Filmmaker takes nostalgic look at ’80s Christian rock
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwadg.com
“I think Christian characters in movies tend to be portrayed as sinister, stupid, or super-heroes,” muses filmmaker Chris White. “But I never knew those kinds of Christians growing up. My youth group friends and I were weird and awkward and completely sincere.
“Church was a place where I could just be a kid, find friends, experience an unusual culture that was quite charming,” he adds. “I know a lot of people have had really bad experiences with religion and even abuse. But that wasn’t my experience, so I can’t really speak to that.”
What White wanted to speak to in his feature-length film “Electric Jesus” was how his experience as a sincere, hopeful, awkward Christian teen might inform his life now.
The premise of “Electric Jesus” is that four musicians — played by Wyatt Lenhart (singer/guitarist), Will Oliver (lead guitarist), Gunner Willis (bassist) and Caleb Hoffmann (drummer) — perform at a church camp talent show, following in the creative footsteps of their inspiration, Stryper.
(Courtesy Photo)
“I don’t think nostalgia, for its own sake, is very helpful,” says the writer and director, whose coming-of-age comedy will be showcased at this fall’s Fayetteville Film Festival. “I think nostalgia, those sentimental feelings for the past, feels a little unearned. But I also think the past holds clues to who we are, who we could be now. So I think there’s some merit in turning your memories and reminiscing into something useful now.”
White never toured with an ’80s Christian hair metal band, saying doing comedy improv in college was as close as he got. But he wishes he’d been in 316, the band he created for “Electric Jesus,” and he did write himself into the movie as Erik, the sound guy, portrayed by Andrew Eakle.
“At first, I was writing the screenplay as a kind of conversation with my old youth group friends: ‘Do you still go to church? Do you still believe all that stuff? Do you still listen to Christian rock music? What do you think that all meant?’” White says. “But that’s not art. Art is a conversation with myself. So the screenplay took a turn for the best when I redirected those questions to me. Things got personal. And ultimately, I think that’s far more interesting and valuable to an audience.”
The premise of “Electric Jesus” is that four musicians — played by Wyatt Lenhart (singer/guitarist), Will Oliver (lead guitarist), Gunner Willis (bassist) and Caleb Hoffmann (drummer) — perform at a church camp talent show, following in the creative footsteps of their inspiration, Stryper. They’re good enough that 316 is introduced to a flashy Christian rock promoter, Skip Wick (Brian Baumgartner), who wants to take the band on the road — promising the boys a dream summer of paid gigs and a shot at making a real record in Nashville. But most importantly, Skip’s offer represents the ultimate chance to “make Jesus famous.”
Of course, there are complications in the person of a girl named Sarah (Shannon Hutchinson) who stows away with the tour — and emerges as the band’s muse, its opening act and Erik’s first great love.
Eakle says Hutchinson was actually one of the first people he met when he began the audition process for “Electric Jesus” in Charleston, S.C. He’d moved there in 2016 after earning a degree in anthropology and instead deciding to pursue his lifelong love of acting.
Chris White
“I heard word after just a couple of months about casting for this movie about ’80s Christian rock stars,” he remembers, “and I thought, ‘It sounds like “Spinal Tap” to me but with ’80s Christian rock stars.” But I found Chris didn’t intend it to be mocking — or preachy and proselytizing — but very sincere and genuine. And I appreciated that respectful stance. So I showed up to this cattle call with probably 150 different actors from 15 to 25 years old, and Shannon and I struck up a conversation. We did 21/2 hours of auditioning that day, and I went through a grueling audition process over the next three or four months that culminated in a screen test — and I got the part.”
“I lobbyed myself for a long time,” says Eakle of the casting process. “I buckled down, did the work, convinced Chris I was this character, this shy, sweet, earnest kid — because I was, except my passion was the movie world. And I grew up in the church — my grandma and grandpa were pastors — so growing up in that Christian world, I knew it. I don’t call myself a person of faith anymore, but I was able to tap into who I was when I was 15.”
White knew that to turn his actors into a band of brothers, they’d have to become close in real life, so he settled them together in a “cast house” in Columbus, Ga. — a location selected for its great tax perks from the state of Georgia — for two weeks of rehearsals before the five or six weeks of filming started. It worked. They’re all still friends, still in contact, and working on projects together. And Baumgartner, an actor they already knew and loved from “The Office,” became the leader White wanted him to be.
“I told him I wanted him to be a mentor to them, much like Robin Williams was to the actors in ‘Dead Poets Society,’ and he really was,” White remembers.
Of course, the other half of the film was the original score and music by Daniel Smith. The first single from the soundtrack, “Commando for Christ,” co-written by White and Smith, was released June 26 with the video featuring the movie band 316. A press release for the film says the music — hard rock, metal, bluegrass, cow-punk and pop — transports viewers back to a time when they were young and free and “alive with purpose and possibility.”
“‘Electric Jesus’ is a celebration of friendship, music and the divine power of just being together, taking care of each other,” White says. “I hope people see it as a healing movie that has a lot of heart, but there’s also something to it that’s wistful, too. Maybe even a little melancholy.”
Of course, there are complications in the person of a girl named Sarah (Shannon Hutchinson) who stows away with the summer tour arranged by flashy Christian rock promoter Skip Wick (Brian Baumgartner).
(Courtesy Photo)
“It’s a great movie for right now,” he adds, “and not just because it’s nostalgic and reminds you of a simpler time. ‘Electric Jesus’ reminds us all that our heartbreaks, hopes, loss, passions — our memories — they stay with us for a reason. And maybe sometimes they can save us.
“It’s like Sarah tells Erik in the film: ‘Can’t God just be glad for us because we’re happy, having fun making music?’” White audibly smiles. “Well, yeah. I mean, I think so.”
FAQ
Fayetteville Film Fest:
‘Electric Jesus’
WHEN — Debuts at 7 p.m. Nov. 5
WHERE — Online at fayettevillefilmfest.org
COST — Available on a sliding price scale
INFO — fayettevillefilmfest.org
FYI — A Friend of the Festival film pass is available for $40 with access to all the films, livestreamed events and a swag bag.
