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Richard Dutcher is an American movie director, producer, writer and actor. Dutcher is notable for his ability to raise money for his independent film productions. He is also noted among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of his early Mormon-themed productions. Richard Dutcher lived in his car during high school and was so financially strapped while attending BYU that he frequently had to choose between eating and going to the movies. Because of his love of film, he normally went to the movies. Dutcher graduated from Brigham Young University in 1988 with a degree in film. Dutcher has been married to his wife, Gwen, since 1988. They have six children.
His first feature film was Girl Crazy (1997), which he sold to HBO and Cinemax.
Dutcher's first commercial success was with the 2000 indie film God's Army. Dutcher took three years to raise the film's modest budget of $250,000. Dutcher wrote, directed and starred in this film about Mormon missionaries, focusing on one Mormon elder determined to finish his two-year mission even though he is dying of brain cancer. Despite a limited production budget, the film showed respectable production quality and adept acting. The film debuted with a world premiere in Sandy, Utah and was taken on tour around North America for special, limited engagements.
Dutcher followed this film in 2001 with Brigham City about the search for a serial murderer in a fictional small Utah town whose inhabitants are mostly LDS. The movie explores how residents of a close-knit religious community react to and deal with the situation.
Dutcher's next film, God's Army 2: States of Grace, was released November 4, 2005. While carrying the title of his first movie, States of Grace is not a true sequel. This film follows a different set of missionaries in Los Angeles, caught in the middle of gang warfare.
Although Dutcher's early target audience was LDS, some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are offended by his works. While Dutcher's portrayal of LDS missionaries in God's Army was considered only mildly offensive by many members of his faith, Brigham City was so controversial that many LDS crew members simply walked off the set. Referring to this event, Dutcher has openly stated that adding controversial elements to his movies is part of the reality of making an engaging movie, and that in the future he plans not to work with LDS actors and crew members who shy away from such controversy in order to avoid similar production delays. Hence, while Dutcher continues to have a significant LDS fan base, members of his faith are increasingly uncomfortable with his work. This is magnified by the fact that many Latter-day Saints are wary of movies with PG-13 or R ratings. Dutcher's last two movies were rated PG-13.
On April 13, 2007, the Provo Daily Herald, published an open letter from Dutcher on its editorial page entitled, "Richard Dutcher: 'Parting words' on Mormon movies" where he announced, "I am no longer a practicing member of the church."
Dutcher at one point was planning to direct Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith, a film about the life of the early LDS prophet. However, in his 'Parting words' letter, Dutcher stated that he will no longer be making Mormon films.
Dutcher's next two films will be Falling and Evil Angel. Dutcher's 'Parting words' letter suggests that these movies will be spiritually based but not Mormon-related. He hopes to join the ranks of other spiritual filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman, Robert Bresson, Andrei Tarkovsky, Carl Theodor Dreyer, and Yasujiro Ozu.
