| A Report from Hollywood
by Rick Bonn
As
part of Art Within’s strategy to expand their national
presence and create a wider distribution network for the
scripts that they develop, Bryan Coley and Rick Bonn traveled
to Hollywood in June for a week of meetings with producers and
writers.
‘It was an incredible time,’ said Bonn.
‘We had something like nine meetings in two days with
Christian writers and producers that Art Within wants to be in
relationship with.’
David White, an
actor who’s produced and starred in many Christian films (Mercy
Streets, The Moment After) got excited when he heard about
Art Within’s theatrical producing success and suggested
bringing his one-man show to Atlanta. White is currently producing a film version of Frank
Peretti’s The
Visitation with partners Ralph Winter (X-Men)
and Joe Goodman (Left Behind). ‘David
was so passionate about his walk with Christ in relation to
his art,’ said Coley. ‘It
was a great start to the week.’
Writers Paul Tamasy
(Air Bud, Walking Across
Egypt) and Eric Johnson shared some of their recent tales
– including dealing with the Mafia in trying to put together
a boxing film and winning the spec script sale lottery when
Dreamworks and John Williams (Shrek)
purchased their script Toad
Trip. With a background in theater and a heart for teaching, Tamasy
expressed a strong interest in attending future Symposiums.
‘One of the more
significant meetings had to be with David McFadzean (Home
Improvement, What Women Want), our keynote speaker at last
year’s Symposium,’ Coley said. ‘He provided such clear
insight into our future direction.
It continues to be a huge privilege to have him take an
interest in Art Within.’
Writer/Director Jon
Gunn (Mercy Streets)
provided the laughter with his behind-the-scenes account of
making and selling the documentary My
Date with Drew. With
$1100 in game show winnings, Jon’s best friend set out to
get a date with his childhood crush – Hollywood megastar
Drew Barrymore. And
with a camera borrowed from Circuit City for thirty days, Jon
decided to film him. The
resulting film, Gunn said, has won numerous comedy film
festivals and will be released theatrically in February.
Gunn recounted the
bizarre and often miraculous story of the filming – the
celebrities met, premieres attended, film festivals won, and
deals struck to find distribution.
‘It’s an absurdly joyful film,’ said Bonn, who
saw a preview. ‘It’s
about best friends coming together, new communities being
made, and dreams coming true.
It’s an injection of hope.’
Craig Detweiler, who
heads up the film program at Biola University, provided an
academic perspective on Hollywood.
Known for his national teaching engagements on faith
and film and his recent nomination from the Evangelical Press
Association for his first book, A
Matrix of Meanings: Finding
God in Pop Culture, Detweiler promised to keep Art Within
posted on Biola’s up-and-coming filmmakers.
Darren Moorman,
after producing the re-shoots for several of MGM’s biggest
films last year (Legally
Blonde II, Out of Time), just wrapped his latest film and
said he hopes to attend the Symposium in future years.
Jonathan Bock of
Grace Hill Media invited Bonn and Coley to his office to
discuss the future state of Christian writers in Hollywood. Bock, whose publicity company markets mainstream Hollywood
films to religious audiences, expressed his passion for
finding and equipping the next generation of Christian
writers.
Finally, Bonn and
Coley were welcomed by Barbara Nicolosi, the program director
of Act One: Writing
for Hollywood, who had just returned from meeting with
Congress and the head of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Nicolosi, who continues to be one of the most sought
after spokespersons on Christians writing for film, shared her
future vision and pledged her support to Art Within in the way
of contacts and leads on emerging writers.
‘It was an
incredible few days,’ Coley said, ‘To meet so many
passionate and gifted Christians in Hollywood and to share
with them our vision for equipping Christian writers.’
‘The need for
Christian writers is still so great,’ Bonn said.
‘Even with Act One and all the work done over the
years. We went
specifically to find the next crop of Christian writers and
still only came away with a handful of names.
It continues to emphasize the importance of Art
Within’s mission.’
Coley reiterated the crucial connection with Hollywood. ‘If Art Within is serious about impacting culture on a wide
scale,’ he said, ‘We have to be committed to bringing more
of a Christian voice to Hollywood.
And thanks to Rick setting up all those meetings, we
were able to take a strong first step.’
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