- Church
Ball: comedy about Church basketball leagues, to be directed by Kurt Hale
and produced by Dave Hunter from HaleStorm Entertainment; script currently
being written by John Moyer ("The Singles Ward", "The R.M."); production
scheduled for 2004, for an early 2005 release date
- God's Army 2:
States of Grace: tagline: "Bigger. Better. Bolder"; sequel to "God's Army"
written and directed by Richard Dutcher; produced by Jeff Chamberlain and Stin
Hansen; shot in Los Angeles beginning January 2004; now in post-production;
cinematography by Ken Glassing ("God's Army"); theatrical release in 2004;
starring a newcomer in the central part as a Hispanic missionary called to Los
Angeles; starring Rachel Emmers ("Sons of Provo", "Out of Step"); Adam Conger,
Allison Evans, Lucas Fleischer, Brett Granstaff, Jo-sei Ikeda, Rege Lewis,
Allen Maldonado, Michael May, Ignacio Serricchio, Lamont Stephens. Funded
largely by Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller; budget considerably under $1
million; story: a missionary's checkered past past catches up with him as he
and his companion are drawn into a Santa Monica gang war; religious groups
other than Latter-day Saints factor prominently into the storyline, and are
positively portrayed; filming began January 15th, 2004; 2005 release planned
- Suits on the Loose:
previously "Bible Boy"; written and directed by Latter-day Saint Hollywood
insider Rodney Henson; Produced by George Dayton, Kurt Hale, Dave Hunter (all
of HaleStorm) and Rodney Henson; musical score by Alan Williams (Kilimanjaro:
Mountain of Many Faces; Soul Assassin; The Princess and the Pea; Island of the
Sharks (1999); Mark Twain's America; Amazon; The Robin Hood Gang; Clubhouse
Detectives (1996), etc.); Cinematography by Barry M. Wilson; Starring Brandon
Beemer, Ty Hodges, Shaun Weiss and Jason Winer; Cast also includes: Fred
Dryer; Eric Edelstein; Alex Feldman; Allison Lange; Charles Napier; Robert
Prosky; Dave Secor; Nate Torrence. Synopsis from IMDb.com: Suits on the
Loose is the story of two rebellious teens, Justin (BEEMER) and Ty (HODGES),
and their breakout from a military academy. When two naive Latter-day Saint
missionaries, Elder Talbot (WEISS) and Elder Johnson (WINER), run into a
restroom at a remote rest stop, Justin steals their car. Scrapping their
military fatigues for the conservative missionaries' tags in hopes of passing
through any road blocks, their guise is so good that the police insist upon
escorting the escapees directly to New Harmony, the town that's been anxiously
awaiting their missionaries. As the two renegades find themselves embraced by
the town's hospitality, they try to map out their escape. With Elder Talbot
and Elder Johnson destined to arrive, what will happen when the town of New
Harmony discovers that their missionaries are actually on the lam from the
law? Can they keep up the charade and fool everyone around them or will they
be found out? Filmed early in 2004 in Los Angeles w/SAG actors; now in
post-production; a HaleStorm production; early 2005 theatrical release
- New York Doll:
Documentary about the late Arthur "Killer" Kane, a recovering alcoholic who
has became devout Latter-day Saint and then reunited with members of the
legendary punk rock band he belonged to in the 1970s: the "New York Dolls."
Competing in the Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival,
January 2005, which will be the film's World Premiere (although it has
previously been screened in a few select venues). Film made by a predominantly
LDS film crew, led by director Greg Whiteley. This is one of only 16 American
documentaries competed at Sundance, chosen from among more than 600 entries;
theatrical release pending
- Thumbsucker: Directed by
Mike Mills (who also wrote the screenplay), an adaptation of non-churchgoing
Latter-day Saint Walter Kirn's novel about a boy (Lou Taylor Pucci) who
sort of overcomes an oral fixation, becomes a Latter-day Saint and goes on a
mission. Note that the Latter-day Saint content, although central to the
novel, has been excised entirely from this feature film adaptation. Keanu
Reeves plays the orthodonist; Tilda Swinton, Chase Offerle and Vincent
D'Onofrio play other members of this family (who, in the novel, study with the
missionaries and join the Church); also stars Benjamin Bratt and Vince Vaughn;
debuted at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on January 20, 2004; Sony
Classic Pictures will distribute this in theaters nationwide in the latter
half of 2005
- The Spirithunter: Bro. David
Weidner's feature film debut (he is writer/producer/director/editor): no
Latter-day Saint characters, but clear Latter-day Saint beliefs in the film's
afterlife themes; plot: A recently deceased man wakes up to find his memory
erased. He must discover the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his death
while keeping ahead of an unstoppable supernatural force determined to collect
his soul; Budget: $100,000; debuted 13 May 2004 at Cannes Film Festival
- Mobsters and Mormons: has also been titled "The Western-Relocation
Program"; screenplay written by John E. Moyer (writer of "The Singles Ward",
