The Doorpost Film Project

The Doorpost Film Project in 2008. My pastor and friend David Spring was appointed as the executive director of the Doorpost Film Project in 2009. Now that was a nonprofit short film contest and the way it worked was that they took submissions from all around the world five to seven minute shorts. I think the entry fee was about $50 and then Dave and his crew would review them and vote on them. And then semi finalists would have to do would get I think $40,000 To then there were five of them for Tow 200,000 To make a short film, I think it was 15 to 20 minutes or something of the sort. I’d have to look it up. And then those films would compete for $100,000 prize second was 75/3 was 50. And I think fourth was 25. So I think that’s how it worked out. I’d have to look up the exact breakdown on that.

But Dave needed somebody to do the human resource stuff, the budgeting stuff, the film accounting stuff, the bank stuff, payroll for his employees, and that became me. I was remained an independent contractor because in that state of Tennessee, where it was located. If you had three or less employees, you’re exempt from unemployment and I think one other tax slash insurance requirements again, I’d have to look it up. It’s been a while. So it was Dave is assistant Angela and Anthony last at or, if needed the technical. Angela was his assistant. And I came in as an independent contractor to do all that other stuff.

We were in an office, started in green hills and then ended up at Rosa Parks when he took it over. offers the parks Boulevard in the modern metal building. Josh owned it from the standard which was a smoking club or whatever you want to call it. private club with the restaurant. And first it was a lot of paperwork. And I wasn’t really looped in on a lot I just made sure. Really because it was a 501 C three there were some compliance issues I had to deal with. I had to undo some things that he did. But eventually got got everything working.

Concurrently. I was doing the same for church that he ran called the edge so it was a dual role and I ran around with them a lot sometimes even just pitch to ride with them. It was that point I also moved across the street from him because we were doing community outreach a church in the doorpost all at the same time. And it was just more efficient to be nearby. I originally lived in Hendersonville, I moved near him to do community outreach, and help her in the church and then moved across the street from him when we were doing the movie company. It just it was better that way.

So we viewed all of these films, including I will never forget one small sacrifice fish. It’s on YouTube, I’m sure. But we viewed all these films. It took a little bit we got, I don’t know, a lot of entries, a lot of entries. And then it boiled down to I think five. One of them. Zach Hines, Gregory Hines, I think grandson or son got eliminated for various reasons. But we ended up with Brandon McCormick with the candy shop for Adly Jackson, the man who cried David DeVos eyes to see Maslow Hoody and I cannot remember the name of masters film and he is a good friend now so that is actually not good.

Oh, but, you know, we gave them each $40,000 they could spend their own money to I had to help set up bank accounts for them and then move money around as they needed. It approve expenses, that kind of thing. And then we started going to sets so Dave and I went to Atlanta to observe the shooting of the candy shop, which was an anti trafficking film star Doug Jones, who would later gone to be through in Star Trek Discovery.

And we did a group dinner I got to sit with Doug Jones, which was absolutely amazing. He did some other stuff like Pan’s Labyrinth the Silver Surfer, but, you know, didn’t know he was in Star Trek Discovery. years later was just amazing to me. I think that was the first one that we went to. And I learned a lot about being on a film set. A lot of takes a lot of takes long time short distance in terms of filming, and I learned what a call sheet was I don’t recall time was so that was a that was a neat experience.

We ended up going to Austin, Texas and it was very hot. For the man who never cried, I think is what it was Radley Jackson I remember there was an outdoor scene and we were stuck out there and it was hot and warm and I wasn’t allowed in the car with the air conditioning while Dave was having meetings in the car. I can definitely tell just through retelling it, that it. That was the miserable one.

Austin there was a lot of brush. I remember you’re supposed to see my friend. Our friend Dave and I both were friends with Josh Shawn wits and his wife Natalie, but Dave just vetoed it at some point, which kind of upset me that’s kind of when the tension started there. Yeah. And then I remember my friend, the late Dan, Ireland, great director. He was there and we all went to dinner together. There’s also John Sheppard he was there various stops. He was a producer and on our on our staff so to speak.

And then there was my favorite one eyes to see that was shot in Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. That’s where I fell in love with Los Angeles. I was left on my birthday in Santa Monica. Third Street Promenade. And had a great time gotta Converse jacket. met this cool girl that sold soap but it was really really a good time and yeah, it was just great.

I used to see was filled in the San Fernando Valley and we’re sad came because I was always told us because everything looks realistic. They wanted to make their actors. Sure they’re actors were safe. Boulders look great, but if you kind of pan off to the side and took a look off to the side, you would see they were like, I don’t know it’s manufacturing these boulders out of foam.

So that film had Matthew Marston and we had a great talk about Doctor Who he watched Doctor Who Garcelle Beauvais a very nice woman got to talk to her a little bit. Really just enjoyed Matt Dave disappeared in the actor’s trailers and just talked to them a lot. But I enjoyed it and I enjoyed meeting David DeVos. He was a great guy, his wife had accounting skills to really just, it was really the best of the film set visits.

So we did all those visits, I cut checks on the spot for most of these guys. It was great to write checks to actors. I mean, who would ever thought right physically write checks? And then we went home and we found out you know a few months later that we didn’t have enough money to finish the year. It was it was very challenging. We used to have to go we didn’t get all the money that we needed. It was a nonprofit. We were responsible for raising money and we weren’t going to be able to continue.

