Danny Todd wrote a script for a new movie on his phone four years ago.
He wasn’t sure if they would ever do the film. They tried once before, but plans fell through. After the success that he and film company partner Ryan Hanner had on “UNCOMMN” which documented the success of former Newton High School coach Ryan Smith, the two decided to forge ahead with the movie.
The product of that work will be hitting the big screen in Meridian this weekend, as they are premiering “Modern Day Disciples” at the Temple Theatre Saturday night at 6 p.m.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and admission is free to the screening. A love offering will be taken on the night of the screening.
Todd said he and Hanner didn’t go into filmmaking for the money, but to do it as a ministry.
“This is a ministry,” Todd said. “While we want to be able to make some money to be able to cover costs and do more movies, it was never about the money. What we wanted to do was to spread the gospel by making movies.”
The movie follows the lives of Daniel and Garrett, played by Todd and Hanner respectively. The two were friends growing up but then went down two different paths in their lives. However, the two lives are intertwined throughout the movie.
“In the first draft of the movie, my role didn’t really exist,” Hanner said. “Now, it’s probably one of the most prominent roles in the movie.”
Todd said as they began to develop the film and get it ready for filming, they rewrote the script and gave Garrett a much larger role in the movie.
“The movie follows a man and his son, and then you see the worst case scenario as Garrett ends up in prison,” Todd said. “But their two lives are more connected than they realize.”
Todd said the film was shot in three different states, Mississippi, North Carolina and West Virginia. Most of the Mississippi scenes were shot in and around East Central Mississippi. One of the more prominent scenes was at the old jail in Kosciusko, a location that created one of the most unusual experiences while filming.
“Someone called the police on us,” Hanner said. “We had prisoners dressed up in prison clothes. During a break, we went across the road and got some snacks. Evidently, people thought that people had been breaking out of the old jail. The police came by and checked us out. We actually put those officers in one of the scenes in the movie. It’s showed how God worked things out for us.”
In fact, they decided to give God the role as casting director in the film because of the way God helped bring the cast together while keeping a $6,000 shoestring budget for the film.
“We had a lot of adversity putting this film together,” Todd said. “Some of our lead actors didn’t show up, but we found out Ryan fit the role of Garrett perfectly. There have been so many things like that happened to us. God has really provided for us throughout this film.”
Todd said this film would be a great time for families to go out and as a Father’s Day weekend outing.
“It’s a great movie for all the dads out there,” Todd said. “Everyone is welcome to come out and see the movie.”
