LDS Cinema marched on in 2002, though some movies found an obstacle at the Utah state line.
The most popular new title was "The Singles Ward," Kurt Hale's romantic comedy chock-a-block with cameos from such LDS and Utah notables as LaVell Edwards and Danny Ainge. Made for a measly $400,000, it raked in $1.25 million at the box office from its February debut through its November video release.
"The Singles Ward's" success came primarily from audiences in Utah and in LDS-friendly communities in neighboring states. The few critics outside Utah who reviewed it were mixed: Ron Stringer at the LA Weekly said "it all plays out . . . like a high-end John Hughes comedy, a kind of 'Elder Bueller's Time Out,' " while The Seattle Times ' Moira McDonald commented that "those unfamiliar with Mormon traditions may find 'The Singles Ward' occasionally bewildering."
"Charly," the "Love Story"-like drama based on Jack Weyland's novel, cleared more than $500,000 at the box office, mostly from LDS audiences. Crossover dreams also eluded the LDS-themed movies "Handcart" and "Out of Step."
"The Other Side of Heaven," the missionary tale that hit Utah theaters in 2001, went nationwide in April 2002 and did a fair amount of business -- clearing more than half its $4.7 million box-office take after the national rollout.
More LDS movies are slated in 2003, including "The R.M.," Hale's follow-up to "The Singles Ward" (due in January), and a mock-documentary, "The Work and the Story," in the offing next fall. Meanwhile, Richard Dutcher -- the guy who started this boom with "God's Army" -- is still trudging away at "The Prophet," his epic biography of Joseph Smith.
Other movie news in 2002:
[More, about a few other topics]
Tom [Barberi], it is the time of year when the news media come out with their top whatever lists. A&E has the top biographies. Time magazine's man of the year is three women, the whistle-blowers of WorldCom, Enron and the FBI. People magazine has its 25 most intriguing people of 2002. As a special treat this year, People has added winners and losers, best dressed and tributes.
In the spirit of reviewing the year, I would like to make a few of my own awards.
Best Dressed: Downtown Salt Lake City buildings during the Olympics.
Worst Dressed: Any kid wearing those jeans with belt loops below the butt and crotch hanging down to the knees.
Classiest Act: Walter Cronkite and the MoTabs.
Most Awaited Movie: "Harry Potter and the Utah Legislature's Chamber of Secrets."
Most Dreaded Horror Flick: "The Singles Ward" with Rocky Anderson as bishop.
Most Desired Radio Show Debate: Sean Hannity and Tom Barberi.
People I Don't Know But Would Like To: Olene Walker (everyone I know who has worked with her thinks she is phenomenal).
Gutsiest CEO: Sherri Dew of Deseret Books.
Outstanding Philanthropist: Larry Miller, a sincerely generous and caring person.
Outstanding Peacemaker: Jon Huntsman Sr., who led the proposed compromise for the Main Street Plaza.
Car I Would Most Like to Donate to the Kidney Foundation: My 1992 Pathfinder that some jerk tried to steal last night while I was downtown eating at my favorite Chinese restaurant.
Favorite Myth: The Deseret News going morning.
Favorite Color: This year and every year, BYU blue.
Favorite Saying: Better dead than U. of U. red.
Favorite Poster Child: Patrice Arent for redistricting.
Favorite Democrat: Jim Matheson, the other poster child for redistricting.
Favorite Christmas Song: "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" sung by the water conservancy districts.
Finally, Tom, a tie for the Grinch of 2002 between the ACLU and you, for not wanting to write about Christmas last week.
[This section is followed by a response written by columnist Tom Barberi.]
[Excerpt]
'The R.M.'
Halestorm Entertainment, who brought the world "The Singles Ward," has announced Jan. 31 as the release date for its next film, "The R.M."
"The R.M.," another Mormon-centered comedy, focuses on a newly returned LDS missionary and his attempts to readjust to the real world.
The star of the film is Kirby Heyborne, who also appeared in "Singles Ward." Other "Singles Ward" performers appearing in "The R.M." include Will Swenson and Lincoln Hoppe.
The new film is set to open on 11 screens in Utah, including Water Gardens 6 in Pleasant Grove and the Wynnsong 12 and Cinemark 16 in Provo.
