‘Machine Gun Preacher’ Trailer Is ‘Tricky,’ Says Director (Blog)

There is certainly an art to cutting a excellent movie ad. A filmmaker shouldn’t want to give too much away, but naturally reveal sufficient of the film’s plot so as to entice an audience to buy tickets opening weekend. For director Marc Forster (“Quantum of Solace,” “Finding Neverland”), fine-tuning the ad for his new action drama “Machine Gun Preacher” was tough business, in that he wanted to show the film’s action and emotional sides.

“It?s a tough thing to make a balanced ad,” he told MTV News just. “I?m very pleased with how it turned out because you want to give an emotional component to the ad because it is this emotional journey of an unlikely hero. You want to give a component of that, but at the same time you want to give an element of the action part of the movie as well, so to find the balance was quite tough.”

“Machine Gun Preacher” is inspired by the real-life tale of former drug dealer-turned evangelical preacher and activist Sam Childers (played by Gerard Butler), who has been waging his own war of sorts against warlord Joseph Kony and his violent Lord’s Resistance Army.

“For me, the fascinating thing about [Childers is he isn?t your perfect hero,” Forster clarified. “He is this character who has very abusive qualities, but at the same time constantly place his life on the line to save kids.”

“When I read it, I felt like I had to tell the tale because I felt so many of us feel that we?re powerless,” Forster recalled. “Here is a man who is uneducated, took power in his own hands to change people?s destinies in a clear way. … Even even if I don’t always agree with the way he has done it, I subdue found it incredible,” he admitted. “This is a man who is there changing lives, with no education, no financial resources, he took it upon himself to help these kids and I found that a tale value telling.”