Spiritworks - Rick Greene with Brian Thomas this morning

Merry Christmas.

It reminds me of is the Charlie Ron Christmas when he's doing fur lease Beethoven and he said, what kind of Christmas song is.

That it's Beethoven and Christmas music? Well, that's yes, Christmas music.

Welcome back Rob Riders in the studio with his guitar of course, Brian Thomas wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and celebrating the fifty five k S Morning Show Christmas Special, which I always look forward to every year because we get to lighten things up and getting a celebratory mood in spite of all of the muck that's still going

Good to see me.

Hey, thank you for having me. I've been waiting on this day for a long time. It's been nine years trying to get this movie.

Move that mic a little closer to you when you've got it. Nine years since the Did the concept come up for the movie nine years ago?

Yeah?

God pushed me to make this movie and he never stopped pushing me. And I remember sank God. I never made a movie and he just kept pushing me.

God pushes you a lot.

I love him. He loved me well.

I know that the whole point of the movie, which is an amazing thing, and it's uplifting. And some people have strugg obviously. We have clinics, and we have rehab programs, and we have jails for people who commit crimes a lot of times because they're involved with drugs. We have people that grow up in bad households and bad lives. That's the story of your life, but not everybody has God stepping in and then immediately transforming it, which is

Well, I grew up in the projects of Cincinnati. It was tough, and there was a lot of violence, and there was always alcohol and drugs in our home. I tell people one of my first memories and smell at three or four year old. I still smell it to this day. It's the smell of a bar. When I got older and went to a bar, I didn't realize that was my home. I saw things, I heard things, you know, four and five year old shouldn't have heard.

And I didn't know what to do with that pain.

And one day I snuck downstairs and got one of my fathers beer. They're wrong way laughing and y'alling the adults. I thought they were having fun. I wanted to have fun. I didn't know by grabbing that beer it will go from beer it will go from weed, it will go to cocaine.

They will go to prison.

I didn't see all those steps Satan had before me, and I fell for every one of them. But I told people I can't blame Satan or anybody from my whole life. When I blamed the man in the mirror. Nobody forced me that I chose it.

Yeah, that you know, I make that point about my philosophy is boiled down. There's a Dosto, yesk he cuote it, and I don't have to quote the whole thing. But the point he makes to his friends this conversation that they're heading amongst themselves is you know, look around you, the beautiful that, the star of the moon, the stars, the birds, all this beauty we have and all these wonderful things that were surrounded by. And he makes the point life is heaven and you only need to recognize that,

Yeah.

I always tell people I don't think addiction is all powerful. People might want to perceive it. It's that's the case while come eleven kids, all of us them become malcoholic and addicts the point almighty, if people want to perceive it, why am I doing it today?

Yeah?

I didn't want to die inn at it. I looked at him in the mirror and I didn't like him, and I divorced him twenty six years ago and I'll never go back to him.

Well, I didn't want to be him no more.

Well, and if you had remained that person, you probably wouldn't be alive, and you certainly wouldn't have a movie made about your life and this miracle that you experienced. What was the moment that How did it occur to you when this conversation you're having with yourself about and reflecting on where you are looking at the drug addicted person who's been in prison and experienced all this. You always described it as sort of it was almost like

I was in the jail, so I probably at the lowest point of my life, and I tell people I hate standing this point, but I have to say it. I remember saying whispered to me, why don't you just kill yourself because you'll never You'll never beat me? And it angered me, and I said, why don't you kill yourself? I never heard nobody whis we that to me? I know God is holy, righteous and he loved me. He never talked to me like that. I said, that's the enemy, and I said, why don't you kill yourself?

Wow?

It angered me, but that anger pushed me in the right direction. Yeah, but I never heard nobody say that to me, and I was offended. But something woke up in me when he said that.