"The Singles Ward" was the highest grossing Mormon film of 2001, pulling in more than $1.2 million. Among all of the recent Mormon films, it ranks third, behind "The Other Side of Heaven" ($4.7 million) and "God's Army" ($2.1 million).
[Excerpt]
JAN. 31...
THE R.M. -- The makers of "The Singles Ward" return with this LDS-specific comedy about the title character (Kirby Heyborne), who has to decide what he wants to do with his life when he returns to Utah from a mission.
[Excerpt]
Of course, not all will prove to be bad, and some may even be quite interesting...
Also on the docket is "The R.M.," a follow-up to last year's LDS comedy "The Singles Ward" by the same filmmakers.
[EXCERPTS]
The producers of The Singles Ward are at it again. Their new movie, The R.M. will open at theatres in Utah on January 31.
The R.M. is the story of Jared Phelps, a newly returned missionary, who expects his life to be normal. However, Phelps, played by Kirby Heyborne, soon discovers his life is anything but normal. His family sold their home while he was gone and his girlfriend is engaged to someone else.
"Jared is a really down to earth guy," Heyborne said. "Just your average Joe, when all hell breaks out on him."
Heyborne said when he returned home from his mission he was naive like his character in the movie.
The R.M. doesn't have as many inside jokes as The Singles Ward; however, many will find a similarity between the names of the members of the Phelps family and the scriptures, Heyborne said.
"All of his family are hard-core Mormons so they have Bible names," he said.
Kurt Hale, writer, director and producer of The R.M. said the movie is based on experiences from several returned missionaries and believes this movie will be more universal than The Singles Ward was.
"There's tons of experiences that I'm drawing on from my own, having come home from a mission," Hale said. "We've taken every bad thing that's happened to a missionary and dumped them on this guy. It's kind of a modern day version of Job."
Just like its predecessor, well-known celebrities including Wally Joyner, Jericho Road, Gary Crowton, Jimmy Chunga and Larry H. Miller, fill The R.M. with cameo appearances.
Jed Ivie, public relations specialist for Halestorm Entertainment, said they don't pay any of the celebrities...
Hale said his office gets e-mails daily from people all over the world saying how much they enjoyed The Singles Ward.
"The Singles Ward just kind of grabbed so many people of our faith," he said. "It became this cult classic."
Ivie said after The Singles Ward, they realized that comedy was the way to go in the LDS genre.
"We are already predicting that it (The R.M.) will be much more successful than The Singles Ward," Ivie said. "With The R.M., there's so much publicity."...
[EXCERPTS]
PARK CITY -- If you're among the 2 million or so Utahns who did not attend the Sundance Film Festival in 2002, perhaps you have a few questions about the annual celluloid celebration.
For example: Why can't it be held at Jordan Commons or Landing or somewhere else with comfortable seats that recline?
Answer: Because the Super Dell/Dan the Laptop Man commercials played at those theaters would be highly offensive to our guests, and we don't want to scare them away until they've dropped oodles of cash in Park City.
In that spirit, and with the festival only days away (Thursday), we proudly present this independent film Q&A. Consider it a "Sundance for Dummies" -- if for no other reason than it was answered by an expert dummy.
...
Question: Where will independent films such as "Singles Ward" and "The R.M." be shown?
Answer: Nowhere. Not even at LDS stake centers. The closest thing to a local film is "The Maldonado Miracle," a Salma Hayek-directed piece that was filmed in Eureka.
With the 2000 premiere of "God's Army," the story of the struggles of missionaries in Los Angeles, the nation was hit by a new genre of film -- the Mormon movie.
Since then, numerous movies with Latter-day religious undertones, including "The Singles Ward," "Brigham City" and "Charly," have graced the screens.
The more popular LDS movies are available at most local video stores. Blockbuster assistant manager Judie Meyers said "Brigham City" and "The Singles Ward" are often checked out. When the store's distributor didn't include The Singles Ward in its recent shipments, Meyers said, the local store went out and bought copies just to meet rental demand.
"We had to go out and buy four copies," she said. "There's always at least one checked out."
