1 00:00:02,750 --> 00:00:03,710 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:04,630 --> 00:00:05,530 Speaker 2: Hey Beth, thanks for joining me. 3 00:00:06,250 --> 00:00:07,410 Speaker 1: Nice to be here, Michael. 4 00:00:08,250 --> 00:00:12,030 Speaker 2: Writer, director, and producer Beth Caulfield, whose movie, Conceivable, lands 5 00:00:12,090 --> 00:00:14,590 Speaker 2: in theaters October the 16th. The plot is simple enough. 6 00:00:15,210 --> 00:00:19,140 Speaker 2: A 45-year-old Christian minister finds herself in an unplanned pregnancy. 7 00:00:19,500 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 2: There's a lot more to the story, as we'll talk about. 8 00:00:21,739 --> 00:00:23,739 Speaker 2: This story, of course, Beth, is inspired by your own 9 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,620 Speaker 2: unexpected pregnancy in your mid-40s. Take me back to that moment. 10 00:00:28,140 --> 00:00:31,940 Speaker 2: What were you wrestling with personally? And some people might ask, why... 11 00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:34,300 Speaker 2: wrestle with it in the first place. So help us 12 00:00:34,340 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 2: understand your story. 13 00:00:35,060 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: Sure. So the story is, you know, I had clear understanding, 14 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 1: I thought, of where my life was going. My kids 15 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:48,540 Speaker 1: were growing up, and I had experienced a call. I'd 16 00:00:48,580 --> 00:00:51,690 Speaker 1: been involved with ministry for a long time, felt a 17 00:00:51,729 --> 00:00:54,750 Speaker 1: call to go back to seminary, got a full scholarship 18 00:00:54,790 --> 00:00:58,710 Speaker 1: to seminary. In the midst of doing that, everything just 19 00:00:58,770 --> 00:01:01,710 Speaker 1: was lining up the way I thought it was supposed to. 20 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:07,180 Speaker 1: And then I found out I was pregnant. And the 21 00:01:07,420 --> 00:01:12,350 Speaker 1: shock and then the feelings of, oh no, but, oh no, but, 22 00:01:12,630 --> 00:01:15,750 Speaker 1: oh no, but. And there were a lot of buts. 23 00:01:15,810 --> 00:01:20,289 Speaker 1: But there's a lot of medical concerns. But financially, we 24 00:01:20,310 --> 00:01:23,710 Speaker 1: didn't plan for this. A number of those kinds of 25 00:01:23,790 --> 00:01:31,150 Speaker 1: things compounded with what I will call nicely nudges to 26 00:01:31,230 --> 00:01:36,790 Speaker 1: terminate the pregnancy, and then the shame that goes along with, 27 00:01:37,490 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: as a Christian, having those kinds of feelings. So going 28 00:01:42,580 --> 00:01:46,539 Speaker 1: through all of that was a challenge. And then as 29 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: I came out of it, as the story shares, I 30 00:01:50,330 --> 00:01:54,210 Speaker 1: recognized that even though I felt very alone going through 31 00:01:54,250 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: something like that, I was not. And if I was not, 32 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: and as some of the statistics and things that I 33 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: share in the film are true, I realized that the 34 00:02:04,620 --> 00:02:08,950 Speaker 1: best thing that I could do to help others in 35 00:02:09,010 --> 00:02:15,130 Speaker 1: these situations is to share my story, help validate their feelings. 36 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,660 Speaker 1: show others what that really looks like when most of 37 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,010 Speaker 1: us think unplanned pregnancy, well, the only people who are 38 00:02:22,090 --> 00:02:25,790 Speaker 1: upset are, you know, teens and unmarrieds and poor people. And, 39 00:02:26,410 --> 00:02:30,450 Speaker 1: you know, we have this stereotype, which is not, and 40 00:02:30,470 --> 00:02:33,770 Speaker 1: in fact, is growing less and less of what unplanned 41 00:02:33,790 --> 00:02:38,430 Speaker 1: pregnancy looks like today. So I wanted to educate people, 42 00:02:38,889 --> 00:02:44,369 Speaker 1: help them become more compassionate and ultimately supportive. And then 43 00:02:44,470 --> 00:02:48,020 Speaker 1: at the same time, as a person of faith, recognizing 44 00:02:48,100 --> 00:02:52,730 Speaker 1: that this was a great opportunity to model whenever life 45 00:02:52,750 --> 00:02:55,370 Speaker 1: throws you a curveball, seek God and he will make 46 00:02:55,389 --> 00:03:00,570 Speaker 1: your path straight. And so that's the overall theme of 47 00:03:00,590 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: the story. But the unplanned pregnancy part is the genre, 48 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,260 Speaker 1: if you will, of it. And the ultimate goal is, gosh, 49 00:03:09,740 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: entertain people, start some conversations that people are maybe afraid 50 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,580 Speaker 1: to talk about, but at the same time, everybody can 51 00:03:17,620 --> 00:03:20,340 Speaker 1: relate to and they want to talk about and then 52 00:03:20,460 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: ultimately save lives and every sense of the words. 53 00:03:25,139 --> 00:03:27,959 Speaker 2: The character in the film, of course, was raising, had 54 00:03:28,020 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 2: raised children and the children were about to leave the nest. 55 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,620 Speaker 2: I think you were in the same situation. Is that 56 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 2: part of what people don't understand, I guess, emotionally is 57 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 2: that you kind of think you're at the end of 58 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,220 Speaker 2: this marathon raising kids, which is a beautiful thing. 59 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: I have four kids. 60 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 2: And then all of a sudden you realize you have 61 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,540 Speaker 2: another marathon to run. Is that a good comparison? 62 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,870 Speaker 1: I think so. And again, I don't want to generalize 63 00:03:51,890 --> 00:03:55,310 Speaker 1: because not everyone feels that, right? This can be the 64 00:03:55,410 --> 00:03:58,970 Speaker 1: answer to the prayer, right, for some folks that they 65 00:03:58,990 --> 00:04:02,740 Speaker 1: had given up on. And so not everyone feels that 66 00:04:02,860 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: and everyone feels it to different degrees. You know, the 67 00:04:06,820 --> 00:04:09,980 Speaker 1: other part that comes into play here that I think 68 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,619 Speaker 1: we should never discount is when you are pregnant, especially 69 00:04:14,700 --> 00:04:19,370 Speaker 1: in the very beginning, your hormones are going wild, right? 70 00:04:20,130 --> 00:04:25,610 Speaker 1: That affects rational thought, right? It's like anything else. People 71 00:04:25,670 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: need support during those times. And when you are confronted 72 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: with information or insensitive comments or things that just aren't true, 73 00:04:37,980 --> 00:04:40,620 Speaker 1: it can really confuse you. Yeah. 74 00:04:40,660 --> 00:04:42,719 Speaker 2: One of the funny lines in the movie is the doctor. 75 00:04:42,740 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 2: I think the character in the movie is having not 76 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 2: feeling well. He goes to the doctor and the doctor says, 77 00:04:47,100 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 2: you need to contact your OBGYN. And the doctor says, 78 00:04:49,700 --> 00:04:52,230 Speaker 2: I don't have an OBGYN. And so that kind of 79 00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:54,770 Speaker 2: puts it in perspective. What were your friends telling you 80 00:04:54,790 --> 00:04:57,170 Speaker 2: during this time? What kind of advice were your friends 81 00:04:57,190 --> 00:04:58,450 Speaker 2: giving you? Yeah. 82 00:04:59,050 --> 00:05:01,710 Speaker 1: And that's part of what I wanted to show in 83 00:05:01,750 --> 00:05:06,039 Speaker 1: the film is anything and everything. And I think goodness 84 00:05:06,100 --> 00:05:09,510 Speaker 1: for you know, friends who met well, and I think 85 00:05:09,630 --> 00:05:15,650 Speaker 1: most did. But what looks like love, right? Encouraging someone 86 00:05:15,690 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 1: in their faith. Is it this sense of you got 87 00:05:20,860 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: to be realistic here? But I really experienced the gamut 88 00:05:26,220 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: of advice, both from people within the church and within 89 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:35,180 Speaker 1: church leadership, which can be surprising to people too, as 90 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: well as Just every day, like my friends and family, 91 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,380 Speaker 1: everyone had a different opinion and a different slant on this. 92 00:05:44,460 --> 00:05:46,930 Speaker 1: And that's why there's a number of characters in the 93 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: film with it. 94 00:05:57,510 --> 00:05:58,789 Speaker 2: Had you ever made a film before? 