Non-LDS-produced films about Joseph Smith

[Frylock]

I can't find any through google, but I'm wondering if there's ever at least been talk of producing such a film, or if there are any current such projects floating around out there?

I think it could make an interesting story, though it would almost have to be controversial no matter how sympathetic the film was to Smith.

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Well, the writers of South Park are writing/producing a Broadway Musical based on the Book of Mormon.

Probably not what you're looking for, though, eh? I am very intrigued, though!

[bienville]

Originally Posted by IvoryTowerDenizen

Well, the writers of South Park are writing/producing a Broadway Musical based on the Book of Mormon.

Probably not what you're looking for, though, eh? I am very intrigued, though!

Winking Smilie noted. Still wanted to point out that the story for the Parker/Stone Broadway Musical The Book of Mormon is not about Joseph Smith. It is the story of

Originally Posted by linked Wiki article

two young Mormon missionaries sent off to spread the word in a dangerous part of Uganda.

To the topic of the OP, I don't know of any non-LDS-produced films about Joseph Smith but I thought I had heard a few years ago about a film about The Utah War. As I heard about it I thought along similar lines as the OP that it would be impossible to avoid major controversy based on the subject matter.

Googling around I can find no such evidence that such a film was ever planned, so it is possible that my "memory" just invented this information.

[handsomeharry]

I'm wanting to say there was one with Gregory Peck in it...I also may be imagining it. Something from his era, or, I dunno, Raymond Massey...something like that.

Best wishes,
hh

[CalMeacham]

There was Brigham Young, Frontiersman from 1940. It wasn't about Smith, as you'd expect, but he was in it played by...





Vincent Price!




http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032281/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham...-_Frontiersman

This is probably the one hh was trying to think of.


I've never seen it, but it reportedly ism't disrespectful of LDS (it played at the Center Cinema in downtown SLC when it first came out, I understand), but apparently it wasn't completely accurate, either.


I can't think of any other flicks with J. Smith in it, but the iMDB lists four (bottom of this page):

http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=Joseph+Smith



These may all be LDS-produced, though.

[Erdosain]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

I can't think of any other flicks with J. Smith in it, but the iMDB lists four (bottom of this page):

http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=Joseph+Smith



These may all be LDS-produced, though.

Yes, those are all produced by the LDS church, except for maybe "American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith" (1999) which was directed and produced by a member of the church. It doesn't say where he got his funding (although I have a suspicion!). Oddly, this documentary was narrated by Gregory Peck. Maybe that is what hh was thinking of. I guess Gregory needed the paycheck.

Much more popular at the movies is Brigham Young, who was portrayed by Charlton Heston in 1995's "The Avenging Angel" and Terrence Stamp in the recent, reportedly execrable "September Dawn." Actually, looking at IMdb, "September Dawn" features Dean Cain as Joseph Smith, but I haven't seen the movie so I can't say how big the part is.

Anyway, I don't see a big-screen feature focusing on Joseph Smith any time soon. Mormons have deified him and no one else really cares. Sure, there would be lots of sex, but the religion in between is really dry material. Movies about confidence men usually veer towards the humorous, and it just doesn't suit the subject matter.

[devilsknew]

A new coen brothers treatment ala true grit... except Mr. Young is the anti-hero.

[Rhodes]

PBS American Experience: The Mormons, Part I
PBS American Experience: The Mormons, Part II
American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith

[Rhodes]

(missed the edit window)

PBS Part I above is about Smith. Part II is about the modern LDS Church. Both are available on DVD from Netflix. American Prophet's Netflix availability is "Unknown."

[Ranchoth]

Well, Brigham Young's in 1995's The Avenging Angel, but it's probably not what you're looking for. Awesomer, though.

[bienville]

Originally Posted by Erdosain

Brigham Young,
<snip>
Terrence Stamp in the recent, reportedly execrable "September Dawn." Actually, looking at IMdb, "September Dawn" features Dean Cain as Joseph Smith, but I haven't seen the movie so I can't say how big the part is.