Although they serve a primarily LDS audience, "Charly" screenwriter Janine Gilbert said, the themes of her movie can touch anyone.
"We tried to make it accessible to all audiences," Gilbert said. "I think the themes are universal. It asks us to think about what is most important in our lives."
The film, "Charly," based on a novel by Jack Weyland, is a romance story about a couple from different walks of life, and the troubles they face as a family.
Director Adam Thomas Andregg read the novel as a teen and fell in love with the story. The book, he said, addressed serious issues like death in a way he had never seen before.
"It was a very emotional experience. It was a very unexpected experience," he said.
Charly is currently playing at the Centre Theatre in Idaho Falls, and will open Jan. 24 in theaters in California, Arizona and Alaska. The movie will hit major cities on the East Coast later this year and will come out on video after it leaves theaters.
Andregg said most people who go to the movie are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but they, like all movie-goers, simply want to see a good film. Gilbert said the movie is something a family can do together.
"It gives audience members a chance to reconnect as a family," she said.
Pocatello First University Stake President Scott Waldram hasn't seen "Charly" or other LDS movies, but has heard his congregation rave about comedies like "The Singles Ward," a movie about LDS single life.
Most people, he said, turn to LDS movies because they want to see a good movie without the lewd nature of many mainstream films.
"I think they'd like to go to a movie and feel good about it afterwards," he said.
Church member Ryan Bitton saw "The Singles Ward" twice.
"I really enjoyed it," he said. "I laughed."
LDS Movies Available on Video:
- Brigham City: Peace in a small Utah town is shattered when Sheriff Wes Clayton discovers a dead woman on the roadside. Clayton, an LDS bishop, must solve the mystery and keep the town together.
- God's Army: The story of young Mormon missionaries in Los Angeles, and their trials and triumphs.
- The Singles Ward: The Singles Ward is a comedy about the struggles of a newly-divorced returned missionary adjusting to single life in the LDS Church.
For hundreds more LDS film titles, check out www.ldsfilm.com.
On the big screen
- Charly, a movie based on the novel by Brigham Young University-Idaho physics professor Jack Weyland, is playing at the Centre Theater in Idaho Falls tonight at 6:45 p.m. The movie is a double feature with Tuck Everlasting. For more information, call 525-3340.
- Handcart, the fictional story of Samuel Hunter, a man whose faith is challenged as he makes an arduous trek to Utah with the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company, is showing at the Paramount Theater in Idaho Falls at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. For more information call 523-1142.
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Kurt Cox, an employee at Blockbuster Video, restocks DVDs of "The Singles Ward" next to the DVD "Brigham City," two of the LDS movie titles they carry.
Cover of "The Singles Ward" DVD.
Latter-day Saints are becoming a popular focus for movies, causing both excitement and controversy within the LDS community.
"It sometimes seems as if everybody who took a film course at BYU or the University of Utah saw 'God's Army' and said to themselves, 'Hey, my buddies and I can do that!' grabbed their camcorders and hit the town," Sean Means said in a review of the LDS movie trend in The Salt Lake Tribune.
BYU students, a target audience of LDS filmmakers, have much to say on the subject.
"[The movies are] funny and I think so far they've been within OK boundaries," said MBA student John Wester from Boise, Idaho. "You hope they don't step over that line where you're taking sacred things too light."
Wester, however, has only seen "Singles Ward." Many students argue that some other LDS films have already crossed that line.
"I didn't like 'God's Army,'" said Josh Aston, a junior from Burley, Idaho, majoring in history. "I think some things relating to missionary work don't need to be portrayed to the public, such as priesthood blessings. My mission sure wasn't like that."
Susan Curtis, a junior from Glendale, Wis., majoring in marriage, family and human development said she thought parts of "God's Army" were blasphemous.
Yet many filmmakers said they have tried to stay away from controversy. The makers of "Singles Ward" said they purposefully avoided displaying anything about Latter-day Saint religion.
"Singles Ward" director Kurt Hale said the movie didn't show any prayers or ordinances because there is not anything funny about those things and they aren't something that should be shown in a movie.
However, Mormon culture is something completely different, he said.
"Frankly there was just a lot of comedy staring us in the face, so we thought, 'Hey let's take a crack at it,'" he said.
