Heart of the Country (27 page)

RG:
I bet you know a lot of famous people, huh? Well, my good friend’s sister’s husband’s brother used to work for Brad Pitt’s brother. So that’s only five degrees of separation. Beat that.

JW:
Well, I’m zero degrees separated from Rene Gutteridge and one degree from Karen Kingsbury. So there!

Yeah, it’s true that in Hollywood, famous people come with the territory. I think since I grew up constantly around really famous people, it kind of became normal for me. The only thing that bugs me is going through the checkout at the grocery store and seeing tabloid articles about someone I know. I turn into a crazy person as I point and pronounce, “That is
not tru
e
!”

RG:
Is it hard as the writer and director to step aside if an actor interprets a character differently than you anticipated? Or do you just clapper-board them until they do what you want? The latter sounds more fun, but that’s why I’m just a cave-dwelling writer.

JW:
First of all, no one let Rene near the clapboard.

Because I’ve been an actor since I was twelve, I have a keen appreciation for the freedom someone needs when they put their skin around a character. I think every director should look at their actors as collaborators in the character. I truly feel that I am in every scene with every actor
 
—right there with them on camera playing the part
 
—in every take. Their success is my success and vice versa. You can’t make that relationship work if you’re not willing to let the actors bring their ideas to the screen. Otherwise, they are just robots.

RG:
What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened on the set of one of your movies?

JW:
A movie set makes summer camp look like chemistry class. It is a never-ending series of practical jokes and general tomfoolery. One of the all-time greats was when we were making
I AM
, and we had this really dramatic flashback scene where the actor was supposed to shave his head. His character’s wife had been murdered, and it was part of a ritual to turn himself into a cold-blooded killer bent on revenge. Stefan Hajek, the actor who played the part (and one of my best friends), is notorious for his intensity
 
—especially in scenes of high drama like this.
I AM
is a modern retelling of the Ten Commandments, so it was pretty intense, and we needed a lift . . . so I decided to put some almost-dead batteries in his electric clippers. As I said, “Action!” Stefan glared at the mirror, summoned up his most intense anger, and turned on the clippers into his thick, full head of hair
 
—right at the forehead. The clippers made it about half an inch before the batteries began to fizzle, but he kept on digging it into his hair.
He never stopped trying to shave his head until we all burst out laughing. I think he still has a scar from that, and I know he hasn’t forgiven me. Still, it was pretty funny.

RG:
What is one misconception you think people have about directors?

JW:
That we know what we’re doing.

In all seriousness, the cartoon version of the director is the self-absorbed moron with that bullhorn, screaming, “Action!” The reality is that we’re coaches. It’s our job to help everyone else be the best they can be at what they do, from the actors to the cinematographers to the art department to makeup and wardrobe and so on.

RG:
So be honest. When you learned your script was going to be turned into a novel, were you the least bit nervous about the process?

JW:
I was intimidated! Novels are things that smart people write; screenplays are for people like me.

RG:
What was the most rewarding thing about seeing your script as a novel?

JW:
By far, it’s the depth a novel can bring to the characters and the story as a whole. In Hollywood, we are trained to be lean and efficient. Every page is hundreds of thousands of dollars
 
—at a minimum. This is the first story where
everything
in my mind and heart can be for public consumption. I love it, and I hope enough people read it so that we can do this for all of my movies!

RG:
What draws you to the Prodigal story told in the Bible?

JW:
As a storyteller myself, I am in awe of Jesus and His parables. Each of them is a masterpiece. Of all of them, I think the Prodigal is my favorite. It captures the essence of the heart of God and is the perfect portrait of His ability to heal
all wounds. It completely refutes the pop-culture perception of God as judgmental. Here is the Father forgiving all and restoring His son with pure unconditional love. That’s God.

RG:
Why did you choose two prodigals for one story?

JW:
I loved the idea of two prodigals being in a marriage together. Faith and Luke ran away from their families and wound up with each other. How could that ever work out? The answer is that it couldn’t until they each went back and found healing with their families.

RG:
Why do you think the Prodigal story has resonated for so long and with so many?

JW:
We are all prodigals in one way or another. We all fall short and desperately seek the redeeming love of Jesus. When I became a parent, I really saw this story from the other side as well. Now I was a father, and as I felt the unconditional love I have for my own children, I had such a greater appreciation for the love God has for me.

RG:
Were there other themes you wanted to explore through the subplots of characters like Olivia and Calvin?

JW:
I wanted to create other portraits of God’s redeeming love, particularly in marriage
 
—although one of my favorites is Calvin’s relationship with Luke. Here’s a guy Calvin didn’t even get to meet before his baby girl married him. There’s no doubt he would probably feel more comfortable with Faith ending up with Lee
 
—a good guy from his native North Carolina who he could relate to. Still, Calvin goes out of his way to help this wayward, rich Yankee-boy son-in-law repair the broken marriage to his daughter.

RG:
Why did you choose to produce and direct faith-based films? Couldn’t you be more successful by making films for a broader audience?

JW:
Good question. I ask myself that every day! I was blessed with a great career in secular Hollywood, but God kept tugging at me with one question: “Why do you take Me everywhere you go except to work?” I rationalized that for a long time, but in the end, He was right, of course. Now I believe that it’s His calling for me to apply the artistry and grandeur that decades in Hollywood have taught me to telling His stories. It’s not just about putting Christian thought on-screen; it’s about creating emotion and being highly artistic and relevant in doing so. Artistry and subtlety are often overlooked in “Christian film.”

RG:
Can you talk a bit about how you work with pastors, bloggers, social media, and the church to get audiences to the theater opening weekend?

JW:
It’s such an honor when a church or any group adopts your work and makes it their own. With
I AM
, we reached out to churches on 10/10/10 and offered them the chance to show this modern Ten Commandments movie for free on this “Day of Tens.” We hoped maybe a couple hundred would do it, but we were shocked when twenty-five hundred said yes.

That’s really how you can create change in the world. When your movie or book can create a moment and that moment can be picked up by people and transformed into a movement.

Social media is the coolest thing ever. Those who follow me on Twitter (
@caliheel
) are subject to hearing about my kids’ every move, my alma mater UNC, and the daily comings and goings of my life in Hollywood, but what they give me is a relationship with them, making me and my work a small part of their lives. Nothing is cooler than that!