Firstly my congratulations must go to Jsu Garcia. Making a movie is no small feat. Telling a story of the spiritual experiences from the other side, also no small task. But to please, impress and amaze our MSIA community . . . particularly after making them wait for two years . . . is mission impossible. Congrats Jsu.
And here’s the interview . . . here’s what Jsu had to say about the movie, the making, and about our man: J-R.
ZG: So how does it feel to have completed, and screened the movie?
JSU: A sense of relief, a sense of accomplishment, and a huge load off my back. It was a very proud moment for me to have J-R be there at all screenings — a very nice moment for me.
ZG: How did you feel the screenings went?
JSU: Well this whole week of screenings was about honoring our friend and teacher John-Roger. This film is a love letter to John-Roger and his work, so I’m just glad it’s now on the screen forever. I feel great about that.
ZG: And what’s the feedback been like so far?
JSU: This is a very tricky one. You want to hear people, but you don’t need to listen to them. So I carefully heard everyone, even though I thought people were totally crazy . . . but I did receive some great feedback about certain scenes, so I do appreciate everyone’s feedback. The number one thing you realize as a film maker, is that you can’t please everyone. So I just want to please J-R and myself. If something bothers J-R I’ll change it. Otherwise people’s opinions are just like chins — everyone’s got one. So if you’re going to change your movie based on everyone else — you’re going to be lost.
ZG: You’ve told me how closely you worked with J-R on the film, getting his input and approval on literally every part of the movie — so what has his response been to the final product?
JSU: He loves it, and he likes it.
ZG: So Jsu why Spiritual Warriors? What prompted you to make this film?
JSU: I wanted to honor J-R now, while he’s still living. It’s important to me to tell my friends and family that I love them now. While they’re still here in the physical and to honor them here and now.
And the book. Spiritual Warrior is one of my favorite books.
Also when we saw the Matrix, it made me think that the experiences that we have in MSIA are much deeper and more exciting. Of course I thought the Matrix was a great film — both visually and for the actual story, but it got me thinking about how I would write a story about the Spiritual worlds. And it’s difficult to put up on screen those kinds of spiritual things — so I would sit down with J-R and just ask — is this a good idea to write about, should we write about this, is this what this should look like? I was always checking with him. It was cool to tap J-R’s energy. We wrote it in 21 days. Being around J-R is like being around a creative warehouse that gives you all the ideas you need.
ZG: You’ve told me that the film is loosely based on your life and relationship with J-R, and that many of the events in the movie actually happened. Any particular events you want to share about?
JSU: Well I tried to write it so that any student (in MSIA) could relate to it. This is really the life of any student. The journey to Egypt in the movie was my first PAT IV, and during this trip when we were in the Sphinx Caf
