SUNDANCE — It was two days into shooting "The Celestine Prophecy," and filmmakers still hadn't settled on an actress for one of the key roles.
On most movie sets, the proverbial panic button likely would have been firmly pressed and possibly worn out by such a problem.
But it wasn't most movie sets, and James Redfield isn't one to panic.
Redfield, author of the runaway best-seller "The Celestine Prophecy" and writer/producer of the film adaptation, smiled as he told the story of apparent disaster to a sold-out crowd of "Celestine" fans and literature-lovers Saturday afternoon during a Tree Room Author Series event at Sundance.
The event included a screening of "The Celestine Prophecy," an independent movie from Redfield's own Celestine Films opening in selected theaters later this month.
"When you start shooting, it costs $90,000 a day or more," he said, "and we didn't have one of our principal actors."
Dozens of actresses had been tested, Redfield said, but none of them fit the character of Julia — one of the crucial players who assist the main character in his Peruvian adventure and journey of spiritual enlightenment.
Before the third day of shooting, the film's casting director received a phone call about an unrelated matter. At some point during that chat, the caller mentioned Annabeth Gish.
It was then that Redfield felt he'd found his Julia.
Gish's agent was contacted immediately. Although the agent said he didn't think Gish would be interested in the project, he informed producers that the actress soon would be arriving in Los Angeles. He advised them to meet her at the airport and give her a script.
"She got off the plane, we gave her a script, she loved it and became our perfect Julia," Redfield said.
The author said Gish later told him that she had a warm feeling before getting on the plane to Los Angeles and felt that "something really magical" was going to happen. The feeling was so strong that she wrote about it in her diary while on the plane, Redfield said.
Such coincidences and the life paths they create are the basis "The Celestine Prophecy," the spiritual adventure Redfield self-published in 1993 and gave away to bookstore owners and patrons and pretty much anyone else who wanted one. The book became an instant hit with readers and was picked up in 1994 by Warner Books.
"The Celestine Prophecy" went on to become the top-selling book in the United States in 1995 and '96 and spent more than three years on The New York Times best-seller list. Redfield followed that up in 1996 with "The Tenth Insight," also a best seller, and 1999's "The Secret of Shambhala," which tells of an 11th insight.
The author said he's currently working on a book about the 12th insight.
Karen Dallett, founder of the Tree Room Author Series and owner of the Spotted Frog bookstore in Park City, calls "The Celestine Prophecy" "one of the most incredible reads that has been brought to American culture."
The first-person narrative follows the physical and spiritual journey of an unnamed protagonist who through a series of chance meetings learns about an ancient manuscript discovered in the rain forests of Peru. Simply called the Manuscript, it contains nine insights into life that prophesy a worldwide spiritual makeover.
E-mail: jpage@desnews.com