{"id":8055,"date":"2019-06-22T18:34:14","date_gmt":"2019-06-22T22:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=8055"},"modified":"2019-06-22T18:34:14","modified_gmt":"2019-06-22T22:34:14","slug":"nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html","title":{"rendered":"After nearly two decades, producer\/writer\/director Mitch Davis revisits &#8220;The Other Side of Heaven&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the latest dispatch from the crossroads of faith and media:<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"THE OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN 2 - OFFICIAL TRAILER\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F6TjQ9c4w1g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith <\/em>opens next Friday (June 28). Rated PG-13.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong> A<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <i>Mormon missionary family in 1960&#8217;s Tonga faces the ultimate test of faith when their newborn baby boy falls<\/i><\/span><em><span class=\"yiv2752608464gmail-m_2782127042323789666ydp5204f4a6mceItemHidden\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0critically ill and they are forced to rely on\u00a0the love and prayers of thousands of Tongans of all denominations\u00a0to save his life. Barriers of inter-religious<\/span> strife are broken down as an entire nation unites in hope of a miracle that will save the baby&#8217;s life, as well as that of a Tongan minister&#8217;s son who is in a coma in an adjacent hospital room. The film is based on a true story.<\/span><\/em><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4955206146MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The first <em>Other Side of Heaven<\/em> movie premiered in 2001 and is notable both for being Anne Hathaway&#8217;s first feature film and for helping blaze a trail for the modern era of successful faith-themed films.\u00a0 After its theatrical run, Disney picked it up and sold over four-million DVDs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Though Hathaway doesn\u2019t appear in the sequel,Christopher Gorham (of TV&#8217;s <em>Ugly Betty<\/em><span class=\"yiv4955206146m_1782551850265337267m_-7770629451048372828m_-625886924340124415gmail-m_6229750930929209831apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>and<span class=\"yiv4955206146m_1782551850265337267m_-7770629451048372828m_-625886924340124415gmail-m_6229750930929209831apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><em>Covert Affairs)<\/em><span class=\"yiv4955206146m_1782551850265337267m_-7770629451048372828m_-625886924340124415gmail-m_6229750930929209831apple-converted-space\">\u00a0reprises his role as Mormon missionary John Groberg. His wife\u00a0<\/span>is played by New Zealand actress Natalie Medlock.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The movie is from Two Road Productions which was founded in 1995 by writer-director Mitch Davis who also made the original movie. Davis&#8217; other credits include 2015&#8217;s holiday comedy <em>Christmas Eve<\/em><span class=\"yiv4955206146m_1782551850265337267m_-7770629451048372828m_-625886924340124415gmail-m_6229750930929209831apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>starring Patrick Stewart, Gary Cole, James Roday and Cheryl Hines and<span class=\"yiv4955206146m_1782551850265337267m_-7770629451048372828m_-625886924340124415gmail-m_6229750930929209831apple-converted-space\"> 2017&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2017\/06\/coming-attractions-stray-word-life.html\"><em>The Stray<\/em><\/a> <\/span>(a very personal film about his family and their pet dog Pluto). Davis also wearing three hats as producer, director and writer of <em>The Other Side of Heaven 2<\/em>. I recently had the opportunity to speak with him about the long-awaited sequel.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>JWK: When you released the original <em>Other Side of Heaven<\/em> film in 2001, did you do so with a sequel in mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitch Davis:<\/strong> <span class=\"yiv2752608464gmail-m_2782127042323789666ydp5204f4a6mceItemHidden\">\u00a0I was not ever intending to do a sequel. I certainly did not want to make a low-budget sequel.\u00a0 If there was going to be a sequel it\u00a0<span class=\"yiv2752608464gmail-m_2782127042323789666ydp5204f4a6hiddenGrammarError\">had<\/span>\u00a0to be of the cinematic quality the story deserved. Only relatively recently did I find a formula for doing that. We <span style=\"color: #000000;\">were able to make\u00a0the movie in Fiji which we dressed to look like\u00a0Tonga where the story is based. Thanks to a combination of a 47 percent Fiji production rebate which basically reimbursed us<\/span> about half the film&#8217;s production cost and the strength of US currency which goes twice as far in Fiji we, in effect, pretty much quadrupled our budget. Fiji is now a big production hub.\u00a0 <\/span>The movie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kftv.com\/news\/survival-movie-adrift-filmed-in-fiji\"><em>Adrift<\/em> <\/a>was shot there, among others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JWK: So, how does the sequel differ from the first film?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MD:<\/strong> In the first movie, the Mormon missionary John Groberg, played wonderfully by Christopher Gorham who happens to be a Catholic, was in Tonga in the 195o&#8217;s as a single man with no family. <span class=\"yiv2752608464gmail-m_2782127042323789666ydp5204f4a6mceItemHidden\">In the second film,<span style=\"color: #000000;\"> he returns to Tonga in the 1960&#8217;s <\/span>with a wife and five young daughters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>JWK: How have things changed?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MD:<\/strong> Things haven&#8217;t changed much in Tonga but this time Elder Groberg sees things through the eyes of his wife and daughters. As a result, he moves with more caution. Having a wife and children to be concerned about just magnifies the drama of all his experiences. Going back to Tonga a second time wouldn&#8217;t, in and of itself, be that much of a stretch for Groberg but going back with six other people in tow is another story. It just makes everything so much more dramatic and, in some ways, more poignant. There&#8217;s a point in the story where one of the children is very sick and they&#8217;re stuck on the island without proper medical care to heal him. They are really forced to rely on their faith in God. Everyone on the island was praying for them, including the royal family. This is a true story of the fire of faith. It&#8217;s about what happens when people of diverse religious traditions lock arms and support each other in faith.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JWK: What do you hope audiences take from this movie?