So Dave exited. And by choice and the Board Chairman Michael Haggerty took over. We managed to put together an award show I worked on Michael I flew out to Los Angeles again rented a car and just literally patchwork this award ceremony together. Me and Michael with some help from some others.

And then we had to give prizes out that we didn’t have. So they were basically at the award ceremony which was a lot of fun. We’d read out to use and we ended up having to dissolve the charity. Give the film’s which we owned the library. We just had to sign the films back to the back to the filmmakers the big winner we had to sign as many assets as we had with the film’s over to them. We had to come up with agreements to basically dissolve and satisfy everybody. And then we had to pay the creditors and I had to dissolve the rest of the assets dissolve it with the state. Dissolve it with the feds.

It was hard for me because this was my dream life actually want to move to Los Angeles and do this. And it just didn’t happen. And there were a lot issues with Dave just he wasn’t able to raise the money he did try. It was a difficult environment. 2011 2010 point 11 They were difficult years.

But I had filmmakers calling me like where’s Dave Where’s Dave? He’s gone silent will be called ghosting, living across the street. I had to deal with that. And it was hard. And then because my signature was on all the payment requests, and my signature was on a few of the 990s when we couldn’t afford a CPA who made me legally responsible for six years. We dissolved it in 2013 According to every attorney I spoke to I was on the hook till 2019.

And the problem was that we took money for the entries. So that constituted potential wire fraud and that’s what was always hanging over us. So I had to deal with all the liabilities for six years, and when we dismantled everything, I had to move everything to storage TWICE, TWICE. I had to liquidate everything I had to get helped to move everything to storage. I wasn’t being paid very much at all. A lot of it was volunteer because the money just wasn’t there.

It was a hard experience because that was my dream life and that was the one time in my life. Working with Dave on the film’s the outreach in the church that I felt that my life was firing off on all four cylinders. I have never gotten that again I got close like 99.9% but was at point one and it was difficult with Dave because right before the doorpost stuff actually think it was during I’m not sure the exact time period he was arrested for soliciting a prostitute now it was a Craigslist thing. So there was no prostitute but I chose to stand by him. I believed that I could be enough to help him through this.

And then after doorposts he struggled with addiction. And then he passed away from an overdose. Allegedly September 12 2023. And that was hard because Dave and angered me, the way the doorpost ended. The way the church ended the way the outreach ended. It all ended at his hand. And that was my dream existence. And I was angry with him for a long time. I wanted to burn down his house at one point. I couldn’t let go at the anger.

I had two pastors James Lowe and rice Brooks at Bethel world outreach. They tried to help me. Eventually it came to a place where I was able to deal with it. He and his wife Christy and I and my daughter did a lunch together and then Dave dropped by the church a few times. And then he died.

And I didn’t think that his death was going to affect me. But I couldn’t move for like four days. I mean, obviously I moved but I was a wreck. One morning I was I was I was celebrating my birthday. He died September 12 My birthday is 15th approximately. And somebody had to call me and just get me out of bed. It really wasn’t good.

I was fortunate enough to go to a private Memorial where it was the family me and James Lowe and I was able to see Dave one last time and say I forgive you Will you forgive me and then I just I just that was what I did to him. Say We’ll talk it through a little bit. And then James Lo and I attended the public memorial. We sat together because it wasn’t awkward room. Slotted people I don’t think that seen each other in a long time.

Dave had made calls for new business that he had, he was a multi level marketing guy. He had done that right before he passed away. So a lot of people he had reconnected with weeks before he passed. But yeah, and I think about it i i wasn’t enough. That was what I realized, like when I sat with James Lowe after the doorposts collapse, and James asked me what he could do for me, and I told him what I need, I need resources to finish working with the kids.

So we kind of left hanging and then James gave us that. But I told James always thought that I would have been enough and I was wrong. I wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough to save the door pose wasn’t enough to say at the community outreach of the church. And often we second guess ourselves we think if we had just gone and done this or we just gone and done that or if we could go back in time.

I cannot find any way to save the doorpost. Any way to save the film company. I don’t know how much of it was my dream to move to Los Angeles that was grieving or whether it was Dave I was grieving. possibly both. But the Dave thing cut pretty deep. I didn’t think I was going to grieve like I did. But I did.

I spent that Thanksgiving with his ex wife and her new husband and their family so that that was something but yeah, it was tragic, but the film company, I learned so much. I got to do a lot. I subsequently spent three weeks in Los Angeles working with the homeless for several years. One of the state legislators he was a city councilman at the time. He helped get me started referred me to to an outreach. I also worked with an outreach. Another outreach friend of mine named Charles ran. I can’t recall the name of it right now. But it was great.

I got to do some things in Los Angeles with him, like bowling and ice skating. And by that I mean I went and picked up people that wanted to go bowling and ice skating. Got to take a guy to an NBA game. The first NBA game I’d gone to isn’t Dexter. Dexter was homeless, but we went to the game together and Charles paid for it. United steps that was the name of his charity.

But that was a very special time in my life. And I think it’s one per customer. I think that’s the challenge with those is it is one per customer and I can’t get that back. I don’t know that I’m ever going to have an experience like that ever again. But it was a good one. I just wished Dave were still around. I wish from my you’ve gotten a second chance at it somehow later in life. After we’d both been grown and learn I don’t know. Definitely Miss Dave definitely missed that experience.