Support

Recently I was speaking at a meeting of Christians in media.  The room probably had 100 to 150 people in it.  I asked how many had already purchased The Imposter, thinking that a couple would raise their hands and I'd hand out a couple CD soundtracks.  What I didn't expect was no hands raised.

Now, I'm not necessarily pushing just for Imposter, but as a whole, we indie filmmakers need your help.  If you absolutely disagree or don't like the premise, then fine.  But as the Geiko gecko keeps asking, what's stopping the rest of you?

We need your help.  The best way is to go down to the local Christian bookstore and snap up the copy of Imposter on the shelves.  Or order from an online source like our friends at ChristianCinema.com. For us to be able to make more and better Christian movies, we need everyone to get their own copy.

So I'm asking-- can you go and purchase a DVD of The Imposter?  They also make great gifts-- the holidays aren't that far away.  Buy a couple to give away.  It has a great message of taking off the masks and masquerades we Christians wear.

Another way to help would be to talk to your pastor about screening the movie at your church.  But don't just buy the home DVD-- license the movie for public exhibition.  PureFlix has set up a great way to do this-- go here to the website, and they even have a way for the pastor to watch the movie first.

We need your help.  Please support indie films and please support The Imposter.

Another Review of "The Imposter"

I really appreciate the people who not only watch the movie, but take time to write about.  And I really, *really* appreciate the ones that say good things!  Here's what Brian from EncounterThis had to say about the movie:

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Two generations now have grown up with a tv perspective on life.  We’ve all been infected with the notion that all problems should be solved within 30 minutes.  That same thought process carries over into the church.  Stay with me on this one.  There is a sense in that no matter where we’ve been and no matter what we’ve done, running down the aisle of the church will bring automatic release and removal of all problems.
Much like tv life, that is not realistic or true.

Our youth group, momentum, watched the movie, Imposter last night.  In the movie Kevin Max from DC Talk plays a Christian rock singer whose life spins out of control because of his addiction to himself.  The movie takes a very untypical approach in his return to his family, friends, and Christ.

There is no climactic, come-down-the-aisle scene.  There is no great reunion between him and his wife.  There is no weeping moment of reconciliation with his friends.  Instead there is a process of brokenness, a path of rebuilding trust, and a deeper change in a broken man’s life.  In the words of the dialog from the movie…

“God is more concerned that our hero go through a process than zapping him with spiritual morphine.”

How refreshing to see a real life approach to a man’s walk with God.  How genuine to see family and friends be slow to restore trust.  How honest to see a man wrestle with himself and humility.

A Two Camera Man

The last couple of features, I've become spoiled-- I've been using an A and B camera team on the movies.  For those who don't know how television and movies are shot, here's some standard practices.

For "film style" shoots, that usually refers to a single camera.  Everything is lit for that camera.  Sound prepares for that camera.  When you add a second camera to a film style shoot, it's usually more of the same.  Only you light for them both.  That's why when you bring in a second camera on a film style shoot, it's best to shoot in the same direction.  In other words, one's a medium shot and the others a close up.  If you shoot crossways-- for instance, two people talking to each other, one camera holds one person, the other camera the other-- this creates some big problems.  You have to light both-- and your lights for one might be in the way for the other shot.  Sound now has to get pristine recording-- which might require a second boom op.  All these things come in to play.

Generally, when shooting film style with two cameras, I shoot the same direction.  But there have been times I've had to shoot crossways.  On "The Imposter," we were shooting an exterior scene and the sun was setting.  If we didn't get them both right then, it would not match.  We had seconds to decide and we act to act fast.  Fortunately, it didn't require more than bounces on lighting and we close mic'd the actors (and later had to ADR anyway because it was on the side of a busy road).

