch movies have an interest in [Christian] perspectives or share that perspective."
[EXCERPT]
...Since Dutcher's "God's Army" came to theaters in 2000, Mormon filmmakers from near and far have made movies of their own.
"I think that filmmakers will get better and other filmmakers will emerge," Dutcher said.
As for Dutcher, he said he plans to continue to make stories that are from the heart and said he hopes that other Mormon filmmakers will do the same.
"I hope that it becomes more of an art form than just a market," Dutcher said.
Along with his Joseph Smith film in pre-production, Dutcher has written a script for "God's Army 2."
"It will be an exciting story and I'll make that this year as well," Dutcher said.
Dutcher said he hopes audiences will be just as excited about his next film as he is.
"The next film I do had darn well better be pretty good," Dutcher said, "because people have been far from complimentary to me."
[EXCERPT]
One of the greatest struggles and sacrifices for filmmakers trying to have success in LDS film is finding financing.
"It turns out that Mormons love their money just as much as other people do," said Richard Dutcher, the first filmmaker in the LDS film genre with "God's Army" and later "Brigham City."...
...Only two or three LDS films have actually been profitable, which means that the production companies have actually made money from them after other expenses are taken out. "God's Army," the first in the LDS film genre, made about $2 million gross. "The Singles Ward" made about $1.25 million gross and "The RM" is predicted to make a little more than that before its theater run is over.
Baggeley said that the main differences between those that are profitable and those that are not are their budget, distribution and promotion...
[EXCERPTS]
Harmless, fairly charmless romantic comedy about the perils of being young, single and Mormon, Kurt Hale's "The Singles Ward" has grossed just under $1 million after 6 months of very limited release in such Mormon-populous states as Idaho, Arizona and, naturally, Utah. Now expanding westward into California (where pic opens Sept. 13) just before a planned Oct. 8 video release, cloying effort is the latest -- but hardly the best -- exponent of the recent wave of films -- "God's Army," "Brigham City," "The Other Side of Heaven" -- made by, about, and predominately for Mormons. In the overwritten script by Hale and John Moyer -- in which many of the lines sound like rejected sitcom punchlines, overly extroverted standup comedian Jonathan (Will Swenson) recounts, via a series of grating first-person monologues delivered directly into the camera, the breakup of his one-year marriage and his subsequent re-immersion into the world of Mormon "singles wards" -- a prayer group consisting exclusively of unmarrieds which organizes dances and other social mixers...
...For the most part, pic -- produced in part by a Mormon online dating service -- is innocent and dull. The most risque behavior on display consists of drinking beer, renting R-rated movies and inhaling balloon helium. But at the same time, it's hard to know what audience the filmmakers were targeting. On the one hand, the movie is sprinkled with insular references that will undoubtedly be lost on non-Mormon audiences; on the other hand, pic stereotypes Mormons as unexciting, vaguely nerdy types with minimal social skills -- and by pic's end, the sole non-Mormon character, (a spiky-haired, nipple-pierced, tattooed delinquent,) becomes Mormon. Ultimately, "The Singles Ward" feels like a put-on -- a movie that does more to shroud real Mormon culture and lifestyles than to thoughtfully and inquisitively explore them in the way of, well, Richard Dutcher's films...
[EXCERPT]
"The Work and the Glory" will not be Larry Miller's first foray into the world of filmmaking.
The auto dealer and Utah Jazz mogul helped finance "Brigham City," the second movie by Richard Dutcher, who had hit it big with "God's Army." And "Brigham City" led to Miller's reported involvement with the third film Dutcher wanted to make, a biography of LDS prophet Joseph Smith...
...Dutcher is currently making a sequel to "God's Army," but he has said that he still hopes to find funding for "The Prophet."
[EXCERPT]
The Work and the Glory, the best-selling series of books about the early history of the LDS Church and the pioneer migration to Utah, is hitting the big screen.
At $7.4 million, the film will have the biggest budget of any movie in the recent spate of Mormon-themed films, including "God's Army," "Brigham City" and "The Book of Mormon Movie." "The Work and the Glory" film will be entirely financed by auto dealer magnate and Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller...
...It's an especially hairy gamble since movies in the recent Mormon cinema trend have failed to reach audiences outside Utah or beyond church members.
The latest, "The Book of Mormon Movie," took in only $282,000 in its first two weeks. Another film based on a popular LDS-themed book, "Charly," amassed only $813,000 its entire run.
