signup
for email updates
Directory
Our
Archive: 2001-2004
Cover
Art Archive
Search
|
Three friends, one great
idea: The making of the movie Indigo
by Arielle Ford
Neale Donald Walsch is best known for his bestselling book series, Conversations
with God. You could say he makes his living by talking to God. James Twyman is known
world wide as the peace troubadour. He spends most of his time in foreign lands speaking
and singing. Stephen Simon is a veteran film producer (credits include Somewhere
in Time and What Dreams May Come) who fled Hollywood to join his friends in Ashland,
Ore., while focusing on making what he calls "spiritual cinema." Three
best friends. Three men committed to a spiritual path who decided to risk their friendship
and their reputations by making a movie together. A movie called Indigo.
"Indigo is about taking responsibility for the choices we make. It's about the
thin line that separates success from failure, and love from regret. It is a film
about redemption, grace and the healing powers of a new generation of psychic and
gifted "Indigo" children," explains Simon, director and producer of
Indigo. "It tells the story of one family's three fateful choices that result
in bankruptcy, jail, and their estrangement and total dissolution. Through the healing
and psychic powers of the family's youngest member -- Grace, a 10-year-old "Indigo"
child -- the family finally has a chance."
Indigo was shot on a $500,000 budget and financed through thousands of small contributions
from people around the world who believed passionately that the film's powerful message
needed to be brought to the world.
James Twyman, co-wrote the script with Neale Donald Walsch and served as the film's
executive producer. Walsch, who has been an actor for more than 30 years on stage
and screen, stars in the film as the grandfather of the Indigo child.
"This was a dream come true for me. Showing up every day on the set by 5 a.m.
for makeup was sheer fun," says Walsch. "Knowing I was doing something
really important to get a message out brought me a lot of psychological enjoyment.
"And, even though many of the days were 12-14 hours long, I loved every minute
of it!"
Did making Indigo put their friendship to the test?
"No, surprisingly it didn't," Simon says. "From the minute we decided
to do it, to the minute the final frame of film was edited, we never had any trouble.
In fact, we are doing it again, but that's another story."
Indigo will be presented in a special one-day-only screening at more than 100 AMC
Theatres nationwide, in more than 250 churches and organizations across country and
in more than 20 foreign countries, on Saturday, Jan. 29. In less than one week after
tickets went on sale for this special event, 36 theaters were sold out and 70 percent
of available tickets were sold for Indigo's premiere theatrical engagements. Tickets
will cost $10 and advance ticket sales are only available online at www.indigothemovie.com.
For a list of available theaters and church groups, go to www.indigothemovie.com
The theatrical premiere of Indigo is presented by Emissary Productions [www.emissaryoflight.com],
The Spiritual Cinema Circle, the nation's fastest growing new DVD film club, and
Monterey Video, which will release Indigo on DVD in the Spring. In addition to watching
Indigo on the big screen, moviegoers will be treated to a special introduction by
director/producer Stephen Simon, screenwriter James Twyman and writer/lead actor
Neale Donald Walsch.
Since the World Premiere of Indigo at the Santa Fe Film Festival late last year,
buzz about the film has been nothing short of amazing. The first showing of the film
(in a 500-seat venue) sold out in less than four hours, a first for the four-year-old
festival. Three more screenings sold out the next day, and the film won the coveted
Audience Choice Award over more than 200 other films. Clay Peres, program director
for the Santa Fe Film Festival, said, "The intensity of interest in Indigo was
unprecedented."
Interest in Indigo stems from the growing number of children born around the world
who exhibit unusual and special gifts, such as deep compassion, perception, healing
and verbalizing the wish for world peace.
Lee Carroll and Jan Tober, internationally known experts on Indigo children, and
authors of The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived (Hay House, 1999), describe
Indigos as "children who display a new and unusual set of psychological attributes."
Research has found that the Indigo child is not just an American phenomenon. Indigo
children seem to go far beyond cultural barriers, and can be found all around the
world. Many schools throughout the world such as the Waldorf, Montessori and Rainbow
Kids Integral School (founded in September 2002 in the Miramar area of San Diego)
are now developing curriculum to cater towards the special gifts of these Indigo
children.
Simon says the unique and unprecedented type of film release may be the beginning
of a true sea change in the way independent films are promoted and distributed.
Gay Hendricks, co-founder of The Spiritual Cinema Circle, adds, "As the leading
purveyor of Spiritual Cinema, we are blazing new trails in film distribution. Our
thousands of subscribers from over 60 countries trust us to find meaningful movies
that appeal to their values. By sponsoring the theatrical premiere of a film such
as Indigo, we show how important this new and growing genre is to so many people."
Arielle Ford founded her own public relations agency in 1987, The Ford Group,
specializing in representing leaders in the areas of new thought, human potential
and mind-body medicine. She launched her own career as an author in 1997 with the
publication of her first book, Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Soul and followed with
More Hot Chocolate for The Mystical Soul and Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Teenage
Soul, Hot Chocolate For The Mystical Lover: 101 Stories of Soul Mates Brought Together
By Divine Intervention and her latest, Magical Souvenirs (all available from Plume
Books).
Copyright © 2005 Arielle Ford |
| January 2005 |
|
|
