10/06/08 (posting late)
Well, I haven’t blogged in a while. There was no point: I’ve been working on a feature film that I couldn’t tell anyone about. You see, back in June, I was tapped to direct a feature-length documentary about a church in San Diego. After months of pre-work, an upgrade to an HD camera, an exit from my carerer in banking, a confession that I’m a full-time filmmaker, and having shot about 20 hours of footage, I can finally tell you I’m making a movie.
So why this film? Well, aside from the obvious (they’re putting up the money), it’s an opportunity to do what documentaries do best–paint a portrait of a very unique time and place. I’ve wanted to make a church documentary for a long time, and I’m hoping that the unique format of this film blows the doors off documentary filmmaking.
What’s it about, exactly? My film will be a dual character study, following Pastor Chris Chadwick and… myself.
What? You’re going all Michael Moore with the film? Not quite. This is a CHARACTER STUDY. I’m not making a political film. Pastor Chadwick and I make quite the odd couple. Driven, meticulous, individualistic, and forceful, he can be the classic Bull in a China shop. I’m a total opposite: Introspective, quirky, self-depracating, and intelligent. He knows basketball and football. I know literature and film. He reads John MacArthur. I read Tom Wolfe. He listens to Bill Gaither. I listen to Radiohead.
Those differences have laid the foundation for a tremendous friendship, which will shine through in personal interviews as we piece together 2007–a year of great difficulty for both of us. Using this framework, we’ll paint a humorous, emotional, and heartrending portrait of Christianity, the church, and man’s place in the world.
So that’s my movie.
As this blog goes on, you’ll read about our adventures making the film, see video clips and images, watch my producer chew me out for not working hard enough, and learn with me about the process of directing a feature-length film. It’s gonna be quite a ride. So subscribe, playaz!
(Photo by jessflickr)
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