President / Producer / Writer

Bill Ewing is a precise and eloquent man, and is currently President of Every Tribe Entertainment. He is a producer and writer of the feature film “End of the Spear” and former Senior Vice President of Production Administration for Columbia Pictures. Bill has over 30 years of experience working on more than 100 studio productions, including “Awakenings”, “A League of Their Own”, “Men in Black II”, and his last project with Sony Pictures, “Spiderman”. People who know him describe him as a “man of excellence.”

Kathleen Cooke: Tell us about yourself and how you got started in the business.

Bill Ewing: I started in Ohio, where I was born. I was part of a dance review and I had imagined myself going to NY and being a performer on Broadway. My father was transferred to California and I moved out here in 1962 with my family. I got interested in acting for motion pictures and television, and actually started in the business as an actor. I went to college and had a fair amount of success in acting. In 1970 I did a picture, “Johnny Got his Gun,” written and directed by Dalton Trumbo. After that I started screenwriting. I was hired to do polishes and re-writes, but I wasn’t selling any of my original work. In 1972, after I had finished an ABC series called “Korg 70,000 BC,” I spoke with a friend who was an actor turned production manager, about learning how to make movies. He gave me my first job as a production assistant, and I moved up from there, working on the first re-make of “King Kong.” In 1980 I co-wrote a picture called “The Slayer” with J.S. Cardone and we raised $750,000 to produce this low-budget horror thriller. That was my first producing job, and that got us a development deal with Paramount. I produced “Thunder Alley” in 1984, and went to work at Columbia in 1986. I was there for fifteen years, and I left in 2001 without knowing exactly what I was going to do. That’s when I got connected to Every Tribe Entertainment, which is where I am now.

KC: How can someone today get started as a film producer?

BE: Today, it is important to have a college degree to be taken seriously. I am not familiar with a lot of the film school programs, but I have heard that Chapman and BIOLA have great film programs as well as USC and UCLA. However, the motion picture industry is so much about doing and because there is such a wealth of information accessible to everyone, now is a great time for potential filmmakers to gain knowledge. You can learn it from books, but it’s really practical knowledge that works best in this industry. My recommendation is to get out there and start making films. You can get DVcams now and Final Cut Pro at reasonable rates. I think education is great, but it’s the hands on experience that you get from doing that really advances you in this industry.

KC: Tell us about your latest projects.

BE: In 2002 Every Tribe Entertainment did a documentary called “Beyond the Gates of Splendor” about the Waodani tribe in Ecuador. They had been labeled the most violent tribe on the planet, and in 1956 five missionary families went down to Ecuador, and the five men made contact with this tribe. They made peaceful contact on January 6, 1956 and on January 8, all five men were tragically speared to death. Two years after this event the wife and 3 year old daughter of one of the men, and sister of another, went to live with the tribe. Within two years of the women living there, and sharing their faith with the Waodani, the homicide rate dropped 90%. When we produced this documentary, we actually went to Ecuador and interviewed the remaining killers, the widows, and children. This past year we released a feature film called ‘End of the Spear” that tells the same story, but this time from the tribe’s prospective. It came out January 20, 2006 on 1,200 screens and then 20th Century Fox released the DVD June 13th, 2006. Those are the projects that “Every Tribe” currently has in the marketplace.

This year, we purchased author Ted Decker’s geo-political thriller novel titled “Blink” . We are hoping to release that in 2008, under the title “Blink of an Eye.” Also, among our slate of projects is a story called “One Soul” that has its background set amidst the AIDS crises in Africa. Additionally, we’re developing “Silk Road” a project that concerns the freedom in China.

KC: How do you go about choosing projects?

BE: We don’t have a development process. We have a discovery process. It’s based on Ephesians 2:10 which says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do”. Our feeling is that there are stories that God wants to be told, and our work is to find those stories and then bring His plan to fruition.

We pray about it and talk with a number of advisors. This is how we discover the world issue to be explored in a story. We discover the issue first and then we develop the stories from there.

KC: Is there one particular job where a person can learn the most about making a film?

BE: I learned the most as a production assistant, because I had the least amount of responsibility and the broadest spectrum to view all of the different areas that go into filmmaking. I think it’s important that:

1. You are called to this industry.

2. You understand what your giftings are and combine your calling with your gifting.

Filmmaking is a collaborative art form. You need actors, technicians, caterers, transportation, wardrobe, writers, producers, directors. There’s a group of people that have to be involved and every job is important. I’ve worked on student films as a grip and a soundman and went on to being a writer, producer, director, and it’s all great. I never thought about becoming a studio executive it was basically something that God made a way for me to do. It was and incredible opportunity in my career to gain experience and a tremendous blessing.

