As ‘What If…’ returns to theaters, Dallas Jenkins recalls finding his Christian movie calling

(RNS) — Years before he was the director, writer and producer of the hit Jesus show “The Chosen,” Dallas Jenkins was an emerging filmmaker who wasn’t a fan of Christian films.

“I was embarrassed by the notion of faith-based films — most of them were bad,” Jenkins told RNS in a recent call from his family’s home in Texas.

It wasn’t the content of the films so much as the quality that Jenkins took issue with. But in 2010, he decided to become the change he wanted to see in the Christian film industry. He teamed up with Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon — writers who would later pen the 2014 Christian drama film “God’s Not Dead” — hoping to craft a script for a faith movie that was “actually funny, not just cheesy,” Jenkins said.

Thanks to investments from Jenkins’ father, bestselling “Left Behind” author Jerry B. Jenkins, and others, that script became “What If …,” a 2010 Christian riff on “It’s a Wonderful Life.” A low-budget film shot in just two-and-a-half weeks, “What If…” features “God’s Not Dead” star Kevin Sorbo as Ben Walker, a wealthy investment banker who missed his calling to be a small-town pastor and family man. An uncouth angel with a propensity for punching people — played by “Cheers” actor John Ratzenberger — shows Walker what his life could have been had he followed God’s plan instead of his own.

For the 15th anniversary of “What If …,” RNS spoke with Jenkins about the film, which is returning to theaters on Aug. 5 and 7. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you take me back to where you were in your life and career in 2010? 

I was trying to carve out a niche as a filmmaker who happened to be a Christian, and I was just trying to get affirmed by Hollywood. I’d made a couple of short films hoping to get noticed, a feature film that didn’t do great. I was mowing my lawn on a Saturday, and I was contemplating my career and praying, and I felt like God was speaking to me. Not an audible voice, but I felt him saying, I want you to make movies for me and about me. And I said out loud, ‘but Christian movies are so bad!’ And I felt him saying, well, then make a good one. I remember in that moment, I just felt the sense of freedom because I realized that a lot of my favorite filmmakers told personal stories and injected their own perspective and beliefs into their storytelling. And so I thought, alright, I’m going to be unashamed about it and make a movie that is an explicitly gospel-centric movie.

My impression is that this film was released at a time when faith-based movies were first starting to gain traction. Did you sense a shift in Hollywood’s openness to religious storytelling?

The industry was starting to take shape. The Kendrick Brothers had some success. Pure Flix was starting to find a niche with low-budget films that were making a profit, which is a hard thing to do in Hollywood. Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, Debby Ryan and John Ratzenberger, who were recognizable names, even (those actors were) unique in the faith space. It was just so hard for anyone to take you seriously, to get any amount of money.

When the movie was over, it really seemed to be resonating. It didn’t do great in theaters, but the reviews were like, wow, this is better than normal. And I think it’s notable that a lot of the people involved in that movie, like the writers and myself and Kevin Sorbo, ended up having more significant success as the years went by. It was that first big step. And then that led to people like the Erwin brothers launching past us and doing great. A lot of us who’d been in this from the beginning started, not intentionally, but outdoing each other. We were rooting for each other and congratulating each other and having our own various levels of success. But “What If…” was kind of at the beginning.

Known for his work on “The Chosen,” director Dallas Jenkins worked on a film fifteen years ago titled “What if…” Courtesy photo

Can you say more about how working on it influenced your later projects, especially your direction on “The Chosen”?

“What If…” was the first movie where I started letting the people around me do their jobs. I was never very good with cinematography. I’m good at working with actors and storytelling, and I need to surround myself with people who are exceptional in their areas of expertise so I can focus on what I’m best at. So even though the movie was very low budget, the cinematography, the production design, none of it was cheesy or amateurish. After that point, I really started to come into my own as a filmmaker because I was surrounding myself with people that were better than I was at their jobs.

One thing you can see in all my work, from “What If…” to “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” to “The Chosen” is that I’ve really embraced redemption. It’s the idea that because Christ redeemed the broken, the broken can redeem others and forgive others and feel a sense of surrender and humility. So you see in Kevin Sorbo’s character, when he’s broken and accepts redemption, he can then grow. “What If …” was one of the first indications that was going to be what I was going to zone in on in my work.

Why bring this film back to theaters now?

It’s the 15th anniversary, and “What If…” has built a very loyal following. Every time I see a trailer for “What If…” on social media, there are thousands of comments from people talking about how much they love it. And this may be a crass thing to say, but it’s the one movie I still get quarterly checks from. Pure Flix said it was always one of their most popular titles. Kevin Sorbo said it’s his favorite movie he’s done, and he thinks it’s even better than “God’s Not Dead.” Now that “The Chosen” has had success, maybe there’s going to be an audience that, because they love “The Chosen,” will re-engage with this movie.

Fifteenth anniversary poster for the film “What if…” Courtesy image

How do the film’s messages resonate with you 15 years later as someone who is a successful director who is also emphatically Christian?

I look at the movie now as someone who I think could have missed his calling had God not reached me in my failure. When (Jenkins’ 2017 film) “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” bombed at the box office, that’s what God used to really grab hold of me and force me to surrender. I stopped caring what others thought. And that’s when I found my true calling, and “The Chosen” is the outcome of that.

“What If…” for me personally represents a reminder to myself, to the viewer, don’t miss your calling. I think that’s the message of “What If…” — it’s never too late for a second chance. It’s never too late for redemption. It’s never too late to say, I’m on the wrong path, I’m going to humble myself and follow God’s plan for my life.

How did you discern God’s plan?

When I was in the midst of my failure, someone told me, it’s not your job to feed the 5,000, it’s only to provide the loaves and fish. And I think you wake up every morning with the mindset of, what is the best I have to give to God? Take it on a day-by-day, week-by-week basis, as opposed to, what’s my five-year plan? What are my goals for success? This is what God’s given to me, and I’m going to give back to him. It might be difficult at first to discern what God wants, but if it’s what the world wants, God probably wants something different. And so, I think the first step is stop caring about how many likes I get on social media, stop caring about financial success. Ridding yourself of worldly desires will free you up to see God’s desires more clearly.