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Sneak Preview:
The Other Side of Heaven
by
Kieth Merrill
Scene
from The Other Side of Heaven
The Other
Side of Heaven
may be as close to movie heaven as we have ever been. This
lyrical, endearing film from producers Gerald Molen and John Garbett,
written and directed by Mitch Davis, is wonderful!
Being a moviemaker
myself, I have developed a certain respectful disdain for movie
critics. Critics profess to be objective. I openly confess this
subjective gushing over The Other Side of Heaven is straight
from the heart.
Having thus
disqualified myself from any esoteric expectations, I can be honest,
open, and simplistic in my praise for The Other Side of Heaven.
I loved this film. It touched me. It entertained me. It took me
on a journey to a place I have never been. It enlightened me, and
inspired me. It touched my heart and made me cry. What else could
you want from a movie?
The simplicity
of this film, the lush beauty of the island locations, the sumptuous
cinematography, the superb casting, the extraordinary performances,
and most of all the feel good journey that leaves you better than
when you walked into the theater, overpowers the inevitable pretentious
nitpicking of self-absorbed critics more intent on impressing us
with their syllabically slashing stilettos than responding to their
own honest emotions.
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Mitch
Davis, Director
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The director,
Mitch Davis, is a friend of mine. The producer, Jerry Molen is a
legend. I had the good fortune of meeting the other producer, John
Garbett, the day I saw the movie.
I was invited
to a rough cut in LA a month ago but couldn't be there. When a passing
breeze whispered that the film was being shown to "family and friends"
at a very private screening at the Tower Theater in the avenues
of Salt Lake City, I called the RSVP number and talked my way into
a couple of tickets.
I was sure neither
Mitch nor Jerry would mind and John's wife was the kindly voice
at the other end of the RSVP line.
As it turned
out, they were all most gracious about my desire to see their film.
Moreover, when I walked out of the theater I trashed the article
I had written for Meridian magazine -- due that day -- and begged
for permission to share my feelings for their film with the faithful
followers of movies at Meridian Magazine.
They were kind
to agree. They have allowed us all this "sneak preview" even though
the release of the film and attendant publicity will be carefully
choreographed -- as befitting this very special film -- when it
rolls out late this summer or early fall.
Where
are the Movies?
In recent months
you have been kind enough to read, and even respond to my musings
about the future of films that "tell the Mormon story." We
have pondered the question together, "Where are the great Mormon
movies?"
Curiously, the
best film -- and in some ways the first -- to qualify as a "great
Mormon movie" is not a Mormon movie at all. It is a full-blown Hollywood
feature film that will easily play to the world, "in every movie
center" as Spencer Kimball foresaw. You got it. The Other
Side of Heaven.
Over 600 people
were involved in the making of the film. Four of them are members
of the Church. The Other Side of Heaven tells
the true story of Elder John Groberg's missionary adventures in
Tonga in the 1950's. The screenplay was adapted from Groberg's fascinating
book, In the Eye of the Storm. Most of the movie was filmed
on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. The opening and
ending of the film were shot in and around Auckland, New Zealand.
The locations down under doubled nicely for Utah and Idaho.
If you trust
me at all, do two things:
First, do not
mistake The Other Side of Heaven as having anything at
all to do with the recent buzz about "Mormon cinema."
Second (and
this is the most important), GO SEE IT! Take your family,
take your friends, tell your relatives, and send an e-mail to everyone
you know. Do not miss The Other Side of Heaven when it
opens in a first run theater near you.
We fuss and
talk and worry and stew about the quality of movies. We wonder if
there is anything we can do. The age-old adage of the movie business
is simple enough: Hollywood responds to what the audience likes.
What the audience likes is measured by the number of people who
buy tickets.
Let me put it
this way. If you miss The Other Side of Heaven you
will have missed a delightful, enlightening, uplifting and inspirational
experience.