"The R.M.", "The Home Teachers"); Moyer also directs, marking his directorial
debut. The story of a dysfunctional mobster family placed into the
witness-relocation program among an all-Mormon community in Utah; began
shooting in early 2005
- Confessions of a
Hot Roddin', Pinstripin', Kustomizin', Teenage Icon: feature-length
documentary about Latter-day Saint artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (a convert to
the Church), who gained fame for his sculpted custom cars - "The Beatnik
Bandit", "Mysterion" and "The Outlaw" - and his cast of eyepopping cartoon
characters (including "Rat Fink"); film made by non-LDS filmmaker Ron Mann;
now in post-production, with hopes of screening in the Toronto Film Festival;
Summer 2005 release planned
- The Alibi: Main
character (played by Steve Coogan) crosses paths with a high-minded assassin
who calls himself "The Mormon." Enci plays a "Mormon wife" in this movie,
which was filmed in Los Angeles and is now in post-production. Starring Steve
Coogan, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Selma Blair, James Brolin, Sam Elliott, John
Leguizamo, James Marsden, Jerry O'Connell. Plot outline (IMDb.com): "A man
(Coogan) who runs an alibi service for adulterous husbands gets into a jam
with a new client. In trying to remedy the situation, he must rely on an
alluring woman (Romijn-Stamos) who gets his heart racing." Hoyts Distribution:
"Ray runs an alibi service for men and women who want to spend a little
quality time away from their so-called loved ones. Business is booming and
Ray's life couldn't be better if it weren't for Wendell Hatch (James Marsden),
the pampered son of Rays biggest client, who snuck away to Napa for the
weekend before his wedding and accidentally strangled his date-mind you, not
his fiance. Suddenly Ray's accessory to Murder, featured on the most wanted
lists of a savvy small-town cop, a heart broken chauffeur hungry for revenge
and a high-minded assassin who call himself THE MORMON. With the help of Lola
(Rebecca Romijn Stamos), his sexy, fast-talking right hand woman, Ray must
mastermind one final con that will clear his name for murder and put the
ghosts from his past to rest, once and for all. But even for Ray, everything
doesn't always go to plan -- whether he likes it or not, he's about to learn a
thing or two about love and other affairs of the heart."; Scheduled for July
2005 release.
- Legacy: Documentary produced and directed by Larry Laverty about
World War II veterans, noting their experiences during the war and looking at
how those of us in younger generations might live up to what those Veterans
fought for. Filming began in California in November 2004 with film completion
planned for fall 2005. Larry Laverty, Gordon Laverty, Leon Spears, Grant
Fernstrom, Gene Tarrant, Ed Silveira, L.Z. Anderson, Theodore Robinson, Hap
Langstaff. Production Company: Don't Blink Productions.
- Mind the Gap: Romantic
comedy about a U.S. cowboy in England; filmed entirely in the United Kingdom;
starring Bro. Jaelan Petrie ("Handcart", "Missy"), who is also the producer;
produced and directed by Bro. Tyler Ford (M.A. London Film School); musical
score by famed LDS composer Alan Hawkshaw; Principle photography will be Sept.
27th - Oct. 30th, 2004 on location in London and the Scottish Highlands
- Joseph Smith: Prophet of the
Restoration: Biopic about the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, the man commissioned with the task of restoring the
Christianity of the New Testament to the modern world; produced by the
institutional Church, scheduled for release in 2005 (200th anniversary of the
birth of Joseph Smith in Vermont); directed by Gary Cook and T.C. Christensen;
screenplay by Cook; cinematography by Christensen; starring Dustin Harding as
"Joseph Smith", Tayva Patch ("Brigham City", "Little Secrets", "Out of Step",
etc.) as "Lucy" (Joseph's mother), Rick Macy ("Brigham City", "Messge in a
Cell Phone", "Out of Step", "Little Secrets", etc.) as "Joseph Smith Sr.";
produced by Ron Munns; line producer Steven A. Lee; production design by Roger
Crandall and Richard Jamison; costume design by Shari Ohman; unit production
manager is Brian Brough
- The Eleventh Hour Laborers: documentary directed by Richard Dutcher
and produced by Robert Foster; about the 1978 revelation allowing the
priesthood to go to African-Americans; executive producer: Wayne L. Lee; now
seeking additional supporters willing to make a donation in any amount to
support the creation of this film; now in production
- Helmuth Hubener biopic: critically acclaimed filmmakers Ethan
Vincent and Matt Whitaker (recent graduates of BYU film school) are working on
a feature film biopic about Helmuth Hubener, the German Latter-day Saint
teenager who opposed Adolf Hitler during World War II; Whitaker made the
fascinating documentary about Hubener, Truth and Conviction (available
on video/DVD); more information to follow
- The Land of Nephi: documentary produced by David C. Asay ("Lehi's
Land of First Inheritance"; "In Search of Ancient Cumorah"); starring Sharlene
Wells Hawkes; musical score by Thomas C. Baggaley; filmed in Guatemala
beginning in Dec. 2002; 2004 release was delayed