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| "People will do for God what they won't do for money." Kieser with Moira Kelly on the set of "Dorothy Day." |
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The Father of Hollywood
Producer Father Bud Kieser Brings His Mission to the Movies
Kieser's first feature, Romero, traced the life and death of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated for empowering the poor in El Salvador. It starred the late Raul Julia and received widespread critical acclaim.
Father Kieser is a Roman Catholic Priest in the Paulist order, which specializes in serving those outside the church. The transition to Hollywood started 35 years ago when he taught a lecture series in Los Angeles for non-believers. The classes were so successful that he wanted to be able to reach a wider audience in L.A. His solution was to create Paulist Productions and put the lecture series on television, but Kieser quickly changed the format to drama for more compelling programming. These "Insight" programs lasted for 23 years and became a kind of experimental theater for Hollywood television. In 1978, Paulist Productions aired the prime time Capitol City Family Specials, which focused on the dilemmas of teens. The first of these, The Fourth Wise Man, was made in 1984, and four years later his first movie of the week We Are the Children aired. I recently talked with Father Kieser about how he became the Hollywood priest.
Tony Leahy (MM): What influenced you to become a producer and create Paulist Productions?
Father Kieser (FK): Jesus was a storyteller. I'm a storyteller. He stood on the side of a hill to tell his stories. I make movies to tell my stories. It seems a strange mix, being a priest and a producer, though at the deepest level I don't think it is.
MM: Did you receive a formal film education?
FK: I learned how to be a producer by working with the best in the industry. I started "Insight" in 1960, and in 1970 I got a doctorate in the theology of communication.
MM: How did you go from being a priest to being a priest who makes five million dollar movies?
FK: I've been working in the industry now for 35 years. Show business, particularly in Hollywood, is like a club. I know most everybody in the club. I think I just paid my dues. I have gotten to know a great number of the better writers and directors in the industry. I also have a very good board of directors which helps me raise money.
MM: How did Paulist Productions fund Romero and Dorothy Day?
FK: Through donations. We spent three and half million dollars to make Romero, raising a million of that with donations, and borrowing the remaining two and a half. We didn't make any money on that picture, but we didn't lose any. We're not in the money-making business so we were way ahead. We raised four million more for the next film.
MM: How were you able to attract and obtain such marquee stars as Raul Julia, Moira Kelly and Martin Sheen to work for scale pay in your movies?
FK: People will do for God what they won't do for money. All three people you mentioned are people of profound faith. Raul Julia was paid more than scale. Everybody else on Romero was paid scale. Everybody on Dorothy Day was paid scale. Scale plus 10 percent for their agents.
MM: How much do you get involved in production?
FK: Totally. I do not want a director with whom I do not have a relationship and with whom I cannot stay in constant dialogue. This doesn't mean I tell them how to direct, but particularly in the area of performance I am very involved.
MM: If Dorothy Day turns a profit, what do you plan on doing with that money?
FK: Our revolving capital fund can be spent on future pictures without having to raise more money.
MM: But didn't We Are the Children help create funding for the starving children in Ethiopia?
FK: We made an appeal in We Are the Children for people to send donations to the various relief agencies, but we lost money with that film.
MM: Is recent criticism of Hollywood, for example Bob Dole's remarks, justified?
FK: To a degree. You can argue about how responsible motion pictures and television are for violence and the disintegration of the family and those sorts of things, but what you can't argue about is that the industry can do a lot better to enrich the public by communicating values.
MM: Where do you personally draw the line on sex and violence in your films?
FK: I believe the sexual act is an expression
of love and unconditional commitment. If the people in my picture
are not expressing that, I want the audience to be aware of the
incompleteness and dishonesty. I do not want to do anything to
stir up erotic impulses in an unhealthy way. And violence is a
part of life--we have violence in our pictures. Violence arises
from a sickness. We try to get below the surface of that sickness
and demonstrate that there are always alternatives. MM
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This story was published in the September 1995 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
The Father of Hollywood / Producer Father Bud Kieser Brings His Mission to the Movies
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