A free sneak peak movie showing of “Once I Was a Beehive” brought people from all over Oahu to the Laie Palms Cinemas to meet the director Maclain Nelson – known for starring in “The Saratov Approach” – and his wife, Clare Niederpruem, for a Q and A session.
“The initial thing came from my mom,” Nelson recounted. “She is this gung ho leader who would do anything for her girls, gives a 100 percent and plans everything in advance.”
When Nelson told his mom he was going to make a movie about girls’ camp, “She took me by the shoulders and said, ‘Oh no you are not! Girls’ camp is sacred and you will mess it up.’”
But according to 13-year-old Adrianne Davis, who came over from Wahiawa to see the movie, “Everything about girls’ camp was true. Every part of it.” She said she came because all her friends in Utah had seen the movie.
Her mother, Marianne Davis, was also impressed by the movie. “It was really well written,” said Davis.
During the Q and A session, Nelson recounted writing and developing the movie. The story is told from the eyes of the main character Lane, a non-Mormon young woman. Nelson, who is an active Church member, stated, “My wife is Catholic. We wanted to make a movie that focuses on the similarities we have as Christians, rather than the differences. We all have so much to learn from each other. [The non-Mormon previewers] all have said you don’t have to be Mormon to enjoy this.”
“The message of this movie is strong,” Nelson said. “It’s moving people and it’s entertaining people. The spirit helped me. We wanted to take the audience on a ride. They are laughing, then crying and then there is also space for silence. We Mormons often neglect this great opportunity to learn from other religions.”
Nelson said even though we have something to teach, we also have much to learn, and that learning brings the greatest sense of gratification.
He also is fighting the stereotype of the film being only a girl’s movie. “Every guy out there should watch this movie. This is important because one day they are going to be a father, they are going to have a daughter, a wife. At least most of them have sisters. I promised myself I was not going to make this movie if it wouldn’t be something I would watch.”
One challenge of being a filmmaker is having to entertain people, said Nelson. “As a filmmaker, I can’t feed my family unless I am entertaining people. I want my films to be entertaining but also edifying. You have to be more creative because you have less money to work with. We can’t blow up a car or have an airplane crash, but you can find what connects to people.”
With a laugh he added, “But we got a bear! The bear’s name is Tank. He is a famous bear who lives in Heber, Utah. He has been in over 50 Hollywood films and he was our most expensive actor.”
Remembering the filming of one of the major thrilling scenes involving the bear, Niederpruem remembers how cute he actually looked. “It’s hard work,” admitted Nelson, “and it can be exhausting. But it’s art, and that’s why we do it.”
The movie has been given permission to expand over the borders of Utah to Arizona, Idaho and Hawaii, to experiment on the reactions of the audience, said Niederpruem.
Lois Colton from Laie came because she heard it is the best LDS movie ever made. “I thought that was very unlikely. So I ignored it. I will just enjoy it.” Remembering the huge amount of lukewarm LDS movies of the past, she said, “movies have changed a lot.” She likes to show her friends movies where a right image of the church is displayed. “I think it was President Kimball who said we needed a lot more LDS writers, producers and artists,” she said.