“You want answers?”
“I want the truth.”
“You can’t handle the truth.”

That famous quote comes from A Few Good Men starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. It is one of the most misquoted phrases in American film, but the emotional moment continues to reside within the hearts of many viewers today.

During our two-year stint writing “Working Title,” we referenced that dramatic courtroom moment. We wanted our courtroom scene to be just as profound at the film’s climax, but to do it we had to first find and understand the truth.

The truth is something that is very relevant to filmmakers, even though they spend time making fake things appear real. It’s one of those human elements that must be looked at in depth, in order to understand it and use it to stir the emotions of the audience. In other words, to be successful, it’s impossible for a filmmaker to live in denial.

Finding the truth is more than just gathering facts. It’s also about understanding the perceptions of those involved, which complicates the search for answers. Great writers, directors and producers have to deal with the differences between their team’s reality and perception, while translating it into an emotional tool that will stimulate the audience.

The problem is that not everyone in the film industry can handle the truth. They lack the emotional maturity to say that part of their last film was bad. Instead they over state how great the film was, which is not reflective of the truth.

We’ve seen this in the recent surge of the Christian film genre where a lot of bad films are released. The cast, crew and fans state how great the film is, but rarely watches it a second time. The comment about the film being great is actually a comment about their approval of the message, which supersedes their ability to justly state the film was made poorly.

Unfortunately, this pattern of untruth stops the Christian Genre filmmaker from improving or pushing the cutting edge of the industry. He becomes great at making mediocre films. This results in a shrinking audience, less production funds for future films and the eventual loss of attention for the genre.

Great leadership requires more than just the gathering of facts in order to know and understand the truth. It requires the development of a production team that are diverse and gifted people who have learned how to manage working with each other’s perception of the truth with emotional maturity. This will break open any communication barriers and free each artist to excel in his or her craft. Anything shy of this forces the filmmaker to pigeonhole his story to an audience who is willing to live in the same dysfunctional world of denial that he lives in.

As for our film, we have worked hard to look the truth straight on and have rewritten the script 22 times to make sure we weren’t buying into our own press or drinking our own Kool-Aid. In fact, we even had people that were opposed to our film read it and offer suggestions on how to improve it.

The result is a story that is admired by multiple people groups, regardless of their economics, politics, or belief system.

While our story is controversial, it has been well respected between both sides of the issues in the story. The story treats each camp’s ideas with respect based on their own leaders’ recommendations and will give the audience a solid understanding of every major component of the issue raised. I’m counting on the audience being able to make their own educated decision based on the real truth that the story reveals.

As for our climatic courtroom scene, it will not disappoint. We have gone to great lengths to make sure that two of the key plotlines resolve within that inspiring moment. And yes, for those who know my stories, we have added in quite a twist in that very moment when we reveal a surprising truth that’s sure to cause some mouths to drop open in the theater.

Copyright © 2013 by CJ Powers

This blog is another behind the scenes update on our “Working Title” motion picture. A lot of things have happened since my last entry, but the most significant is the creation of a new company based in Orlando, Florida. Why Orlando you ask?

A year ago, I was frustrated with the story because it had great family value, but little cinematic value. Those of you who know me well understand that I need the film to be cinematic and entertaining. I can’t stand making films that bore me. So, I called an emergency face-to-face meeting with my co-producer and co-writer.

We decided that the Disney Village would be a great place to meet, so we all took our choice forms of transportation and connected for a long weekend at the Best Western in room 314. That weekend we used 3X5 cards to board the key elements on the wall in order to find holes in the story, pacing problems, and further develop the cinematic values. And yes, we moved the furniture and cancelled the maid service.

In the weeks following, we continually referenced BW314 and decided to name the company after the location. And, since Universal Studios in Orlando was interested in discounting their soundstages for us, we thought about locating the company there. After much deliberation, we actually named the company after the film title, but we did locate our offices in Orlando.

Oh, don’t worry about this Chicago boy traveling to Orlando – I can handle it. In fact, during our long weekend of hammering out the script issues, I lived through my first hurricane. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I never knew that palm trees could bend so far over without snapping. Nor did I realize how much rain could fall in a matter of minutes, blocking my view of anything three feet away.

