The Inside Story on The Nativity Story

By Pam Djelidi, ETC Sales Manager

            ETC sits down with The Nativity Story screenwriter Mike Rich to find the inspiration behind the new film.

            Mike Rich was born in Los Angeles but spent the majority of his childhood growing up in eastern Oregon. He became interested in radio broadcasting during his high school years and used his on-air abilities to help pay his college tuition at Oregon State University.

            Rich began his news anchor career at KREM-FM in Spokane and worked his way to KGW in Portland before settling at KINK-FM, also in Portland. It was three years into that stint that he began dabbling with a screenplay idea that was sparked by an on-air interview dealing with America’s classic authors. The result was Gus Van Sant’s drama Finding Forrester – his screenwriting breakthrough that occurred in 1998 when his script was honored
by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship competition. He followed up the release of that film with his screenplays for The Rookie (starring Dennis Quaid and Rachel Griffiths) and Radio (featuring Ed Harris, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Debra Winger).

            Consistently attracted to strong character-driven pieces, Mike has developed a reputation for delving deep into the character roles he puts down on paper. He has served as a contributing writer on several feature films and recently completed work on his adaptation of James Swanson’s best-seller MANHUNT: a historical look at the search for Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.

ETC: Why this particular story now?

            Mike Rich: The Christmas season, unfortunately, has become increasingly hectic in recent years: deadlines, shopping, a calendar full of events. I see The Nativity Story as an opportunity for families to take a step back from all that and recapture the true essence of the holiday. It’s a story that places the spotlight
on faith, courage and determination. And if families can spend time talking about those important themes and how they apply to their own present-day lives, I can’t help but believe the film will have succeeded.

ETC: What is the history of the project?

            Mike Rich: I first sparked to the idea in December 2004, when two major magazines (Newsweek and Time) carried cover stories on the Nativity. I was struck by the thought that when this particular story is told, it’s almost always told as an “event-based” story: this happened and then this happened. It’s rarely told from a standpoint of character. During the next eleven months - all of which were devoted to biblical and historical research - it became apparent
that there was an amazing amount of faith exhibited by so many individuals in the story; especially from Mary and Joseph. I wrote the screenplay during the Christmas season of 2005 and we began filming in Matera, Italy on May 2nd of the following year.

ETC: Did Passion of the Christ create opportunities for biblical stories with mainstream audiences?

            Mike Rich: No question. I think anyone who has hoped for the opportunity to tell stories that are held with this amount of reverence owe a debt to Passion
of the Christ. Mel Gibson’s film showed the mainstream studio system that not only is there an audience for these stories, but that it’s a large and demanding audience. It’s important that filmmakers and writers not waste the chance that’s been given them, and by that I mean there is a responsibility for us to make certain that this next generation of biblically-based films are of a quality that will stand the test of time.

ETC: Is the presentation trying to change any stereotypes?

            Mike Rich: Somewhat. One of the absolute goals we wanted to meet in the telling of this story involved Mary and how she was portrayed. Too often we see her as a woman in her late twenties, sometimes even thirty, when in reality (and this is a consensus viewpoint among almost all faiths) she was a young girl of 14 or 15. We also wanted to make sure that the characters of the Magi and the shepherds didn’t deteriorate into simple, one-dimensional caricatures. There was an incredible opportunity to showcase each of those characters, not as “bit” characters, but as people (some of great faith, some of great cynicism) who were part of a magnificently-designed plan.

ETC: What were your personal goals in bringing this story to the screen?

            Mike Rich: It was an opportunity to offer a human touch to the story while still retaining the immense spiritual power that has moved generations for centuries. When we place the figurines of our Nativity set up on the fireplace mantle every Christmas season, they are often, unfortunately, viewed as nothing more than inanimate objects. The clearest challenge in bringing this particular story to the screen was finding a way to make every one of those compelling characters (Mary, Joseph, Zechariah & Elizabeth, the Magi and the shepherds) came to life through the expression of emotions such as faith, fear and strength. By concentrating on that approach, we find ourselves with a Nativity Story that, hopefully, is as relevant today as it was generations ago.