Well, you know, the Lord works some mysterious ways. It may very well have been God's suggestion to you about that, to bring about that moment of clarity, like, dude, you've reached the lowest point you're ever going to reach. Why don't you just get rid of yourself? And that was the motive. I mean right there, it's like, you know, God's thinking, of souf, what are we going to do to make Rick a better person?

Here?

We really got to I don't want to say, like b slap them, you know. And you just responded with the same kind of message back at that evil message, which is that's awesome, all right, which is inspirational, which is how you ended up writing a book about it. You've actually written quite a few books. You have some children's books on your website. You wrote Spirit Works, a God story about your life in this transformation. And somehow, in some way Savant, the director of the movie, found out,

Your turn.

How did you find out about this story and what was your I mean, how did you decide to make a movie out of it?

Well, Rick reached out to my cousins. You do poetry.

I'm only recalled exact time or how soon after Rick talked to her that he reached out to me. But I mean, people call an email and text me all the time, and you just say, okay, well, I'm in the service business. I'm gonna be polite and respe lying back as best as I can. But Rick was very adamant through his process, and he's been adamant throughout it. Oh yeah, So he reached out. We met up and I heard his story. I'm like, oh yeah, this is definitely different from what I've done. I would love to

He doesn't give up, does he?

No, he doesn't need And are you still doing your your mission work and handing out food and.

Sandwiches and stuff to the folks that in need?

Oh yeah, I feed the homeless every Saturday and off side of Hamilton Avenue. I love my assignment. I hope God never removed me from it. We're year seven, We're over ten thousand bags. Now, are you kidding me? I don't know how me and my wife find the money. God just keep me.

Well, that's what the donate button is for on your website. So I'll encourage my listeners in this giving holiday spirit. A donation to Spirit Works will end up helping Rick and his wife hand out sandwiches to the homeless in downtown Cincinnati every Saturday throughout the year. So inspirational it is. We'll continue, and we're gonna meet the actor who plays Rick. His name is Curtis. He's in studio as well, and I was joking with both of them. I said, Man, Curtis,

He had to call.

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Godress, g Mary, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ, our saved was born on Christmas Day to save us all from.

Zoyf and power. And we will go on astray.

Ho tidings of colme.

Food and joy, covert en joy, Oh tidings of.

Come food and joy wonderful.

It's like one one favorite Christmas tunes Rob Ryder in Studio, which is of course tradition here on the fifty five KOs Morning Show. And we are celebrating Christmas and in a great way today doing the talking all about Rick Green and his story which he calls a God's story and Savanti director who has directed the movie. And it is in post production, meeting the filming is done. You're doing the editing right now? Or is it all done? You got it in the can?

No, the movie's done and we have a date for it.

Oh so it's it's finished March sixth.

March six. Now where where we before we meet the actor who Curtis Williams who's playing Rick in the movie. Where's the movie going to be available? Is going to be on in movie theater? Is gonna be online? How are we gonna find it?

We are doing our first showing March six, six pm and seven point thirty at the Springdale Nazarene Church. That's one one one seven seventh Springfield Pike. That's Cincinnati, Ohio four five two four six. What do those first two showings and then we'll have it online with an announcement to follow.

Well, you have an invitation in counter your twenty twenty five to come back or even just call him with a segment to remind people it's coming out and to get there and to see it and uh and uh. We'll get people's reaction from it as well. Moving over to the young man who was in studio, nineteen year old Curtis Williams, who has was selected to play Rick Green in the movie. Curtis, Man, it's great to meet you today and good to have you in the studio.

It's great to be here. Thank you for having me.

And the congratulations on Land of the Park. And I gave you props for you know, outshining Rick over here in terms of you know, I'm sure that's why.

He picked you.

It's like I want my young self to be a you know, good looking guy. Anyway, what was it like playing Rick? And I guess I want to ask you from your experiences of life and you graduated from gamble Gamble Montessories.

All right.