For television, you have "film style" and "sitcom" style.  The show "Scrubs" has done a great job of showing both.  For a sitcom, they broke some major rules by deciding to shoot the show "film style."  So the lighting is more dramatic and they use one or two cameras.  Then for one show, they went "sitcom" and you can really see the difference.  A sitcom is lit flat with as many as five cameras.  The lighting has to be flat and even, or shadows will creep into one or more of the cameras.  When a sitcom is shot, they'll roll maybe twice through the show, with some pickups for flubs, then edit the five cameras together to get the finished result.  "Film style," you'll shoot one little shot until you have it perfect.

So in tv land, you might see as many as 12 pages a day shot.  For films it gets lower (the bigger budgets might average 2 or 3 pages).  For some tv shows, they still might shoot film style, but they move really fast.  Especially the dramas like "24," and "The Shield."  Think "movie" but at an incredible pace.  To accomplish this, the crews are a well oiled machine, and actors are dead on 95% of the time.  You just can't afford, neither time or money, to routinely get to take four or five.  Show runners will talk about how they were thrilled but concerned to land some famous movie director for an episode.  They are afraid a movie director doesn't know how to make a 12 page day when they're used to 3 page days. 

Anyway, I always had multiple cameras on stunt days.  But on "Striking Range," I started using a second camera.  By "The Imposter," I used a second camera almost the whole time.  The same for "Rising Stars."  It gives me more coverage and saves time.  I can make my days while getting plenty of coverage.

Top Page for July

Church Movie night is the top read page this month.  More than a year ago, I had started corresponding with Jim David, who had ordered "The Imposter" for his church.  The majority of churches that ordered the movie, were ordered by staff-- pastors or youth pastors.  But here was a "civilian" who's not content to sit on the sidelines.  He wants in the battle.

He took initiative to start a movie ministry at his church and I am hoping people find his story inspirational.  And I hope others start to do the same at their church.  Jesus often taught by telling stories, and the wisdom in this is huge-- you can teach a point by telling the point.  Or you can tell a story that covers the principle--not just the rule.

If anyone needs help in setting up a movie ministry at your church, please don't hesitate to contact me or Jim.

Here are the links to July's top story--
Part 1
Part 2

"The Imposter"

This past February, our movie "The Imposter" was released in Christian bookstores everywhere and with Christian movie online stores.  For SFilms, this was our fourth movie and our first specifically targeted for the Christian market.  We feel we have made a movie with a very important message-- the effects of wearing masks and masquerades in the church and the importance of needing to pull them out and see the real you-- the beautiful and the ugly, so you can kill that part.

We need your help.  As we gear up for making more movies, the people that can partner with us take a look at how the movie has performed.  So if you haven't bought the movie, please go down to the nearest Christian bookstore or online portal and buy one.  If you have already, they would make a great gift.

It would be awesome if people kept going up to the manager at Lifeway, or Family Life requesting Imposter because they can't keep enough on the shelves.  If you like the movie, talk about it.  Share the link with your friends.  Encourage them to buy the movie.

In the upcoming months, it's critical that the big dollar people see this as the direction faith-based movies can go-- real, honest, where the rubber meets the road, kind of storytelling.  If you agree, we need your help and support.

Write about the movie in blogs and forums... on facebook and myspace.  If you have any ideas you'd like to see from me, let me know.  We gave away a few CD Soundtracks to help build the facebook group.  I'd be open to more things like that.

Most movies, even the bigger Christian films, have a lot of money spent on advertising and marketing.  We've spent very little.  We're hoping that the most powerful form of advertising through the centuries will work here-- word of mouth.  So please help us spread the word.  If I can find a way to recognize our biggest cheerleaders for this movie-- I'd be gad to send a CD Soundtrack or an original script.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Two Christian Artists

The other night, I was driving the family home from vacation, listening to some tunes, and of course thinking.  It's interesting that out of all the Christian recording artists, two of the ones who took some of the biggest stands, died early.  There's been much written about how God took them/didn't take them/accidents/free-will over God's hand of protection... and that's not what I want to cover.

