From Desmond Doss documentary to Mel Gibson movie
Filmmaker Terry Benedict began working with former United States Army medic, conscientious objector and Seventh-day Adventist Desmond Doss in 1999. Now Benedict has just finished working as a producer on Hacksaw Ridge, the Mel Gibson-directed biographical film of Doss’ remarkable story. Along the way came a documentary—The Conscientious Objector—and a deep friendship Benedict says greatly influenced his life, even now 10 years after Doss’ death. Based in Tennessee, Benedict presented a keynote and workshops at the Manifest Creative Arts Festival in 2013. The festival also screened his documentary. Signs Publishing Book Editor Nathan Brown asks Benedict about the new film, Doss’ faith and his 17-year project to share this Adventist story with a much wider audience.
Would Desmond Doss wanted you to have helped make Hacksaw Ridge?
Desmond never wanted Hollywood to tell his story because he was concerned about how he would be portrayed. But when Andrew Garfield agreed to play Desmond, he wanted to portray him as transparently and as honestly as he could. So, he came to Tennessee and we went to see the pivotal places in Desmond’s life. It gave him the chance to see the humble environment Desmond grew up in and to connect with me. We talked a lot about Desmond and his faith. That translated incredibly well to the screen.
How did you move from making the documentary to making the movie?
I started talking to production companies and producers in Los Angeles after finishing the documentary in 2004. I needed to ensure we were creating a team committed to sticking to Desmond’s story of faith and commitment. When Mel agreed to direct, things really started moving. But the movie took more than 10 years to get the green light.
Why have you committed so much of your time and energy to this story?
I first read Desmond’s story as a kid and it has just stuck with me, particularly the way he stood up for his beliefs and had faith God would carry him through whatever he faced. When I finally met Desmond, that really was who he was, and that made me want to tell his story even more. Hollywood had been chasing Desmond for 55 years. Standing in front of a grocery store in Tennessee, I told him I felt his story would be valuable and inspirational, and not just to one community but to the whole world. My commitment to him was I would answer to God first, him second. Everyone else could get in line.
Why is Doss’ faith so important to his story?
If you compromise his character by taking away his commitment to honouring God while serving his fellow soldiers, you don’t have a story. That commitment to protecting character is what makes Desmond’s story so amazing. He wasn’t perfect but he gives us a frame of reference for what we should do in a tight spot—faith can carry you through and you don’t have to worry about the consequences.
What’s the rationale for the violence in this movie? Or is it just Mel Gibson’s influence?
War is messy and Desmond, being a medic, had to clean up a fair bit of it. This is life on the battlefield, and Mel handled it honestly and respectfully—he needed to show us the stress Desmond and his men were under.
You were close to Desmond. Why do you admire him so much?
As I got to know Desmond and became part of his family—and he became part of mine—he made me want to be a better person. He seemed to have the ability to go through life in an unconcerned way. That didn’t mean he didn’t care about what was happening. Many times he shed tears with me about the pain he’d endured, the pain that’s expressed in his prayer, “Please, help me get one more.” He absorbed the hits and took on the burden, much like Christ did, on that battlefield. Yet he was able to put his faith in God to carry the day, so he just focused on that relationship. He was a man of principle and he shared those principles with my kids in a way that, even 10 years later, they vividly remember.
What would Desmond have thought of the film?
His concerns about him not God being glorified and about how his character might be compromised were well founded. Film is a collaborative medium, but we put together the right team for the right story, and the team had the right commitment to the story. Desmond would have had a big smile on his face at the end of the movie, as he did at the end of the documentary.
Share
Author