95 00:05:59,529 --> 00:05:59,830 Speaker 1: No. 96 00:06:00,430 --> 00:06:02,010 Speaker 2: Okay. Tell us about that. 97 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:07,870 Speaker 1: Yeah. So I've always been a storyteller. And I had 98 00:06:07,900 --> 00:06:12,710 Speaker 1: the opportunity, you know, to tell stories from bedtime stories 99 00:06:12,770 --> 00:06:16,350 Speaker 1: to my kids to in the corporate world. I was 100 00:06:16,410 --> 00:06:19,190 Speaker 1: in human resources. I was telling employee stories to the 101 00:06:19,230 --> 00:06:23,490 Speaker 1: company and the company story to employees. And then when 102 00:06:23,570 --> 00:06:26,750 Speaker 1: called into ministry, getting to tell the greatest story that 103 00:06:26,980 --> 00:06:33,020 Speaker 1: was ever told, right? And so when the opportunity came 104 00:06:33,500 --> 00:06:39,010 Speaker 1: to sit back and write something for fun. God showed 105 00:06:39,070 --> 00:06:41,370 Speaker 1: me that this had been a dream in me for 106 00:06:41,390 --> 00:06:44,529 Speaker 1: a long time. I had thought about writing a movie 107 00:06:44,589 --> 00:06:47,859 Speaker 1: and actually tried to when I was in my early 20s. 108 00:06:48,660 --> 00:06:52,060 Speaker 1: I wasn't ready yet. The story wasn't ready yet. And 109 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: as I said, when I decided to tell this one, 110 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,060 Speaker 1: I had a lot of things I wanted to accomplish 111 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,170 Speaker 1: to help others with it, as well as just use 112 00:07:02,230 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: my creativity. So You know, I started out with, I 113 00:07:06,940 --> 00:07:10,020 Speaker 1: went back to my alma mater and took a screenwriting 114 00:07:10,100 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: course with a bunch of undergrads. And there were amazing 115 00:07:14,170 --> 00:07:16,970 Speaker 1: things that happened in that. That was a secular university. 116 00:07:17,530 --> 00:07:21,330 Speaker 1: And for them to see a female minister walk in, 117 00:07:22,090 --> 00:07:26,940 Speaker 1: and it was actually, the year was 2022. The fall 118 00:07:26,950 --> 00:07:30,500 Speaker 1: of 2022 was just right after Roe versus Wade had 119 00:07:30,540 --> 00:07:34,100 Speaker 1: been overturned. So people are fired up on the subject, right? 120 00:07:34,950 --> 00:07:37,410 Speaker 1: But God had me there for a reason. And so 121 00:07:37,450 --> 00:07:40,610 Speaker 1: I went into the class and they embraced me. I 122 00:07:40,670 --> 00:07:43,930 Speaker 1: keep on my desk. They gave me the best student award. 123 00:07:43,950 --> 00:07:48,730 Speaker 1: And they helped me keep it real and be honest 124 00:07:48,830 --> 00:07:52,070 Speaker 1: in the story. And so that was wonderful. So wrote 125 00:07:52,110 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: the screenplay, sent it off to a Christian screenwriting contest, won, 126 00:07:57,630 --> 00:08:01,220 Speaker 1: met some folks in the industry. And Nixon, you know, 127 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,239 Speaker 1: I'm directing and producing a film with Janet Leigh Hamblin 128 00:08:05,300 --> 00:08:08,900 Speaker 1: and Eddie McClintock and Dean Cain, and it has just 129 00:08:09,740 --> 00:08:15,140 Speaker 1: gone from there. And it has been a huge learning curve, 130 00:08:15,530 --> 00:08:19,530 Speaker 1: and definitely out on a limb. But I know that's 131 00:08:19,550 --> 00:08:23,430 Speaker 1: where God wants me, and I know that that is 132 00:08:23,950 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: the definition of abundant life for me, in this season 133 00:08:28,300 --> 00:08:28,620 Speaker 1: at least. 