Keith Green died in a plane crash in 1982.  At the time, he was what I listened to the most.  I was an impressionable 17 year old and this death hit me like what I guess it hit die hard fans of Lennon in 1980.  Keith took a lot of stands-- and in the budding CCM industry, none shook like when he decided his albums would be for whatever a person could afford.  That didn't sit well with the "business" side of things.

Then there's Rich Mullins.  His death came in a vehicle accident in 1997, one in which his Jeep rolled and he was killed when he was ejected.   Rich was another one who did it extremely different.  Rich setup all his earnings (which there had to be much) into a trust, in which he drew a poverty line salary from.  The rest went to charities.  Here was a famous Christian recording star who would give his shoes away at the drop of a hat.  He lived what he sang about.

Actually, that best describes both-- they lived what they sang about.  I've known some Christian Recording stars through the years, and if you haven't watched "The Imposter," it might come as a shock to you, but there are lots of imposters out there singing one thing/living another.

Now, these two aren't to be idolized.  But Paul did write to "imitate me as I imitate Christ."  So for you budding Christian recording stars, I encourage you to imitate Keith and Rich as they imitated Christ.

So were they perfect?  No.  Keith, through a moment of Ego, led his two oldest children to death, and abandoned his wife and two younger children, depriving them of a father and older siblings.  His Ego moment was to show off the ranch to a visiting family in an airplane, and further that Ego, by carrying an air of invincibility over the laws of nature.  (The plane was seriously overweight).

Rich, fortunately didn't leave  or abandon a family.  A seatbelt might have saved his life.  Or maybe not.

Church Movie Night Part 1 of 2

Jim David ordered "The Imposter" for his church a year ago.  Since then we have communicated back and forth a lot and so I asked him if he would be willing to answer a few questions about how and why he created this unique ministry for his church.

His church, Willoughby Hills Friends Church in Ohio has this as their Cinema of Faith mission statement:

The Cinema of Faith ministry offers an ecumenical outreach to fellow churches as well as the community as a whole to provide a resource for Christian family entertainment. The films are not only entertaining but are seeded with biblical truths and illustrate the love of Jesus. Our hope is that you leave these films feeling entertained, inspired, and perhaps take a thought or idea to contemplate.

What is it that you do for your church?
I started a ministry with friend Ben Landfeld (a Christian from Czech Republic) called Cinema of Faith.  Each month we show a quality faith-based film with a Christian theme. Rather than just darken the room and hit play, we try to best duplicate the “movie” experience starting with a pre-show that has constant media on the screen with new or future film previews, or some behind the scenes of a previous film we have shown (I found that if we “half darken” the room and have fresh current content, we get more people coming in sooner, and makes coming and going less intrusive).

Then we have a short film that starts promptly at 6:30pm which can run between 10 and 30 minutes (we fill any extra time between the short film and feature with additional relevant content).  Finally at 7pm, Ben comes on stage to welcome everyone, make announcements, and talk a little about the evening’s film.  Then we go right into a “theater like” Coming Attractions reel followed by the Feature Presentation (the coming attractions give a little extra time to latecomers as well).  I have a good friend in the music business from Nashville who put together a drum & bass stinger for this portion to again help mimic the cinematic experience.

After the show we accept a “free–will” offering and sometimes sell DVD’s to help support the ministry( this is not intrusive – rather we just place the offering plates by the exit doors). From a financial standpoint, there are license fees that range from $100-$300/per film, as well as internal marketing expenses, and our main goal financially is to just break even.

Why did you decide to start doing this?

I’ve always had a passion for film media and used to be an editor by trade. When I began digging deeper into my faith 6 years ago, I started seeking out any good Christian media I could find. At that point, I wanted to learn more deeply about my faith. Although I had been brought up in the church, I never really “owned” my faith and really started that journey shortly after my father died in 2004.