Richard Dutcher, the director of "God's Army" said he isn't happy with the trend of LDS films.
"We finally get a chance to say something, and we're just reinforcing stereotypes," Dutcher said.
But BYU students expressed support.
"I like it because it provides entertainment that's a good alternative to what Hollywood puts out," said accounting major Andrew Averett, a sophomore from Springville.
As yet, church officials haven't offered a position on films with LDS subjects, Hale said.
However, Hale said David B. Haight's wife loved "Singles Ward," and President Gordon B. Hinckley's personal secretary called Hale and said President Hinckley wanted a copy of the DVD.
"As a people we've come far enough to kind of have a good time with our cultural peculiarities," Hale said.
The LDS film trend doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. "The RM," directed by Hale, hits theaters Thursday. Another comedy titled "Church Ball" is scheduled for release in January 2004.
"We can make 50 movies based on how strange we are," Hale said.
[EXCERPTS]
LDS films such as Dutcher's "God's Army" and "Brigham City," along with HaleStorm Entertainment's "The Single's Ward" and "The RM," leave some anti-Hollywood Mormons with bitter-herb aftertastes of irreverence and even blasphemy.
Some complain about showing blessings, baptisms, or sacrament meetings. Some complain about pop rock hymns. Others, still, complain about the quality of the films, vying [sic] never to see an LDS film until it opens in theatres across the country with a couple big names attached.
...Commercial LDS films of note include: "God's Army," "Brigham City," "The Other Side of Heaven," "The Singles Ward," "Out of Step," "Charly," "Handcart," and "The RM." Scores of LDS films are currently under production as BYU film graduates try to produce films fast enough to write their story on the plates of gold that Dutcher has unearthed.
"The R.M." set the record for the highest opening-weekend box office of any LDS-themed film, taking in $130,352 on 15 screens last Friday through Sunday.
Its predecessor, the similarly farcical "Singles Ward," also from HaleStorm Entertainment, grossed $46,649 on its opening weekend a year ago.
The opening-weekend record for LDS films was previously held by "Brigham City," which scored $103,629 when it opened in April 2001.
[EXCERPT]
SIERRA VISTA -- In three years, a growing list of theater-release films featuring characters who just happen to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or centered on church-related themes have hit movie screens across North America...
Among the offerings are: "God's Army," "Brigham City," "Handcart," "The Other Side of Heaven," "Out of Step," "The Singles Ward," "Charly," "The R.M.," "Suddenly Unexpected" and "The Work and the Story."
Many have played across Arizona and the West from Washington to California and Nevada to New Mexico -- sometimes showing up in North American theaters as far away as Ontario, Canada, and in movie houses in sunny Hawaii.
Just as one needn't be Jewish to enjoy "Fiddler on the Roof" or a member of the Greek Orthodox church to relate to the humor in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," one needn't be LDS, more commonly referred to as "Mormon," to enjoy LDS cinema.
In fact, some of the strongest local supporters of the burgeoning LDS film genre are not LDS.
[EXCERPTS]
It used to be that if a Mormon character appeared on film, it was someone like "Paint Your Wagon"'s Jacob Woodling: A bearded man in black coat and hat who rode into No-Name City with his two wives. He left one of them behind, shaking up the all-male prospecting town.
It's hard to slam the 1969 Western musical; after all, it features a singing Clint Eastwood. All the same, these days Mormons are writing their own scripts, depicting themselves in their own way and taking their own heat from the critics.
For their part, critics have had plenty to say. Even Richard Dutcher, whose "God's Army" was the first of a string of LDS movies, has been publicly disapproving of the movies that followed in the genre.
"The Singles Ward" director Kurt Hale said Utah critics were not always kind. His company, HaleStorm Entertainment, will release "The RM" tomorrow. This time, Hale said, "We kind of hope they give us a more fair shake."
...For HaleStorm Entertainment, "The RM" will be the acid test, said Hale. If it works, maybe Mormon comedy will have a franchise.
...Like HaleStorm's earlier release, it's crammed full of Mormon insider jokes. (The main character drowns his sorrow in a Diet Coke after his girlfriend dumps him; his parents have 11 children with another on the way; he goes to a cinema where a promotional poster for "God's Navy" is displayed; it goes on and on.)
