Mormon films look for Christian audience

SALT LAKE CITY — David Austin's two-day visit to Utah was packed with meetings, presentations and discussions about finding and producing Mormon-made films that might appeal to the general Christian inspiration market. A blizzard hit on the first day, Dec. 8, messing up the tight schedule. But Austin didn't mind.

"I'm from Michigan, so it feels like home," Austin said of the weather.

Austin is vice president of sales and marketing at Bridgestone Multimedia Group and was here at the invitation of filmmakers including Lyman Dayton and BYU's Dennis Packard. Bridgestone distributes family-friendly Christian movies and music to Christian bookstores and churches. For 20 years, Bridgestone has been distributing some of Dayton's classic films from the 1970's including "Where the Red Fern Grows" (1974) and "Against a Crooked Sky" (1975).

__IMAGE1__It is the latter film that provided the impetus to bring Austin to Utah. Dayton is working with BYU to remake "Against a Crooked Sky" and wanted Austin's advice on shaping it for a broader market. Austin is glad to give advice — and to look for other possible films to distribute.

It can be tricky, however, to present a Mormon-made film to some groups.

"We are looking for films that don't have any direct denominational connections, that won't exclude or cause any group within the Christian community to be adverse to them," Austin said. "The better job we can do to make them have ecumenical appeal, the better chance they have for commercial success and a regional larger audience."

One film that should have fit the bill was "Saints and Soldiers." But Austin said the packaging emphasized a connection to a specific denomination: the LDS Church. This was off-putting to some Christians of other denominations.

"We had a small group of people ... who didn't like that connection and pressured some of the Christian bookstore chains to not carry it," Austin said.

It isn't so much that the producer of a film is a Mormon that causes problems. "It is the direct connection to the church itself — the perception that financial benefits that came from the commercial use of those products is going to benefit the church itself. That's really where the big rub comes in," Austin said.

Sometimes it doesn't take much to make a Mormon movie have a broader appeal. A film produced by Greggory B. Peck for example, "Only Once," had a few minor denominational references. "We asked if he would edit (the references) out, and he did, and we've had great success with the film," Austin said.

The same sort of minor changes could find new audiences for other films made by Mormons. It is this sort of expertise that brought Austin to Utah. His itinerary included visits to the LDS Church audio/visual department, the LDS Motion Picture Studios, BYU's Theater and Media Arts Department, BYU Television and Covenant Communications.

A large part of Austin's visit is to talk about shaping new projects — like Dayton's new "Against a Crooked Sky" — for that larger Christian audience.

"Ultimately, I'd be the person doing the distribution — trying to help them come up with a finished product that's going to be more suitable and successful in the current marketplace," Austin said.

"The mark of a professional is that you are always working with distributors," said Packard, who is working on the BYU-side of the film production project. "You're not just going off, 'This is a wonderful idea and I'm going to do this thing because I love it.' You are always thinking of how it is going to be sold in the end."

Some of the advice Austin had is not directly related to scrubbing Mormonism out of films. "I might push them to have more faith-based content in their script. Don't try to walk the fence and do as the world does so often and dilute the faith element of the characters. Be strong with it — there are plenty of people who will identify with the character if we present it in a positive way and produce a very high-quality production," Austin said.

"He's not talking about preaching in (a) film," Packard added, "but showing people living their lives according to Christian principles: Praying about things. Conferring in a religious way. Looking at scripture for guidance."

Austin has seen some evangelical filmmakers shy away from depicting faith with hopes that it will increase the chances of success in the general film market. He said that there are films, however, that don't hide faith and find a large audience because so many people can identify with the characters. "Fireproof" is a movie that proved this, he said.

"Be straightforward. Tell a good story. Do a good job at it," Austin said.

Austin's advice for Mormon filmmakers is to make something that has as broad appeal as possible within the Christian community. "And then create work that competes with the kind of work that the world is putting out. You can't put out any second-rate inferior product."

Austin will join a panel at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 9) to discuss how to create films with Christian standards and values and how those values are in decline in general films. The discussion will be held at BYU in room 321 of the Maeser Building. "Most Disney live-action films," Dayton said in a press release, "no longer have parents that are role models. Instead children are pitted against parents."

Three Latter-day Saints; Dayton, Travis Anderson from the BYU's philosophy department, and Tom Russell from BYU's Theater and Media Arts will join three evangelicals; Austin, Dean Jackson, and Greg Johnson on the panel. The event is free and open to the public.

---

E-mail: mdegroote@desnews.com