Often described as a faith-based version of the Oscar-winning ensemble drama Crash, I Am, a contemporary film about the Ten Commandments, released on DVD in November. John Ward, the film’s writer/director and producer, offered his thoughts on why the film is important and how it all came together.

In the film, how does the name God called Himself, “I AM,” relate to the Ten Commandments?

When I set out to try and portray the Ten Commandments in the modern day, I was driven by a desire to try and understand why God gave them to us in the first place. In that journey, I really began to learn so much more about who God is—the great I Am, as He identified himself to Moses. It was in that mind-set that I tried to make a movie that shows how loving our God really is. He gave us these commandments only to see us fail miserably at upholding them, but somehow—through the great miracle that is God—He is still desperate for a relationship with us.

The Ten Commandments were a hot topic a while back with battles in the courts. Why did you choose to do a movie about them now?

I’m heartbroken at the perception of the Ten Commandments as this restrictive, negative document. I believe they are, in fact, a love letter from God. The people of Israel were just freed from slavery, and God was reaching out with advice from the perspective only He could have—with guidelines to protect us from ourselves. He is not damaged when we fail to follow them. We are. Yet, here we are nearly 3,500 years later with the same pain and suffering as a result of the endless struggle with these 10 simple rules.

Tell us about the casting choices.

Without a doubt, the greatest challenge was trying to cast God—the I Am. Morgan Freeman and George Burns had famously played Him, but it was tongue-in-cheek. This was drama—as is.

Our first rule was that we didn’t want any recognizable face attached because we didn’t want people seeing a celebrity instead of Him. Next, we decided that we wouldn’t limit ourselves in any physical way, so we reached out to all the agencies in Hollywood saying, send us any age, race, gender—we simply wanted an overwhelming presence.

After hundreds of auditions, one of the co-producers showed me a tape from an actor who was so unknown and so broke he didn’t have an address. The sample scene was so grainy and so raw, it was hard to even hear the dialogue, but I knew that was the person we were searching so hard for. I said to the guys in the office, “Where else would the person come from to play God than the most obscure place we can imagine?” His name was Tomas Boykin, and he did an absolutely phenomenal job in one of the most difficult acting assignments possible.

What was your experience directing this film?

Writing this movie was agonizingly difficult. Dealing with all the characters, the commandments. … Strangely though, directing this movie was a dream. The cast was incredible and the crew was tireless. My director of photography, Christopher Marcus, made me look far more talented than I really am—the actors, too.

Why did you decide to screen the movie first through churches rather than theaters?

I AM is a movie that doesn’t preach. By design, it doesn’t give all the answers in a neat little bow. It’s designed to make people think and to stir thoughts and questions. We felt strongly that churches were the ideal place to debut the film because they were so well equipped to facilitate conversations beyond just a screening. No movie theater could offer that opportunity. Luckily, the folks at 20th Century Fox were so supportive—we were thrilled at the results.

How will you be promoting the DVD?

Well, first of all, the movie has screened in over 2,000 churches, which is great. My producing partner, Todd Zeile, and I are canvassing the country throughout October and November, showing the movie at live events.

What should Christian retailers know about this film?

Amidst that wall of DVDs in your store is a movie that strives to change everything. It tackles one of the most iconic pillars of not only our faith, but our entire civilization—the Ten Commandments—in our modern day, not with swords and sandals. It changes the way Christian films are made by not just preaching to the choir, but reaching out to those who’ve turned away from God. It makes the perfect gift from a believer to someone with whom they just want to start a conversation, but also can be a challenging introspection for the most mature of faiths. And, oh yeah, hopefully it’s an entertaining movie, too.

• Prev
• Next