The funniest part was watching my producer. He’s a well-built, middle-aged Italian with a heavy five o’clock shadow and jet black ponytail. While I was staring out the window wondering if anything was going to fly through the air and smash into the room, he was all giddy and goofing around with the writer. They were both excited about the twist in the plot we had structured just prior to me running to the windows to watch the hurricane.

So, as of today the company is operational and the first investment will be deposited into the business checking account on Tuesday. I’ll be telling you more about the company and its name in the coming weeks, but we have to keep quiet about certain things for a bit longer.

You see, when we first developed the intellectual property, we wanted to create a great story that fit just about any genre. We researched box office averages and selected the genre that would be seen by the most people, based on box office gross. I’ve listed the average gross for independent films by genre below:

Christian               $ 3MM
Romantic Drama $ 5MM
Drama                   $10MM
Horror                  $12MM
Controversial       $16MM

Based on the research, we wrote our story for the Controversial genre. It will give us the greatest opportunity to reach more people than most independent films, while giving our investors a great return on their money. The only difficulty we face with this selection is being careful about how much of the controversy gets out before the film.

But again, I’ve promised my readers little nuggets along the way. So here you go…

Due to the script’s controversial elements, we had the first draft read by a non-denominational para church organization. We also had it read by an atheist who openly opposes denominations. Neither wanted to see the film made, as it was “too real” and in their words would “force the audience to consider where they stand” on an ancient issue that’s been unsuccessfully argued for over 2,000 years.

Our team refuses to back off of the controversial genre because we are convinced that when people actually consider the truth, they will embrace it. We want to see our audience take a stand in their own lives and in their communities for what is tried and true.

© 2013 by CJ Powers

This is the first in a series of behind the scenes blogs for a new film that will be released in 2014. The film requires a great deal of secrecy due to some of its controversial content, so I will be limited in what I share between now and the film’s release date.

However, I’ve decided to share the entire process from start to finish with my readers. I had always wished someone had done the same for me in my early filmmaking years, so I’m going to do it for you.

This means you will read about my successes and failures as they happen. You will know when I hit a brick wall or fall flat on my face, and when I’m celebrating because something special or fascinating happened. That’s right. You’ll be right there behind the scenes with me.

You’ll see into the development process with investors, pre-production meetings with department heads, production work on set and location, post-production magic and special effects, music composition, distribution, international releases, and the film’s premiere.

I’m guessing this new blog series will be entertaining for fans who like to hear things in advance of a film’s release. It’ll also be educational for filmmakers who want to live vicariously through my production to glean new processes for their own films.

Hmm, maybe this should be called a reality blog.

Just like reality TV shows you’ll learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ll even add pictures when I can, and video clips too. Everything and anything that might help you experience this picture in the making right along with me.

I don’t recall any filmmaker who chose to be this transparent with his fans, but I’m going to do it. What do you say we get started…

The story is the most important part of filmmaking, although I never believed it when I first started in the business. My first few jobs with the networks led me to believe that technical excellence was more important than anything else. I’ve since watched hundreds of technically perfect, boring films that lacked good story.

As a result, our story will be entertaining and eye opening.

The three of us who got together in the mid 90s to write the original story found our script ahead of its time. There was no one in Hollywood that was willing to take the risk, so we put it on the shelf. However, there were some significant changes that happened in society a few years ago that forced our story to surface as being extremely relevant.

All three of us simultaneously started looking for each other. None of us knew that the other had started the search at the same time, but we soon learned that we had. The core of the relevant story stayed intact, but we had to rework the style and pacing of the story to fit the industry’s artistic changes.

When the three of us reconnected, the first thing we did was attempt to voice the sense of awe that we felt. The story was more relevant than we had ever been able to imagine and we instantly knew that the film was going to open the eyes of millions. It was as if we had traveled ahead in time to learn what our future audience would need.

I can’t wait to tell you more about this amazing story and take you behind the scenes with every step we take to make this film. Please give your friends a heads up about our project, as I’m sure they’ll want to hear about it as well. And trust me when I say you’re not going to believe some of the amazing things that I’ll be sharing – I’m still trying to grasp it.

But it’ll be a great adventure and I hope you join me for each entry.

© 2013 by CJ Powers