What is it about the film medium that interests you?

The reason I ended up in film was because I had an interest in the arts, and more so, I had an interest in creating. I decided to go to art school, The Savannah College of Art & Design, and I got involved in film because I had such a hard time deciding specifically what I wanted to do. I had done video before, worked a camera, love cinematography, and loved the whole medium but I really found out after a lot of trial and error, I loved how collaborative that was, the film making process. I love story-telling as a completely open visual medium.

That's how I ended up in film.

So you’ve been gifted at doing many things extremely well? What lead you to focus primarily on producing?

I've kind of traced back and wondered why that happened myself. A couple of times because, the producers work, or the idea of what a lot of people think a producer is, is actually kind of uninteresting to me. The title of producer is pretty illusive. It can mean a lot of different things. It's a pretty open-ended word. It's really meant to be the guy who gets something done. But also, there's a whole level of quality control, there's a whole level of relationship skills, and being able to talk to people and persuade them, and get them to do what you need them to do.

So it's very much a vital role to everything, you need someone who has a big picture in mind

People think about a producer as the money guy, the bad cop to the good cop, or they think of him of being this guy who's out partying with everyone and schmoozing, and I have no interest in any of those things, I just want to be in the center of this amazing creative energy. I don't do just money. I don't do just scheduling. I'm much more into using those things as a tool to carry out the creative decisions. So, if someone is better than me at scheduling, I put them in that role. If someone is better at doing budgeting, I would love to put them into that role. So, it's just finding as many people who are better than me at everything and just fill in the gaps and make it happen.

How have you been able to take your passion and make a career out of it?

I've only had a couple of jobs in my life. I worked as a stock boy once. Which was totally fun, I mean, the bottom of the totem pole, but you could socialize, and, you know, actually, it was totally awful. [laughs] It was fine. I wouldn't want to do it again. It was very monotonous, very uninspiring. Just functional, I guess. I need money, I guess I'll be a stock boy. I was in middle school.

The last job I had was through a temp agency, and I could either work at a cheese factory operating a fork lift, or I could work at a junk mail factory. I went with the junk mail. I'm a little weirded out by cheese. I don’t like the smell.

So you thought smelling like spam was better than smelling like cheese huh?

[laughs] Yeah, I mean... It was an interesting experience. After that job, I decided, I'm never going to pursue another job again. I'm gonna work for myself from here on out. I would just do whatever it took to be my own boss, to choose my own destiny, to keep my passion running rather than going and trying to attach myself to something else. Another moving beast that I would either have to try to figure out how to be passionate about, or there was gonna be some sort of perfect storm that kinda created a new job position I would step into.

How can we make this doing what you love the new norm for talented people, as opposed to an edge case scenario.

I'd say as far as being an entrepreneur, there's definitely a balance and there's definitely a certain level of sacrifice you need to be willing to make.

The Sailor and the Fiendish Foot Producer Josh Lind

Do you consider yourself a perfectionist?

Oh. Yeah. Yes. That's a tough one. And that drives me crazy. Everything I've ever done, it's never, ever, done. I push endlessly with things then I just have to either be told it's over or let go. Or just completely explode.

You've got to prioritize, what's gonna make the list of to-do's and what's gonna fall off and just not happen and be good enough. And you have to be able to do that, otherwise you'll be working on your magnificent, piece of work that is going to define you for all of time. And it will never get done, and you will have never done anything for yourself. So there's a balance to that too.

To date, what would you say is the project you are most happy with?

Good question. I would say the one thing that just seemed impossible and monumental was probably my thesis project. That was the first time I realized the true potential of the team. And that was the first time where I let go of a lot of things, and they flourished because I let go of them, empowered someone else to take control in certain arenas. It was the first time where we didn't mindlessly go into something, we went in with a plan and spent probably the most amount of time to date preparing for it.

That was the first project where I spent a year making it, and I don't naturally like to do that. I like to get a project, go crazy on it, finish it, and move on to another project. Now looking back on it, it's too long, kind of loud and obnoxious at times, but there's just something so special and meaningful, my heart was put into it. It was a revelation for me in a lot of ways personally.

Has your faith played a role in your work?

Yes. Definitely. I feel like my faith shapes my personal vision, and then my personal vision shapes the project I'm involved with and passionate about.

I feel like I have an obligation to put more good in the world than to do anything else. So if the heart of the project, if it's dwelling in something that seems like self-gratification or an example of what is evil in the world, or expressing trials and tribulations without hope, those don't interest me. I am more interested in hope. I'm not interested in anything where at the end of it you're feeling hopeless. I've always kind of had a hard time with movies I thought were incredible films, but I didn't agree with the message.

My faith dictates me and my personal vision, and I think that kind of bleeds out to what I do and what I want to put out in this world. And it's actually been really tough. There's been many arguments, intense discussions about scripts or content or words used, or just certain things in a film that I just didn't feel comfortable with. I would much rather say, I don't care about anything. I just want to make awesome stuff, but there's a part of me, there is a filter, and that's actually been a weird wedge between some of my non-Christian creative friends, because they don't understand the restriction, the limitation.

How do you take it to a point where you are not making Christian films, you're just making awesome films that are very much in line with the truth of Jesus? I’ll get there. The truth that Jesus or God or Christianity brings to the world. How do we do that organically in a way that's cool and approachable? That's not stuffy and fake and watered down. It's my endless quest to figure that out.

Do you agree with this statement: If your work is not quality you're not reaching anyone.

Absolutely. Do I have to say any more? [laughs] I mean there's a time and a place for everything, sometimes you just have to be super functional, but that just doesn't intrigue me. I want to push the envelope, I'm a Christian yes, and I have certain core values that guide the choices I make, but I want to push every envelope I can possibly find. Quick, give me an envelope. I'll push it!