Ah! September Dawn has got to be what I was thinking about when I mentioned earlier that I had heard about a film about the Utah War.

[not_alice]

Originally Posted by Erdosain

Anyway, I don't see a big-screen feature focusing on Joseph Smith any time soon. Mormons have deified him and no one else really cares. Sure, there would be lots of sex, but the religion in between is really dry material. Movies about confidence men usually veer towards the humorous, and it just doesn't suit the subject matter.

Jon Krakauer's book Under the Banner of Heaven seems to me as a film producer to be ripe for licensing. Someone could do it. It would have some cachet, as it was his Into the Wild that did OK for Sean Penn.

Apparently there is a related documentary: http://www.freshfilm.com/damnedtoheaven/

I am no Mormon fan, as a same-sex marriage activist in California, but I do think there is an increasing market for the story as the fight goes on. I bet someone has optioned the Krakauer book....

[Baker]

I saw Brigham Young, Frontiersman. IMNSHO it wasn't very good. It sure glossed over a lot of the ugly parts in Mormon history.

[Elendil's Heir]

Another vote for the Krakauer book. It's terrific - basically even-handed, while showing the absurdity of some church doctrines (and the conveeeeniently-timed revelations some early LDS leaders got from God), and strongly critical of the church for now whitewashing its early history.

[Rhodes]

I understood Krakauer's book a little differently. He seemed to be implying that the modern mainstream LDS church, while somewhat absurd, is trying to eradicate the immoral doctrines and practices of its past. The book is really "strongly critical" of the early LDS leaders who created the unfortunate history, and even more critical of the fringe groups that keep digging up and practicing what the modern LDS church has been working so hard to abolish. By whitewashing its early history, the LDS church is deceiving its members but steering them away from polygamy, racism, and blood atonement.

ETA: I'm another vote for the Under the Banner of Heaven. It would make a great movie, whether the filmed focused on LDS history, or on the FLDS, or on the Lafferty family.

[BrainGlutton]

Originally Posted by Frylock

I think it could make an interesting story, though it would almost have to be controversial no matter how sympathetic the film was to Smith.

Being sympathetic to Smith would be far more controversial than any other approach. Most Americans like Mormons well enough but have zero respect for their faith. A substantial minority are flatly hostile to it.

[Erdosain]

Originally Posted by BrainGlutton

Being sympathetic to Smith would be far more controversial than any other approach. Most Americans like Mormons well enough but have zero respect for their faith. A substantial minority are flatly hostile to it.

I doubt this very much. A sympathetic movie about Smith would appear and sink without a ripple. Sure, Evangelicals hate Mormons, but not enough to be outraged over a movie that isn't aimed at them.

On the other hand, a film detailing Smith's sexual exploits and brushes with the law would provoke howls of outrage from a very vocal, very defensive, Mormon minority. You'd have unbearably earnest fresh-faced teenagers in white shirts and modest skirts picketing around the block. And frankly, I'd bet the church leadership would love it. Anything to reinforce the notion that Mormons are persecuted and misunderstood is gold to a controlling religious movement.

[Elendil's Heir]

I'm not so sure. A pro-Smith movie, with a big enough budget and a Hollywood Name or two, would probably lead to controversy as to what role, if any, the LDS had in its creation. There would also be stories about what unsavory aspects of Smith's life the movie left out, and analyses of what impact the movie would have on Mitt Romney's presumed 2012 run for the White House (much as the movie The Right Stuff was dissected for its impact - ultimately negligible - on John Glenn's 1984 candidacy).

I agree that an anti-Smith movie would probably be blasted by the LDS but also happily used to rally sympathy and/or public support for the church.

[BrainGlutton]

Originally Posted by Erdosain

I doubt this very much. A sympathetic movie about Smith would appear and sink without a ripple. Sure, Evangelicals hate Mormons, but not enough to be outraged over a movie that isn't aimed at them.

On the other hand, a film detailing Smith's sexual exploits and brushes with the law would provoke howls of outrage from a very vocal, very defensive, Mormon minority. You'd have unbearably earnest fresh-faced teenagers in white shirts and modest skirts picketing around the block. And frankly, I'd bet the church leadership would love it. Anything to reinforce the notion that Mormons are persecuted and misunderstood is gold to a controlling religious movement.

