A conversation with the filmmaker

By Christopher P. Jacobs
Movies Editor

Director Vaughn Juares, who is married to producer and star Bridget McGrath, works full-time at an ad agency shooting commercials. While he’s made several shorts and edited features for others, “I’m Not Jesus, Mommy” is his first feature film as a director. Last weekend I spoke with him by phone. Below is an edited transcript of some of our conversation.

CPJ: What inspired you to develop this genre and particular story for your first feature?
VJ: I was hospitalized in Europe and the only book they had to read was the Bible in Castilian Spanish. In Spain there is so much Christ imagery everywhere… I just felt like it would be a cool way to treat the Apocalypse, the idea of “what is the second coming” and could technology bring about the second coming. I work in comedy a lot of the time. This story was a surprise for a lot of people. We didn’t start out to make a horror film. I think it’s a sci-fi thriller, a psychological film. We thought this was a neat idea. If someone were to clone Christ, would that actually be a part of the prophesies?

The script was originally written in a very commercial way, back in 2004. It was star-driven, more like “Mission Impossible,” and was optioned by an actor who later decided not to do it. If I’d had a big budget I would have made something else. It wouldn’t have even been close to the same thing. I completely started over in 2008, and filmed in late 2008 and 2009, then spent a year and a half editing.

CPJ: The transition from the first part to the post-apocalyptic section is pretty abrupt and many things are left unexplained.

VJ: A lot of the choices were budget-driven. I felt like every other apocalyptic movie had already done [all the spectacular disaster scenes], so I didn’t think I needed to add any time to the movie to show that. Many scenes were shortened considerably in the editing. When you’re paying by the foot (with film prints), you have to be careful about what you put in. We had to leave a lot on the cutting room floor. We originally explained the whole movie at the end. In the exchange between the Devil and the Anti-Christ when they’re finally united, I wanted them to say something brilliant to close the movie and couldn’t figure it out, so I put “knock-knock, who’s there” as a placeholder. A friend loved it and convinced me to keep it. It’s really strange, in a good way. I cut the dialogue from what was a 10-minute scene to what’s now about three or four minutes. I like the way movies from the 30s and 40s just end. If I’m not going to explain it, I might as well end it.

CPJ: The “R” rating for “some disturbing violent content” seems rather arbitrary, based more on the title and the potentially sensitive issues treated than on what is actually seen on screen. And was that title change decided during production or after the distribution company started to think about marketing it?

VJ: Strictly from a marketing perspective. It’s a lot easier for a film to show up on a Google search if it has a unique title. People kept forgetting the title “Man Made.” Very few people forget the title “I’m Not Jesus, Mommy.” It sticks in people’s head the first time they hear it, although it’s potentially controversial. A lot of people automatically misjudge the movie and assume the filmmakers are atheists, that the movie is anti-Christian, when the opposite is true and I tried to base it honestly on the Bible, the Book of the Apocalypse, Revelations. People are living comfortably and then the world literally goes to hell in just a couple of years. Religion and faith are different and the Roger character is too narcissistic to recognize it. Roger has control problems and has extreme ideologies.

The R rating hurt us. We set out intentionally to make a PG-13. Violence is all off-camera, there’s no nudity or strong language. Every bone in my body was expecting it to be PG-13, with what Hollywood puts out today. I don’t believe the MPAA is out to help independent filmmakers.

CPJ: Any parting reflections on the film or the filmmaking process?

VJ: I think the movie asks a lot of viewers to take leaps of faith beyond what most films are because it’s based on the Apocalypse, which is so overwrought with symbolism. Anyone who takes the Bible seriously I think would be fascinated by this movie. This was an enormous effort. It’s so misunderstood.  Part of any ambiguity is just me doing a movie that was too big. We tried to bite off too much. That’s why we said, “Let’s do it!”

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