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TIM RITTER: RECONCILED 1) How did your latest film, RECONCILED, come to be? A: RECONCILED is basically a testimony of my faith in Christ as God and also a reminder to me...as to why I feel this way, so I hopefully stay on a more straight and narrow track. Long story short, after many years of not giving God or the afterlife much thought, I came back and renewed my faith somewhere in 2002. I devoured book after book on the subject and read the Bible twice...and the results of my research and faith were RECONCILED. I struggled to find a way to show and tell my message in the context of the low budget cinema world. And I think I found exactly the right notes and pacing with this movie. Early on in preproduction, I was talking with (co-producer and CGI effects man) Todd Pontsler about what we could do that was "cutting edge" with digital effects at this level, and based on samples of what Todd was doing, I wrote scenes into the script that incorporated his talents. Feeding off of Todd's creative passions helped me get that script done! 2) What kind of film would you classify RECONCILED to be and why? A: I would call it a supernatural thriller with horror overtones because it is structured very similar to my old movies----the main character wants to commit an evil act and is motivated to be cruel due to his circumstances but then some supernatural things happen and he cannot fathom why. I loved incorporating some of the really wild visual things from the Bible into the movie such as rivers of blood, a fire that will not consume, a plague of locusts chasing a car...things like this that Todd Pontsler designed into what I filmed were so cool! The movie is also a psychological thriller as well, a battle of wits between two characters, so it's also that as well. And it ultimately is a defense of Christianity, and again, this aspect was done mainly for myself so I could pop in the movie any time if I lose my way in the Christian walk and be reminded why I believe what I do. And if anyone else is interested in what I'm trying to say and checks it out for themself with an open mind...all the better! 3) Were there any specific challenges you had to overcome to make the film? A: The script was difficult...incorporating locations I knew I had, effects I knew Todd could do econimically and time efficiently...and getting the dialogue right seemed difficult at first. I did a lot of praying for help with this movie, and ultimately, it all came together in editing! It was so exciting seeing those effects put in there, the haunting musical score by Nathaniel Scott, and the tight, fast pacing of the cuts! I was really on cloud nine that it all came together so well. So there were a lot of challenges in putting this together, and poor Todd, he went through a horrible time amidst doing all the visuals where his house flooded and he and his family nearly lost everything and were completely uprooted from their home. Yet he stuck with the vision of RECONCILED to the very end and delivered the goods! I think God wanted to see this movie finished, honestly, there's no other explanation for us finishing it like we did. 4) Has this movie impacted the way you are going to create movies/books/art in the future? A: We shall see. I suspect so. I'm not sure what will be next, RECONCILED is such a hard act for me to follow, honestly, at this level. How to top it...or do something as meaningful...is the question of the day for me! But I'm sure I will do something at some point. 5) What have been some of the inspirational things that have happened to you since it's release? A: Generally, the reception of the movie was spectacular. I wasn't expecting that at all. Even a lot of the hardcore horror fans and reviewers watched the movie with an open mind and got something out of it. Naturally, there were some naysayers and scoffers, which I expected...but the majority of the audience seemed to be ready for something like this. We've posted a lot of the viewer comments that I got on my website (www.timritter.com) in the REVIEWS section, so feel free to check them out there. So that was inspiring to see and hear. It seems the market for low budget productions has really evolved into the rental sector of places like Blockbuster and Netflix, and that's where most people have seen the movie from. 6) What would you like to say to your fans and potential viewers about RECONCILED? A: Thanks for the support, as always, and check RECONCILED out if you're interested. Even if 'religion' isn't your bag, there's plenty of cool things that the movie offers. I think the story is different enough, the action intense enough, and the effects are decent enough...to satisfy most fans of my old movies. So see it today! If you've seen it...see it again, with a friend! (laugh) And as always, thanks for watching. | |||||||||||||||||||
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