So, there's no reason not to make such a movie. Box-office gold!

And if I were a non-Mormon Californian -- a category which includes most Hollywood directors -- I would love a chance to piss off the Mormons!

[not_alice]

Originally Posted by BrainGlutton

Being sympathetic to Smith would be far more controversial than any other approach. Most Americans like Mormons well enough but have zero respect for their faith. A substantial minority are flatly hostile to it.

I think most non-Mormon Americans know very little about their faith (me included, that's why I have stuff like this and even some internal church stuff I have picked up on my desk), but are hostile because of the Church's clear and effective work towards removing the rights from disfavored minorities.

[not_alice]

Originally Posted by BrainGlutton

And if I were a non-Mormon Californian -- a category which includes most Hollywood directors -- I would love a chance to piss off the Mormons!

I have mentioned here on this board both my anti-prop 8 activism and my work as a film producer, haven't I? I am worried by your SN, given my sense that you are inside my head

Just the same, I don't see a literal retelling of the story as the way to go. Something indirect and Narnia-ish, or maybe even more indirect than that.

[Elendil's Heir]

I think a warts-and-all biopic of Smith could be pretty interesting on several levels: as a character study, a period piece, a dramatic exploration of faith in the midst of controversy and violence, and a political commentary. Almost-kinda-sorta The Scarlet Letter meets There Will Be Blood.

[Dogzilla]

Originally Posted by not_alice

Jon Krakauer's book Under the Banner of Heaven seems to me as a film producer to be ripe for licensing. Someone could do it. It would have some cachet, as it was his Into the Wild that did OK for Sean Penn.

What does this sentence mean? How does a book have to have cachet? What is cachet? I'm not sure what you mean by that term, but I do think Krakauer's book has the best chance of being optioned simply because of Krakauer's success with Into The Wild. (Is that what you meant?)

Originally Posted by not_alice

Apparently there is a related documentary: http://www.freshfilm.com/damnedtoheaven/

I am no Mormon fan, as a same-sex marriage activist in California, but I do think there is an increasing market for the story as the fight goes on. I bet someone has optioned the Krakauer book....

I hope so, because I think it would be the perfect book to make a movie out of. I also think Fawn Brodie's No Man Knows My History would be good as well, but that might not be very plot driven. I haven't read it myself, but have read a lot about it on the exmormon boards.

Also, Todd Compton's In Sacred Loneliness might also be good. That one was all about the plural wives of JS. Might explain a lot about the mindset behind Brian David Mitchell's kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart (convicted!).

[BrainGlutton]

It should be called The Enchanter.

[Rhodes]

No Man Knows My History and Rough Stone Rolling are biographies of Joseph Smith in much more exquisite detail than Under the Banner of Heaven. They both tell the entire story, one from the perspective of someone in Mormonism just begging to be excommunicated (Brodie) and one from someone in Mormonism trying feebly to rationalize his faith without concealing embarrasing facts (Richard Bushman). The info in Rough Stone Rolling is every bit as damning as in No Man Knows My History, but Bushman's less hostile attitude means it is actually sold at LDS-owned bookstores. Any LDS biographical film about Smith is going to tell the official whitewashed story, where an independent producer would certainly use the narrarive found in the actual biographies.

[Frylock]

Originally Posted by Erdosain

Movies about confidence men usually veer towards the humorous, and it just doesn't suit the subject matter.

In fact, what I imagine in my head is kind of comedically twinged.

Totally could never work IRL but it's the kind of thing that makes me wish I could peak through into alternate universes to see what someone could have come up with.

[BrainGlutton]

Originally Posted by Erdosain

Movies about confidence men usually veer towards the humorous, and it just doesn't suit the subject matter.

Of course humor fits the subject matter!

[Erdosain]

Originally Posted by BrainGlutton

Of course humor fits the subject matter!

Oh sure, you can laugh. I'm crying.