How Christian values and a story about Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer led Whitby, Ont., sound designer J.R. Fountain to take a big risk to write, direct and produce his first independent short film “The Stranger”
For 25 years J.R. Fountain worked as a sound designer, adding sound effects like cars revving, buildings exploding and monsters roaring to television shows and movies.
His most recent project had been a successful series of children’s movies. He enjoyed a strong relationship with the director. When he read the script for the third film, he realized the script violated his convictions, and he turned it down. “You just turned away the Golden Goose,” his boss said. “They're just gonna keep making these things forever and ever.”
Fountain began thinking about a short film script he’d written years five years earlier, based on a blog post by Tim Challies called “The Humble Celebrity.” The post recounts the story of Doug Nichols, a prospective missionary who unknowingly put Francis Schaeffer, one of Christianity's most influential speakers, on the floor of a crowded conference room with cornflakes for dinner. Schaeffer accepted this treatment without complaint. Only the next morning did Nichols discover who the man was.
Fountain felt compelled to adapt the story into a short film. He secured the rights to the story for $350, wrote a script and thought about applying for a grant. But he got busy, and the project languished until he quit his job and the industry was gripped with an actors’ and writers’ strike. “I was staring at a script I’d written six years ago, a gaping six-month hole in my schedule, some savings in the bank, and most importantly, the conviction to finally get off my duff.”
Fountain initially funded the project himself, but then launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised $8,000. He began casting. As he listened to audition tapes, he heard the lines spoken for the first time. “Did I write those?” he thought. “It sounds like it's actually coming from the character. It doesn't sound like acting at all.”
He found an old Catholic school in Hamilton that was available for movie shoots and booked it for a weekend. He sourced props. Finally, filming began. Fountain didn’t enjoy the first two days of filming. The first night, he cried himself to sleep. He eventually realized they’d need a third day of filming. “It allowed me to just forget about how much extra money it was going to cost and all the logistics. It was just an opportunity to let go.” That day, he thought, "This is awesome!”
Fountain knew he’d have to edit and add music and sound effects, but he took the raw footage, patched the scenes together and watched them with his wife. “It finished, and we turned to each other and said, 'That's pretty good.' It still needed work, but I knew I had a movie.”
Fountain had worked as a sound designer, but he’d never served as writer-director-producer before. He edited. He added sounds. He hired a composer. He corrected the colour.
Finally he premiered the movie at a party in Ajax, Ont. About 150 people bought tickets. Fountain also released the movie on a website, thestrangermovie.ca, where thousands have watched the film for free. At the end of the movie, viewers are given the option to donate to receive bonus materials.
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Jason O'Brien, J.R. Fountain, Alexey Dolgansky & Denis Marr at the screening.
Fountain says creating and promoting the film hasn’t been easy. It’s hard to recoup the money needed to make an independent film, and self-promotion can get tricky. Still, it’s about “stewarding what God gives you. Whether it's the idea, the funds, the time, whether it's the talent, it’s about stewarding and not letting it go to waste."
Recently Fountain submitted the film to Angel Studios for release on their streaming platform. On May 7, the film will be released on Angel. Fountain is hoping this will allow the film to be distributed more widely, as users can share a show with non-subscribers for free.
“You and I can sit here and complain about the graphic images or the messaging or the dark storylines that often come out of Hollywood but what are we going to do about it?” he writes.
“I started this project to put my words into action. I want to see content that is entertaining, engaging, clever, honest and emotional, but I want to see it grounded in a biblical worldview.”
“This little short film I’m making will be my first contribution towards that end. It’s a story that inspired me in my walk with Christ and I think it will inspire you as well.”
Darryl Dash is a pastor and author in Toronto (DashHouse.com).