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From
Missionaries to Murder: Richard Dutcher shoots Brigham City
by
Jonathan S. Walker
The
movement for Mormon cinema marches on as Richard Dutcher shoots
his next film, Brigham City, in Mapleton, Utah.
Richard
Dutcher, Director
One October
day this fall, Mapleton Park appears to be hosting a ward picnic.
People enjoy activities in several corners, kids play in droves,
adults sit at circular tables casually eating and talking. You can
hardly tell that a movie is being shot. That is, not until you notice
the boom crane and camera positioned at the Northwest corner of
the park. Grips mull around taking instruction on the camera move;
set decorators struggle to get a banner hung over the road; the
accouterments of film making sit on dollies; a police officer directs
traffic away from the area.
Richard Dutcher,
decked out in a brown sheriff's outfit and sporting a push-broom
mustache, stands casually talking to journalists as though he's
known them for years. He's composed and calm. You'd never guess
this was the director deep in the middle of a four week shoot.
But that seems
to be his way. Matthew Brown and Jacque Gray, actors that appeared
in God's Army—and return for Dutcher's second Mormon
story, Brigham City—admit that they were never aware
that production of God's Army was touch-and-go. Sure, it
was low-budget, but they didn't know that funding almost fell through
and that distribution was only an untried theory. Dutcher doesn't
burden his actors with the stress of production.
God's Army
cost a minuscule $300,000 to make and market and the crucial last
installment of funding hadn't been secured when production began.
The gamble paid off for Dutcher. God's Army has grossed
over $2.6 million at the box office and its video sales are bound
to exceed those numbers. Bringing in eight times the production
budget is considered a phenomenal success by any standards—especially
Hollywood's.
Army's
success didn't just crack open the door to new opportunities for
Dutcher, it threw them open with abandon. Dutcher struggled for
four years to secure funding for his first endeavor, but landed
the significantly higher funds for Brigham City in a mere
four weeks.
No one's feeling
plush with money, though. Dutcher comments that one of the challenges
that comes with success is the need to work with unions and acting
guilds. Talent and crews are taking a bigger percentage of the production
budget. Anthony Straga, a set decorator, refers to the props for
the picnic and comments on how fast the money he was allocated for
this scene disappeared. One of the grips chimes in that there is
a constant pinch for money.
Many have commented
on the gamble Dutcher took in portraying missionary life in his
first film. Some might have thought that the line between proselytizing
and criticizing was impossibly narrow. Dutcher, in his quest to
entertain, gambles again with Brigham City. This Mormon
murder mystery hinges on the death of a woman in the small Mormon
community of Brigham. The particulars of the film are hush-hush,
but it's anticipated that many good Latter-day Saints in the small
town will fall under suspicion. Clearly, that unexpected gamble
is what makes Dutcher an entertainer, and not a Mormon apologist.
Matthew
Brown,
a.k.a Elder Allen (God's Army) and Terry (Brigham City)
Actors Speak
Matthew
Brown, Elder Allen in God's Army and now Terry in Brigham
City, sits under the canopy of the picnic area. Jacque Gray,
Sister Fronk in Army and Miss Brigham in City,
sits across from him eating a hot dog. She teases him about how
silly the wedding ring looks on him. He fumbles with it. On the
palm side, grip tape has been wrapped around it to make it fit.
When asked how
he's enjoying the shoot, he doesn't hesitate. "Lovin' it. Lovin'
it!" He looks to the mountains which are white-capped and cropped
by white clouds. But he's talking about more than just the shoot,
"The mountains, it's clean, pure." He settles on pure. Utah is definitely
pure. He hails from deep within the asphalt jungle of L.A. and just
soaks up the hometown-ish atmosphere of Mapleton. He has enjoyed
immersing himself in this different experience; the "decent into
this world," as he affectionately calls it.
The contrast
between the shooting of Brigham City and God's Army
couldn't be starker in his mind. Army conjures up tales
of hundred degree weather in Burbank, guerrilla film making, and
a psychotic crew member. But Brigham City has meant being
in the midst of the mountains of Utah, under a crisp autumn sky,
and signing autographs for children taking a break from their play.
Don't think
that God's Army was regrettable. Brown doesn't hesitate
to admit that shooting that film was the most amazing experience
of his life. Whether you call it spiritual, religious, or deeply
emotional, Brown experienced powerful feelings every day of production.
He has a difficult time explaining how meaningful it was to him.
The characters were foreign to his experience and Jewish up-bringing.
Brown and Gray
agree on Dutcher's directing style. It's marked by a single characteristic,
according to Gray, "How easy he is to work with." Brown adds "trusting"
and "comfortable" to the attributes. When pressed for elaboration,
he explains that "You do what you do" and that's all Dutcher asks
for. While he doesn't come out and say it, he seems to think that
Dutcher might even be too austere. Dutcher often shoots only "one
or two takes" of Brown. Brown would appreciate additional takes.
But, the comment doesn't come out as a criticism. After all, Dutcher
"knows what he wants."
Richard
Dutcher surveys a scene.
Impact on
Mapleton
John and
Gail Higgins, residents of Mapleton, sit with plates of food on
their laps. They enjoy the excuse to come out and "see what it takes"
to make a movie and appreciate the effort that has been made to
"make it fun for the kids." Indeed, Dutcher doesn't blink an eye
when a child asks him for his autograph or timidly asks him a question.
"My children—I can't find them," Gail Higgins comments. "They're
having so much fun." Then she fleetingly wonders whether that's
a problem.
The Higgins
feel that the town in general isn't affected by the production,
though. After all, most of the adult faces at today's shooting are
unfamiliar. They assume they are from nearby Springville, or elsewhere.
However, the Mayor himself came out for last Saturday's shoot. All
in all, the real focus of Mapleton's current discussions hasn't
been the film, but the realignment of the local ward boundaries
(their five wards will be split into seven).
The Future
Dutcher
is a bit surprised that other film makers haven't taken off more
than they have after the success of God's Army, although
he is aware others are working at it. He's clearly in it for the
long haul. He's not sure that he'll push himself to get a film out
every year and is even considering taking a break after this one.
(However, he then lets slips that his next project might be more
ambitious.) He doesn't want to rush a film to the theaters. If it's
going to take 18 months to ensure a well-made film, he wants to
give it that time.
Right now, though,
Dutcher has enough to think about. He has another two weeks of shooting
before he must begin post-production, and then there's marketing
and distribution. We'll have to wait another four months to find
out the particulars of how the plot unfolds: both for Brigham
City and for Dutcher.
Brigham
City will hit theaters along the Wasatch front on April 6,
2001.
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© 2001 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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