Christians in Cinema

Producer - Believers Among Us

Brad Wilson (producer of the “Believers Among Us” series), like the rest of our Featured Filmmakers, is a multi-talented individual who has had a unique career path. From the heart of Texas to the Big Apple of New York, and now living in Los Angeles, he’s moved in and out of radio, feature film production with major studios, and independent movie production. He is a charter member of the National Radio Hall of Fame of Texas.

My hope is that the way I’ve lived has made a difference, and people see something different in me that attracts them to God.

Angela: How did you come up with the idea for “Believers Among Us?”

Brad: My family has been Christians for a long time. My grandmother used to say the end of the world is coming and we all need to be ready. I think people are looking for good family entertainment; something they can sit down and watch with their mother. People loved “Touched By An Angel”, and since that time, there really hasn’t been anything for Christian families. The ideas came from my time in Los Angeles - through everything I was working on, all the people I met, there were always “Believers Among Us”. There were always Christians who were working and living amid the world.

Angela: Did you do all the writing and development yourself?

Brad: No - we developed the idea, and were working with different writers to flesh out the ideas. So we put them to the task to develop the storylines into scripts. It’s exciting at all different stages of a project, and I find myself energized by the whole process. You go from an idea that needs to be developed, to reading a script someone has created from your idea. Then there’s the challenge of casting - getting the right actors for the right parts.

Angela: These are obviously Christian videos; did you try to have all Christian actors?

Brad: No. When we cast the roles, we made our decisions based on who we believed were the best actors. It was a huge blessing to find out later that they were Christians, and that they had been praying for the day they could act in a Christian production. That’s exciting! To see the hand of God at work like that. There’s tremendous joy in seeing the end of the production. Once it is complete and out on video, it’s amazing how it spreads. Our videos have been aired on major networks, and have reached as far as South Africa and Egypt. That makes it all worth it - to know people sitting in tents in Africa are seeing the message of the gospel and that their lives are being changed.

Angela: Have you always worked on Christian productions?

Brad: No. I actually got my start about 20 years ago working with Robert Duvall. I was living in Dallas, and had been a radio DJ since I was 14 years old. My dad is a well-known Southern Gospel radio DJ, and I was following in his footsteps. Robert Duvall was making “Tender Mercies” in our area, and I knew a lot of the people he was working with and we just connected. He came out several times and our friendship developed to the point that we talked about going to work together some day.In 1985 I moved to New York to run his production company. It was such a great opportunity, and I figured if the bottom fell out, I could always move back to Texas and get a DJ job.

Angela: So did the bottom fall out? Brad: No - it was a good success. We started the company and for 8 years did production as “hired hands” for other people. After a while, though, we realized we really wanted to produce and direct ourselves, not just work for others. So we moved to Los Angeles and began developing and producing our own projects. I was with Duvall for 11 years. One of the projects I developed with him was “The Apostle“, which lead to an Academy Award nomination for Duvall.

In 1995, I became Vice President of Production of “Greystone Films”, a new film division for a company that had great success in television production. One of the films we developed lead to a weekly TV show on TNN, and I served as Executive Producer. After I’d been in LA for a while, I was offered a job starting the film division that did a lot of work for A&E network. I worked with them for 4 years, then met a guy with a company called “Hemisphere Entertainment.” He had started it 16 years ago and was making indie films. We did a couple together that turned out really great, so he asked me to come and partner with him in his company. We wanted to make indie films that were focused on family drama.

Radio and television are the tools that can reach everyone in the world with the message of Jesus.

Angela: That seems like a big change; working with Robert Duvall and major studios and then partnering in a small company making independent films.

Brad: Yeah - I used to enjoy sitting with the heads of studios and thinking “one day they’re going to find me out.” See, really, I’m just an uneducated hillbilly from Texas. It was a miracle that I wound up running Robert Duvall’s production company. But when I look back at the path my life has taken, I see that God was preparing me to learn the film business so that I could do “Believers”. I really do thank God for my experience. I’ve gotten to meet and work with some great people. I worked on “Days of Thunder” with Tom Cruise - he’s a good guy; very positive, and he has done some good things. My hope is that people see God through me - that the way I’ve lived around them has made a difference, and that they see something different in me that attracts them to God. I’ve always tried to go above and beyond in my work.

Angela: And have you realized some of that hope? Do you believe people do notice a difference?

Brad: I think so. I’ve worked on all different kinds of films, and have worked very closely with the crews. I’ve tried to keep a positive upbeat attitude, tried to always be in a good mood. I found that people gave me more - they were willing to go above and beyond for me. I wasn’t being nice to manipulate them into more work; that was just a result of my kindness to them.

Angela: Why are you doing all this, Brad? You could have stayed with Robert Duvall or A&E or gone to work for some other really big studios and had a very secure life. Why break out in this way?

Brad: I do believe what my grandmother said. The end of the world is coming, and people have to get the message. When I look at what is available, I see that radio and television are the tools that can reach everyone in the world with the message of Jesus. Even in the middle of Africa in nomadic tents people are watching television. It’s the last piece of the puzzle of spreading God’s Word - how else could people be reached? I know that God is using “Believers” to reach people, just like He is using so many other Christian films. It’s exciting to think that when we get to Heaven, lots of people we don’t know will come up to us and thank us for our influence.