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Show . B4 ~ WASATCH COUNTY APRIL 11, 2001 COURIER B reaks Mormon Stereotypes: Moviemaker In ‘Brigham City’ _ HANNAH WOLFSON ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER SALT LAKE CITY make — it took Dutcher four years to raise the money — and wasn’t intended (AP) —Mention the words “Mormon movie,” and most Americans probably think of cult classics or something Osmonds. But Fomsker: starring Rihacd the Dutcher thinks there’s room for something else: a serious movie with Mormon characters, religious themes and main- stream appeal. Brigham City, opened Friday in Utah His latest effort, and around the West. | Billed as a Mormon murder mystery, the film is set in a tiny town where no one locks their doors—auntil a woman from California turns up murdered. Everyone becomes a suspect, and the town sheriff, who is also a Mormon bishop (played by Dutcher) be beasimesinal nee ord sali must find the murderer and hold the town together. “People walk into the theater and say, how in the world is this going to work, having a murder mystery and Mormonism together,” Dutcher said. “It's fun to be able to take an audiences’ expectation and exceed it.” _ He did just that with his last film, God’s Army, which ‘told the story of Mormon missionaries in California. The movie cost about $300,000 to < This Easter Fill Your Basket With The Finest Chocolate From Midway Chocolates! for widespread distribution. But-God’s Army played in 240 cities nationwide last year, grossing $2.6 million at the box office before being sold to video. A Spanish translation is set for release in Latin America this year. Brigham City, with a budget of $1.2 million, Excel is much. Entertainment more Group ambitious. Inc., the Salt Lake company distributing the movie, says that after opening in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada and southern California, the movie will expand next week to Washington, Oregon, Chicago -and northern California. Releases in New York, Texas and Hawaii are planned for later this month: “What God’s Army did in about eight months, we’re trying to do in about a month and a half,” said Excel spokeswoman Mary Jane Jones. Dutcher said the key to his success has been realizing there are Mormons around the country who hunger for movies reflecting their own experiences. “To me, that means cinema that doesn’t just go for the gut or the groin,” he said. “That seems to be what all movies are about these days. ‘This tries to reach really deep and touches on a different level and tries to explore some issues and themes that are really rare in movies.” _ In Brigham City, that means the questions of faith and community that Sheriff Wes Clayton — whom most townspeople address as “Bishop” must face. Although the city of Brigham (named after Brigham Young) does exist in northern Utah, the film’s town is meant to be entirely fictional and the movie was shot in smaller Mapleton, where Dutcher lives. Dutcher has also found a niche by presenting Mormons as well-rounded characters, said Academy Award-win- ning filmmaker Kieth Merrill, himself a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That’s a change from the stoic pioneers who show up in Westerns such as Paint Your Wagon or the vampiric slave traders of the silent film Trapped by the Mormons. “We are talking about characters who are Mormons and who kneel down on screen and give the priesthood blessings,” said Merrill, who wrote and directed two movies for the church. “This is the first time a Mormon audience can sit down and see Mormons on screen in ways that ‘are familiar.” Sometimes too familiar. Dutcher was criticized by some church members for God’s Army, which revealed the darker side of the missionary experience, even portraying missionary companions fighting each other. “Ironically, I found myself having enemies on two sides,” he said. “One side thought I was making the Mormon church look too good, and the other thought I was making the church look bad.” | - Brigham City has already ruffled feathers as well. Last week, it received a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, posing a problem for some church members, who avoid movies with sex, profanity or violence. The church Bee taken no official stance the on 1970s, movies in recent the faithful were years; in told to avoid R-rated movies. Dutcher said he hopes members will understand that his movie uses some violence—but no. sex—to discuss adult themes about philosophy and religion. And he said that’s the kind of movie he plans to keep on making. “I never want to get into a rut with this,” he said. “Brigham City was about exploring Mormonism through a murder mystery. You could do this with any religion or any film genre. I think. it’s really fertile territory.” |