Part III in the Series “Movies and the Values War.”  Click here for the first article and here for the second.

Is it possible to infuse great stories with the virtues and values of Godliness – and all that that implies – without diminishing the level of entertainment, the power of the premise or the quality of the characterizations?  Absolutely!

A paradigm shift from evolution (and man as a beast) to creation (and man as God in embryo) seems revolutionary at one level but is in fact subtle and sufficient at another. I am convinced that the use of virtues and values to evaluate a story, measure a theme or define a character can significantly enhance a motion picture and ultimately provide a more positive, rich and satisfying experience for the audience. [More about the Matrix of Virtues and Values when we announce Audience Alliance Motion Picture Studios on November 17.]

Yesterday I was in the heart of Hollywood. I attended a private “work-in-progress” screening at Universal Studios. Friends of mine asked me to look in on the movie they are making. I’m glad I did. It reminded me – in the midst of my tirade over the absence of virtue and values in so many “Hollywood movies” and the prevalence of films that reflect moral relativism – I need to reiterate that there are myriad talented “Hollywood insiders” who struggle to make excellent films that delight and entertain without an unexpected ambush. How often must we lament,” except for that one scene”?

Fly Me to the Moon, the film I watched at Universal, is going to be wonderful. It is being produced in revolutionary digital 3-D animation for general release. It is a great story. The quality of the animation rivals Pixar. The clarity of the polarized 3-D images will have everyone reaching out to touch the characters when they fly close. They “fly” because the main characters are three – are you ready for this – cute “fly kids” who want a great adventure and decide to stow away on Apollo 11. Trust me. You and your family will love this movie when it comes to theaters next year.


The “fly kids” from the upcoming movie Fly Me to the Moon.

So what’s my point? Simply this. My “Hollywood friends” — with over a hundred years of accumulated experience in the mainstream of the film and television business – had to go outside the system to get this movie made! And it took them years! Even now, with the evidence clearly on the screen, Hollywood Studios are reluctant to “put their arms around” this 20 million-dollar picture. Amazing!

There is a great need for an alternative place where value-oriented filmmakers can go to get films made outside the Hollywood system. There simply must be an alternative motion picture studio dedicated to entertainment with values. There is a great need – and huge demand – for highly entertaining motion pictures in all genres that cater to the virtues and values of a broad and largely un-served audience.

Still in the heart of Hollywood later that day I sat with a woman who has been working in Hollywood for 26 years. She has endless energy, great talent and though we share very different religious and political ideologies we have been great friends for a long time. She is in postproduction on a $52,000,000 “family film.” She has relentlessly pursued her project for almost four years and finally gotten it produced.

She was fortunate in getting the backing of a powerful independent production company that tends to favor “family friendly fare.” The company is a curious mix of inside influence and outside money, but the other partners in the deal are hard-core Hollywood. Since she must continue to work with these people I have omitted titles, names and obscured telling details.

Horror stories about getting movies made in Hollywood are endless, of course. This woman’s reflections and reactions to an alternative way to get good movies made may – or may not – be unique. There follows a transcript of a few of her comments used by permission. 

I said to her, “I’m writing an article and would love your ‘insider’ perspective on Hollywood.”

“Everyone lies about everything all the time.” Those were the first words out of her mouth. “That,” she said, “defines Hollywood.” We talked for an hour.

I coach people new to Hollywood. They have to understand how to lie. When they “take a meeting” at one of the “in” coffee shops I explain that regardless of their real preferences they must order a kind of sugar that is not on the menu. Something like “cold brown sugar unrefined” to make sure the waiter or manager has to scramble about and make them seem important. That is Hollywood. It’s all lies.

Being honest is difficult in Hollywood. As an example, I had a colleague who is a writer. He gave me a script and asked me to read it. I found it disappointing. I admired his talent and had read and liked two other scripts he had written. My husband and I were at dinner with him and his wife when he suddenly asked, “So, how did you like my script? I want you to be completely honest.” 

I thought we were slightly more than colleagues – even friends, perhaps – so I said, “Actually, it is the first thing you’ve written that didn’t appeal to me.”  He was totally offended and didn’t talk to me for several weeks. When he finally did – and he was still very angry – I said, “You told me to be completely honest.”

“You criticized my work in front of my wife and other people? You never do that! You do not know Hollywood,” he ranted on.  “You never tell anyone you don’t like their script.”

She went on to relate an experience she had at a Hollywood studio only the day before.

I came out of our private screening and a two-hour discussion with your partner and I was very, very happy. I felt really wonderful but remembered suddenly I had a second screening with our Hollywood distributor. I realized I had to get unhappy because I knew that if I went to the studio screening too happy they would sense that and they would try to kill me.  That is because if you are too happy you are vulnerable and they don’t like happy people. They don’t like happy people because they are not happy.

I sat in my car before the meeting and meditated to bring myself down from my high and happy state.  I was not wholly successful. I was not able to bring myself all the way down to the ground zero of their miserable unhappy level. So I arrived at the meeting suspiciously happy. There were thirty people in the room. I was granted thirty seconds to comment prior to the movie preview. I told the truth, but I made no attempt to fill their heads with the gushing hype to which they are accustomed.

I said simply, “I love this movie and believe it will do good things. In some ways we are making cinema history because…” That is as far as I got before I was interrupted.

