Marietta screenwriter infuses 'Pastor Brown' with faith

Actors Ernie Hudson, Michael Beach and Tasha Smith are huddled in a conference room at Decatur's sprawling Beulah Baptist Church. As they rehearse, Smith delivers a critical line in the movie they are making about a prodigal preacher's daughter and former stripper who might become their characters' new spiritual leader.

"She can't be pastor," Smith says with authority. "Maybe of a whorehouse, but not a church."

Welcome to the drama of "Pastor Brown," the indie movie that's been filming in Decatur and other parts of metro Atlanta since mid-April. It's got a recognizable cast — other stars include Salli Richardson ("I Am Legend"), Nicole Ari Parker, Keith David, Tisha Campbell and Rockmond Dunbar, who also directs — and cameos from Grammy-winning Atlanta singers such as India.Arie and Monica.

It's a miracle of sorts that the movie, from Rock Capital Films, is even being made here.

"Pastor Brown," the first movie for screenwriter Rhonda Baraka of Marietta, was originally set in Detroit.

Dunbar was already here earlier this year acting in "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys" and, well, just didn't leave.

"I said, 'Why don't we do it here?'" he says during a break in production. "We couldn't find the same talent base in Detroit that you have here. We could prep and get everything going immediately. So we switched, and now it's all about Atlanta."

Several days of shooting at Beulah have involved about 700 extras and at least 150 members of the church's 400-member choir. Other locations have included a Buckead home near the Governor's Mansion, the Imperial Fez Restaurant on Peachtree Street, other parts of Decatur and, for the exotic dancer scenes, the Body Tap Exclusive south of Hills Park.

Richardson, who plays Jessica "Jesse" Brown, the film's prodigal daughter, was drawn to the part because of the character's wide range — from a stripper pole to a pulpit.

"It's a piece that I think other women who are lost in their life will see and really feel that they don't have to be stuck anywhere," she says. "You can overcome anything and find yourself again."

Baraka, a mother of two (her 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son got to play children of a homeless woman for "Pastor Brown"), says she became so immersed in the story that she wrote the original script in two weeks.

"I like the idea of doing something creative that can also be inspiring," she says.

She also purposefully crafts male characters toward a positive image.

"It is very important for me to have roles for African-American men where they are depicted as good, strong, intelligent, solid men," she says. "And we don't always see that."

In "Pastor Brown," Dunbar plays Jesse's love interest Amir, a Muslim.

"He represents that side of Islam that to me is the most accurate representation — very peaceful, very calm, very respectful of women and other religions," Baraka says.

The filmmakers hope "Pastor Brown" is an extension of what Mel Gibson with "Passion of the Christ" and Perry with his low budget/strong box office projects have proven in recent years — that faith-based films and movies aimed at an underserved, spiritual audience can succeed.

The plan, Baraka says, is to take "Pastor Brown," which wraps Wednesday, on the film festival circuit and secure distribution with a studio for theatrical release in the first quarter of 2009.

Dunbar, who co-starred in the long-running TV version of "Soul Food," already is looking beyond that.

He's talking about possibly franchising "Pastor Brown" as a television show based in Atlanta.