The exception is "God's Army," director Richard Dutcher's look at life on an LDS mission, which took in $2.6 million at the box office -- modest by Hollywood standards, but nearly nine times the movie's budget, according to The Numbers.com, which tracks theatrical box office figures...
...So far, more than 15 LDS-themed movies have been produced for theaters since the success of "God's Army" in 2000, and a half-dozen or so others are planned for the next year. Two will hit theaters in the next two weeks: the mock-documentary "The Work and the Story" and the courtroom drama "Day of Defense."
Also coming are Dutcher's "God's Army 2" and "The Prophet," about the life of Joseph Smith; the World War II drama "Saints and Soldiers"; and the comedies "The Home Teachers," "The Best Two Years," "Church Ball" and "Eat, Drink and Get Married."
[EXCERPT]
...Most of movies in the recent Mormon cinema trend have failed to reach audiences beyond church members...
...The exception is "God's Army," director Richard Dutcher's look at life on a Mormon mission, which took in $2.6 million - m nearly nine times the movie's budget, according to The Numbers.com, which tracks theatrical box office figures.
[EXCERPT]
...Nathan Smith Jones... His mock documentary follows three aspiring auteurs "inspired" by Richard Dutcher's God's Army success -- and the director's subsequent disappearance -- to attempt to become Mormon cinema's Next Big Thing, despite having more testimony than talent....
[EXCERPT]
...Jones premise is that filmmaker Richard Dutcher (who plays himself), just after the success of "God's Army," has disappeared without a trace and is believed to be dead. Sensing a void, three young filmmakers aim to assume Dutcher's mantle as "the Mormon Spielberg."...
[EXCERPT]
..."The Work and the Story" pretends to investigate the disappearance of Richard Dutcher, the writer/director/star of "God's Army" and the man credited with starting this recent surge in Mormon cinema...
[EXCERPT]
As the growing Mormon movie genre stumbles along, I'm still waiting for that knockout production that says: Yea verily, this truly captures the essence of Mormonism.
In hindsight, the best so far turns out to be "God's Army," with a nod to "Single's Ward" [sic] and "The R.M." for at least making LDS faithful laugh at themselves...
...Anyway, it's shot in a hand-held style and based on the idea that filmmaker Richard Dutcher is missing and presumed dead. A little grisly, but I'll go along with it for now.
He's referred to as the "Mormon Spielberg," which I'm sure was a fine ego-stroking for Dutcher, but come on. He's shot only two films, of which "God's Army" made some money and "Brigham City" did not. Hardly a Spielbergian effort...
...Meanwhile, "The Work and the Story" remains not to be seen and gets the dubious distinction of being the weakest in a fairly anemic arena of LDS films that's still waiting for a real "Mormon Spielberg" to rise up.
Which begs the question, where has Dutcher gone? Seriously.
[EXCERPT]
A new organization has jumped into "action."
Richard Dutcher and Jongiorgi Enos announced the creation of the Utah Filmmakers Association (UFA) last week, an organization the two founders say is designed to support independent films of all types in Utah.
Dutcher, who is well-known for his Mormon-niche films "God's Army" and "Brigham City," said in a news release that launching an organization that can give back to the community and foster arts locally has been one of his longtime dreams...
[EXCERPT]
Businessman Larry Miller and Latter-day Saint filmmaker Richard Dutcher made a joint announcement this morning about a couple of up-coming movie projects. They also put to rest their long-rumored rift which put one of these films 'on hold' for more than a year.
Richard Dutcher, Filmmaker: "This year, we're gonna make another run for it. This time, I feel like we're better prepared."
Richard Dutcher burst onto the cinematic scene in the year 2000 with the surprise hit 'God's Army', the movie about Mormon missionaries in East Los Angeles. The film, made for less than half a million dollars, grossed more than $2.6 million at the box office.
One year later "Brigham City" a murder mystery set in a small Utah town, was made for about the same as its predecessor. it grossed just under a million, but this one was hailed by critics across the country. Fundraising came much easier the second time.
The reason, Larry Miller was the key investor. Shortly after a news conference he pulled finances back on the next film out of concern over the box office success of Brigham City. But now Miller is back, first to help complete funding of 'God's Army 2: States of Grace'.
Richard Dutcher: "The film is designed with not only LDS missionaries but there are a few other faiths represented in the film, and represented very positively."...
..."God's Army 2" will begin shooting in January [2004]...