by John P. Meyer

Jim Britts attended film school before becoming a youth minister. He brings both areas of expertise to bear with this, the first feature film from one of his scripts.

To Save a Life, directed by Brian Baugh, follows the lives of a group of middle class California teenagers as they attempt to come to grips with the suicide of a fellow student on their high school campus.

While the film carries a definite faith-based message (scripter Jim Britts' day job is as a Christian youth minister), I found this well-acted drama to be surprisingly even-handed in its depiction of the tough choices facing teens today. Not at all preachy -- though some may find the "chugging soda through a sweatsock" scene particularly disturbing.

Screenwriter Jim Britts -- along with actors Kim Hildago, Trinity Scott, Randy Wayne, Steven Crowder, and Robert Bailey, Jr. -- visited PegNews World HQ this morning to talk about their work on the film. They'll be walking the red carpet later this evening at the Premiere Cinemas 14 in Burleson. (The movie opens wide around the DFW today.)

Here are highlights of our conversation as chronicled in the video:

* "The parties, the drinking, the sexual relations -- these things really do happen." - Randy Wayne

* "Hollywood is such a powerful tool. If you could have all the power of Hollywood or Washington D.C., which would you choose?" - Steven Crowder

* All about soda-through-a-sock, and peanut butter & jelly under the arms.

* Jim tells us about the music used in the film. (The soundtrack becomes available today, in fact.)

* The reactions they've experienced from audience members watching the film.

* "We're all about empowering teenagers to change the world." - Jim Britts, dropping a hint about the subject matter of his next film script.

* Everyone expresses their strong opinions about the movie Avatar.