134 00:08:29,580 --> 00:08:32,609 Speaker 2: And you've got a book as well. There's a companion book. 135 00:08:32,890 --> 00:08:34,670 Speaker 2: What should we know about that? Yes. 136 00:08:34,950 --> 00:08:37,990 Speaker 1: So the book, I'll put it up here. It'll be 137 00:08:38,050 --> 00:08:42,429 Speaker 1: published on November 10th. It's on Amazon right now. But 138 00:08:43,179 --> 00:08:47,020 Speaker 1: the film, the whole ministry that went into making the film, 139 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:49,559 Speaker 1: you know, everything that was going on while we were 140 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 1: making it, I share about in here all the God stories, 141 00:08:53,620 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 1: you know, the story. the amazing, miraculous things that happened, 142 00:08:58,710 --> 00:09:02,630 Speaker 1: the doors that opened, also just the opportunity to pray 143 00:09:02,690 --> 00:09:06,070 Speaker 1: with people, to share communion with people. I gave actors 144 00:09:06,130 --> 00:09:09,109 Speaker 1: and crew members their first Bibles, you know, those kinds 145 00:09:09,150 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: of things. That's in the book. But the book also 146 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: contains the original script. And I thought that was important 147 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: both for those who enjoy seeing what the original script 148 00:09:23,309 --> 00:09:26,610 Speaker 1: idea was and how it came out differently. And then 149 00:09:26,690 --> 00:09:31,290 Speaker 1: for those who may be called into utilizing their gifts 150 00:09:31,450 --> 00:09:34,559 Speaker 1: in this way, here's what a script looks like. This 151 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 1: is the way it works. And I also share in 152 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: there about the whole filmmaking process and what we went through. 153 00:09:41,900 --> 00:09:47,030 Speaker 1: I mean, people don't think about color design and post-production and, 154 00:09:47,170 --> 00:09:51,090 Speaker 1: you know, scouting locations, all those things. But but sharing 155 00:09:51,150 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: about that in hopes that it might inspire others with gifts, 156 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:59,069 Speaker 1: whether it's for writing a movie or doing the lighting 157 00:09:59,130 --> 00:10:02,579 Speaker 1: or doing hairstyling. or whatever. If you called into that, 158 00:10:02,620 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: it's an important role because these stories, when they're put 159 00:10:07,140 --> 00:10:11,900 Speaker 1: on in this medium, you know, they're in front of many, 160 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:18,969 Speaker 1: many people and nothing affects culture like movies, TV. You know, 161 00:10:19,450 --> 00:10:21,380 Speaker 1: we should be there as people of faith and we 162 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:22,490 Speaker 1: should do it with excellence. 163 00:10:23,210 --> 00:10:26,230 Speaker 2: Amen to that. Perhaps this might be my final question 164 00:10:26,250 --> 00:10:28,010 Speaker 2: for you. What are the lessons in this film? How 165 00:10:28,030 --> 00:10:30,270 Speaker 2: do you want this movie to impact the audience? 166 00:10:31,170 --> 00:10:36,390 Speaker 1: Yeah, I definitely am hoping that it will, again, validate 167 00:10:36,410 --> 00:10:41,950 Speaker 1: people's feelings, women, men, families going through this, that it 168 00:10:42,070 --> 00:10:47,430 Speaker 1: will cause people to be more educated, compassionate, and therefore supportive. 169 00:10:47,980 --> 00:10:52,339 Speaker 1: of the folks, that it will open conversations that will 170 00:10:52,620 --> 00:10:54,780 Speaker 1: lead to greater ministry that I can even think of, 171 00:10:55,500 --> 00:11:00,500 Speaker 1: that it will ultimately show people that, hey, no matter 172 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,910 Speaker 1: what curveball that you get thrown, seek God and He 173 00:11:05,010 --> 00:11:09,710 Speaker 1: will make your path straight and ultimately save lives. 174 00:11:12,630 --> 00:11:15,290 Speaker 3: If you enjoyed today's interview, please make sure to subscribe 175 00:11:15,350 --> 00:11:17,700 Speaker 3: and share the episode with a friend. A big thanks 176 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,199 Speaker 3: to the team at Life Audio for their partnership with 177 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:23,690 Speaker 3: us on the podcast. If you go to lifeaudio.com, you 178 00:11:23,710 --> 00:11:28,309 Speaker 3: will find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. 179 00:11:28,809 --> 00:11:29,410 Speaker 1: See you next time.