An updated version of the short story by Mark Twain, THE WAR PRAYER is to begin filming April 2007 in the California Bay Area. It is an anti-war piece about a strange visitor who shows up at a church.
The film stars Jeremy Sisto, Tim Sullivan, Tommy Dekker and Ed Kerr, and is directed by Michael Goorjian.
Thank you to all the IMDb users who brought this project to my attention. Can't wait to see it!
********
UPDATES
10/26/08: There are a few rare pix from the production set of the film at David.Guilmette.googlepages.com. Just scroll down a bit and they'll be on the right! Thank you to VBFHENRM for the link!
06/01/08: Sorry about the short notice, but Mari just found this info today! Tonight, THE WAR PRAYER will be showing at the 2008 Boston Armenian Film Festival, presented by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. For more info, go to ArmenianDrama.org
03/15/08: According the the film official site, THE WAR PRAYER will be shown at the 2008 California Independent Film Festival in April 2008. For info, go to the official Lyceum Films site and click on "what's new".
03/11/08: THE WAR PRAYER will be screening at the 2008 Sonoma Valley Film Festival in Northern California! It will be part of the "Red Shorts" program for Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, 2008!!! A note of special interest: A film Jeremy was almost in ONE OF OUR OWN, directed by Abe Levy, will also be shown at the festival.
02/22/08: THE WAR PRAYER will be screening at the 2008 Beverly Hills Short Film Festival on March 2, 2008!!!
01/08/08: THE WAR PRAYER is available to view in its entirety at the Lyceum Films site now (Quicktime)!!!
12/01/07: THE WAR PRAYER is finally available to view online!!! Director Michael Goorjian has a new Official site, and when you get there, click on "directing" to view the film. It will take some time to download!!!
11/11/07: THE WAR PRAYER will be playing in Oakland, CA on November 13! For anyone in or near that area who is interested, admission is free! For more info, go to the Lyceum Films website!!
10/16/07: Thank you to Susan for this news!!! The Lyceum Films site is back up, and the film has been renamed: MARK TWAIN'S THE WAR PRAYER...When you get to the site, click on "What's new" for updates about the ARPA Film Festival, and also the upcoming ARTIVISTS FILM FESTIVAL, which will both be playing in the LA/Hollywood CA area in the coming weeks!!!
10/10/07: The official site of lyceumfilms.com seems to be missing right now, but I found this link with a Hollywood, CA screening of THE WAR PRAYER in November!!! Tix.com
And also, the 2007 ARPA International Film Festival in Los Angeles area will be showing the film in November!!!
08/29/07: Here is the schedule for THE WAR PRAYER at the LA Shorts Festival. The film will be shown among other similar-themed works and is 10 minutes in length.
08/18/07: THE WAR PRAYER is soon to be seen in festivals!!! It will screen at the 2007 LA Shorts Fest on September 11, 2007 in Burbank, CA. A few weeks later, it will be shown at the 2007 Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal, Quebec!
06/30/07: Here is the myspace page for Lyceum Films
06/18/07: THE WAR PRAYER is currently in post production! Go to Lyceum Films, find the WAR PRAYER site, and click on "What's new" for the latest update!
05/18/07: The official site of THE WAR PRAYER is now up at LYCEUM FILMS. When you get to the site, just click on "The War Prayer". There are several pages about the film, and lots of new pix of Jeremy as "The Messenger"!!!
05/15/07: The official site for Lyceum Films is now up! With info about THE WAR PRAYER!
04/17/07: Found this cool blog from another extra on the set. Anyone who wants to know what it was like to meet and talk to Jeremy should read this!!! : )
UPDATE 04/15/07: Inside Bay Area has a new article on the film, which was shot yesterday.
Also, here is a blog about the production, with a few pix and an amusing video about how Jeremy's costume was prepared!!!
********
My "Extra" 2 Cents : )
I had the distinct priviledge of being an extra on this film. The shoot was yesterday, April 14th in Castro Valley, CA at their Center of Performing Arts. During a spirited evangelical church service, the minister calls for a prayer for God's blessings upon the men and women who are fighting the war, and above all for victory. The patriotic celebration is interrupted by a mysterious stranger in ragged clothing.
I got to be one of the church congregation and the whole experience was so much fun. I hope all of us extras did a great job for the cast and crew. We want to be a blessing, not a hinderance!!! : )
I used a different name than Mari Weir. I met a very nice girl named Melina, who lives in the Bay Area and who also did extra work on The Matrix. I met a father and his 2 kids from Oakland, a nice young lady from San Francisco and another nice lady from Walnut Creek who came to the shoot simply because she loves THE WAR PRAYER story and believes in its message.
As for the professionals on the set, they were wonderful to work with and for. I didn't recognize the director as actor Michael Goorjian until I got a good look at him. He did a great job. I forget the first assistant director's name, but he told a few jokes and kept our spirits light between takes. The crew were courteous and friendly and very helpful. Everyone was so patient with us when things had to be shuffled and juggled a little to get the scene just right. Tim Sullivan did a great job as the preacher. Tommy Dekker played a church singer and we all got to sing a contemporary Christian song.
As for my favorite actor? Well first of all, I can't believe how calm I was when I first saw him on the set. We all went out on a break before he arrived to the set, and when we were let back in, only a few of us actually came back in because the crew said, "They're not filming right now, so you might be bored." I was just walking down the stairs, hoping I would not fall down (I wore a long skirt) and I just happened to look up and there Jeremy was, right in the center of the stage. In the flesh. One of my nightmares is falling, and it's worse to fall and be a klutz in front of someone you have no desire to be a klutz in front of. The auditorium at the Center has some semi-precarious steps to negotiate while you're looking for your assigned seat, and I was terrified I'd trip over my skirt and take a header.
Second of all, I will never regret driving the distance to experience just a taste of what it is like to work with him. He is every bit the professional. He was very focused, very concentrated on what he was to do. Although he appeared relaxed, he often paced, deep in thought. Low key, yet I did spy him talking and smiling with some of the extras up in front where he was.
His performance was powerful, and if I wasn't concentrating so hard on being shocked and upset by "this homeless man's appearance in our church", I would swear I was enjoy him in a play.
About 50 of the extras stayed until later that night to do some more work with the principal actors. I elected not to. I didn't think I'd have the stamina to be up from 5 AM Saturday to maybe midnight. I am fortunate, priviledged and very happy to have had this wonderful experience. Most of us were released at around 3 PM, and I happily made my way to my motel room, turned on TNT, took my pain pills (for my bum leg) and went to sleep.
When we left, Goorjian and the crew thanked us for donating our time to this worthy project. I think they're donating just as much, if not more, than I am. And I thank THEM, all of them, for a great weekend.
********
On the heavier side...
The story on which this film is based was not published until some years after the author's death. Twain had read the story to friends and collegues, and even tried to get it published, but it was meant with rejection by publishers who felt it was "inappropriate" and probably "unpatriotic" material to publish in the time it was written, that time being during the Spanish-American War.
To get an idea of what the film will be about, here is a transcription of the short story. It is only a page long, but it is extraordinary.
WhatReallyHappened.com has the prayer, along with pictures of today's warfare's impact upon families and especially children. I warn you, some of the pictures on this page are very graphic and disturbing and violent. This particular page is not affiliated with Lyceum Films or anyone involved with The War Prayer film. It's a page I found and found to a very big impact on me, relaying the same message the film is relaying.