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Actor
playing role of
Elder John Groberg
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But I won't
let you off that easy. If you miss The Other Side of Heaven,
and if you miss the opportunity to take your family, friends and
everyone you know, you forfeit forever the right to complain about
the movies. I'll keep track of you.
In the days
of anticipation before a film opens, film makers worry about expectations.
When I have a film on the way I consciously endeavor to manage and
minimize what people expect of the movie long before it appears
on the screen.
I have observed
that success and failure are too often measured in degrees of variance
between expectation and reality rather than an open and unbiased
standard.
Lest therefore
my exuberant hyperbole defeat my very purpose by inflating your
expectation to the point of impossible satisfaction, let me tell
you about the people who made the movie and bring us both back to
earth -- having been, shall we say, to the other side of Heaven.
Meet
Mitch Davis
Jeffrey R. Holland
called me in 1985. He was at that time the president of BYU. I had
the good pleasure of knowing him on both a personal and professional
level. He told me about a recent graduate by the name of Mitch Davis
who simply stood out. It was clear that somewhere along the line
he had stamped Davis "USDA choice;" [Uncommon, Smart, Dedicated
and Adept.]
"Mitch wants
to make movies," President Holland continued. "As a personal favor
to me, would you be willing to talk with him and give him some advice?"
Looking back
I am not sure but what the "advice" Jeff Holland was hoping for
was "forget movies, keep your 'real job', raise kids, be a dad,
and forget Hollywood."
If that is what
Jeff Holland wanted I failed him completely. That was not what I
suggested to aspiring film maker Mitch Davis. We "met" on the phone.
The urgency in his voice in the first five minutes revealed the
one characteristic essential to making movies. The kid had
PASSION!
Mitch and I
became friends. It was an easy friendship for me. He was bright,
motivated, committed to the Gospel, and shared my love of films
and my passion for making movies. I even fancied myself a sort of
mentor.
In a curious
way my advice to young Mitch Davis was to take a path very different
than the one I had followed. I did not go to film school after
graduating from BYU. I bought a 16mm camera and began making films.
In time it became clear to me that the friendships formed and the
alliances made in film school -- particularly at UCLA and USC --
seemed to form the foundation for what was evolving as a new Hollywood
dynasty. Lucas, Coppola, Marshall, Scorsesi, Zemeckis and others,
connected at film school, went on to change the world of movie-making.
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"The
Governor,"
character in
The Other Side of Heaven
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It was hard
not to wonder what I may have missed by missing film school. My
advice to Mitch was once for him and twice for me. It was very specific.
"Go to USC, be great, direct the senior project, graduate top in
your class, and plunge into the Hollywood mainstream."
Tenacity
and Passion
That was 15
years ago. Mitch was 27 years old with two kids when he started
film school, 29 years old with three kids when he left. For
all you wannabe film makers out there, The Other Side
of Heaven has a very distinct message: Tenacity, persistence
and passion are absolutely essential if you really want to make
movies. If you happen to have talent it will help a little.
Mitch was hired
out of film school by Walt Disney Productions. The future looked
bright. His bold journey through the tangled forest of Hollywood
had begun.
At Disney Mitch
worked with Jeffrey Katzenberg, developing scripts, listening to
pitches, working with writers and directors. Mitch remembers,
"I had only been at Disney a few weeks when I was told I was to
take a meeting with Carol Burnett. She and some writers wanted
to pitch a movie idea to us. I felt completely unqualified to pass
judgement on any of Carol Burnett's ideas, and on my way into the
meeting I realized I was wearing shoes from my film school days,
both of which had holes in the soles. I don't remember a word
Carol Burnett said, but I do remember how hard I concentrated on
keeping both feet on the floor."
It is a curious
anecdote and looking back becomes a metaphor of Mitch Davis' determination
to be in Hollywood but not of Hollywood. He has clearly kept both
feet on the floor.
Mitch left Disney
to take a job as VP of development for a company that had an output
deal with Columbia Studios. It was there that Mitch met Producer
Gerald Molen, a most fortuitous encounter.