<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MD:<\/strong> Just that &#8211; the power of faith. A lot of forces threaten to pull us all apart in this world &#8211; but if we unconditionally love and support each other we can make it through. This movie shows how people of different faiths and cultures can come together in faith in one God and accomplish miracles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JWK: What was it like shooting in Fiji. Any anecdotes you&#8217;d like to share?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MD: <\/strong>The first day of principal photography in Fiji, a cyclone hit the country and was headed straight for our movie set. The entire cast and crew &#8211; many people of different denominations &#8211; prayed together. Wouldn&#8217;t you know, the storm did a u-turn and blew itself out to sea. To me that shows that when we lock arms we are so much stronger than when we wave our fists at each other.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"yiv2752608464gmail-m_2782127042323789666ydp5204f4a6mceItemHidden\"><span class=\"yiv2752608464gmail-m_2782127042323789666ydp5204f4a6hiddenSpellError\">JWK<\/span>: How has the film tested with <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">general<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>audiences?<\/span><br clear=\"none\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>MD:<\/strong>\u00a0I&#8217;ve worked on many\u00a0other feature films but this one has really gone\u00a0off the charts in terms of its\u00a0very positive audience reaction. It&#8217;s almost scary how much people like it and how profoundly they&#8217;re effected by it.\u00a0\u00a0I&#8217;m very pleased with that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>JWK:\u00a0 Have you shown it to any Evangelical leaders?\u00a0 If so, what was their response?\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>MD:<\/b>\u00a0 We showed it a Fuller Seminary in Pasadena a few days ago.\u00a0 Dr. Richard Mouw, the Emeritus President of the seminary, got up afterwards and he said, &#8220;This movie is a feast for the eyes, as well as the heart.\u00a0 We will pray that God will bless it and its testimony.&#8221;\u00a0 My heart was filled by his kind words.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span class=\"st\">Encourage one another and build each other up &#8211; <\/span><\/em><span class=\"st\">1 Thessalonians 5:11<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv4955206146m_1782551850265337267m_-7770629451048372828m_-625886924340124415gmail-m_6229750930929209831MsoNoSpacing\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the latest dispatch from the crossroads of faith and media: The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith opens next Friday (June 28). Rated PG-13. Synopsis: A Mormon missionary family in 1960&#8217;s Tonga faces the ultimate test of faith when their newborn baby boy falls\u00a0critically ill and they are forced to rely on\u00a0the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13,1591,14,17,23,24,1],"tags":[9431,9198,9432],"class_list":["post-8055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-family-matters","category-good-works","category-gratitude","category-interfaith-dialogue","category-mormonism","category-movies","category-uncategorized","tag-john-groberg","tag-mitch-davis","tag-the-other-side-of-heaven-2-fire-of-faith"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>After nearly two decades, producer\/writer\/director Mitch Davis revisits &quot;The Other Side of Heaven&quot;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After nearly two decades, producer\/writer\/director Mitch Davis revisits &quot;The Other Side of Heaven&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here&#8217;s the latest dispatch from the crossroads of faith and media: The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith opens next Friday (June 28). Rated PG-13. Synopsis: A Mormon missionary family in 1960&#8217;s Tonga faces the ultimate test of faith when their newborn baby boy falls\u00a0critically ill and they are forced to rely on\u00a0the&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-22T22:34:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John W. Kennedy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"After nearly two decades, producer\/writer\/director Mitch Davis revisits \"The Other Side of Heaven\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After nearly two decades, producer\/writer\/director Mitch Davis revisits \"The Other Side of Heaven\"","og_description":"Here&#8217;s the latest dispatch from the crossroads of faith and media: The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith opens next Friday (June 28). Rated PG-13. Synopsis: A Mormon missionary family in 1960&#8217;s Tonga faces the ultimate test of faith when their newborn baby boy falls\u00a0critically ill and they are forced to rely on\u00a0the&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html","og_site_name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","article_published_time":"2019-06-22T22:34:14+00:00","author":"John W. Kennedy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html","name":"After nearly two decades, producer\/writer\/director Mitch Davis revisits \"The Other Side of Heaven\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-06-22T22:34:14+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-22T22:34:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2019\/06\/nearly-two-decades-producerwriterdirector-mitch-davis-revisits-side-heaven.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After nearly two decades, producer\/writer\/director Mitch Davis revisits &#8220;The Other Side of Heaven&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/","name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","description":"Beliefnet Voices - John W. Kennedy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2","name":"John W. Kennedy","description":"John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment\u2122, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God. Current projects include \"Bryant Park\" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and \"Photo Finish\" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series \"Ben 10\", \"Ben 10: Alien Force\", \"Ben 10: Ultimate Alien\", \"Ben 10: Omniverse\" and \"Generator Rex\" among others. He also writes Beliefnet\u2019s \"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" blog. Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM. Specialties: Script Writing, Movie\/TV Novelizations &amp; Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows. He can be reached for writing, producing and consulting services at 516-640-1182.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/author\/jkennedy"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8055"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8065,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8055\/revisions\/8065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}