I want to make sure people knew that local man you are. Can you relate to Rick's young young life? You know all I don't want you to reveal personal family is serious, but as an actor playing a man who went through these hardships, could you connect with him on some level?

I couldn't really relate to him as much as in terms of like all the trauma that he went through right, thankfully, very much, thankfully. And I had a very good life growing up. But that's why I was kind of excited to do this role because I was kind of playing something that I never did before the challenge.

And that's that's just how you grow as an actor.

You play roles that you're not really sure like how you're gonna do, like once the cameras are on, and I just feel like that's like like that's just always going to help you improve, like with every step of the way.

Sure, yeah, it's a growth thing, and it's like absolutely.

I always said, you know, I practiced law for sixteen years before I got I was offered this job, right, And I always say to people because a young man, maybe it was just a year older than you, asked me what I want to be on radio? What do I need to do to do that? And I response to him, I didn't want to be a jerk, but

Ever? Since I was a little kid.

Really, I've always just wanted to be an entertainer, So I just I was just trying to find any way that I could. So as soon as I graduated high school, I was always looking for possible acting roles, and I got my first one through my cousin, Yosaia Johnson, who owns his own production company, Yosaia Vision, which I'm very thankful that he gave me.

My very first role, I bet.

And I got my second role through four Fall Youth Studios, which again I'm very thankful that they gave me the opportunity because I was not expecting to get these roles, because of course I was looking for the roles, but when you don't have as much experience, of course, everyone's going to say, well, you don't have much experience, so how can we trust.

It's a circular argument. Well, dam if you don't give me the job, how am I going to get the experience?

That's what I'm saying.

It's crazy, it's crazy. Well, you know, if it wasn't for God intervening in Rick's life and transforming his life to create a story, then you never have the role and another building block for your future, your future career. So it's amazing how all those kind of things kind of line up and work out, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

That's wonderful. And how about the fellow actors that you work with? How many people are in the movie in terms of parts.

There's about there's about I won't say, between twenty five or thirty speaking rows.

So really it.

Was a challenging, but it was fun challenging.

Let's find somebody that can work with this person and then you get them on set play. Oh, it worked perfect, and then you got to do it like ten to fifteen different more times.

Do you have any problem connect with the actors? You guys all play well together and figure each other out.

And oh yeah, the energy with all my castmates was absolutely amazing. I was happy to work with an amazing group of people and possibly learn from them, because I always take every role as a learning experience to take notes from my fellow cast mates on how to do this and how to do that, because again, like that's just how you grow as an actor.

And that's what smart people do. It's like Journeyman Apprentice that you learn from the Journeyman when you're an apprentice, and next thing you know, you're teaching others the craft yourself.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

Well, we're looking forward to March sixth to get to check out the movie at the Springdale Nazarene Church. Got that right, spring down Nazarene Church. You can go ahead and put it down on your calendar now six pm showing a seven thirty showing as well, and then to the online. But we'll bring the crew back, or at least Rick and Savant back, and you're Curtis, You're welcome to come back again too if you would when the movie kicks off.

But I'll be happy to come back any song.

Fantastic. I wish you guys the best, I really do. I hope the movie is a huge success. The message is certainly one worthy of spreading, and I'm glad you're able to do it in coming the studio. Talk about it this time of year, given that you know, Christmas is coming up and we've got a lot to be thankful for. And Rick, I know no one more than you is thankful for what God has done for you and how He's transformed your life.

Oh yeah, I love what God has done for me. And I also loved my city. I told people Cincinnati is a star in the movie too. I love my city.

That's great, you know, I mentioned that earlier because my dad had a lot of opportunity. He was on the radio here in Cincinnati for more than forty six years, and he had a lot of opportunities over the years to leave. I think he got an offer in Los Angeles, I think New York one time, and he loved Cincinnati so much he never wanted to go. He was happy here. He had a family and his listening audience. He was comfortable and that's and I'm thankful for that too. Because

It'll be a happy New Year. Achieve as well.

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