The first thing that really grabbed me was when I discovered the “Matthew” film which is a word for word (NIV) dramatization of the Book of Matthew. I found that the film really spoke to me as the pages of the Bible came to life in front of my eyes. I then started seeking more and more. There is a lot of “dated” Christian film out there that the average secular and church audience would gloss over, but I have watched most of it - the good with the not so good, mainly feeding the Bible teachings into me through media. I began to find some wonderful Christian films that most people had never heard of, and I wanted to find a way to share these great films. My good friend Ben Landfeld believed in the vision as well.

We were encouraged and supported by the Teaching pastor at our church, who believed in the idea, and it just began to build from there. The main reason was to let the average Christian and non-Christian alike know that there are some great movies out there that most have never heard of (sleepers I believe is the term). I wanted to raise awareness of the level of quality that is available.

I also wanted to provide our church, neighboring churches, and the community as a whole the opportunity to attend a free film once a month. The film that started everything was on called “The Perfect Stranger” which was an independent film made in Louisville, KY, by Kellys Filmworks & City On A Hill Productions. We actually sold tickets for this first film as we decided to present it “dinner theater” style, so the ticket cost covered the catering cost. We limited the event to 100 tickets as a pilot/test, and sold out. We had such a great reaction to the film that we continued on a monthly basis in the church worship center as free to all who could attend, and we have been showing a film every month ever since.

DTM

Been on vacation, but back as of last night.  A long time ago, I wrote a blog about DTM-- Do The Math.  This is the principle where I actually figure out the answer to the question I have.  Now if I don't have a question, then certainly, there won't be an answer.

In other words, DTM is like 4+3.  Many times I just want to be told "7."  Actually, more accurate is all the time.  Part of my laziness.  What do you mean I have to figure this out?  Why not just tell me the answer!  Then I'll be fixed.

Which of course speaks to the opening VO (voice over) of "The Imposter."  God's more interested in me going through the process than zapping me with spiritual morphine.  But the process is work.  It's sometimes hard.  It's sometimes painful.  I have to daily commit myself to going through the process.  Which is Discipleship (root word there is discipline).

You see, sometimes I fall into the rut of letting others do the heavy lifting.  Need a word from God?  Well, maybe its in the sermon this Sunday.  Or a good teaching book.  Or my spouse.  Heaven forbid I actually dive into the Bible and study it myself, applying what I read to what I'm going through.

And going back to the first paragraph, if you don't have a question, there won't be an answer.  What "process" are you going through this morning?  What is God working on in you?  What is He birthing in you?  If the answer is "nothing," or even worse "I dunno," then you might be spiritually dead.  Time to get resurrected this morning.

What am I going through?  Well, for one, I didn't realize how lazy I still am when it comes to DTM.  So now I'm digging in, working out the process.  As I read today in John, Jesus said to Peter at the end "Follow Me."  I think in the word "follow" comes the DTM process.

Secret Agents

Deception... deceivers... where are they?  In World War II, spies were masters of deceit.  They trained in the art of deception.  When a British Agent was ready to deceive, he went into enemy occupied land to practice his deception.

Conversely, the Nazi Deceivers didn't stay in Germany-- they infiltrated the French Underground, parachuted into England.  But it would seem kind of silly for the German Deceivers to practice in the Reichstag.

Today, if we want to deceive Al Quida, our agent would go to an Al Quida cell.  It would be difficult to infiltrate the terrorist organization by hanging out with the Sean Hannity crowd.

Which brings me to my point-- in the interview with Hilary Bilbrey, we touched quickly on a message in the movie "The Imposter" while talking about Johnny C's evangelist father.  She said it was a huge moment when the father looked at Johnny and said "I taught you better than that... I taught you never to get caught."  But he's an evangelist!  Preaching stirring messages from the pulpit.

Where do imposters practice their art of deception?  Where do deceivers go to do their work?

I don't think Satan is as stupid as some think him to be.  When he gets his agents to go out, I don't think these deceivers go into the crowds of the already-deceived.  Where do you think the imposters and deceivers go?

