Christians in Cinema

Producer/Writer/Director - Karla Faye Tucker: Forevermore

Born in El Centro, California, Helen Gibson describes herself as a “border brat”. A typical day for Helen starts around 5:00 AM with Bible reading and meditation with the Lord. She cherishes that personal time as her days are very full and busy.

I had to focus on what was truthful, not what would sell

She currently works at AZTV, a locally owned/operated station in Phoenix that reaches more than 4 million homes in Arizona. Her job? Selling commercial time and building 30-minute shows, of which she has 14 right now. She works with national ministries and local pastors to place airtime on Sundays.

Her marriage to an Air Force fighter pilot (F16s) both earned her the nickname “Wheels” and gave her the background to develop a TV sitcom she’s currently pitching to networks. Based on the lives of military wives, “Pilot Point” is a secular show with some characters that see the God element in life. Helen currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a single parent of 3 children: Greg, 18 and in college; Tahnee, 17 and a junior in high school; and Grant, 14 years old.

Helen, you told me you have 5 screenplays in the works in addition to your TV pilot. Where on earth do you find time to work on all these projects in addition to your “day job”?

Helen: I try to leave work at 5:00 PM and then go to the gym with my kids. After that, I come home and write. It’s my first calling. In 1994, the Lord put it on my heart to write stories that glorify Him in the real world. That’s challenging, because a lot of “Christian” filmmaking these days borders on propaganda and denominationalism. People make films that portray who we HOPE we think we are, but the world is smarter.

Christians go to R-rated movies, Christians cuss. We’re all humanity in process. Our tendency is to want to have art as a representation of life: “This is how you SHOULD live your life.” But it’s not the truth. The world knows it and the church knows it. I feel called to tell the truth.

You’ve said you feel like you’re in a “dangerous place” between the world and the church. Can you expound on that for us?

Helen: I believe the most important thing is to tell the truth. God has called me to do that. Making movies about Jesus can wreck a Hollywood career and making them real “edgy” can offend some in the church. So it’s like being suspended between two worlds, and that can be dangerous for any artist finding their audience and support.

Whatever is in your heart is going to be in your art, so my values permeate my work, whether it’s specifically a Christian project or not. I wrote several screenplays portraying Christians struggling with humanity, and I want to see that on film. That is something audiences will go to because they can relate to the universal truths of those struggles.

The world often doesn’t jump in and go to films made for Christians because they don’t understand Christian language, or what I call cultural Christianity. I think most people believe in Jesus and God, but don’t speak a church language. They do, however, want to see themselves on the screen.

If the project is a watered-down version of reality people can’t connect with that. And that’s the primary goal for a filmmaker – to have people connect with your project. In Forevermore, I think the secular community related to the love story between Dana and Karla Faye. Their relationship happened against all odds, and that rang true with people. It was a great love story, but like “Titanic”, things didn’t work out perfectly in the end.

God is the greatest storyteller of all time.

You’ve obviously put a lot of time and thought into your craft. What are the key elements you focus on?

Helen: The story. It’s KING! The best example of this is in the Bible. God is the greatest storyteller of all time. The classic design for Hollywood film elements are all in the Bible. There’s a beginning (Adam, Eve, the Garden of Eden) and an end that reflects the beginning, but on a bigger scale (a multitude in Paradise Garden with God). There’s a protagonist (Jesus and man) and an antagonist (Satan).

There is a mid-point resolution that determines the outcome of the rest of the story. God’s mid-point is the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus’ decision to go to the cross. Any Hollywood film follows that pattern, with the last portion of the film following the consequences of that choice.

I think next is the casting. Do you have access to actors, and can you upgrade? I think we need to stop limiting ourselves to only Christian actors. What if someone you want to cast in a film isn’t a Christian now, but might become one down the road?

Look at the Nativity Story. It was a beautifully filmed story, and the lead actress did a wonderful job. Yet when people found out that she was pregnant and unwed, they immediately turned their backs on her. I believe God calls us to love her in spite of her circumstances and choices. Can we do that? Can we look at the beauty of a film that portrays a dynamic story of our Lord and Savior and enjoy it? Can we support that?

If we want to see more films based on Biblical truths, or having Christian characters portrayed in a positive light, we have to support them.

Hollywood isn’t against Christians; they just need to do good business. If a movie has too much Jesus, Hollywood thinks it won’t sell. If it’s too “secular”, Christians won’t promote it. No one can interpret the things of God like His people, so we need to get the right tools and learn to make movies as well or better than Hollywood.

