Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker is easily one of the most popular and most recognizable names in fiction writing today. Crafting work after work of compelling, exciting, and truly creative storyline, Dekker has thrilled millions with his writing. So it was only inevitable that those tales eventually make their way onto the silver screen.

Three was Dekker’s first foray into the world of film but the recent release of House pushed the boundaries that much farther, garnering the film an “R” rating from the MPAA and challenging our imaginations once again. We caught up with Dekker recently and talked a bit about his take on filmmaking, the false dichotomy of sacred and secular, and his latest book, BoneMan’s Daugters.

Soul-Audio: Let’s begin by talking about the film adaptations. House is your second work that’s been made into a film. What’s your take on these films? Have they met your expectations as far as what you’d hoped they could translate into?

Ted Dekker: It was fun seeing the characters on the screen and I think the heart of the story came through about as I expected. Nothing can ever match what you envision in your mind but, yeah, I’m okay with how it turned out.

SA: Also, how much creative control did you and co-author, Frank Peretti, have with House? And with those creative choices, were any painful in terms of cutting any of the story, things like that?

Ted: Not as much as you might think, even though I was on the ground for some of the shooting in Poland. We had no control over casting or much of the actual production of the film. All of that is in the producer/director’s hands, which is why most authors don’t like film adaptations. I was primarily a consultant to the producers on a story level. But, even then movie adaptations go through several changes, even on the ground when the cameras are rolling. No movie ever turns out exactly the way you hoped it would, but I would say I’m happy with the end result.

SA: Were you surprised at the film’s R rating?

Ted: Absolutely, I was. And, by the way, so were many critics. It’s an intense film, but no more than what you find on TV these days. Honestly, the MPAA seems less offended by sexuality and language than in depictions of spiritual darkness

SA: And are any of your other works being optioned or in the works for the big screen?

Ted: Adam and Obsessed are both in script phase, but that doesn’t mean a lot. We’ll have to wait and see how those projects work out.

SA: As it pertains to the world of “Christian” cinema, these films have taken some big steps in the right direction. As one who’s worked both with Fox Faith films and now Lionsgate, could you offer up some thoughts on the state of Christian filmmaking? Are we actually doing things better? And what might you like to see happen even further? One argument I’ve often heard in these discussions is that if the families will get out and “tell Hollywood what we want to see with our wallets” they will produce films that will meet the demand. Are you of the same thinking on that or…?

Ted: That comes back to labels. What does “Christian movie” mean? Or “Christian book”? These labels are very confusing to many people in our culture, even to Christians. Both the movie and the book are about one thing—our rescue from pitch black darkness. Redemption. I’m encouraged by the quality of art that is coming out. There are some great authors and filmmakers putting out high quality work. But you’re right, we have to be willing to support them and that means that artist also have to create something worth paying for.

SA: I’d like to ask you a few questions about the role of Christian media, music, movies, books. You’re one who’s definitely stretched the boundaries of what it means to be a “Christian fiction author” and so forth. Are you content with, or do you even want to be referred to as a “Christian author?” And what are your thoughts on the role of meaningful art, particularly in terms of its relationship to Christianity?

Ted: I think the division of sacred and secular is false. There’s a false dichotomy there. There should be no division between sacred and secular because all truth is God’s truth. Truth is simply truth, regardless of what you call it. If you put a label on it it just causes confusion for people. If you say “This is a Christian movie (or book or what have you),” what does that mean to people in Hollywood? It means something very different to people in Hollywood than it does to people in Oklahoma or the people in the Mideast.

Labels can sometimes become destructive. You have to be very careful. Paul wrote about this: “to the Greeks I’m a Greek. To the Romans I’m a Roman.” So, I don’t think there should be a division between Christian and non-Christian fiction simply because I’m not sure what that really means to me or the masses of people who walk into a Barnes and Noble and pick up a book.

SA: Let me take a moment and ask you about your upcoming works as well. I had a chance to read a galley copy of BoneMan’s Daughters and found it one of your best books yet. It’s a far more gritty and mainstream feeling book as well. What inspired this story? And what’s up next for you?

Ted: Thank you very much. BoneMan’s Daughters was inspired by an actual event that happened with my own daughter a few years ago. I just wrote a long blog entry about it on my website. It was one of the worst experiences of my life, but out of that darkness came this story of God’s love for us, all of us, and how he goes to extreme lengths to win us back. What’s next? Green…the fourth book in the Circle Series, which comes out in September.

SA: Okay, a couple last questions for fun: Who/what are you reading right now?

Ted: True Evil by Greg Iles and Culture Making by Andy Crouch.

SA: Listening to?

Ted: U2, Red, Coldplay, 30 Seconds to Mars, Muse…a few others.

SA: And watching?

Ted: 24, Fringe, Mark and Olly, SuperCross, and Dexter.

SA: And what has probably got to be the most over asked question in the world to you, I’m guessing: Any word of advice for aspiring young authors?

Ted: Read a lot and write a lot. Then write some more.

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#1 Body Creative Network » Blog Archive » Friday Five: Quick Reads on May 22nd, 2009 at 1:57 pm

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