The prince of darkness already owns the night.  He has to send imposters into the light.  So hello church.  The church is where the deceivers go.  It's where the imposters pretend.  I know-- I'd like to continue thinking that everyone there is on the up and up... that, praise God, we're all there with singular purpose and mission.  But that is "check-your-brain-at-the-door" thinking.  The church is infiltrated.  The enemy is among us.  And here's the worst part-- when I walk in the flesh, the enemy is me.

Look at Jesus's own crowd.  He turned to "the man" Peter... who would lead the church, and got in his face, saying "Get thee behind me Satan."  Wow.  I bet Pete felt real good about that one.  And in the end Satan entered one of the twelve and you know all about that one.

Many Christians know the verse well, Ephesians 6:12, right after the armor of God:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Church, you don't have to go to the streets, the bars, the mission field to find a battle. Or to fight in the shadows of the gates of hell.  The rulers of the darkness of this world have brought the battle to you.  So put on the full armor of God and start fighting.

This is one of the points of Johnny C and his father, the entertainer/evangelist.

Top Five Reasons to Make a Christian Film

Here are the top reasons why Christian Filmmakers decide to make a movie:

5. I can do it soooo much better than what I've seen out there.
I know I'm certainly not immune to this. I think it's inherent in the artist/storyteller-- it's called "jealousy." It's also why the worst audience for your Christian film is other Christian filmmakers. Of course, the following goes with the qualifier that I've never met one of these (especially in the mirror), but Newbie Filmmakers (NF) burn inside when a peer experiences some level of success. So I've heard. The NF is trying so hard to succeed, that it's hard to enjoy the success of others. Or maybe it's because there's a whole lot of Narcissism in this business. Nawwwww.

4. It's Fun! With a capital "F." Which also stands for faith, fellowship, and football. Because nothings more important than those three. I know it is for us guys. We can sit around and talk, but it'd be best if it was about the Cowboys. Preferably with the tv going. (This really happened at a home group one time. Women went somewhere and talked. Guys watched the game.) Isn't the Purpose to enjoy life, live for the moment, clothe the homeless, kiss bunnies, feed marshmellows to unicorns? It's really the trifecta when you can combine all those "F" words into one Christian movie.

3. It's a Living. I can't believe I didn't spit up all over the keyboard laughing when I wrote that.

2. The Christian Filmmaker is the new Rock Star, and boy the attention is awesome! You get web articles written about you. Radio, tv. It's great to be a celebrity! Yeah, good thing there's no narcissism there.

1. Called. And I write that one word with trepidation. Because many people are hearing phantom ring tones, claiming it's heaven on the line with the script that will win the world (for Him of course). And "calling" isn't a free pass to skip training and education. "But God called me, so therefore he's bitten me, like that spider in Spiderman, so now I can climb walls and use that spidey-sense to make that awesome tool for His glory! Amen." Let's look at some real examples of actual "Callings." Jesus called the twelve. They lived harshly and died hard and painful. Paul was called with an audible voice. He was stoned twice (and I'm not talking weed) and left for dead. Eventually, he had his head cut off.

Calling means it's not for the money, the fame, the fortune. It's to be obedient. And to obey, you actually have to hear Him. Few really do you know.

Positive ID

The opposite of Insecurity is Identity-- or more precisely, understanding and comprehending your TRUE identity.  For the Disciple, this is an understanding of the duality-- that there is the me, fearfully and wonderfully made by God (Ps. 139), and there's the sin nature, the flesh, the ego, that is evil and must be denied, crucified, and killed.

It's a wonderful thing to see a Disciple who is down the road a ways on understanding his true Identity.  For instance, watch the video below on Kerry Livgren (who plays "Proff" in The Imposter.)  Kerry suffered a stroke last fall-- a pretty serious one.  This is a man known worldwide to millions as the creator of such classics as "Dust in the Wind" and "Carry On Wayward Son."  Many musicians find their VALUE in what they create.  So when that's taken from them, they lose their perceived value (falling into despair, depression and insecurity).

Think about this-- what do you think is something you consider yourself good at?  Now, what if that was gone.  How do you feel?  Romans 8:28 tells us that "All things work together for good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose."  Kerry, in the video below certainly has a solid grasp on this spiritual concept.

