BART MILLARD

stuff in the movie. And it's like we had to teach him how to dumb it way down because he sings better than I do. Ah, that's a good thing though. That's a good thing though. I mean, could you imagine if they had chosen somebody who may have looked like you or had mannerisms like you, but couldn't really sing. Yeah, I guess he'd be lips thinking all my stuff. And they were nervous about that. So he kills He's a great job. Wow. And I know Dennis Quaid plays your dad. Yeah. Yeah,

that's that's a Yeah, that's the CD. That's insane. Like, you know, being able to go and on set and watch him start filming and you know, get it. Yes it's Dennis Quaid. Man. He's like, it's like Dennis Quaid. Yeah, yeah, exactly, it's it's I couldn't believe it. I was a little starstruck for sure, a little yeah, I'll a little keep my cool, you know, act like you've been there before. But I didn't do a very good job of it. Yeah. No, you don't have to keep your cool, just go crazy.

So how much input? Um, how much creative input did did you have? I mean, this is somebody Jean Jean Valjean playing you. How much input did you have on the direction? Like did you say no, no, no, I wouldn't have said that, or no no no, I wouldn't have moved like that, or did they say step back,

we got this? Yeah, I probably I had. I had probably more than I actually took advantage of, so to speak, like not just because it was in good ends, but I was approached about making the movie almost eight years ago, and um and um um. A lady out of California had heard me to kind of tell my story on stage and said, I want to see if there's a

movie there, and so I was like, okay, whatever. And for about five years of that, it was just like a phone call once or twice a year, a going, hey, I'm still working on it were and we just never believed would happened. And then it was about three years ago when the Irwin brothers I met them. They were doing a movie called Mom's Night Out, and we met and and and I remember, you know, I've seen a couple of scripts from the original people and it was

it wasn't good. And I remember telling I was like, man, I wish you guys somehow could at least you know, this weird movie they talked about making. I wish you guys could see it. And they said, well, they actually sent us the original script this morning, like they've already asked this. And I was like, I was like, are

you kidding me? I had no idea. And so from that point on, like I had I had veto power, Like I guess technically I could call right now and say I don't want it in the movies or whatever.

It was kind of agreement. And but at that point, like they were doing such a great job, and they interviewed me for you know, for weeks about every story possible growing up, and and they were very respectful, and how they made the movie kind of taught me how, you know, hey, we're trying to cram twenty something years into about an hour and fifty minutes, so there's gonna be a lot of mashing up stories to make it fit. We obviously can't make a you know, twenty eight hour

movie or whatever, not making Thornbirds. And so so I don't know, I think that your your life Bart could be a cool Thornbirds. May well, except you know, you fell in love with the love of your life young and got married and have a beautiful family and never you know, you never became a priest. But other than that, it couldn't like be thornbird quality. Yes, I am in ministry, so it's close there you go. But they did a great job. I just had I had to learn how

it's made. People always ask how accurate is it? And I'm like, it's about as accurate as you can be fitting my whole life into two hours. For me, it was all about the redemption story with my dad and the tray information in his life and and and they, you know, they did something right because the first time I read the script and I saw them film it, it stirred emotions in me that I haven't felt for a very long time. And so I think they they

got it right, that's for sure. Wow. Wow, and your family did they Did they just thrilled to the idea or were they like, oh, I don't want everybody to know this stuff. You know, that's the nervous part, because

I think it's a little bit of both. I mean, like, I stressed over this even eight years ago, because you know, really in my life, my parents divorced and I was young, and I have an older brother, and so really my mom my brother are probably the only two that are really kind of around still that that can kind of

truly know what I went through. And and so I really stressed about them because my mom, you know, they divorced and I was three, and my mom remarried, moved from Dallas to Santonio, and I was in third grade, and somehow they decided it was best for me my brother to stay with my dad, and so being a mama's boy, I remember weeping that my mom kind of

left me behind. Is what it felt like now knowing as an adult how much of a victim she was, and and the fear that she was living, you know, just because my dad had such a horrible temper and there's a lot of factors I didn't understand as a child. And so so I was like when the movie, when I started writing the script, I was like, if this is going to kill my mom because it just shows her leaving and not coming back and and such. She's

such a big part of my life. Now I found myself like trying to rewrite the true story, trying to fit her in my life more than she actually was, to protect her. And my wife Shannon was like, that's that's not true either, like, unfortunately, this is what it is. And and and so I remember like sitting down with my mom and kind of work, you know, working through all that,

you know, before the movie has ever made. And when it finally first edited the movie, I went to Texas and said alone with her, and we washed together and and you know, and I thought my mom would have the hardest time. My brother would be okay with it because he, you know, he knows what I went through. And my mom kind of cried a little bit and said, unfortun that's the way it was. And you know, I'm proud of you for trying to tell the story like it was. She was very supportive. It's gonna be hard,

but she's supportive. And my brother, who I thought would be okay with it, he's struggling, probably more just because you know, they're might you know, there's something you know for him, my dad could do no wrong, like uh, you know, like you know, and once he passed away, you kind of going to fainthood to him, like you all is forgiven and it's just a story that he's like,

I don't know if I would have told that. I totally understand that, and uh, and so it's it's harder for him and so so yeah, we'll see we were you know, we still love each other and we're still getting through it. But it's been therapeutic to say the least. You know. I think a lot of people think, well, God can't love somebody like me. I thought that, And there's nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing that can separate you from that loving God. If I have to do is ask, Yeah,

so I have to do. That's what I hope. That's my prayer for for people going to see the movie as understanding that God's love man it's it's available to anybody. Yeah. The crazy part is, like you know, we people ask like, what do you hope people take away from the movie. I'm like that, you know, like you said, as long as your heart is beating, your story is not over. And sometimes we have a tendency to write off certain people.

If you would asked me the one person that God cannot reach, I would say, a hundred times out of a hundred, it was my dad. You know, he was he was It was just awful. And then here we are now talking about him years later. But Bart, thank

you one more question. So there's all these red carpet events and the debuts and everything, and as long as I've known you, I've known you to be Bart who loves to be comfortable, Bart who on your fanciest appearances on stage, would prefer to be in genes over slacks. And I'm wondering, and uh, you know, is it going to be a tuxedo. It'll be jeans and a T shirt and a dress code. I can promise you that there you go, good black T shirt. Probably you did

not disappoint. We will never change good, good good. I am so happy to hear that because I was like, Oh my gosh, is he Is he going to break down? Is he going to go with the funky texedo no other than weddings and funerals that will not wear a suit. Well, I'm glad it's neither. Yeah, I'm glad it's neither. God bless you, God bless you. Give my love to the guys. I will do take care, Bye bye,