Dream Come True
Interview with Stephen Simon on Spiritual Cinema Film Festival
at Sea by Sherry Henderson
My husband John and I had the special pleasure of spending
a week with Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations
with God;
director and producer Stephen Simon (Deutsch to some of his old fans)
know for such box office successes as “Somewhere in Time” and “What
Dreams May Come”;
Arielle Ford, Director of Publicity and partner
in Spiritual Cinema, and an intimate spiritual group consisting of
some 300 plus film fans, magazine editors and publishers, actors,
film producers and directors, and the Spiritual Cinema staff. This
was in an idyllic setting aboard the “Oosterdam”, one
of the most beautiful and luxurious 5 star cruise ships in the Holland
American fleet. All I can say is that it was heaven on earth for
an entire week.
During this voyage, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephen Simon
about his life, his work, and his plans for the future.
SH: Stephen, at what point in your life did you know that you wanted
to be a filmmaker? SS: Sometime before my birth - I am absolutely totally in the knowing
that I came here to be two things: primarily a father to my four
daughters, and a filmmaker. I believe that we do choose our parents
in between lives. My dad was a writer, a director, and a studio head.
He made films with Abbott and Costello and Red Skelton, and produced
Born Yesterday. I remember sitting on my father’s knee and
watching dailies that he would bring home from the studio. My dad
died when I was four, but my mother married another film producer.
I was born into the film business. SH: What do you consider to be your favorite film that you have ever
done? SS: The three films that I’m most proud
of are, What Dreams May Come, Somewhere
in Time, and Conversations
with God. I am more proud of Conversations
with God, because it is
the most emotional, and I think it will be the most heart opening.
Because I had the opportunity to produce and direct it, it is the
one film that I can say, without any question, is exactly the film,
without any compromise, that I set out to make.
SH: In general, what direction do you see your films taking in the
future?
SS: The films that I make, and I’m hoping to direct one film
every year starting in 2007, are going to be deeply and overtly spiritual
films, where the spirituality is there and is up front and we don’t
have to couch it in terms that traditional financiers deem acceptable.
I remember when I was making What Dreams May Come I had a six week
argument with the financier about the word “consciousness”,
which they felt was too complicated a word for most audiences. They
wanted to change it to “awareness”. That is something
that I will never deal with again. One of the wonderful gifts that
we have with Conversations with God, is that we did not have to deal
with that kind of thing. Because the Circle financed that film, and
it was my partners, some outside investors, and I, we didn’t
have anybody saying to us, “No, don’t do it” but
rather “Go for it”. I’m going to make films that
are very much consciously in this vein, saying, “This is
who we are.” SH: Regarding the current trend of filmmakers
to favor subject matters that are “edgy”, do you think it is just the critic’s
jaded point of view that is encouraging these violent and cynical
types of films being distributed today, or do you think that there
is high audience demand for this kind of material? SS: I think the critics are jaded, and I think
that traditional distribution outlets are jaded. I think lots of
agents and people who advise young filmmakers have slipped (Stephen
laughs) into “the dark side
of the force”, and have embraced the “Darth Vader” side
of all of us, which exists. They ignore the “Luke Skywalker” side
of us, which also exists. I don’t say that in any way to
be judgmental or to say that there is something wrong with dark,
edgy, cynical films, because there isn’t. This audience should
be served, and I respect that. Gandhi had a wonderful saying about
that, “Ours
is not a better way, it’s a different way”. Filmmakers
need to know that they can do films from the heart, movies that
open your soul and your heart. This is what Conversations
with God, is
all about. It’s designed to be a heart opening experience,
and I feel that if people come to the movie to have this kind of
an experience, it will be very powerful and moving. I set out to
make a very emotionally and spiritually resonant film that will
touch us in a very deep way. We’re talking a new experience
of God, a non-judgmental, loving God, a God that doesn’t
expect anything of us, a God that speaks to each of us in our own
voice – all
the time, a loving, kind God who leaves it up to us to make the
decisions. That’s a powerful, powerful message for people.
I hope that what Conversations with God will do is give
sustenance and hope to filmmakers to make movies that come from
the heart, be emotional, and be rewarded for it.
