[EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] Richard Ramsey on the Spiritual Side of 'The Song'

Richard Ramsey, the writer and director of The Song, worked with Kyle Idleman, the executive producer who is the teaching pastor at a megachurch in Louisville, Kentucky, to take the ancient writings of King Solomon and give his story a 21st century setting. With a slew of independent films under his belt, Ramsey was up for the challenge when it came to his first feature film. In this exclusive interview, he talks with Kim Jones about his hopes and fears for the movie.

Kim Jones - I have to tell you that I am so thrilled to be a small part of helping get the word out about such a wonderful project. I think that this story is timeless and for all ages.

Richard Ramsey - Thank you!

Kim Jones - I would hazard a guess that with this being your first big feature film, there were more than one or two people that told you that you shouldn't do it since it's a faith-based project. Thankfully, you followed your heart and did it anyway. What were some of your biggest challenges to overcome since it is faith-based?

Richard Ramsey - You're right and I think that some of those challenges may lie ahead. I think that when some people find out, when the cat is out of the bag about the faith of the director, they may read some things into it that aren't there. They may read some hostile things that are not there. That can be unfortunate and challenging. I think one of the things we tried to do was make the movie story driven rather than message driven. We wanted to make it conversational rather than conversional. Meaning, we want it to work in the same way "real" movies work - you care about the characters, the choices that they make and the way they flow logically from who they are and the situations they're in. What's at stake if they succeed or fail is high. Those things drive the movie and if there is a controlling message or idea behind the story, it sort of flows organically out of what's happening. We really wanted to make a genuinely engaging and entertaining experience. Movie goers will really resonate with the love story and the great music and the cautionary tale that it offers about what happens when you chase fame and fortune at the expense of other things and come to the end of yourself.

Kim Jones - That itself goes against the grain of what so many people think that they want - the fame, the fortune, the spotlight - no matter who gets stepped on along the way.

Richard Ramsey - With the story being derived from the Song of Solomon, you know the phrase Solomon uses so frequently in Ecclesiastes is "chasing the wind." Here was this man who had unprecedented wealth and knowledge and prosperity ... and it all left him unfulfilled. I think there's something worth exploring there for sure. I think music and music careers are a great avenue for exploring how we can have everything and still have nothing.

Kim Jones - That is a great title for a book or a song! There are so many people that believe that the pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow and they miss the journey trying to get to it.

Richard Ramsey - That is the exact same piece of advice that Vince has given me since he's been in the music business for so long. He's said, "Richie, enjoy this. There are things that have happened to me that I missed so I'm telling you, enjoy this." So I'm trying to!

Kim Jones - Enjoying it while you're in the middle can be hard - especially in times like this since this movie has been your baby since the beginning. Now that the film is ready to have its national release, what would you say were some of your biggest 'oh my gosh' moments?

Richard Ramsey - There are things that happened that have felt miraculous since the beginning - like getting funded at the last minute, getting to direct it. There have been so many moments. I can best answer that by sharing a scene from the film. I don't want to spoil it but the main character's son comes running towards something that Jed is building. There is something about that moment that gets me every time. I feel like that moment justifies the mud that we've been dragged through on Jed's journey leading up to that. Also, just the honor of being able to take this classic and timeless, as well as timely story to the screen is just such an honor. Then there is the music ... I remember being in the studio with Vince when the songs began to come together. They were no longer just in my head or on a scratchy demo recording. They began to live. I think that's when we felt that we were onto something special with movie.

Kim Jones - I heard that you and your wife spent a lot of time working on writing those scratchy demos making that music come to life.

Richard Ramsey - There were several moments in the film where, but for her, they wouldn't be there and I have to say that they're better because she was there. For example, early drafts of the script didn't have any of Solomon's back story with King David. She really inspired me there. She kept saying, "No, you need to have something at the beginning about King David. Make him a big country music star with Jed growing up in his shadow." I went back and forth with her for a while over it and it was like 4 o'clock in the morning when I realized she was totally right. That's what we did and we got to write a great, kind of Waylon Jennings country song for him. It was a blast to shoot that section and I think it put a lot of meat on the bones of our main character to see where he came from. We got to explore what it would be like. That's something we see in the music industry all of the time. Dad was a huge success and a legend and it's hard to get out of his shadow. I think that's something that people see no matter what the industry is. We all kind of struggle to forge our own voice and our own identity.

Kim Jones - That's part of the human condition. We each have to walk out our own path regardless of where we come from. Did any part of your own past help you flesh out certain scenes or moments in The Song?

Richard Ramsey - Absolutely. The scene on the porch. I feel like there is no other time like the morning after your wedding night. Everything is so bright and promising. So it's natural for that natural, passionate and organic love to spill out into a song. Now to get the song so it's a hit but it's also believable as a love song that would deeply move his wife - so a slow ballad wouldn't have enough energy cinematically and that was a challenge. How to write a slow love song that has enough energy for the moment in the film? As I was listening through the playlist of all of these Americana bands, like The Avett Brothers and Old Crow Medicine Show, you come across Mumford & Sons and you realize that Mumford & Sons has a couple of songs that are really masterful about being about the power and glory of love, but they have these movements in them where it can start out slow and wooing but it escalates into the anthemic crescendo and I was like, "That's it! They're on to it!" So we kind of studied them. With the film being grounded in Kentucky and our production company being based here, plus with my lifelong ties to roots music and the state, we just felt that if you're going to manafest the wisest figure in the Old Testament as a modern singer/songwriter, what would be the genre? It seems like it would be a genre where audiences intuitively understand it would require depth and skill to succeed. But also a genre where you can sing about spiritual themes and the audience hangs with you. Americana can deal with spiritual themes without alienating a broader audience that goes, "Oh it's THAT kind of music that preaches at me. I don't want to hear that."

Kim Jones - What would you say to anyone who has the mindset that The Song is a "preachy" film?

Richard Ramsey - I just think it's got a great love story and great music. I honestly think that the text that we use from Solomon is really intriguing and I would encourage people who have a tendency to go, "Oh it's one of THOSE movies" to just not make assumptions and keep an open mind. Let the movie unfold moment by moment without trying to judge or read between the lines.

Kim Jones - Last question for you. Is there anything you wish you had been asked in the press coverage that hasn't been?

Richard Ramsey - I kind of feel like we've already touched on it a bit. I've really braced myself for the public reception of the feel. I don't want to whine but I'm excited to see if people can overcome the baggage that they may have about the Bible and examine the movie on its own merits.

Tags

The Song