Pushing Drugs-- God's Way

There was a time a few years ago that anyone wanting to sell their program to the church only had to add those two words from the title "God's Way."  You could raise children, God's Way, teach Sunday School God's Way, diet God's Way and so on.  So let's talk about Substance Abuse-- God's Way.

Nice non-sequitar.  But I'll link everything in a moment.  This post continues on the subject of emotions started with the "Ministry of Hype" blog.

Let's look at a junkie.  Why does he shoot up?  To escape.  To forget.  To remember.  A substance abuser uses to self-medicate.  He has a hurt inside and he thinks this will fix it, even if for a moment.  He takes something to change his emotions-- remember, emotions are children of thoughts, and the substance abuser does not like the sober thoughts, so by taking the drug, he can change those thoughts, thereby changing the emotion.

His drug of choice can be coke, smack, heroin, meth, really hip worship service, marijuana... wait!  Did I really throw that next to last one in?  If we're talking about not liking our emotions, so we shoot up to change the emotions, why not?  Why do you think the light shows, great music, videos, big sound, dramatic pauses, vamping, visual aids are so popular?  Because it feels good!  People aren't flocking to mega-churches because they hate it.

Now wait a minute Dan!  People are at least flocking to churches.  Would you rather they all die and go to hell?  Of course not.  But if Jesus had allowed the Rich Young Ruler to come follow as he was, it would have poisoned heaven, leavening the loaf.  This is so polar opposite to the evangelical climate of the church.

But Jesus was more concerned about disciples than decisions.  If it was all about decisions, why doesn't God just kill everyone after they made the turn?

Now I work in a creative field-- making movies.  And what we do is impact people's thoughts and emotions.  But the movies are simply a tool-- a story to make a point.  Like Jesus's stories.  I do believe in excellence of craft, and I'm not saying if your church is using the cool, hip light shows and music it's wrong... I'm saying being a disciple is SO MUCH MORE than that.

Worship is a day by day, hour by hour endeavor.  Music is only a very small part of that.  I love music, it has taken me a long time to come to that conclusion.  As a worship leader, I have felt that our part of the service was really the most important.  I know I'm the only one (ha!).  There is only one time recorded in scripture where Jesus and the disciples sang a song.

But music can hit those emotions.  The right song can remind me of thoughts that pour out emotions.  And it's like a drug.  And that's okay... God created music and emotions. And great music is an awesome tool.

But if this is the center of your walk with Jesus, I feel sad for you.  Because you might be someone who is just using the emotions as another quick fix to make the pain go away, without doing any real and lasting change.

As we said in "The Imposter," sometimes God's more interested in you going through a process than zapping you with spiritual morphine.

Get clean and become His disciple.

Imposter FAQ

We're now doing more and more print and media interviews for the movie. I am seeing some common questions and comments and will focus this post on the most common.

When I wrote the script, it was my first "faith-based" story... first movie directly intended for the church audience. I had done three secular movies to that point. I had been bothered by some Christian films that had the central core of the message be "come to Jesus and all your problems will be solved." That is NOT what happens. Don't believe me? 11 of the 12 disciples came to Jesus and met violent deaths for it.

Even today, making a choice to follow Jesus is a choice to stand against the current. Most of the time, problems aren't magically solved and Jesus isn't Santa Claus, giving you a nice shiny Lexus, complete with a ribbon and bow on it.

As I wrote in the movie, often times, God's more interested in me going through a process than zapping me with spiritual morphine.

So as I wrote the script, intent on making it more "real" than most other faith-based stories out there, I was concerned the church, the very audience I was aiming this message at, might reject it because it's not syrupy, all tying up nicely in the end.

The most asked question/comment stems from everyone finding this approach "refreshing." Interviewers are quick to praise the movie for not tying it up nicely. And for this, I'm grateful. I was afraid this might alienate the intended audience. Nice to see it's in fact, the thing people like most about the movie.

