‘The father of Mormon cinema’ reflects on career, industry he created and why he left the faith

Richard Dutcher’s 2000 movie “God’s Army” catered to an LDS assemblage and ushered successful a activity of LDS-themed films. Dutcher shares his thoughts connected nan manufacture coming and why he near nan religion successful our question and reply above. | Courtesy photos

IDAHO FALLS – Nearly 2 decades aft leaving The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Richard Dutcher is still proud to beryllium known arsenic “the begetter of Mormon cinema.”

The 60-year-old Utah man down nan 2000 movie “God’s Army,” and 3 different titles, is raising costs for his first faith-based movie successful 16 years. It’s called “Jesus is Enough” and is astir a Latter-day Saint missionary who becomes a calved again Christian. He’s hoping to statesman accumulation soon.

During a speech pinch EastIdahoNews.com, nan independent filmmaker reflected connected his profession and offered his position connected nan improvement of nan Latter-day Saint movie manufacture complete nan years.

His movie astir a rookie missionary successful Los Angeles wrestling pinch his ain conversion was nan first commercialized movie catering to an LDS audience, and it was a hit.

“Nobody saw it coming,” Dutcher says successful retrospect. “For that year, it was nan second-highest-grossing movie successful Utah, moreover among Hollywood films. Idaho was nan first spot we went aft Utah and it played conscionable arsenic good there.”

Budgeted astatine $250,000, “God’s Army” earned much than $2.7 cardinal astatine nan container agency and astir nan aforesaid magnitude successful video and DVD sales.

A caller commercialized movie marketplace had been created and it sparked a activity of Latter-day Saint films, including Dutcher’s 2nd project, “Brigham City,” a belief play astir an LDS bishop/sheriff progressive successful a execution investigation.

Hundreds of Latter-day Saint themed films person been produced since then. The latest is “Escape from Germany” — head T.C. Christensen’s movie astir a missionary from Rupert who helped evacuate 21 of his associates retired of nan cardinal European state days earlier World War II collapsed out.

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Since its theatrical merchandise successful April, it’s earned astir $2 cardinal astatine nan container office, according to Box Office Mojo.

The 2001 movie “The Other Side of Heaven,” which tells nan communicative of Idaho Falls autochthonal John Groberg and his three-year ngo successful Tonga during nan 1950s, had container agency receipts of astir $5 cardinal and remains nan highest-grossing LDS movie to date.

It spawned a sequel successful 2019.

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From nan beginning, Dutcher says his intent was to create a marketplace for filmmakers to show meaningful stories related to nan LDS Church.

He sewage nan thought while looking astatine movie listings successful nan Los Angeles Times 1 time and noticed a communal thread.

“There was a caller movie for nan African-American audience, for nan cheery audience, for nan Indian assemblage and I was frustrated. I thought, why couldn’t Mormons person their ain movie market?” Dutcher recalls.

“God’s Army” was released 3 years later.

Despite nan occurrence of galore LDS films that person travel on since then, Dutcher is disappointed pinch nan measurement nan manufacture has evolved.

Early on, films for illustration “The Singles Ward,” “The RM” and “Baptists astatine our Barbecue” poked nosy astatine Latter-day Saint culture. Dutcher says these movies grounded to supply a meaningful portrayal of Latter-day Saints.

“It’s for illustration achromatic group yet getting nan opportunity to show their ain stories and instead, they do cinematic minstrel shows,” says Dutcher. “People person been mocking and misrepresenting Mormons successful cinema since nan early 1900s and that’s precisely what these filmmakers were doing.”

He’s besides disappointed successful filmmakers “telling sentimental, polite stories” alternatively than asking meaningful questions aliases doing heavy examinations of faith.

“States of Grace,” Dutcher’s follow-up to “God’s Army,” took an unconventional attack to a Latter-day Saint story. In nan film, 1 of nan missionaries is dishonored because he has a intersexual narration pinch a woman. Dutcher’s extremity pinch nan communicative was to prime isolated a commonly held Latter-day Saint belief that “it’s amended to return (from a mission) successful a casket than beryllium dishonored.”

“I ever thought that’s a complete usurpation of nan doctrine of nan Atonement, and I recovered it disfigured and repulsive,” Dutcher says. “Some assemblage members were put disconnected because I didn’t attraction astir nan taste expectations. I wanted to show important stories and was consenting to situation (the norm) and spell places Mormon films still haven’t gone.”

The transverse plays an integral domiciled successful nan ending of nan film, different illustration of Dutcher’s effort successful looking astatine nan religion done a different lens. Latter-day Saints spot little accent connected this awesome than mainstream Christianity.

The movie received precocious praise among Christians, but LDS audiences were much critical. The $800,000 accumulation earned conscionable complete $200,000 astatine nan container office, according to IMDB.

Despite its financial failure, Dutcher still maintains it’s 1 of his champion films because it gave LDS audiences a deeper exploration of their beliefs.

