Six Degrees of Separation
Remember the game about Kevin Bacon? Conceived by 3 students of Albright College and turned into a computer model by Brett Tjaden, called the Oracle of Bacon, it theorizes about the connectedness of people. On average, people working in Hollywood have a 2.9 Bacon number. In other words, take almost any 3 people in Hollywood, and you can connect them to Kevin Bacon.
That interests me not only because I’m a fan of Kevin Bacon’s work, but also because I’m kind of a fan of numbers and statistics. Earlier this morning, I was talking with Tim Chey, who wrote, directed and produced The Genius Club. Stephen Baldwin came up because he stars in Tim’s movie. He also stars in Six: The Mark Unleashed, a ChristianCinema.com film. Stephen also stars in Midnight Clear, directed by Dallas Jenkins. Tim told me that Stephen met Dallas when Stephen got a flat tire near a church in Torrance, CA, and went into the church for help. When the person in the church recognized him, they said, “Hey, you need to meet Dallas Jenkins. This is his church, and he’s a filmmaker.” Next thing you know, they’re making a film together.
Thinking about that made me think about the Bacon Number and how connections might be even closer and tighter in Christian filmmaking. It’s a small industry, and people know each other. So - I began to think of various numbers for myself. I’ve interviewed Dallas Jenkins, so that’s a 1. I’ve not met or interviewed Stephen Baldwin, but through Dallas, my Stephen Baldwin number is a 2. It’s also a 2 because I work with Kevin Downes, who also starred in Six. I was an extra and helped with craft services on Mercy Streets, which starred Eric Roberts. I served him cookies one day, so my Eric Roberts number is a 1.
OK - so here’s my Bacon number (and my Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, and William Baldwin number). Eric Roberts is Julia Roberts’ brother, so that makes my Julia Roberts’ number a 2. She starred with Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, and William Baldwin in the movie “Flatliners,” so my number with all of them is 3. See how it works?
Now you try it. What Christian filmmaker do you connect with? And, if you connect with a Christian filmmaker, chances are they’ve been on a set with someone from Hollywood, who inevitably connects back to Kevin Bacon.
