The movie, of course, took the industry by surprise. "God's Army" played in 240 cities nationwide last year, grossing $2.6 million at the box office before being sold to video.

That paved the way for Dutcher's next film, "Brigham City," another film that went mainstream, albeit not as successfully as "God's Army." Now Dutcher has turned his energy to another Mormon-movie project: "The Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith Jr."

It will be by far his biggest undertaking, with a production cost of $10 million and financial support from Larry H. Miller. Dutcher will use "recognizable actors" this time and will play only a minor character in the movie. Most of the filming will take place in Canada, New York and Missouri. Dutcher expects to complete the film in a year and a half.

"I feel peaceful about it," he says. "There's something very fitting, going back to that experience in Carthage jail. It feels right. I'm surprised nobody has beaten me to it."

Dutcher has done extensive research on his subject and consulted with Richard Bushman, a Joseph Smith historian, but the movie is likely to rankle a few Mormons again.

"Most of us don't really know that much about Joseph Smith," he says. "I found that out myself. I'm very familiar with the scriptures, but when you go into historical facts and his story, well, I had no idea. They're not bad things, or good things, just the particulars of his life. I think it's better when you see him as a man. We have elevated him to Godlike stature. There's nothing wrong with revering him and honoring him in his divine mission, but there is something wrong with believing that while he was here he was perfect. It leads us to a false understanding of the role of prophets. I find it comforting. If the Lord can use flawed people to do his work, there's hope for all of us."

Dutcher, meanwhile, wonders why other Mormons aren't telling Mormon-related stories when their religion is such a central part of their lives, but then he seems to answer his own question — "Maybe it's because they realize they're not going to get rich." After years of financing films with personal credit cards and loans and "always living right on the edge" — he was $30,000 in debt when he started "God's Army" — he still has never owned a home. He's still renting a house in Provo but recently purchased an acre of land in the area. He also splurged and bought himself a second car — another first for him.

"It feels good to have something," he says of his land purchase. "Hopefully, with another movie, we can start building a house. I don't want to take out a huge loan from the bank. I've never had the living that could guarantee a certain salary. . . . I feel better, but I'm very aware that I might be back there again in a couple of years. Filmmaking is a pretty precarious, unstable way of living."

Not that he's complaining. He is living the boyhood dream of making films and telling stories and loving it. He typically writes in the morning and puts on his producer's hat in the afternoon and then dotes on his children — Lucas, Ethan, Eli and Issac — and his wife. By the way, you can see Gwen in "Girl Crazy," in which she is identified in the credits as "sexy neighbor." And that's Gwen being baptized in the ocean in "God's Army," and that's her again in the picture on the wall of his house and another on his desk in "Brigham City," identified as "Wes' sexy wife."

Looking back on his two latest films, Dutcher says, "It feels good. It feels really good. I hope I get better at it — better at storytelling. I'm not satisfied with what I've done. Someday I hope to make a film, sit back and say, you know what, there's not one thing I'd change about it."

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E-mail: drob@desnews.com