E-mail
Print
RSS
G-bookmarks
Live
TechnoratiUp-and coming director/screenwriter Scott Derrickson -who’s film credits include Ghosting, Dracula, Urban Legends: Final Cut, and Hellraiser: Inferno - has made it clear he likes making scary movies – not something you might expect from a Christian director who minored in theological studies at Biola. However, Derrickson’s affinity to the fear-provoking is not just for kicks, as the filmmaker finds the genre to be ideal for dealing with matters regarding the “spiritual realm” – a topic that Derrickson deals with head-on in his latest film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose. The following is CP’s conversation with Derrickson in it’s entirety.
Director Scott Derrickson and actress Jennifer Carpenter behind the scenes of Exorcism of Emily Rose
How hard has it been for you to be a Christian in Hollywood?
Well, I think it’s difficult to be a Christian anywhere, at least to be a committed Christian – I think that demands a lot from a person no matter their field of work, and certainly working in Hollywood is no exception. I’m asked this question quite frequently and I suppose that the real implication of the question is, “Is it difficult to maintain my values or my Christian perspective or integrity working in Hollywood?” I’m not sure that Hollywood is an industry that’s any more difficult than a lot of other industries that are out there. I think that the secular work environment in general is a place that’s challenging for Christians to thrive in without getting caught up in materialism, or in competitiveness, or in things that are really not important. I haven’t experienced any particular kind of bigotry or bias against me because of my faith, and I tend to be fairly open about what I believe; I don’t go around shouting the name of Jesus at inappropriate times, but I don’t go out of my way to hide who I am and what I believe either. I think that Hollywood is a very liberal community, and the great thing about that is that it tends to be relatively open to letting people think and believe what they want to think and believe. That’s been my experience at least. But what is so difficult, frankly, about being in Hollywood and succeeding in Hollywood is how competitive it is and how demanding the work itself is and how difficult it is to get a project of quality pushed through the system, and what has helped me with that is that I really think that Christians ought to be held to a high standard of excellence in our field of work. We are meant to be people who are excellent at what we do, and in the field of creativity – especially in the arts and entertainment – I think that we bear the responsibility to be the best at what we do. There are certainly better writers and directors than me, but I have worked very hard to earn credibility within the business as a quality writer and a good director. The Exorcism of Emily Rose happens to be a project that I was able to get through the system in such a way that the film got made, and it was made in the way that I wanted it to be made.
What do you think needs to happen in order to allow more Christians to enter the arena of making high-quality major motion pictures?
I think that Christians who have an interest in filmmaking need to deepen their love for cinema. To be honest, that’s what I think has been missing historically from the Christians who want to succeed in the Hollywood industry. I think that there are a lot of Christians who are interested in the industry because they understand that culture is shaped by Hollywood and they understand the social impact that cinema has but I don’t think that they love cinema itself enough to become the best in that field, and I think Christians need to recognize what an extraordinary art form movies are, and to love them in their own right. That is something that I think is starting to happen though; I taught a class on the history of European cinema last year at Biola University, my alma mater, and it was very encouraging for me to see a lot of these young Christians and how many of them have developed early on, at such a young age, a passion for movies themselves. I taught the class because I wanted to help facilitate that passion, and nurture it. Really, until Christians love the medium of film itself enough to help it evolve and contribute to its innovations, we won’t ever be a group of people that have a place within the industry. That’s really my strongest desire at this point – to see Christians take a more serious stand in the knowledge of movies and of movie making itself. I think there are a lot of Christians who are devout enough to hold their integrity together in the industry, but there aren’t a lot of people who are devoted enough to the craft. Continue »
