Between the Storylines

by Erin Gieschen

Screenwriter Mike Rich talks about his role in bringing the new film, The Nativity Story, to life.

The story as we know it does have its moments of extraordinary brightness lighting up the night sky—and wealthy elite throwing all their resources into a long journey to deliver costly gifts. But the majority of moments that make up the Christmas drama are indeed humble and extraordinarily, well, down-to-earth. And these are exactly the moments Mike Rich wanted to capture in all their private, painstaking glory. The acclaimed screenwriter of Finding Forrester, The Rookie, and Radio spoke with In Touch about his upcoming film, The Nativity Story, and about the delicate work of adapting two short Scripture passages for the silver screen.

In Touch: How involved have you been in the production?

Mike Rich: I've been really involved. As a writer, that's always really gratifying. I'm an executive producer on this one as well. I was there in Matera, Italy and Morocco, where we filmed a good portion of the film. I had a really close working relationship with the producer, Wyck Godfrey, and Catherine Hardwicke, the director.

In Touch: As a writer, I'm sure you had a vision in your head as to what you wanted to see. Did you see the pieces of that picture come together on the set?

MR: Yeah, as a writer you do always have a personal image in your head of what you think it should look like. And the best thing that can happen is that, when you show up on the set and realize that that image you had in your head has been actually elevated. Here's an example. There's one scene in which Mary and Joseph are approaching Jerusalem. When I'd written it on the page, it was just a few sentences of dialog between Mary and Joseph on a crowded road. They're traveling with others on their way to fulfill the census. So, I show up on the set that day we were going to shoot the scene—and there before me are 250 extras! There are soldiers and horses, goats, donkeys, sheep—you name it. This was really a credit to Catherine not only as a great director, but as someone experienced in production design as well.

In Touch: This project just makes so much sense. We badly need a worthy visual retelling of the Christmas story. When I think of "the Nativity," unfortunately, plastic Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus on the lawn or coffee table come to mind. And every year I get Christmas cards with cheery scenes that make me think, Wow! Looks like they had a really great time. Of course, that picture of the Nativity is completely out in left field compared to the actual biblical account. How did you approach this disparity while envisioning and crafting the script?

MR: When I first felt compelled to pursue the idea, I wanted to take those plastic figurines off the coffee table and turn them into real people again. I wanted to back up from Mary the iconic image to take a new look at Mary the woman, even Mary the child.

When I tossed the idea out within the industry to see what the interest and viability in it would be, I presented it not as an event-based drama—which it often turns into—but as a character-based drama. I wanted to look inside the heads of all of these people—not just Mary and Joseph, but also Mary's parents, the shepherds, King Herod, the Magi—many of whom have become "bit players" over time. These were individuals who made decisions based on faith, doubt, fear. I wanted to show that there really were no bit players in this grand design and present the story as something much more than just a connect-the-dots event-based narrative.

In Touch: What always strikes me about the Christmas story is just how incredibly human it is. Yet, we tend to see it as being on a very different plane from our own lives—unreal, almost. How do you see the quiet details telling us more about what God was doing in these characters' very human situations?

There's something here that's never really explored. I think it's so interesting and compelling that Mary would have then returned home in the middle of the betrothal period. She's now three months pregnant. She's returning to the man to whom tradition dictated she would remain pure until the time she would enter his home. She's returning to her family and to her community. In my mind, these details of the story completely elevate the level of faith that this young woman had. And not just faith, but courage and determination and responsibility.

[The] same goes for Joseph. There's a distinct difference between the visitation he received from God [and] from Mary's. His was in a dream, while hers was far more tangible. Yet, here's a man who's willing to put his faith in God to the point that he's walk alongside a donkey for 110 miles. When you consider these details, all of a sudden—what seemed like an event-based, connect-the-dots narrative becomes a very real character-driven story that draws parallels to present-day issues we deal with daily.

Next page: Collaboration and the Creation of a Character  1 2 3

The Nativity Story opens in theaters nationwide on December 1. See www.thenativitystory.com for more details.