So what are your thoughts?

CD Info

We're making the limited edition, extended CD soundtrack of "The Imposter" available. We only had a couple thousand made and when they're gone, they'll be gone. The CD contains 19 tracks (way to many). And we're offering it for $15 plus $2.50 for S&H.

The CD leads off with the new version of "Carry On Wayward Son" and contains all the original songs from the movie as well as the four songs by the group Downhere. My favorite is the original one that Jeff Deyo sings called "Chance to Choose."

One way we're using these is for churches and ministries to use them as a fundraiser. A Royal Ranger group sold CD's at their church before and after Wednesday night services (part of their Communication merit) and raised a couple hundred dollars to supplement their budget for the semester. Other groups have been selling them as well. Minimum ten CD's and you get the wholesale price. Contact me if interested.

To buy the CD, click here. If you have one, please post comments here and around the net if you enjoyed it.

More Imposter Behind the Scenes

I've had a bunch of interview footage, recorded while on the set of The Imposter, of the principle actors. So today, I finally went through it and edited a 7 minute video were key cast members talk about how they got involved.

This isn't on the DVD (since I created it today), but it complements the interviews in the extras on the DVD (all the "Unmasking" videos). I hope you enjoy.

Can I show "The Imposter" to my group?

This is a frequent question... And more specifically, it's "can I buy the DVD from the store or from Amazon, then show it to my church group, even if it's small?"

The answer is usually "no." And the surface reason is that it's against the law-- when you "buy" a DVD, you're actually not buying the movie, you're buying a "license" to watch it. Because the movie stays the ownership of the producers and distributors. The DVD's at the store are all "home license" versions.

So what's the big deal? "I just want it to minister to the people at my church, or that we're outreaching to." Well, if you show the home licensed version to your group at church, me and my family won't get paid for the work we did... because, people who see it there now decide there's no need to buy it.

I'm not on staff at any church-- this is my livelihood and it's how I'm providing for my family. And the movie was made because investors believed-- so I have a responsibility to them. I'm not living in a fancy house, driving fancy cars-- my family lives in the same house my wife and I bought after we got married.

And what I'm really hoping to do is make more movies. I'd have no problem you showing the movie to your small group if most went out and bought the movie too. Or, PureFlix is setup to grant you an "exhibition license," click here. Plus, PureFlix can help you put on a strong event-- posters, tickets, trailers etc.

If you like the movie, please support us. Hopefully, we'll have more soon.

Kerry-- Another Story from the Set of Imposter (Redux)

I'd like to pull from the archive a great story from the set of Imposter. For those following on Facebook-- I posted a video on the Imposter Group with Dr. Mike Riggins. (I'll post it below). It goes hand in hand with this story about Kerry.
----

It was the second week of shooting and we lost some crew people due to the flu. We were shooting at Compass Church in Colleyville, Texas and we were shooting the scene where Johnny's evangelist dad (played by Mike Riggins) is preaching. The sermon he preaches hits a popular note, but I twisted we twisted it ever so much towards a narcissistic bent. What was amazing was that several extras came up to Mike playing the evangelist and told him what an awesome sermon that was.

At lunch, Kerry had arrived and we talked about it. He told this story:
You have a barrel of fine wine and you have a barrel of sewage. You take a spoonful of sewage and drop it in the barrel of fine wine, what do you have? Sewage. You take a spoonful of fine wine and drop it in the barrel of sewage and what do you have? Sewage.

I know in my own life, straining out the sewage is difficult but imperative. I also listen to many fine songs and hear just a spoonful of sewage. I hear wonderful sermons that have a spoonful of sewage. Lot of sewage all around. Phew.

Masters of Dillusion

There's a couple of big time secular movies that emphasize some pretty solid Biblical principles. One of the principles is that "you can't deceive a grownup person-- they choose to be deceived."