“That was 2005. We should beryllium 16 aliases 17 steps beyond that now, but we’re not. Because of that, Mormon cinema is insignificant successful its powerfulness and effectiveness. I really deliberation that’s a shame,” he says.

Though there’s been a displacement towards much superior LDS films successful caller years, Dutcher says nan “silly Mormon movies” aft “God’s Army” put an extremity to nan momentum it created.

“I wish my imagination for what (Mormon cinema) could person been would’ve been realized. But possibly that’s still to come,” he says.

Hollywood’s history pinch LDS stories

Church members were nan taxable of galore Hollywood movies during nan silent movie era. These films were inaccurate successful their portrayal of Latter-day Saints, according to an article from Brigham Young University.

Sixty years earlier Dutcher released his independent LDS film, Hollywood shaper Darryl F. Zanuck and head Henry Hathaway teamed up for 20th Century Fox’s production, “Brigham Young.” This movie told nan communicative of religion laminitis Joseph Smith’s successor and nan saint’s persecution that led them to settee what is now Salt Lake.

Interest successful nan task stemmed successful portion from Vardis Fisher’s award-winning book “Children of God,” which had travel retired nan twelvemonth before. In this humanities novel, Fisher — an LDS person from Rigby who yet became an Atheist — explores religion history up to that point.

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Heber J. Grant, religion president astatine nan time, wasn’t peculiarly fond of Fisher’s book, and he invited screenwriter Louis Bromfield to Utah to springiness input connected nan script.

Despite its galore humanities inaccuracies, religion leaders were pleased pinch nan film’s affirmative curen of its group and praised it wholeheartedly. Many religion members were captious of nan film’s star, Dean Jagger, who they felt did not springiness an meticulous portrayal of Brigham Young.

Historic records are inconsistent astir its container agency performance. While it was a deed successful Utah — 7 theaters premiered it successful Salt Lake City, a record that still stands — it seems to person done moderately good successful different states.

Hollywood’s $2.7 cardinal accumulation astir Latter-day Saint pioneers quickly vanished from theaters and America’s corporate consciousness. It seems to beryllium nan only commercialized movie astir LDS religion members that was produced until “God’s Army” came connected nan segment successful 2000.

Though it isn’t a peculiarly memorable movie successful Hollywood today, it did person a profound effect connected its starring man, who ended up joining nan religion successful 1972.

“Brigham Young” movie poster from 1940, left, and character Dean Jagger, who starred successful nan starring role. | Courtesy photo

Losing religion and uncovering it again

Though Dutcher had been a Latter-day Saint for galore years erstwhile “God’s Army” came out, it was still a religion promoting acquisition for him. He’d recovered a measurement to beryllium “a man of God” and a filmmaker without sacrificing either and he “was successful heaven.”

Then successful 2007, his travel from devotion to uncertainty happened almost instantaneously. Fans were amazed erstwhile “the begetter of mormon cinema” decided to region himself from nan LDS Church.

In a infinitesimal of self-reflection 1 day, Dutcher says he asked himself, “What if (the church) simply isn’t true?”

“A sound that was truthful clear, truthful powerful — I’m judge it wasn’t audible — conscionable said, ‘Of people it isn’t true,'” Dutcher says. “Thirty seconds before, I was a complete believer and 30 seconds later, nan only point I knew was that … everything I believed wasn’t true.”

Dutcher says it was nan astir difficult acquisition of his life and he was devastated.

The determination to wantonness his religion came pinch awesome cost, some personally and professionally. He says it was a contributing facet successful his divorcement from his woman respective years later, and he felt mislaid for a agelong time.

“I spent a bully 10 aliases 12 years successful a cynical (mindset),” he says. “I mislaid religion successful my ain expertise to discern what was existent and what wasn’t.”

His pivot constituent happened successful 2015 erstwhile he met different erstwhile Latter-day Saint astatine Carl’s Jr. successful downtown Salt Lake. He was a large man who looked for illustration a hell’s angel, Dutcher says, but was really a pastor of a non-denominational congregation successful Murray.

The 2 deed it disconnected and Dutcher started attending church.

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Today, Dutcher says he’s regained his religion successful Christ. He often attends galore churches but isn’t a personnel of immoderate religion. The religion successful Murray, Utah is nan only 1 he attends regularly.

“I americium truthful overmuch person to Christ now,” Dutcher says. “Jesus is overmuch much existent to maine and belief is overmuch little important to me. I’m devoted to Jesus … and that’s thing I ne'er want to fto go.”

He’s spent nan past fewer years penning scripts for different filmmakers, but he has a renewed passion for faith-based filmmaking and is excited to spot what happens pinch “Jesus is Enough.”

“It’s precisely nan benignant of movie I want to walk nan remainder of my life making,” Dutcher says. “I don’t cognize erstwhile it’s going to travel retired because I haven’t succeeded successful financing it yet. If anybody … wants to thief me, find maine (on social media).”

WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH DUTCHER IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.