KC: You had a great career as a studio executive. You were making a comfortable salary. What made you leave and start a production company?

BE: A year before my contract expired, the Lord put it on my heart that He was going to move me. All those things you said were true. I was very comfortable and I basically had my job down. I knew how to do it. It was great. I had an incredible paycheck each week and I was working on “Spiderman,” which was one of the biggest films from our company. I knew God wanted to move me, but I didn’t know how or what that meant. For me, it was that still quiet voice and even though it didn’t make sense, I knew it was God’s plan.

When you are in the studio system, 60 days prior to the expiration of your contract, you get a letter to re-negotiate. Well, my date came and I didn’t get a letter. I started getting inquiries from other companies because my contract expired, but I continued working at the studio. I didn’t feel any motivation to move at that point. Finally, after a few months, the studio came to me and offered me a new three-year contract. I wanted to pray about it and discuss it with my accountability partners. I came back and told the studio that I couldn’t sign my contract. It wasn’t about money. I was in the process of discovering God’s plan.

KC: Did the studio think you were out of your mind?

BE: No, they didn’t. It was hard for them to grasp, but yet, it was the truth. I had perfect peace that even I didn’t understand. God’s plan is always perfect. I didn’t know how it would unfold, but He did give me His peace.

 

KC: There are a variety films, in the marketplace today, some are explicitly Christian films and some are films just made by Christians. How does your production company view itself?

BE: My opinion is different today than it was a few years ago. This idea of setting “Christian product” and “Christian filmmakers” and a “Christian audience” apart from the world, I don’t agree with at this point. I think that we’re called to be in the world but not of the world. The reality is that we are in the world. Where did Jesus spend his time? In the world with everyone. The idea of labels and becoming exclusive as opposed to inclusive, I’m not in favor of. My company is generally referred to as a Christian film company, and I’m not sure what that means. Is Dreamworks labeled a Jewish Film Company because the people who run it are Jewish in their faith? No, yet because I work with fellow Christians in a production company, we are labeled a Christian film company. We are filmmakers who happen to be Christian in faith. What I think is important goes back to what stories God wants to be told. They must be told with excellence. Where God provides vision, He provides provision. If we are following God’s plan, He will provide enough. His plan is always perfect. He’s never late and He never lacks in anything. As long as we are following God’s plan, excellence is part of that. I think our country has been so blessed and I think that we take a lot for granted as a nation and as a culture. We lead such a good life that we’re not striving for a great life.

 

KC: How do you feel about hiring Christians and non-Christians on film crews and casts?

BE: God knows who he wants, it’s His plan. If you are following God, He will definitely make you aware of what His plan is and who His plan involves. It was an amazing experience working on “End of the Spear.” I can tell you and give you names of people I hired that I literally sat down face to face with and said, “If it was my decision, you would have been on an airplane two months ago and off of this movie. But God wants you on this movie, so you and I are going to have to work it out”.

We received a lot of criticism for not hiring all Christians. First of all, you are it allowed to ask someone their religious beliefs as a point of employment, its against the law. So, I’m all for whoever God is calling. Sometimes they are believers and sometimes they are non-believers. I believe it was God’s plan that a homosexual activist play one of the missionaries. It was not something that was done flippantly or off-the-cuff. You can ask Steve Saint and anyone else on that crew about it, and they will tell you that it was God’s plan for Chad Allen to play that role. I can also tell you about two actors who we had cast that were supernaturally taken off the movie. When God’s in control, He’s in control, and He’ll let you know when you make a mistake. We made a mistake, and two actors were never part of “End of the Spear”.

We had a big sign in the producer’s office that said “God is making His movie and we get to help.” As long as we keep that in mind, we’re ok. The minute we start trying to do it our way, there are always problems. Excellence and adherence to following God’s plan are our criteria.

KC: What’s the most important advice that you would give a novice in the business?

BE: Make sure your calling is from the Lord, because it is really, really a difficult business.

KC: Other than the Bible, what books would you recommend to people entering the business?

BE: Henry Blackaby’s Spiritual Leadership is a good book. Jake Eberts and Terry Ilott’s My Indecision is Final. Also, I think it’s important to understand the roots of this industry. Memo from David O Selznick - is a compilation of memos that were written by the producer of “Gone with the Wind.” Also, Frank Capra’s classic book The Name Above the Title is a great resource for anyone entering the industry.