Your favorite film of all time is...

[laughs] It's funny. I realized this question was going to be asked. And I was like, Man, I should really think about this. I'm the worst at answering my favorite anything. And I think that is a part of me, a part of who I am. I have strong preferences, but I don't have favorites.

Okay, Amelie and The Matrix. The Matrix blew my mind.

Memo Producer Josh Lind

Cut to TV, what's your favorite TV show of all time?

Again, I don't know that I have a favorite. I feel that a certain part of everything could be better. I enjoyed watching the Lost series. I've seen every single episode of Madmen. Lost I find totally interesting with the balance between fantasy and reality. That's magical realism. And I love that genre. You don't get it ever! Is this real? Is this fake?

Why are there no good Christian movies?

Because to call it a, Christian movie, you have to water it down to the lowest common denominator. Because you can't insult anyone, you can't step on any toes. It's true, to call it a Christian film, it's hard to push the envelope. So what's the best Christian film you've seen? I'll ask you.

I'd have to say, and it's really touch and miss, I'd say The Passion of the Christ.

I knew you were gonna say that!

Just because it was so gory, bloody and brutal.

You just exactly covered it. That is only a borderline Christian movie right? What made it Christian was probably that it's the true story of Jesus. It pushed the envelope. I didn't really like all the gore, but I appreciated that he chose to do it. Because he said, Listen, if I'm going to make this traditional or stereotypical or a completely approachable Christian film. I'm gonna cut out a lot of the blood. I'm gonna cut out a lot of the suffering. I'm gonna cut a lot of the rawness out of it. Instead, he said No, I'm not gonna cut that out, in fact, I'm gonna focus on it to almost an uncomfortable point.

Exactly.

He pushed the envelope, and because it's a borderline Christian movie, I think that's why he made The Christian Movie that people remember as being the one that cut closest to a good Christian film.

There is a movement going on right now of artists from all mediums who are Christians and are separating themselves from the Christian market. Why do you think this is happening?

Good question. I've wondered the same thing. I don't know that I fully understand it. But, I think it very much goes along with the same thing, to fit into the Christian genre, you have to not offend anyone.

To be displayed in a church, you have to keep in mind that you can't send confusing messages without a further discussion. And to the people who take their faith further, you can discuss how something that wasn't either meant to be Christian based or something that had say, vulgarity in music, that is also talking about loving Jesus, in the same song sounds contradictory to a new believer and can send the wrong message.

But, if you're reaching people who are thinking more abstractly about their faith and trying to get deeper and go further and understand it more, and boil it down to a simpler state, I think there's a lot more of an open ended market that is not Christian media, not labelled Christian media, but it's media that is Christian.

You just began a program working with students, can you share a bit about that?

Yes, definitely. I am now employed for the first time since the junk mail factory. [laughs] What I mean by that is, I'm not self employed this time. I have an employer. This job is a total answer to prayer. A total answer to frustration. A total answer to a lack of inspiration. It's not necessarily a job. It's more my new vision, and my new understanding of myself.

The idea was this: Why in art school do people have to make up projects? It's like these really talented people feel like they've been had. There's a certain level of people who are ready for the real world. They're ready to do legitimate projects. But they're making up clients, making up projects for their portfolio. I said, Why don't we fuse that together, and see if there's some sort of way to give more opportunity to those people who are super talented and super ready for the real world, and give the real world access to these super talented, super hungry artists?

So I get a call from the person I wanted to pitch it to at SCAD, along with the president of the school saying, Hey, haven't talked to you in two years, but what are you up to? And I'm like Oh, I'm so excited, I'm doing a lot of things. LA is the perfect place for me. This is where I need to be. It's all here. I have so much at my fingertips, and I have so much I'm excited about. And I probably sounded like a crazy person.

The guy on the phone says, Let me tell you something that we're doing with SCAD. We're doing this thing called, Collaborative Learning Center, and the gist of it is we bring on real world projects, and we find departments to collaborate on them, and we take on that project within course curriculum. I was on the phone just like, What?!

So now I'm in Savannah heading up that department. And I feel lucky to be where I am at. I feel blessed to know that I have so much inspiration. I know the skills that God has given me, and I know them right now to the furthest extent that I've ever known them. And I know that this job, and this mission, and this big vision lines up perfectly with what God has given me as my gift. As of now I feel this is just where I need to be. Let's see what happens in a year and a half, I guess. [laughs]

Pencil Face Producer Josh Lind

We read a lot about artists who credit their wives for being a support and encouragement in their work. Your wife is an incredible painter, has she been an influence for you?

[laughs] Oh man. The answer is yes. I am so juvenile sometimes. I have a hard time with faith, and Christianity, and prayer, and a lot of stuff that are basics. I say I have challenges with this stuff, and she's like, That stuff is easy.

Another thing that she brings to my life to which I am endlessly grateful for, there's a freshness and a life about her. There's just a spark within her, and she's a very social person. And she does figurative oil painting; a fairly traditional oil painter. Very realistic. But her talent, her raw talent is insane, it is ridiculous. She didn't go to school for painting. She went to school for illustration, and realized she didn't like anything about illustration. So she taught herself how to paint.

I say, Life is a journey. You say:

I say, I hate that! I hate that because it's true. People can say simple truths to me, and I take them and I run through the mud trying to figure out all the complexities of life. And if I just take them at face value, I would save myself a lot of time, a lot of hard work. But then I look back and realize the things that mattered most to me where the things that I journeyed for. Because I never did arrive at where they were supposed to arrive at, but I arrived somewhere, and I journeyed somewhere, and I'm just gonna keep doing it.

I was looking forward to ending it with that statement.

Thanks for pushing my buttons.

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