THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

“To save Earth from an alien probe, Kirk and his crew go back in time to retrieve the only beings that can communicate with it – humpback whales.”

Such are the loglines of movies produced, co-produced, or executive produced by Ralph Winter.

Not only has Ralph been involved in the making of X-MEN – I, II, and II, STAR TREK – II, IV, V, and VI, and MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, among many other movies, he is now working on yet another nature-gone-bad science fiction entitled FANTASTIC FOUR, after the famous comic book. Its logline reads,

“A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use those powers to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom.” No way!

What’s in the mind of one who would produce such wild and incredible sci-fi movies? Actually, audiences might be surprised to find a very normal guy – with an extraordinary outlook.

From School…to the Store…to TV… to Film

Ralph Winter was a history major at the University of California at Berkeley. Upon graduation, he began creating industrial videos for department stores. After winning some national awards for some of these, he moved into Paramount Studios, working in a post-production role for television programs.

This experience whet his appetite to produce movies, so after three years at Paramount as the co-head of his group, he ventured out to co-produce some of the STAR TREK movies.

“It was a great experience, and I’ve been fortunate since then to be able to leverage my skills as an executive producer or producer on a variety of features and TV shows at various studios.”

Faithful in Little… Entrusted with Much

Ralph considers each phase of his education and work history to be valuable stepping-stones to his current projects.

These days, Ralph is hard at work on FANTASTIC 4 with 20th Century Fox. The crew will be shooting this August in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the almost $90 million movie slated for a July ‘05 release. “Our hope is that fans who love FANTASTIC 4 will support multiple movies. Part of my job is to revitalize this 40-year-old comic book and make the material accessible even to those unaware of its cultural significance.”

The movie will be filmed in live action, rather than animation, and will highlight the four superheroes of the Marvel world. “Gamma radiation hits, and these guys get superhero abilities. The movie is about how they get their powers, then how they work together and live – taking care of the bad guys with a lot of live action.” The plan is the same as it was on the X-MEN movies. “We’ll make this first one for a price, and if the story and characters are enthralling, we’ll be making more.” Incidentally, Ralph produced two of the X-MEN movies, with another one slated for 2006.

Cultivate Faith, Integrity, and Relationships

Ralph grew up in the church, becoming a Christian at the age of twelve. “I was very involved trying to walk the walk of faith and see what it means to follow Christ. The biggest way it informs me now is in the kinds of materials I choose, the people I work with, and the goal of just trying to do excellent work with integrity.” Ralph believes that it’s just as important how people are treated as what product is being produced. “I have fun making important, compelling and inspiring works, but God has impressed me to build relationships and cultivate them with the same or greater zeal as making each movie.”

Stay Accountable

Through the years, a number of pastors have come alongside Ralph, teaching him and acting as sounding boards for various issues. “Bill Tibert of Colorado Springs, a guy who used to be in the Navy, was a youth leader at my church. He mentored me after my conversion to Christ. Also, there’s a friend H. Spees, who was running for the Mayor of Fresno, but now the pastor of a large church in Fresno. He’s done the same thing.” Ralph believes that it’s all about the journey, not necessarily the destination. “These relationships can be very helpful, and very useful. I’m in business with others, in partnership with other Christian filmmakers right now, and I get mentored as much or more as I ever give them.”

Excellence and Integrity

First Ralph Winter is more focused on doing excellent work with integrity than on evangelizing Hollywood. “I’m not interested in necessarily producing overt, evangelical, heavy agenda films, but rather in telling inspiring stories about how people get through life and negotiate issues. I have worked on the clearly Christian movies like LEFT BEHIND, which was fun and a bit more overt than some of the others, but pronounced evangelism is not my first intention in selecting projects. I like to stay more in the mainstream sector of the industry, and if people have questions along the way, I’m delighted to share the good news of what Christ has done for me, rather than preaching it through the material.

I do want everyone to have what I have, and I hope that through the excellence of good storytelling my projects stir up those questions and cravings in my audiences.”

Ralph has seen through the years that people don’t want to be preached at.

“Movies aren’t good at that. Audiences can smell that a mile away. It must be subtle, if a message is to be sent at all. Actually, even THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST is not as overt as you’d think. It’s a great movie, but it’s portrayed as a love poem.

Everybody knows the story. It’s a question of seeing it as a work of art. It’s fantastic. It’s a powerful story of sacrifice and what Jesus went through in giving that sacrifice, but it raises lots of questions about, ‘Who is that person? Why would he do this? Who is that baby?’ It stirs cravings and opens the door for believers to answer questions. Churches and Christians can fill a unique role right now to answer the questions sparked by this movie.”