But Hale thinks LDS audiences also like his work for what it doesn't have. His movies aren't soaked in sex and body fluids. "From our perspective it's refreshing to go to something and not feel like you have to take a shower after," he said.
Success isn't necessarily meted out by critics; the box office is where it counts. "The Singles Ward" was successful enough to gross $1.3 million, and it cost $500,000 to make. It wasn't Hollywood, but it was a decent margin.
Hale said audiences were slow to respond to The Singles Ward. Mormons were suspicious at first, but when they saw that the movie made fun of the Mormon culture without laughing at its doctrine, they liked it.
A Mormon himself, Hale said there is nothing funny about LDS doctrine. The culture, however, has a lot of peculiarities that he finds "worth examining." And while the movie played mostly to LDS audiences in Utah, it drew a mixed audience in Southern California.
The critics outside of Utah were kinder, too, Hale said.
What do Utahns say? The Singles Ward was to real Mormon life what "Men in Tights" was to Robin Hood, said Erin Dearing, a Utah State University student from West Jordan.
I think any time people make films about themselves and make fun of themselves, that's fun," said Tony Toscano, host and executive producer of "Talking Pictures." (Toscano's syndicated show is based in Salt Lake and airs on 200 stations; locally it's on Saturday nights on KJZZ). When he's critiquing a film, he asks if it's worth the cost of a ticket, a babysitter and a night out to dinner. In his opinion The Singles Ward made the cut. Herald Journal movie critic Andy Morgan liked the film's irreverence. Mormons have a reputation as stuffed shirts, he said; "The Singles Ward" challenged that notion.
Whatever "The Singles Ward" made the outside world think about the Mormon one, USU students Logan Wood and Katrina Lyman were happier with the comedy than they were with "God's Army." Both Wood and Lyman are returned missionaries; both objected to the film's portrayal of mission life.
But as long as someone keeps making Mormon movies that are worth seeing, Wood and Lyman will keep going to them. Mormon life and Mormon history could provide a lot of material, they said; filmmakers won't run out of stories.
PROVO -- It's a Sunday afternoon somewhere in Utah, and all of the relatives -- some of them rather quirky people -- want to meet the new beau.
Everybody has a bit of advice and an embarrassing story to tell about the bride.
There are snoopy questions for the groom, especially after the bunch discovers he didn't serve an LDS mission. Or -- gasp! -- isn't even a member of The Church.
Could such a scene work on the silver screen?
Yes -- and it might work well, says Eric Samuelsen, a Brigham Young University drama professor who dabbles in theater with Mormon themes.
Samuelsen says Mormon culture could work effectively in crossover films just as Greekness worked in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," a surprise hit at the box office.
The movie, scripted by and starring Nia Vardalos, has -- at last count -- taken in more than $240 million for its makers, who spent only $5 million to produce it. A spin-off/sequel TV series, "My Big Fat Greek Life," debuted this week on CBS, starring Vardalos and many others from the movie's cast.
In the movie, the leading lady, Toula, is part of a big, noisy family full of crazy characters. The family struggles to deal with her engagement to Ian Miller, a non-Greek man.
A similar formula could generate a crossover Mormon movie, says Samuelsen, who spoke at the recent conference of the Association for Mormon Letters.
And it's more than departing from the standard boy-meets-girl, girl-and-boy-fight, girl-and-boy-kiss-and-makeup conflict pattern used in so many movies.
"The key . . . is to focus on the inclusiveness and cultural negotiation that goes on in a social structure like the LDS culture," Samuelsen said.
"I'd like to suggest that cultural negotiation is the key to the film's extraordinary success. Greek culture, as portrayed in this film, seems loud and boisterous and earthy, but we can also see how confining it is. And yet, in the film's finest moments, the film reveals a culture confident enough to open itself up to redefinition."
Samuelsen said he saw the film knowing little about Greek-American society -- but it intrigued him. "The story really is about this woman's gentle rebellion as she attempts to carve out a place for herself" in a loving but controlling family.
