War Cry - September, 2014 Page 11

The War Cry | SEPTEMBER 2014

A Conversation

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industry, we're fascinated by all of these actors, just the
whole process in general. We'd never done this before
and being able to come out the other side with a pretty
good movie is very exciting for us.

WC:

"Believe Me?" questions Christian stereo-

types, and suggests we look beyond them to
live more honestly. In movie land, people are
all about playing roles and wearing masks.
We all do. How are audiences reacting to
such honesty? What do you think they are
looking for in such movies as yours?

AC:

Our primary intended audience is young adults

who either grew up in the Christian culture or have
an understanding of who God is. The millennials in
general don't process message�driven or unauthentic
media at all. If the director in the film has an agenda,
people can see right through it. The success of "Beware
of Christians" came from us being authentic in front
of the camera. When you're authentic and you are true
to the characters in your story and in your script, that
goes down better than anything else. Since I am 25 and
this is my first feature film, I can't say I know what
audiences want, but one thing that helps with younger
audiences is pacing. Because of social media, smart
phones and technology, people's attention spans are so
much shorter now. We took a two-hour film and cut it
down to 89 minutes. You have to cut out every single
piece of dialogue that isn't perfect for the story. And it
is so much more fun when you're sitting in a theater
and people are able to laugh out loud.

WC:

How did you come to faith?

AC:

I came to faith my senior year in high school.

I was brought up in a church home but my parents
didn't force me to go church. When I turned 16 they
said I could do whatever I wanted on Sunday. I began
to realize that life wasn't about me. And like everyone
I wondered, "How the heck was I here?" "Who
created me?"

WC:

What stories or writers inspire you?

AC:

Books like Crazy Love and Forgotton God,

and people like Tim Keller and Francis Chan.

WC:

Recently fi lms about Christianity and faith

have attracted a lot of attention. Do you see
signs that the revival might be sparked in part
by Hollywood?

AC:

Honestly, I think the only reason Hollywood is interested

in Christian films is because these movies are bringing
people out of the woodwork to buy movie tickets. Agents
and studio sales want to get in on the action.

WC:

I understand you have a unique way of

marketing "Believe Me."

AC:

We've implemented this new system where we

just pay our fans and consumers to promote the film.
You just put in your email address at teen.believeme-
film.com, and once you confirm your account we give
you unique links at leadmefilm.com/six. Every time
you share that link on Twitter and Facebook and say

something like, "check out this
cool trailer for the film and
someone clicks on it,
you get paid .10�.

WC:

How do you maintain

your equilibrium and not let
the pursuit of success and
the trappings that go with it
infringe on your goals?

AC:

It's not very hard now.

It's not very cool to spend a
bunch of money and be in debt
at a young age. We're just
nerds trying to make movies.
That stuff can get in the way,
but we have a balanced work
life and social life. Michael and
I are both married, have
amazing wives and are active
in our churches. You have to
realize where your priorities
are and what's most important
in life. It's definitely not all
wrapped up in the success of
"Believe Me."

WC:

Is there anything else you want us to know?

AC:

Go see "Believe Me" and if you like it and want

us to make another movie, we will be able to do that
through your support of the film. The wave of the future
for some in the film industry is developing a brand
and a fan base around the type of voice people want
represented in the film world.

See the movie trailer at believemefilm.com

The independent
film's script attracted
established actors
Chris McDonald and
Nick Offerman.