Mormon movie madness

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 15, 2003 by Nicole Warburton Deseret Morning News

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."