Interview with Bill Ewing

By Brad Dupray

As senior vice president of production administration at Columbia Pictures, Bill Ewing was overseeing production of movies such as Spiderman, Men in Black II, and Stuart Little 2. About that time, Bill felt God”s call to take a new direction with his talents. He left Sony Columbia in 2002. Today he is working to tell stories that inspire people to consider faith more seriously. Among others, he has produced the movie End of the Spear, which tells the story of the Waodani people of Ecuador and the five missionaries who were killed taking the gospel to them. Bill and his wife, Susie, have attended Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch, California, since 1990.

Why did you leave Columbia Pictures?

We were coming up on our most successful year with the release of Spiderman, Men in Black II, and Stuart Little 2. I didn”t know what it was, but about a year before my contract expired a still, small voice said, “I”m getting ready to move you.” A series of events happened from that point where God seemed to reveal his plan to get involved in the Beyond the Gates of Splendor documentary. Then I directed a Lifetime movie called Christmas Child, based on a Max Lucado story, before becoming a cowriter and producer of End of the Spear.

Did you feel Hollywood had gone wrong?

No, it was an individual call to me. I didn”t know where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do. I was unemployed for about five months, and God revealed his plan.

 

Were you able to translate your faith into your work?

My goal was to do a great job. In 1995 I met Larry Poland and got involved with Master Media International.* Larry said God had me here for a reason””to reveal to people that there is a God. Not push it down anybody”s throat, but to be an example.

 

Did you experience an anti-Christian bias in your work?

No. It”s a misconception that there”s this conspiracy [against Christianity] in Hollywood. Nobody ever put me down for my faith. If anything, I felt respected. I was very fortunate to work with some of the most talented, creative people in the film industry.

 

Why do you think there is a perception among Christians that there is an anti-Christian bias in Hollywood?

The entertainment industry is an easy target. There”s so much money and power. When we”re putting somebody down, whether it”s Hollywood, an ethnic group, or any religious group (and I”m not saying you have to endorse them), we are putting ourselves in a superior position. That”s wrong.

 

How can Christians change their thinking?

In The End of the Spear you have this tribe, the Waodani, that is the most violent culture in the world. They”re killing each other, so why should five young missionaries sacrifice their lives for them? If everybody took that approach [of doing nothing], the Waodani probably would be extinct today. Five families got together and said, “God loves these people. No one has ever communicated to them that they don”t have to kill each other.” The families didn”t judge them; they loved them.

 

OK, you”re making me feel very convicted. The story of the Waodani is a great example.

Today 22 percent of the Waodanis are believers and followers of Christ. It”s important to listen to the call of God and where he is calling each of us to go. The Waodani were an easy target to hate. They”re bad people. All they do is kill. Why should we have anything to do with them? But that people group is probably responsible for the greatest outpouring of missionaries in the 20th century. We”ll only know on the other side of eternity the millions of people who were saved because of that incident.

 

If family-friendly films make the most money, why does Hollywood produce other types of films?

The facts say that G, PG, and PG-13 movies make more money than R-rated movies. That”s because a family can go to G, PG, or PG-13 movies and you can sell four tickets. If the parents go to the R-rated movie, you”re only going to sell two tickets. The studio wants to make money. They”re not in business to lose money. So when you see a film that inspires, you support it, and Hollywood will make more of those films.

 

How can the church respond to the entertainment industry as a mission field?

The first thing to do is pray. Pray for Hollywood. Prayer is powerful! That”s why I”ve been such a strong supporter of Master Media International. It”s a ministry that reaches out to the industry in love, engaging people who don”t know the love of God. It starts with prayer. It starts with us. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). To me, that Scripture means I am no better in God”s eyes than anybody else.

 

What does it take to make a movie that has value to society?

Tell stories in the mainstream media to the mainstream film-going population that are hopeful, inspirational, and resonate with audiences the way The Blind Side did. That movie is the story of a Christian family living out their faith. It didn”t get labeled as a Christian movie””it just got labeled as a great movie. It did more than $250 million in domestic gross and communicated the gospel in a very realistic way. It had quality actors and story, so that”s the kind of film we”re about, looking for those stories that deal with difficult subjects. Michael Oher [one of the main characters in The Blind Side] came from a tough situation. The movie deals with those circumstances in a way that honors God, yet is still realistic. One of the things I loved about the movie is that even though Leigh Anne Tuohy [the mother in the family that “adopted” Oher] was a Christian, she still had doubts. After bringing Michael Oher into her home she says to her husband, “If you hear me scream, you”ll know that he”s taken everything valuable out of the house.” She was very human about it. Also, at one point she questioned her motives. “Are we doing this for him, or are we really doing this for us?” Raising those questions made it accessible to everybody.

 

What questions should be asked?

It”s showing those very things that communicate the takeaway, “Wow, maybe it really is true that with God all things are possible.” It”s that and also showing””not telling people, showing people””here”s what God”s love in action looks like.

 

Is that making an evangelistic point or a moral point?

The movie theater is not the church. People go to the movies for entertainment. They”re willing to spend time””their most valuable commodity””and money. So if they”re willing to do that, and they”re spending their time and money under the premise that they will be entertained, then the first obligation is to entertain them. There are many different ways to entertain. Again, because The Blind Side is in the sweet spot, it entertained people with the story and at the same time educated and enlightened people. That”s what people responded to and that was revealed in the box office numbers.

 

It sounds like entertainment and telling a story that brings value are intertwined.

Josh Logan, the director of Camelot, said, “What makes a successful film is a principal character learning something about himself that makes him and the audience better people for knowing.” I subscribe to that thesis. You want to walk out of the theater knowing you”re a better person for having spent your time and your money, and entertainment is wrapped up in that because that is the first obligation.

 

Is the entertainment industry serving the public well?

From an entertainment standpoint””yes. Here”s what”s great about the United States””and also here”s one of the great elements of our faith and probably the greatest gift God has given everyone””we have the freedom to choose. If you go back to the golden age of Hollywood and look at movies like On the Waterfront, African Queen, Sergeant York, It”s a Wonderful Life, Meet John Doe, there was an acknowledgement of God in those movies. Those are the kinds of movies I went to while growing up and they inspired me to get involved in this industry. This is an industry. It”s no different than the garment business. Garment factories turn out suits of clothes. How do we make the best “suit of clothes” we can to serve the public? People have different points of view on that. I think it”s great we all have freedom to make those choices. So in that regard, do I wish there were more Blind Side types of movies in the marketplace? Yes! Why? Because those are the movies that inspire me, that speak to me. I can also go see Pirates of the Caribbean, Up, or Invictus. There”s room in the marketplace for lots of different stories.

*Master Media International is a ministry to the entertainment industry; it was founded in 1985 by Larry Poland as an offshoot of Campus Crusade for Christ. For more information visit www.MasterMediaIntl.org.