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!
Heart of the Country Page 26