Molen recalls,
"I met Mitch it 1991 when I was working as one of the producers
on "Hook" on the Columbia Studios lot. Mitch had a development
job in an office building near our sound stage, and he dropped by
the set one day. He said he was LDS and had heard that I was also
a member of the Church. He invited me to lunch, and we've been
friends ever since."
It has been
interesting to retrace the adventures of Mitch Davis. We have stayed
loosely in touch over all the years. Mitch shared with me the heavy
burden of expectations piled upon him by the fiercely competitive
business. Demands and expectations forced critical choices. He took
Sundays off and went to church and carved out time for family. Others
scrambled hand over fist and over each other to climb the ladder
of gold and glory working 24 - 7. No families, no children, no commitments.
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"Miriama," character in
The Other Side of Heaven
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The thorns of
the dark woods scratched him but he refused to bleed. Briars blocked
the way but he refused to take a detour from his straight and narrow
path. In time he was worn and weary and far, far away from making
a movie of his own or making any difference.
He worked all
day and wrote all night. He finally got a break. He sold a script.
Bolstered by this little success and his incurable optimism Mitch
moved his family to Colorado and went into something he called "writer's
retreat."
Called
to be Bishop
Shortly after
moving, Mitch finally got a chance to direct his first film. It
was a low budget movie based on his own screenplay. The small independent
production company wanted his script. He wanted to direct. That's
the way deals work sometimes. But it was never Mitch's movie. He
was conveniently fired over "creative differences". Whoever took
over ruined the film.
Mitch licked
his wounds and went back to Colorado. He continued to write.
He honored his wife. He raised his kids. He served where he
could, and in the middle of it all, they called him to be a Bishop.
Mitch laughed
softly to himself as he reflected on the change the calling brought
into his life.
"Being called
as a Bishop was really a surprise. I decided that the ups and downs
of the movie business would be incompatible with my church assignment,
so I put my filmmaking dreams on hold for a few years. I felt my
family and ward deserved more stability than filmmaking could provide
at the time. I returned to electronic sales, the same kind
of job I had right out of college."
His voice reflected
the deep disappointment and sense of resignation that decision had
wrought.
"It was very
difficult at first, particularly when some of my film school buddies
started to hit it big. My kids would come back from the theater
after seeing a movie one of my friends had directed, and I confess,
it made me envious. But it was the right thing to do at the
time."
Mitch served
five years as Bishop. We more or less lost touch in those years.
Movie making had been the bond of our friendship. When he left it
all behind, he seemed to disappear. How lucky we are that in setting
it aside for five years, Mitch never let his dream of making movies
be abandoned.
As his tour
of priesthood duty ended, Mitch began to write again. He remembers,
"The minute I was released, I went back into film making full-time."
Amazing
Wife
I suspect there
are some wives reading this who are married to men frustrated by
their unfulfilled artistic passions. You may not want to read the
next part. You have permission to delete the article and turn off
the computer. When a husband and bread winner quits his real job
to pursue his dreams is wonderful to watch in a movie. It is terrifying
in the real world. But that is what Mitch Davis did. Rightfully,
he gives his remarkable wife all the credit.
"There have
been two crossroads in my film making life, both of which revolved
around my amazing wife. The first was 15 years ago when we
decided to sell everything we owned, pack up the car, and move to
L.A. to go to film school. The second was three years ago when we
decided I would quit my secure sales job and go back to film making
full-time."
Mitch's feelings
for his partner and best friend were evident in his voice. He spoke
with warm affections.
"In both cases,
the decisions we made meant enormous sacrifices of personal comfort
and security for my wife, Michelle. In both cases she said,
"Honey, I think you should go for it." How do you account
for that kind of faith and selflessness? How do you pay it
proper tribute?"
Mitch went back
to writing. He began to read and listen and search for the right
material.
