DIRECTOR TACKLES HOLLYWOOD WITH 'THERESE' FILM

March 26, 2003 - 12:00 PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DIRECTOR TACKLES HOLLYWOOD WITH 'THERESE' FILM

by BILL HOWARD

DALLAS. Actor and director Leonardo DeFilippis hopes you'll want to see a movie this fall that contains no car chases, sex, extreme sports, drug use, broken families or shoot-outs.

There is a man executed for murder, but just before the guillotine falls, he makes peace with God, thanks to the prayers of the film's protagonist, St. Thérèse of Liseux.

This October, DeFilippis and his Luke Films production company will unveil "Thérèse" in an effort to give a new generation a chance to experience a film about the life of a saint -- a genre that has all but faded since the 1960s.

DeFilippis screened the movie Feb. 1 for a cardinal, two dozen bishops and 175 lay persons who were attending the New Evangelization of the Americas Conference in Dallas. The film received a standing ovation.

The screening gave DeFilippis, producer Brian Shields and cinematographer Lourdes Ambrose encouragement for their mission to convince the general public to see a multimillion dollar film on the life of a saint who spent much of her life in a cloistered Carmelite monastery.

When they show the film to Hollywood distributors at the end of this month, Ambrose -- a 20-year veteran of Hollywood -- is confident that at least one studio will believe in the film's message about finding joy in the people we meet and the small, often menial tasks we do every day.

"You don't have to be a big shot to achieve something in life if you persevere and pray," Ambrose said. "It's a film about spiritual connection. It's not a special effects film. It's based on a true story, and anyone who sees this film will be able to make a connection with St. Thérèse. You can be Buddhist, Protestant or Hindu, and this film will still work for you."

The first half of "Thérèse" focuses on the vibrant childhood of Thérèse Martin, one of five girls raised by Louis and Zélie Martin in Alencon, France. Zélie died of breast cancer when Thérèse was four, and Louis moved the family to Lisieux, where Thérèse took an older sister, Pauline, as her mother.

Thérèse was crushed when Pauline entered the local Carmelite monastery in October 1882. Nearly five years later, she declared to her father that she wanted to enter the monastery early at age 15 (the common age was 17).

That same year, she began to adopt "spiritual children" and prayed for their conversions. The first of those adoptions was a convicted murderer, Henri Pranzini. He remained unrepentant until he was about to be placed on the guillotine, where he relented and kissed a crucifix. This was a defining moment for Thérèse, who became convinced of the power of prayer.

While the film's landscapes and sets are serene, Thérèse is portrayed as anything but a docile character. Lindsay Younce plays Thérèse with vigor, and audiences will laugh at Thérèse's boldness when she gets dragged away by Swiss guards at theVatican after begging Pope Leo XIII to let her enter the monastery. About four months after that meeting, she received a letter from her bishop announcing her acceptance.

One of the movie's most memorable scenes is when her father, juggling both joy and sadness, hands over his daughter to the Carmelites in April 1888. Thus begins the sceond half of the film, which takes place almost exclusively behind the monastery walls. There, Thérèse encountered many of the day-to-day trials people face in the secular world, such as personality conflicts, learning to obey one's boss and doubts about one's purpose in life.

The way she humbly tackled those issues has made her one of the most popular saints in the world. It wasn't until Thérèse began to write her memoirs for Mother Superior Agnes, formerly her sister, Pauline, that many of her fellow sisters would begin to grasp what would become known as her "little way" of living life.

Thérèse believed that people can see God in their daily lives if they see him in the people they meet and in the little things they do for people. The film shows how Thérèse's attitude was not always popular with her fellow nuns, but Thérèse never wavered from her optimism.

She obediently continued to write her memoirs even when she began to show signs of tuberculosis in 1896. She wrote and served her community, despite great pain, until her death in 1897 at age 24.

After her death, Thérèse's memoirs astounded her religious community, and were quickly published and widely read around the world.

DeFilippis' wife, Patty, wrote the screenplay and stuck faithfully to St. Thérèse's main works, particularly "Story of A Soul" and "Her Last Conversations." She did much of their research earlier, having created a one-woman play, "Story of A Soul," with her husband in 1997.

DeFilippis' latest project has attracted members of the film community from coast to coast. He landed Ambrose, a veteran of 24 films who was eager to fulfill a promise he made to God 17 years ago to make a Catholic film. Shields started his film career as an actor and landed a role in HBO's award-winning miniseries "From the Earth To the Moon." He has also collaborated on DeFilippis' live dramas, helped conceive "Thérèse" and plays Pranzini in the film.

With the help of Ambrose and Shields, DeFilippis gathered a crew with impressive resumes. Costume designer Judy Newland worked with the New York Metropolitan Opera. Audio postproduction was aided by Gregory Gerlich ("Speed," "Alien"), Robert McNabb ("Mall Rats," "Jaws") and Del Spiva ("Spiderman," "Black Hawk Down" and "Pearl Harbor").

In his quest to be authentic, DeFilippis enlisted a Carmelite nun, Sister Marie Thérèse Sokol in Seattle, to compose the soundtrack, and had an actual prelate, Bishop Emeritus Basil Meeking of Christchurch, New Zealand, play the role of Pope Leo XIII. Four ordained priests were also part of the cast, which allowed the actors and crew to slip away for confessions during breaks in a shooting schedule that sometimes began at 4 a.m. and went straight to 1 a.m.

The movie was filmed at several locations, including Portland, Ore. (near St. Luke Productions' home base of Beaverton), Rome, and Lisieux, France.

DeFilippis said he does not have a budget estimate since it is still growing, but he added that almost all of the funds have been raised through donations. That made shooting the film an adventure, Ambrose said. Only so much money could be spent on sets, yet they had to look realistic. With a nonexistant special effects budget, Ambrose had to be creative with lighting and camera angles.

"We had lots of difficulties, but I'd tell Leonardo, 'Pray, and I'll do the best I can,'" Ambrose said. "It's a miracle this film exists. Most films of this kind have financial difficulties and fall apart within the first three days of production."

A dream scenario would have "Thérèse" becoming like "Spitfire Grill," produced by the Sacred Heart League in 1996. The film, made for $6.1 million, recouped more than its production cost when it won the Audience Award at the prestigious Sundance independent film festival and had its rights subsequently bought by Castle Rock Pictures for $10 million.

By comparison, "Entertaining Angels," a 1996 flick from Paulist Pictures about Dorothy Day and starring Moira Kelly and Martin Sheen, had a budget of $6 million and almost broke even after limited screenings, television distribution revenue and video sales.

In making a full-length independent feature on the life of St. Thérèse for the last three years, DeFilippis has found his experience with Hollywood to be anything but negative.

"There are so many people there who want to do good," he said. "I think they're willing to do things in Hollywood, but we have been unable to put forth anything as a Catholic people."

DeFilippis hopes studios and audiences will find his film a breath of fresh air.

"I think the timing is providential. We need a real positive image of the church," DeFilippis added. "I think this movie will help give some light to the darkness and give us real hope when we're feeling depressed."

Contact

Luke Films, Inc.
http://www.theresemovie.com
OR, US
Mike Masny - Servant, 503 641-1255

Keywords

St. Thereses of Liseux Movie

Category

Saints

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