Bring Excellent, Crossover Materials to the Studios

It’s an open playing field in Hollywood for people of faith if they can create commercial material that will connect them to an audience, believes Ralph. “For instance, we made, distributed, put in theatres and now in video stores a movie called HANGMAN'S CURSE. We made this Frank Peretti adaptation for $2 million, brought it to a studio, and they recognized, well in advance of THE PASSION, that they wanted to be involved.

We brought them a fully financed movie, from an author who is basically a rock star in the Christian fiction world, we presented a way to get it into that market, and sell the product for a profit. 20th Century Fox was more than happy to buy the product, distribute it and get it to the market.”

Many Christians are interested in preaching and having an agenda, but studios don’t find that to be marketable, says Ralph. He tells rising Christian artists that studios don’t want heavy-handed, obvious preachy-ness, or movies that lack production value.

“THE PASSION had top, top production value. It had a big movie star, Mel Gibson, to conceptualize and bring it to the market, it had a fabulous actor, Jim Caviezel, it had a huge budget, and it was very, very well made by an Academy Award-winning director. Christians want quality, too. Their desire for entertainment is no different than the secular world.”

Another recent film that impressed Ralph was Tom Shadiak’s BRUCE ALMIGHTY. “This movie showed an A-list actor, Jim Carey, basically praying the sinner’s prayer – laying it out there. But, it wasn’t preachy. It was totally entertaining and captivating. Other long time Christian filmmakers couldn’t have done as well, though I must say I wish I had come up with the idea.”

As for more biblical epics on the heels of THE PASSION, Ralph isn’t sure. “There’s room for the biblical epics like BEN HUR, but I’m not seeing that coming out the studio’s mind right now. I could be wrong.”

In a Multitude of Counselors is Wisdom

As to discerning talent, Ralph suggests examining whether or not others are recognizing it and finding it inspiring and page turning. Many young Christians want him to read their material, but he tells them he’s not the benchmark to determine whether they’re a good writer or not, that they’ve got to test it inside and outside the community. “At Glendale Presbyterian Church, where I’m still attending, I did videos for mission trips and stewardship campaigns to try out my skills. I had to ask, ‘Are people motivated to help because of the video? I had to track very specific, targeted programs and measurements. I had to assess the encouragement level of others, too. Were they saying, ‘We want to see more?’ That’s a sure way to discern your gift early on. Unfortunately, Christians aren’t taking advantage of that. They’re not offering and testing out their talents in church – a market that’s very forgiving, by the way.”

Ralph points out that the New Testament tells believers how to understand their gifts and places in the body of Christ, and any good pastor can help an artist discern their talents and gifts.

Serve in Humble Jobs First

Everyone wants to write or direct in Hollywood, but many do not have a proven track record, states Ralph. “Equipment is cheap. If you really want to do this, get some equipment and help your pastor tell a story through video. Then see if your work is compelling.

Does it set fires under people and really makes them think?

If you can’t do it in a 3-minute format, what makes you think you can do it in 2-hour format?”

One of the biggest roadblocks Ralph sees for people of faith is the lack of good material and the often-unethical environment of the industry. “With the level of competition in the industry, it’s easy to step on people, to steal projects, and to do unethical things to push your agenda ahead. There’s a daily temptation and pressure to do that.” Ralph tries to resist taking the easy way out, but rather works hard to develop each project with excellence and a focus on honoring others through fostering trusted relationships.

Think Outside the Box

Ralph encourages those interested in Hollywood to consider alternate avenues as well. “There are a lot of opportunities out there in the movie business and television, but there are other venues in many cities such as video and film work for universities, corporate videos, churches, etc. Everyone uses media in some way. It’s admirable that people want to be in the movie business, but you’ve got to play college ball first before you play in the NBA. There are very few walk-ons in the NBA. There are lots of opportunities to be involved in the media. You just have to connect the dots and find out what’s going to make it all work for you.”

Not only does this producer think outside the Hollywood box with his focus on relationship building, integrity, and evoking audience questions through good story-telling, he’s obviously unafraid to shoot straight to those with ears to hear. Best to you, Ralph Winter!

NOTE from Dr. Ted Baehr: For more information from a Christian perspective, order the latest MOVIEGUIDE� magazine by calling 1-800-899-6684(MOVI) or visit our website at www.movieguide.org. MOVIEGUIDE� is dedicated to redeeming the values of Hollywood by informing parents about today's movies and entertainment and by showing media executives and artists that family-friendly and even Christian-friendly movies do best at the box office year in and year out. MOVIEGUIDE� now offers an online subscription to its magazine version, atwww.movieguide.org. The magazine, which comes out 25 times a year, contains many informative articles and reviews that help parents train their children to be media-wise consumers. MOVIEGUIDE� also regularly broadcasts several international TV and radio programs hosted by Dr. Baehr.