"It's comparatively conflict-less. Toula is mature, sensible. When she's told she can't see Ian, she sees and marries him anyway, recognizing that she's 30, old enough to make her own choices."
Samuelsen said LDS-centric movies such as "RM," "Singles Ward" and "Charly" tend to take the opposite approach to what he sees as a more workable and joyful tack.
"They seem to say you need to fit into the culture, like a bunch of square pegs into neat little round holes," he said.
Samuelsen said his ideas went over big at the Mormon Letters conference.
He wasn't intending to write a screenplay when he began his scholarly paper, but the response now has him considering it.
Maybe not "My Big Fat Mormon Wedding" -- perhaps "My Big Fat Mormon Funeral."
"It could work," he said. "I actually think Mormon culture is more inclusive than we get credit for. We know, in our hearts, we're as big -- and as fat -- as any Greek."
Anyone looking for a comedy can find their relief in The RM. The only problem is they will not find it in the large doses that accompanied The Singles Ward.
Just like its predecessor, The RM takes jabs at the culture associated with being a Latter-day Saint. Because the LDS audience had never seen jabs at the culture on the silver screen, The Singles Ward was a breath of fresh air.
With many of the cast and production crew returning, including director Kurt Hale, producer Dave Hunter and actor Kirby Heyborne, the fresh air has run out. The jokes were not stale, it is just the way the jokes were told has been seen before. However, the movie was still a push in the right direction.
Heyborne, known as Dalen in The Singles Ward, plays Jared Phelps, a newly returned missionary. Although he believes he has his life put together, his readjustment back to normal life is peppered with trials. When added up they equal one big Job-like ordeal.
The movie follows Phelps as he finds his own ride home from the airport after a non-existent homecoming and discovers his family has moved. He has to share his room with a Tongan exchange student, his parents sold his car, and his girlfriend will not accept an expensive ring because she only waited 23 and a half months.
The situational comedy continues as one thing after another goes wrong in Phelps' life. As his dreams crumble, the idiosyncrasies of Mormon culture are highlighted.
Relief Society centerpieces, college students telemarketing, home-based pyramid schemes, ways to get rid of unwanted engagement rings and a themed restaurant named Book of Mormon Burger are just a few ways The RM's writers found to make fun of the Mormon culture.
The plot thickens as Phelps is caught unwillingly participating in illegal activities brought upon him by his old friend Kori (Will Swenson, who played the lead role in The Singles Ward).
Although the film does have a cohesive plot, the climax is not as, well, climactic as it could, and should, have been. Also, the plot contains gags meant to get a laugh out of the audience, however, they were painfully over the top.
Although the movie contains flaws, overall it is good to see a movie where you don't have to avert your eyes in certain scenes and every joke is good and clean.
The LDS film genre is still in its infantile stage, and though there is room for improvement, The RM is a good movie to see during the growing pains. We will see what other growing pains will be brought up when the movies Church Ball, The Home Teachers, The Work and the Story and others find their way to the big screen.
[EXCERPTS]
If Francois Truffaut gave birth to the French New Wave cinema movement and The Bicycle Thief spurred Italian Neorealism, then on the same note Kurt Hale could be partly credited for the reluctant dawn of Mormon Cinema, the film world's most unlikely new contender at the box office.
Already populated by flicks like The Other Side of Heaven, God's Army and Brigham City, the movement of films -- all of which boast a culturally specific market: members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- only recently has taken off in the movement's own Hollywood: Salt Lake City.
It wasn't until last year's madcap Mormon comedy, The Singles Ward, did the already bustling genre begin to take shape at the hands of director Hale, who took typical LDS lifestyles and turned them on their funny bones.
So far, The Singles Ward, with a mini budget of $400,000, has raked in more than $1.4 million at the box office (even with few prints circulating the country) and sold 150,000 home videos.
"And it hit cult status overnight," Hale said. "People were turned on to it right away and ever since it's turning out to be a success. Certainly no one's getting rich off it, but we're doing good."
Hales' new film, The RM...
WVV: So did you serve a mission?
KH: Yes, I did, in Santa Rosa, Calif., in the northern part of the state. Grew up in Southern Cal, [the church] sent me to Northern Cal... [MORE]
[EXCERPT]
Kurt Hale, director and co-writer of "Single's Ward" [sic] and "The RM," said the church does not get officially involved with films about LDS culture.
