The following interview came via email to Cal Catholic in early April.

Tell us about your feature film script The Great Stippings –  the setting, characters and story line.

Tim Maschler (Producer):  The setting is a million dollar California enclave much like Laguna Beach or Montecito. The central character, Dr. Rodger Stippings lives at the end of the cul de sac, his presence preying on the inner lives of his neighbors – a mystery writer, a high-powered businesswoman and her teenage daughter, and a singer among others – because Stippings is their abortion doctor. Each woman carries the same secret, while their men live three-on-three basketball lives, oblivious to it all.

So the main character is an abortion doctor – that’s certainly different. What else distinguishes your movie from others dealing with this subject, like Juno, Bella, or  October Baby?

Tim: The biggest difference is that our film takes moviegoers to a place they haven’t been before, as it reveals the fact and presence of God in the lives of these babies being murdered, their parents, and the doctors performing the abortions. It also reveals – artistically through a compelling story – that these murders are not performed in a vacuum. The other movies you mentioned, while compelling emotionally, leave out key information – like what really goes on behind the closed doors of these clinics.

Because the subject is abortion, would you say it’s more of a “women’s movie?”

Tim: On the contrary, Stippings takes abortion out of the realm of “women only.” Men have to step up and take accountability for what happens to these babies and the women who abort them. This film emphasizes that.

It sounds like this movie is not for the faint of heart.

Tim: True, but it also has hope. As Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life said in his endorsement of Stippings: “As a film it will challenge those who are not afraid to touch the often frightening depths of our humanity, in the hope of healing it.”

What is the film’s budget, and how are you going about raising it?

Tim: The budget is $3.75 million.  We’re seeking investors of all kinds, large and small: doctors, business and media people, students – anyone recognizes that this movie will be a means of striking a blow for truth like no other. Why? Because although the word “abortion” is never heard in the film, by the end we know what this holocaust is and how accountable we all are for its existence – by our actions or by our silence.

More information on the film and the producers can be found at www.stippings.com. To request a copy of a detailed business plan for the project, contact Tim Maschler, City Gate Productions, tjmaschler@aol.com, 213-215-8548.