We talked about payoffs yesterday... a person chooses to be deceived because they just want the payoff. Take "Cypher" from "The Matrix." He knew the steak wasn't real, but he didn't like reality. So he wanted back into the deception. Some people just sniff at Truth, and know deep down that they'll have to give up some pet things, like sin, dysfunction, with all the juicy payoffs and decide it's better just not to know Truth.

That's what's so great about "Shutter Island." (Spoiler alert here). Teddy sees Truth and decide it's better not to exist in that world. Delusion has a seemingly much better payoff.

In "The Imposter," James, the leader of the band, deep down knows what Johnny's doing. But to acknowledge it would be to possibly lose everything he's worked for-- his music, the band, the ministry. So James chooses to be deceived, until he decides he can't live this way anymore.

Johnny's wife Tara is the same way. The "don't ask, don't tell" means you can stick your head in the sand and not see what your spouse is doing. This way, there's nothing to confront... seemingly nothing to lose.

My mentor says that confronting is creating. Conflict is destruction. The avoidance of confrontation will always lead to conflict.

Why buy the DVD?

Some of the most frequently asked questions deal with copyright and licensing issues, in the guise of "Can I show the movie to my youth group?" and questions like that.

In college, like every other poor college student, I hated buying albums (CD's were just coming out at that point). But I'd put them on my own mix cassettes and wanted them any way, so no pirate Dan there.

Then software rolled out as the personal PC took root. $50 for that game??? Are you kidding me? So a group of us would get together and buy a game and share it, copying the manuals etc. Until I got convicted.

Software, music, movies-- I do believe it's stealing to make a copy and give it to another person. Especially when it's labeled that all over.

So what is right before God and Country and the Laws of this land? A movie DVD has a "license" on it. You're not actually purchasing a "movie" as much as purchasing the permission to display it. I'll say it another way-- when you buy the DVD, you're not buying the movie-- technically, you do not won the movie, you own the right to play it in the location and manner deemed by the license.

Home DVD generally means that you may display the movie in your home, before friends and family. There might be a number limit... that I'm not sure about.

If you're going to show it to a youth group, up at the church, you will need a public exhibition license (for Imposter, it would be here).

Now, whether or not you think it's right/wrong to use a home DVD for showing to your group at church, please keep this in mind. I take I Tim 5:8 very seriously-- I am trying to provide, through this filmmaking, for my family. I am not a wealthy person at all. The revenue that comes in from the movie gets split between PureFlix and their partners and us. Most of what we receive will go back to the investors who have believed in this project for the last few years.

Yes, this movie ministers, but filmmaking is my "tentmaking" and is how I support my family. There's not a church somewhere putting me on staff so I can make the movies. I need your help.

My hope is to be able to do the next movie. Your buying the DVD helps us. So for those few who have asked-- this is the answer to the licensing question. I do ask that you walk in integrity.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask!

What a Value!

"The Imposter" is out on the shelves of the Christian bookstores starting today. I hope you buy your own copy. If this movie can do well, we certainly hope to do more.

Sales pitch over, now I want to talk about a deeper message in the movie-- Getting Value Via Others. One of the (many) things I struggle with day to day in my flesh (Ego), is doing things so that others will value me. This might look like going on a mission trip because I want people to think I'm spiritual. Or making a movie so people will not only accept me, but think me valuable.

The danger here is that I give power over me to those people I seek Value. I become, in essence, a slave to that dysfunctional cycle. And it speaks to the deeper root, that to seek Value from others means that I don't have enough-- that I compensate for a self lack of value by seeking it in others.

It goes right against what God says in Psalms 139 about my value.

It's not the task that determines Ego or Purpose. In other words, volunteering at church every night the doors are open can be Purpose or it can be Ego. If it's Ego, it's precisely what the Pharisees do... Religion without relationship with God. And you can do a seemingly "un-spiritual" task and it be from Purpose. (Just look at Jesus-- he called one Gentile woman a dog).

Oh what a place to be! Where I don't seek value accreditation from man. Time to read Psalms 139 once again.