"The church is very quiet about it," he said. "I think that they have another agenda. Nobody has ever come out publicly and said, 'Hey, we like what you're doing.' "
Privately, members of the church have praised his work, Hale said, but the church wants to remain diplomatic about the various movies.
Mitch Davis, who directed the film "Other Side of Heaven," said he heard nothing from the church, even though the main character, John Groberg, is now a General Authority in the church.
"There was absolutely no input, no interference and no encouragement either," Davis said.
Audiences, however, are recognizing LDS films as a new plausible genre, Hale said.
"A lot of people have had stories to tell for a long time, and now they feel they can do that," he said. "The success of "God's Army" and "Single's Ward" says that you can make the films and get a small profit."
These movies tend to do well in areas with an LDS community such as Utah, Arizona, California and Idaho, but they also attract people who are curious about the LDS Church.
The future of LDS films, Davis said, is making quality movies, even if they will only be seen by other members of the LDS Church.
"The danger is if the LDS market doesn't demand first-class filmmaking," Davis said, "then LDS directors won't make first-class films."
PROVO -- Matt Kennedy is (LDS) living large.
Some 180,000 subscribers receive daily e-mail from his Web site, ldsliving.com. As many as 7,000 customers a month order books, videos, CDs, software and jewelry from the site. More than 10,000 subscribe to his fledgling magazine, LDS Living. Another 8,000 have e-mail addresses from his new ISP ending in @ldsliving.com. And thousands of morning television channel surfers might soon click across a new program, LDS Living.
Kennedy figures his growing company will make about $5 million this year, up $1.5 million from 2002.
Not bad for a one-time Catholic altar boy who ran away from home at age 14.
"It's easy and it's fun," said Kennedy, wearing a golf shirt and khaki shorts in his East Bay office/warehouse. "And it's a dang lot of money."
The LDS products market is thriving, though no one seems to be able to put a dollar value on the industry that has sprouted up around The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"I know it's big, at least multi-multi-million dollar," said Doyl Peck, president of Sounds of Zion, the largest distributor of Latter-day Saint goods. "Whether it's $100 million or $200 million or what, I really don't know."
Most companies that deal in LDS-oriented products are private and don't divulge financial information.
Covenant Communications publishes about 60 LDS-oriented books a year, triple that of a decade ago. Marketing Vice President Robby Nichols says the market is growing, though not exploding at the moment. Independent books stores, he said, come and go.
Still, "life's been good to us. No question."
Kennedy's best explanation for the boom is that LDS Church membership -- some 11 million strong -- has reached a critical mass.
"There's just enough Mormons now," he said.
Provo-based LDS Living has doubled its earnings in each of its first four years.
It has sold some 190,000 VHS and DVD copies of "The Singles Ward," a movie the company co-produced. The movie soundtrack has sold 70,000 copies.
[A correction printed later in the DESERET NEWS stated that the actual number of video/DVD copies sold was approximately 110,000.]
"That's a gold record in the LDS market," Kennedy said.
LDS Living has other plans to strike while it's hot. Kennedy has a line of interactive scriptural software to appeal to what he calls the "Nickelodeon generation." The company also is dabbling in the national market with PDA software containing various versions of the Bible and famous political speeches.
LDS Living also is "really, really close" to putting together a daytime TV show featuring family, cooking and book segments, he said.
Ben Peterson, who runs an online dating service called ldsmingle.com, describes Kennedy as someone who thinks outside the box. "He's very dynamic, very intelligent."
Kennedy, 35, attributes business success to hard work and being in the right place at the right time. "I'm constantly standing on the platform waiting for the train to stop," he said.
But it's hard for him to pick out the most serendipitous moment in his King Midas life.
Maybe it was the day a three-wheeler crashed near him while he slept in an alfalfa field to which he had run to escape alcoholic parents. The boy who wrecked his vehicle turned out to be a school acquaintance. He invited the runaway to take a shower at his house. Kennedy wound up spending his teenage years living with the family. They were members of the LDS Church.