The
Right Movie
"I didn't really
know what my first project would be," Mitch told me. "I wrote two
scripts before coming across Elder Groberg's book. I had two
different friends recommend it to me, but it was hard for me to
imagine finding a Hollywood movie inside the covers of a church
book. The second friend actually went into his library and
pulled his copy off the shelf and handed it to me.
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Character
in
The Other Side of Heaven
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"Just read it!"
he said rather forcefully. So I did, and he was absolutely
right. Only a few pages into the book, I knew there was a
great movie there, and I knew I had to do my part to make it happen.
That was almost three years ago."
It could be
argued that the best thing Mitch did on his return to the world
of movie making was reconnect with the two men in his turbulent
career that had offered support and encouragement.
Mitch met John
Garbett in 1988 while working at Disney. Garbett had started
his own film career at Disney, where he made 25 Disney Sunday Movies
with Michael Eisner. He served as a member of the BYU Film
School's Advisory Council, and was instrumental in setting up the
BYU intern program at Disney Studios.
John moved to
the production of theatrical films by serving as production executive
on such films as Father of the Bride, Three Men and a Little
Lady, Alive, and The Frighteners. He also served
as a consultant on The Matrix and helped develop the Dreamworks
feature, Shrek, which opens next week.
Earlier in this
article, I referred to Gerald Molen as a legend. In every movie
circle I know, he is surely that. By reputation, I have "known"
him for many years, but I actually met him for the first time the
day I saw The Other Side of Heaven. For me it was a delightful
"reunion."
Jerry Molen
is one of Hollywood's most successful producers. His credits include
Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, The Lost
World - Jurassic Park II, and Hook. He has been executive
producer on an impressive line up of films including Twister,
Days of Thunder and The Flintstones. He is currently
producing Minority Report for Steven Spielberg.
Jerry told me,
"Making The Other Side of Heaven was my best filmmaking
experience bar none.
"We had a limited
budget, an aggressive schedule, and no weather cover. That
meant we had no wiggle room whatsoever and no money to buy our way
out of problems. Because we were on a remote island, we couldn't
just run down to the nearest hardware store when we needed something.
Every day was a test of our faith, as well as a test of our
filmmaking skills.
The other thing
about making this movie was its uplifting content. It's not
every day you get to make a movie about a man like John Groberg.
It's not every day you get to immortalize experiences like
those he had during his mission."
I asked Jerry
how this filmmaking experience compared to the other films in his
remarkable career.
"Prior to the
making of this movie, my most satisfying filmmaking experience was
working as one of the producers on Schindler's List. I
am very sensitive to the fact that the film ended up receiving an
R rating. It contained some very difficult content. But in
a very real way, that movie changed the world. One of the problems
with the current rating system is that it simply does not provide
a category for those special few films that deal directly with the
truth. As we all know, sometimes the truth is difficult to look
at."
Jerry shared
a very interesting anecdote he is fond of relating. It happened
in Austria following the completion of Schindler's List.
Steven Spielberg, Branko Lustig, a fellow producer, and I traveled
to Vienna for one of the film's premieres. Following the screening
we were asked to stand in a receiving line to meet some of the dignitaries
that had been in attendance. One particular woman stepped up to
me and in broken English asked me what I had done on the film. I
told her I was one of the producers. As I was shaking her hand she
said matter-of-factly, "but you are not Jewish."
I said in response,
"No Ma'am, I am not."
She said, "Then
what are you?"
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Character in
The Other Side of Heaven
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I responded
with "Well, Ma'am, I am what is commonly referred to as a Mormon.
A member of ..." and before I could complete my sentence Mr. Spielberg
reached over, took the woman by the hand and ushered her to his
position whereupon he took over answering her questions. (Thankfully)
After we had
finished greeting all those participating in the line we proceeded
to the pick up point for our ride to the hotel. While we stood waiting
in the cold night air for the cars, Steven leaned over to me and
asked if I had been put off by the woman's questioning. I assured
him that I had not been and then he asked me a very interesting
question. He said he had overheard the woman had said and then he
asked, "Jerry, what is a Mormon?"
