After a 15-year hiatus, actor Cameron Arnett (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) is returning to the big screen in the indie film Stand Your Ground: The True Story of A Cry for Justice. Based on a true story, the film tells the story of Jackie Carpenter and her son, Jason Veitch, who was charged with murder after accidentally shooting and killing a man stealing from his workplace.
Arnett plays relentless defense attorney Mitchell Kane, who pleads for the freedom of Carpenter’s son. For Arnett, this is not only an opportunity to educate people about the Stand Your Ground law, but to also represent Christian actors who he says are “needed in the entertainment industry.”
How did you get involved with this project?
My wife [BJ] introduced me to the project. They were looking for an actor and she told me what they needed and they called me in for an interview. From that moment on I was doing the project. It really kind of fell into my lap; God just opened that door, so I’m very fortunate with it.
How did you prepare for this role? You spent some time with Mitchell Kane but what does that mean?
I had the opportunity to sit with him, get into his mind-set as to what was going on — not just with the case of the innocence of Jason Veitch, but with the system itself, the corruption, and everything else he had to go through — and I saw where he was coming from. He’s a very stable and particular kind of individual, so it helped quite a bit to speak to him and get his perspective on the whole thing.
What is your personal opinion on the Stand Your Ground law and how it affects African Americans?
What’s funny about it is based on the statistics African Americans have used the law and profited from it but people don’t really understand or know that. The law itself is a good one. The issue is that people are trying to get away with something, so they’re using a good thing but in a bad way. I think because the law is so new that we’re trying to figure it out as we go along how to discern what that really means. There was a time when you actually had to run from the perpetrator. The victim had no rights; only the assailant had the rights. Now you’re dealing with the fact that if you’re a victim or somebody does bodily harm to you, you have the right to stand your ground. Unfortunately some people are taking that way out of sorts and they begin to become the problem and still try to stand on that law and it has no merit.
Tell us your backstory and how you became a trained actor.
I was a pre-med law student in college and answered an ad. I entered about 10 different competitions and won eight out of 10 and realized that [acting] was something that I had in me, so I left the medical pursuit and went into acting and modeling and ended up in New York and California. It was in California that I left the business for about 19 or so years. I went into ministry full-time, which I’m still in. About three years ago God started opening that door back into Christian films, so this project is one of the largest films that I’ve done in the Christian film arena. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with it.
You left the entertainment business for 15 years, is this your return?
It’s not my exact return; I’ve done some things for Tyler Perry and some commercials. My wife and I work together. We’ve done Home Depot commercials and we did a piece that was called the “The Marc Pease Experience” with Ben Stiller. This is the first full-fledged film starring in a Christian role, and I really had a great time doing it and just the thing to sink your talons into.
What’s the name of your church?
Bring Your Own Bible Baby! We’re located in Union City, 10 minutes south of the airport. We’re really called to media and outreach. There’s a lot of things we’ve done in media. Right now we’re working on a children’s show that’s about to debut in mid-summer. Also, we’re working on producing and directing a half hour drama that’s set for the beginning of next year. There are quite a few projects that we do ourselves as a ministry as well.
Is there anything that you’d like to add?
I think that with Jackie Carpenter, one of the things that’s particular to this project is the fact that with her son she had to stand her ground from a faith perspective. I think what’s important about the film is that you not only get a chance to hear and understand the law that was used, but you get to see her life story in that it took her standing her ground in her faith and her beliefs, not just in her son, but in her God. Michael McClendon, the director, did a phenomenal job in the casting and directing and bringing out of the artist the way that this should be portrayed because it shows the corruption and the real behind-the-scenes look of how an innocent man can be accused and also possibly imprisoned, and yet be totally innocent. I think that’s part of what this movie really shows, and people need to get that.
We’re now in a time where we really have to stand firm in the constitution. Our rights as human beings are being taken systematically away from the citizens of this country. I think it’s important for us to step back and breathe, and take a look at what the atmosphere is here in America right now because these are the kind of things that are going on. We’re seeing men who were incarcerated in times past that 30 years later are being set free. Even though it’s happening more and more every day, we still allow it to happen and not really question what’s going on, and I think that makes the movie important and relevant.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUli1OdF4ow
“Stand Your Ground: The True Story of A Cry for Justice” opens in select theaters Jan. 17, 2014.
