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Last week about 500 people came to Portland for our first Storyline Conference, a conference for people who want to tell stories rather than simply consume them. I was amazed by our time together, but at the same time, I was coming off of a four-year failure, and while you always have stories that don’t work, this one hurt. Four years before, Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson and I started writing the screenplay for Blue Like Jazz. We decided to make a movie that obeyed a story rather than a message, and the story was about a kid transitioning out of a faith that had all the supposed right answers, to a faith that stayed with him through the confusion and the doubt. He’s an arrogant kid at the beginning, willing to walk way from the “hypocrites” all around him, but after some very hard things happen, he’s humbled, and has to reconsider his own motives. That said, it’s not the typical story arc of a “Christian” movie. To be honest, I have a lot of respect for Christian film. The evangelical church is a subculture, and despite most people thinking I have a problem with it, I honestly don’t. A [...]

The writing of the book was a fun story. The book itself, I hope, was a fun story. The writing of the movie was a fun story. But the fundraising effort is not just another story: It’s world history. As we speak, enough small donations are coming in, one at a time, to fund a full-length feature film. And at the pace the campaign is moving, it will be the largest project ever funded on Kickstarter.com, and certainly the most people who have ever donated to fund a film. It’s a news story worthy of any news outlet on television. And we are watching it happen live. So many investors didn’t think you existed. Christians who wanted to be open and honest about their struggles, about their pasts, about their lives. It’s simply amazing. The world will know you exist, not just because of the movie, but because of the incredible story of getting this movie made. Steve and I are beside ourselves. We just don’t know what to say. Thank you is not enough.

It looks like the weather is going to warm up and stay dry for the Storyline Conference (see below about the name change) this Sunday and Monday. We can’t wait. We’ve been working for months on this, and it is by far the most preparation we’ve put into any event. Here are some things to expect: 1. Registration begins at 5 on Sunday. There’s a matinee of Sunset Boulevard in the theater, so we will be doing a changeover on the stage as registration takes place. The lobby is large and there’s an in-house coffee shop and cafe, so we can hang out in the lobby before the conference begins. Though we don’t start until 6:30, feel free to come at 5, get registered, and then explore the neighborhood. Powell’s, the largest new and used bookstore in the world is right across the street, and there are tons of shops and restaurants to check out. 2. Because we will be setting up our stage, we won’t be able to open the doors to the actual theater till 6 (the lobby will be open for registration). Come right at 6 and claim your seats. There’s not a bad seat in the [...]

The book that swept the country will not sweep theaters. It’s a sad day amongst many of my friends. After spending a year writing the screenplay, and another year trying to raise money for the movie, everything seems to be on hold indefinitely. There are several reasons we won’t be moving forward, but after writing a book about writing the screenplay, I felt I owed everybody a few takes on why: 1. It’s really hard to raise money for movies right now. In fact, it’s worse than it’s ever been in the history of hollywood. On one hand, that’s terrible for us, but on the other it would have been great because Blue Like Jazz would have had much less competition at the box office. 2. Blue Like Jazz is a very hard film for church-going, evangelical Christians to get behind. The folks who invest in Christian movies were scared to death of Blue Like Jazz. While it has a PG-13 rating, there is language, drug use and a scene where the protagonists put a giant condom on a steeple. To me, it’s the only movie that takes an honest look at a Christian kid coming of age in America, [...]