‘Work and the Glory’ hits Utah
The biggest budget “indie” movie ever made in Utah comes to the big screen on Wednesday.
Based on the LDS fiction series by Gerald Lund, “The Work and the Glory” brings to life the story of a family caught in the middle of events surrounding the founding and early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Although the film is based on Gerald Lund’s best-seller about the origins of Mormonism, our goal in making this movie is to entertain,” said former Disney studio executive Jeff Simpson.
The movie will follow the life of the Steed family as they leave their Vermont homestead and move into upstate New York where they are unwittingly thrown into the middle of a community divided by religious disagreement. The film is meant to couple fiction with historical reality.
“My greatest hope is that people who watch the movie will come away with a compelling, emotional experience,” said producer Scott Swofford.
A record setting $7.4 million budget is backed by a cast of Hollywood notables such as Tiffany Dupont (“Cheaper by the Dozen”) who plays Lydia McBride and Eric Johnson (“Smallville”) who plays Joshua Steed.
“The actors were cast according to their talent and suitability for the role,” said former Disney studio executive Jeff Simpson. “Religious preferences were not a consideration.”
The film uses the first book in the series, “Pillar of LIght,” as the basis for the film. The discrepancy between the more than 400-page novel and the 120-page shooting script required significant condensations and changes.
“The first draft script that I wrote was a four-hour film,” writer Russ Holt said. “We eventually had to identify one main protagonist if the film was going to take.”
The films will open in theaters throughout Utah on Wednesday, Nov. 24 followed by a national release Jan. 21, 2005.
-mattgo@cc.usu.edu