We should be IN the studios and IN Hollywood. Early on, people told me to get out of Hollywood because it’s going to hell. I say “Great!” I want to be where the action is rather than where it’s safe. Jesus commissioned us to be in the market place and not to shy away from it.

How does the Christian community compare in other aspects of filmmaking?

Helen: One overall generalization is that most Christian films are of poor quality and are “sappy”. I have to agree with that because so many Christian films have to end at salvation. Someone has to make a decision for Christ, and often that gets in the way of the story.

The first rule for storytelling is to have a “bookend” design, and when the film ends with a conversion when it didn’t start that way, it is unsettling.

A lot of Christian filmmakers also don’t have much training, so the quality isn’t there. The Apostle Paul spoke of being trained in his second letter to Timothy. That’s a truth that extends beyond the spiritual to apply to our work. Our filmmakers need to be better trained in storytelling as well as the technical aspects of making a good movie.

And we also need to know the business side of the process. Throughout all this we need the church to support us through this growth time. It needs to be patient with us through the process to love and encourage the artist.

We all make mistakes, but we’re trying to be better. It’s our responsibility to educate the church more about the art of filmmaking and to do our best to make great quality films. We need to create good pieces of work and do what we’re created to do: tell stories and tell them well.

We need to be real and truthful and make projects that contain truths that may make the audience uncomfortable. The truths of Christianity are universal, and audiences should be able to relate to them. It’s a tough row to hoe.

We [Christian filmmakers] should be IN the studios and IN Hollywood.

How about you personally? Are you well-connected with a church locally?

Helen: Yes, Church for the Nations, but that has been a hard thing for me. Three months before I started making Forevermore, my husband told me he wanted a divorce. Going through that whole process made me feel unqualified for the things of God.

I felt I wouldn’t be accepted in the community and that I didn’t fit in at church. I felt like I didn’t fit into Hollywood either because I wanted to make films glorifying Jesus.

I didn’t know how to protect my children from this. I didn’t want to disappoint Dana Brown (Karla Faye’s husband). I felt like throwing away everything that had to do with Christian filmmaking. I told God “I’m disqualified; find someone else.”

The Lord told me not to call unclean what He had called clean. He reminded me that I didn’t call myself, but that He did. I do have community with Christians who love me and care about me. It’s been a painful lesson that God can use broken vessels. I don’t know how people do this without having a word from the Lord. I can’t do anything without knowing He is behind it. Otherwise, it’s a waste.

God called me to do Forevermore. How could I tell Him no? Any gifts I have came from Him. He ordered my steps. The Holy Spirit spoke to me in quiet time and meditation, and asked if I want to be part of this work He’s doing?

I felt like the boy with the loaves and fish, or the woman with an issue of blood. It all happened in His power and provision. When my effort is combined with His power, great things happen; miraculous things happen, and that’s true for any of us.

We filmed for 14 days, and it was heaven on earth. No one can take that from us, and I hang onto it. I know I’m where God wants me to be, and I’m going to stay true to that. I don’t need to be famous or have awards. I’m part of the film industry, but all I do I do unto the Lord. That way I can’t go wrong.

It is possible to make films that resonate with both the church and the world, and it was great to see that happen with this film. We won the Silver Remi award at WorldFest-Houston in 2004 for Forevermore.

What about going to Hollywood? Do you see yourself moving there at some point?

I want to be where the action is rather than where it’s safe.

Helen: That’s a definite possibility, especially if “Pilot Point” gets picked up (her sitcom based on military wives). I have a home in LA, and I go out there every once in a while. There are lots of good people living and working out there.

I think when my kids get out of high school I’ll probably move out there. There are many people praying for Christians to break through in Hollywood. God has called me there.

I’ll probably fit in pretty well, because I’ve been a secular classic rock DJ who loved the Lord. I was a real rock-jock, wearing leather and lace and all that!

Any final thoughts on Karla Faye Tucker: Forevermore that you want to share with us?

Helen: I want to point out that it’s not just another Christian film, but that a woman died for this film and it’s her legacy.

People may think it’s over the top spiritually, but that is really what Karla Faye was feeling and experiencing in the last 2 years of her life. The original screenplay was edgier and probably would have gotten an R rating, which might have sold better.

But the bottom line was that I had to focus on what was truthful, not what would sell, and the last two years of her life were about her relationship with Jesus.

Helen, we look forward to seeing more from you. Whether it’s more films (“Romans Road” is now in pre-production), television (“Pilot Point”) or any other media, I’m sure you’ll make an impact for the Kingdom.