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Daily News
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No Longer a Mormon
Like Neil LaBute before him, filmmaker Richard Dutcher has decided it’s easier to practice his art beyond the boundaries set by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Friday, January 18, 2008 at 8:00 PM
By FilmStew Staff
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RichardDutcher.com
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Saying goodbye to an alcohol free religion
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When Richard Dutcher completed back in 1999 the script for his latest movie Falling, which kicked off its limited release schedule today in Salt Lake City, he was a Mormon. But by the time he finally got to the business of shooting it in 2005, he was just months away from renouncing his Mormon faith. It’s all very ironic, considering that the lead character of Falling is a non-practicing Mormon husband whose L.A. videographer job takes him in challenging ethical directions.
Dutcher himself waited until April of 2006 to publicly announce the fact that he had become non-practicing, mentioning it offhand in an Op-Ed piece for Provo’s Daily Herald. Given his standing as a so-called Mormon filmmaker thanks to films such as God’s Army, Brigham City and States of Grace, the revelation triggered a very lively public debate.
Now comes Falling, his first film since the whole brouhaha. In a review of the film published today in the Salt Lake Tribune, writer Sean P. Means opines that ‘Dutcher has traced a spiritual path for his characters that doesn't allow for easy answers, and the results are more authentic and rewarding because of it.’
In a separate interview with the paper, Dutcher admits that movies like Falling do not do well at the box office, but that he is committed to continuing to make them in between more conventional fare such the upcoming supernatural thriller Evil Angel starring Ving Rhames, currently in post-production. The filmmaker also reveals that he always hated being referred to as a ‘Mormon filmmaker’ and expects Falling to help edge him out of that confining box.
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