CMP:  What kind of impact would you like to see from the C2 studies?

Ryan:  We’re not real thrilled with how Christian film has turned out over the past few years. It blows me away that people go see some of this stuff, and they think it’s great. Christians especially have this habit of thinking if the message is good they can overlook the fact the movie looks terrible, the acting is horrible and the script is awful.

We hope that people would develop a better appreciation for art and film specifically.

Michael:  And then go make good art.

Ryan:  At least be able to learn to recognize it.

Michael:  Historically, everybody looked to the Church for great art. Now it’s swapped. It’s actually pretty sad. We, as believers, should be on the cutting edge of making the best art ever, but we’ve wanted to follow instead of lead. We’d love to see that change.

CMP:  What is your working relationship like, the dynamic as father and son?

Michael:  I’m the cheerleader. C2 went pretty smoothly because we got a partner in Randall House. But now we are trying to start on the first feature film, and my role is to use my influence and contacts to get people interested, introduce them to Ryan and invest in the film—get everybody’s enthusiasm up.

Ryan’s been out to Ed Harris’ film company, which has been a good contact. I became friends with “Buster” from Arrested Development—what’s his name?

Ryan:  Tony Hale.

Michael:  Yeah, Tony Hale. He’s a believer. Initially, I try to set things up and then one thing leads to another and this person knows that person. You have to massage this stuff awhile and get somebody on your side when you’re raising millions of dollars. In this case, what is it?

Ryan:  1.4 million.

Michael:  Sometimes it takes e-mailing two, three or four times. Just like the record business, you just have to get out and hit the streets. You have to really, really want it.

The tough thing is it’s your first film. Ryan is going to direct. Who’s going to invest? Who is going to give 1.4 [million] to a director who’s never directed a film before?  But hey, Spielberg directed his first film. And so did [George] Lucas.

And with C2, we’ll see how they do.

For more information on C2: Giving Movies a Second Look, visit c2dvd.com. Check out seabournepictures.com for more about Ryan’s work, and to learn more about Michael W. Smith, visit his official website at michaelwsmith.com.




^©2008 ChristianMusicPlanet.com.  All rights reserved.  Used with permission.

*This interview first published on August 22, 2008.