Or the day a date asked him at age 19 when he planned to turn in his missionary papers for the church, though unbeknownst to her, he wasn't a member. He joined a short time later and served a mission in Japan.
Or the day he met a Japanese businessman on his mission who later helped him launch a lucrative business. The man called Kennedy one day asking him to ship American products for resale in Japan. Kennedy stumbled across 600 pairs of L.L. Bean jeans for $14 a pair. He figured he'd mark them up $2 or $3. The Japanese man offered $53 a pair, netting Kennedy about $25,000.
Kennedy later formed a company that exported goods, mostly camping gear, to Japan. In 1996, it did $41 million worth of business. When the Asian economy crashed two years later, so did the company. He emerged relatively unscathed.
Looking for a new gig, Kennedy stumbled into selling LDS products with a goofy idea for a missionary door knocker.
As a missionary in Japan, the Arizona native didn't like to remove his gloves in the winter so he carried a rock or golf ball to tap on doors. He had 1,000 handball-sized brass globes made. Although they didn't sell quickly, his customers routinely asked if he had other LDS items to sell. He didn't. But not for long.
An LDS day planner, which he designed on his home computer, was his first real venture. Selling only on the Internet, it took off immediately. But it didn't bring in big money. Because the Web site was not set to accept credit cards, Kennedy billed customers. At least 60 percent never paid.
Maybe Kennedy's luckiest break was when a spurned Internet advertising sales rep turned around to make a last-ditch plea to give her company a try before walking out the door. For some reason, he changed his mind. The $1,700 per month fee paid off quickly. Kennedy did $40,000 in sales on the first e-mail ad.
"It just grew out of that door knocker into this," Kennedy said as workers busily maneuver through piles of boxes to fill hundreds of orders. "It's a living."
Photo Caption:
Matt Kennedy, of LDS Living, shows off cornucopia of LDS-oriented products his Provo-based company sells.
An April 3 story about ldsliving.com contained an incorrect number for sales of "The Singles Ward." The company says it has sold about 110,000 copies of the movie.
[EXCERPT]
...My second confession gets to more to the point. Charly (the film) made me laugh and cry. You might wonder why that's such a big confession. It wouldn't be, except that from reading the reviews of many of the critics who wrote about it when it first came out, including a couple of local writers who went out of their way to criticize the film even though they aren't usually film critics, it would appear that for a person, especially a film critic, to let this film get to him would be a grave sin. Writer after writer has coupled Charly with The Singles Ward as examples of what is wrong with the latest wave of LDS-themed theatrical-release films. I disagree...
[EXCERPTS]
The latest independent film aimed at Latter-day Saint audiences is in the final days of shooting in Alpine, Utah.
In the same genre as "Singles Ward", now comes "The Best Two Years of My Life."
...Kirby Heyborne/ "The Best Two Years of My Life": "IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE LDS NUANCES. IT'S ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS, IT'S ABOUT PEOPLE TRYING TO LIVE TOGETHER AND GET ALONG AND THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY GO THROUGH."
It's the first full length for the producers, but you might recognize members of the cast from other LDS oriented films -- like "Singles Ward," and "The RM."...
[EXCERPT]
...What types of films draw attention to Latter-day Saints? In the last two years, Mormon film-makers such as Richard Dutcher have attracted large audiences to productions such as God's Army, Out of Step, Singles Ward, and most recently, Handcart.
...Local BYU-I students have contrasting views of the new LDS genre. Shawna Hulme, a sophomore from Danville, Calif., said there are good as well as bad elements of Mormon Cinema.
"There are some parts that aren't funny, [and] when [nonmembers] watch it, they may get a tinted view of what our religion really is," she said.
Some parts of LDS Cinema, such as jokes among missionaries or members praying, may offend those who feel these things should not be made light, she said...
[EXCERPT]
...The irony is that Dutcher started the LDS movie genre, but others are capitalizing on it. Consider the movies that have been released since "God's Army" -- "Singles Ward," "Other Side of Heaven," "Out of Step," "Charley," "R.M." Three more are on the way.
"It's fun," Dutcher says. "I went to an LDS bookstore recently and the video section looks a lot better than it did a few years ago. There weren't just kids movies. There was some personal satisfaction in that."