I replied, "Steven,
they are the best friends the Jews ever had." At that point we boarded
our transportation and returned to the hotel. The little incident
came home to me a year or so later when I received a card that began,
"Jerry, my dear Mormon friend." I will always treasure it.
Following the
making of Schindler's List, I made myself a promise
that someday I would take whatever film making clout I had and use
it to help tell the story of Mormonism in the same way Schindler's
List tells part of the story of Judaism.
I think we have
done that with The Other Side of Heaven. The next time
anyone asks me about my faith, I can say there's a little movie
I'd like them to see."
There are two
reasons I wanted to write this article.
First, I want
everyone to see the movie. I want people to get a glimpse of the
fine men with enormous talent - who happen to be members of the
church - who gave so much to make the film a reality.
But I also wanted
to offer some answers to a question I am so often asked by aspiring
young filmmakers.
How do you get
from here to there?
There is no
one answer. The answers are not easy. Mitch Davis was accepted by
and attended one of the very best film school in the world. He graduated
with honors. He worked for Disney. He developed films for Columbia.
He wrote a pile of scripts. He is bright, articulate and dedicated.
It took him
15 years to get "his movie" made. And in the end, he was blessed
by the help of others who have likewise spent a lifetime developing
their talent and credibility.
Jerry Molen
said of Mitch Davis, " My hat is really off to Mitch for the dogged
determination he showed in seeing this film to completion. The
first thing you look for in a director is passion, and Mitch's passion
is on the screen in every moment of this film."
To those who
aspire to be among the "inspired hearts and talented fingers" to
whom I have so often referred, Mitch Davis, a true warrior from
the trenches who has survived the battle, offers this advice.
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"The
Preacher,"
character in
The Other Side of Heaven
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"First, get
trained. If at all possible, get some Hollywood-based, real
world training. Because, like it or not, Hollywood sets the
standard for the language of popular culture spoken around the world.
We don't have to have the same message as everyone else, but
we have to speak the same language if we want the world to hear
us.
"Second, get
connected. For good or ill, Hollywood is the place you make
friends with people who have the power to make movies.
"Third, be patient.
My film making path was much less direct than I would have
wanted it to be. But the Lord guided that path, sometimes
even designed it.
"Fourth, be
strong. Hollywood has a way of beating the courage out of
you to say what you really think and be who you really are. What
a tragedy it would be -- and it happens in Hollywood every day --
if you gained a voice, only to forget what you wanted to say."
When I asked
Jerry Molen for his sage advice he agreed to share with me - and
you - the three magic keys to success in making movies. Write these
down.
Number one,
preparation.
Number two,
preparation
Number three
preparation.
Mitch summed
it up like this, "Finally, there will come a time when you have
to strike out on your own. I think it was Caesar who said,
"I came, I saw, I conquered." After Michelle and I left Hollywood,
we used to joke, "We came, we saw, we left." There is no shame in
that."
No shame at
all, my good friend Mitch, 'cause you came back. You stayed the
course. You and your remarkable wife. Bravo.
We can be grateful
Jerry Molen and John Garbett and Mitch Davis were prepared and stayed
the course. We are the ones who now benefit from their accumulated
talent and tenacity.
Don't take it
from me dear reader. You must see for yourself. Mitch and Jerry
and John have given us something wonderful in The Other Side
of Heaven. As much as anything I believe, they have given
us a part of themselves.
Stick a note
on your refrigerator. Paste a yellow memo on your bathroom mirror.
Tie a string around your finger. Do what ever it takes to make sure
you go to see The Other Side of Heaven and rejoice in the
joy of movies once again.
For more information
about The Other Side of Heaven go to www.othersideofheaven.com
OR eyeofthestormthemovie.com.
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© 2001 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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