Speaking about
Witnesses, he said the following (rough transcript):
There were negative reviews coming in even before we really had a script. I have a group of ardent fans—maybe the most ardent fans I have—who watch everything I do like hawks. And they were convinced this was going to be—well, first of all, they were convinced that the film would never be made, because I was going to embezzle the funds or maybe had already embezzled the funds.
Or, if there was a film that was going to be made, it was going to be me with a handheld Super-8 movie camera making the movie—which I think if you’ve seen it you know that wasn’t the case. I don’t claim to be an expert filmmaker, but I know some and so we were able to do, I think, a creditable job.
And there were others who would say, well, we know it won’t deal with, and they’d name an issue, a sensitive issue. The failure of the Kirtland Bank. Well, it does.
We know that it will never mention plural marriage. Well, it does.
It won’t mention the Witnesses left the church. Oh, it certainly does. That’s one of the main features of the film, which strengthens the case for the Witnesses.
Later, speaking about the new film, he said:
Now, I must say that the reviews are already starting to come in.
“It’s an anti-Community of Christ film.” The script isn’t even finished.
We’re deliberately leaving out any mention of Joseph Smith III as a possible successor. He was only eleven, you know.
And “it’s divisive by design.”
I love these reviews. It’s so easy, it saves so much time. Just write them as soon as you hear of a film, and you’re ready two or three years later when it comes out. You can turn them in.
“But if you are told by your leader to do a thing, do it. None of your business whether it is right or wrong.” Heber C. Kimball, 8 Nov. 1857