“So why the hell are you telling us this?” It was the head of distribution. Twenty-nine people sat in silence while he cut me down and crushed me. I am the lead producer. This is my picture. I have spent more than three years of my life getting it made. The film is truly a breakthrough in imaging technology. They have invested tens of millions of dollars and he hasn’t the common courtesy to let me speak for thirty seconds.

I was so shocked all I could think was, If your mother were here she would be disappointed in your behavior. Hollywood people can be so rude. Why is that necessary? How about waiting until the end of the sentence? At what point is it OK for fellow human beings to treat each other that way?  And all the while the other twenty-nine sat there and said nothing.

I left the screening totally crushed. My earlier high was gone completely.

Listening to this producer I was reminded of a conversation with a documentary filmmaker who recently returned from the Middle East. He has become increasingly involved with filmmaking and ever closer to the heart of Hollywood. He made the best – though most controversial – analogy of Hollywood I’ve ever heard:

Hollywood is like the Middle East. It is almost totally populated by people who want the same things as everyone else – to feed their kids, live their values and enjoy their lives – but the majority are held hostage by a radical few.

I introduced my friend, the Hollywood producer, to Audience Alliance Motion Picture Studios. The next morning I received the following e-mail.

Kieth,

I came home between meetings, had thirty quiet minutes and read your entire Audience Alliance book.  Cover to cover.  That kind of quiet, focused thinking has happened so few times in the past 6 months I could count them on one hand!  And there was a reason it happened.

While I’m probably on the ethical fringe of the beautiful plan you have so carefully, respectfully crafted I was moved to tears.  

I am not naive, not removed from society, not particularly religious or lofty in my thinking or philosophies, but I am a producer who is without a doubt on the far, far fringe of Hollywood and feels the isolation every day.  So much so that I wondered if I could ever make it in this business at all…

But, you know me.  I’m gooooood at politics.  It turns out, I can play with the big boys.  But I don’t enjoy it. I do it because I have to. This summer my wonderful director/friend and I watched some of the most repulsive behavior imaginable exhibited by our colleagues – during the making of our feature film. I will be eager to read your book They Came Without Eyes.  It will be heartening to hear someone else’s struggle – not to feel alone.  I believe we can tell stories on screen without so many “If only…” scenes, and we can make movies without so many “If only…” moments behind-the-scenes as well!  

I have always described us as an “odd couple.”  Our worlds are so different.  But I read your Audience Alliance book and could hear all of the voices, the sounds, the experiences of my life come together into one single tone.  

You are awesome.  If I play my cards right, I’ll be one of your first producers!  

Very exciting stuff.  Very exciting third act unfolding.

Warmest regards,
Name withheld

I began this article by asking, “Is it possible to infuse great stories with virtues and values without depreciating the premise or the power?” The answer is yes! You have heard it from me. You have heard it from a Hollywood veteran – albeit “estranged insider.” You can be sure that it is possible. 

On November 17, I will announce the public launch of Audience Alliance Motion Picture Studios and the Audience Alliance Academy. It is based on a simple idea. The Audience is the most powerful part of the motion picture industry. The power of a single ticket – when organized into a broad alliance of people who love movies and want movies that reflect their values – will create a new major motion picture studio. This bold idea has never been possible until now. But the convergence of digital technology, the Internet and growing disenchantment with the values of Hollywood make this –cliche‘ notwithstanding – a powerful and inevitable idea whose time has come.

Last week I wrote about the “anti-religion religion” of Hollywood. The next article in this series will examine some specific films you “could have liked a lot” and how lifting otherwise offensive movies through a matrix of virtue and value can make an enormous difference. The moment we talk about how to avoid “an ambush” on the silver screen and making movies without “one or two bad scenes” the MPAA “big three” pop to mind.  Language. Violence and Sexual Content.  We’ll deal with each of these in turn next time.

Of even greater concern is the increasing absence of “godliness” as defined and discussed in part II.  There are precious few examples of characters in movies who turn to faith or prayer or God when crisis strikes. That’s what most real people do. We don’t expect James Bond to pray for courage before leaping a chasm in a rocket sled or Spiderman to seek divine intervention in his quest to save the city. But it is difficult for “common folks” in the flyover states to identify with a father’s lost child or mother’s wounded son when they do not turn to prayer or faith or plead with God.

For all but a very few characters depicted in movies religion is not a part of their lives and often held in open contempt. Clergy are most often depicted as evil, duplicitous and hypocritical. [Sadly, of course, the gravely disappointing high profile cases of celebrated clergy like the recent Ted Haggard incident affirm the cynicism of the anti-religion religion. Without excusing hypocrisy at any level, the few dishonored should be overwhelmed by the reality of the unsung and unspoken thousands who serve with faith, integrity and goodness]

But in the movies – and on TV – hours and hours of the worst kinds of crisis are depicted with nary a glimpse heavenward. How could trainer Frankie (Clint Eastwood) kill his young friend Maggie (Hilary Swank) in Million Dollar Baby without the slightest consideration of a greater purpose in life than avoiding pain or at least a moment of prayerful reflection?

We shouldn’t wonder. The answer is self-evident. Most of the characters who populate Hollywood movies are reflections of the people who create them. Both characters and creators believe in man not God.

Next time: A look at language, sex and violence and lifting stories through the virtue value matrix proposed by the Audience AllianceMotion Picture Studios. Watch for the announcement November 17. You have the power. We can make a difference.