The interview begins with Lane discussing how she wanted to make sure that all of the different groups of people who fought were represented, as well as who they were aligned with. Lane explains that she became interested in this history when she read the book “The Bulletproof George Washington.” She became inspired to tell the forgotten stories that are no longer in history books and are not taught in schools. This particular film series chronicles the young George Washington prior to the Revolutionary War. Lane expounds on the faith that Washington had and how it helped him throughout his life.
Wallbuilders
The Wallbuilders was founded by David Barton and is dedicated to education of our nation’s history and Constitution. They are also involved in other outreach activities and produce educational materials for public schools and universities. They also created The Wallbuilders Pro-Family Legislative Network which monitors varying legislative issues across the nation such as: abortion, education, public morality, and parental rights. They encourage people to get involved and sign up for their informational newsletter on www.wallbuilders.comLane said filming the battle scenes was very challenging, but they had a lot of good stunt coordinators who worked on the film and showed the actors how to wear the armor and use the weapons. This also helped with the film’s continuity. It shows Washington’s first battle, and the host mentions that it really captures some of the moments when Washington had moral dilemmas between what his orders were and what he knew to be right. This showed his character while at the same time trying to establish himself in society and further his military career. He always completed his missions with whatever action was necessary but also had a compassionate side as well. The film does a good job of portraying both. The stories that are portrayed were gleaned from journals of people who helped Washington who were there and from other writings such as “The Bulletproof Washington” as well as research. Wallbuilders has a lot of these journals in their collection, so working with them was quite beneficial. Also portrayed was a frontiersman who accompanied Washington and fought beside him. The host notes how this person was portrayed as a rugged man who some said were more like a savage. Lane said based on the journal entries, he was a skilled hunter and able to provide for himself and for Washington as well and was a mentor and father figure to him. They became very close over the course of the 500-mile trek that they shared together.
Lane also relates some other interesting experiences about making the film. The process of choosing the actors was done with a lot of care. Many of them sent video audition tapes and she is convinced that it was divine selection that helped her choose the right people for the right parts. The person who played the role of George Washington had to be able to ride a horse. The host asks her about the choice she made for the studio in which the film was made. She directed a previous short film at the same studio in which a Biblical village had to be built on the sound stage. It was this production that sparked in her the desire to build Biblical villages. They were also used to put on live productions and other directors came and filmed their productions on those sets. She also had a retreat at the location as there were also living quarters nearby. It has been used to reach out and minister to many people. The host also wanted to know how Lane chose EpochTV to show her production. She stated she was already aware of The Epoch Times and liked what they stand for and then when she met people from EpochTV, she felt led to use it to show her film. She put a lot of effort into making the film true to history and not change or embellish it.
“Honestly the story is good. You really don’t need to do that much because it is a great story. It’s got adventure and it’s got romance. He meets Martha in volume one and we develop that story later on. It’s an amazing story. He survives miraculously going through the wilderness and almost dying but he doesn’t. He can’t be injured. He can get sick and he got sick a lot but not injured and so it’s just a great story and I want to stick to the truth in history as much as possible,” Lane said.
If something is documented, she wants to portray it that way. Anything that is speculation can be done with creative license. Lane is a Christian so that is why the film also has moral messages in it along with the story. George Washington had a strong sense of duty and integrity and was known to stick to his word. He was not perfect and made mistakes so there is a balance for this also in the film. The host agrees that the moral dilemmas shown in the film make the characters seem more real and he said this is refreshing to see this since it is almost non-existent in other films today. The entire story is told in three volumes which will include more character development. The host ends the interview by asking Lane what about Washington inspired her to tell his story. She stated it was his perseverance in the face of odds being against him a lot of the time. Also, his miraculous survival was something that interested her. She was inspired to tell people that God has a purpose for each person in their life and Washington’s life is a perfect example of this. You can watch the film series on EpochTV.
