Domo founder and CEO Josh James says he's not in the business of funding movies for all of his relatives.
But he's very excited to introduce his cousin, Isaac Halasima, by funding his filmmaking debut, “The Last Descent.”
“Since he was a small kid he’s been exceptionally creative,” James said. “Watching him, I saw his talent and for several years I’ve been trying to get him to make a movie but he wanted to continue to refine his talent. I told him to keep looking for a project … and then finally he came to me and said, ‘I found it.’”
With a less than $1 million budget donated by James, Halasima set out to tell a story that happened in his home state of Utah. It's a story that many Utahns remember hearing — waiting to hear whether John Jones, a man who was stuck in Utah County’s Nutty Putty Cave, would be rescued over a 27-hour period. Perhaps more importantly, they remember the stories of how Jones treated rescue workers with kindness before ultimately passing away.
James says the accident is still hard to grasp, but that the story is fascinating because of the questions it makes people ask about their own lives.
“We hear about these types of stories where people get stuck or they get trapped,” James said. “Whether it’s a coal miner or it could be something in war or it could be what happened with John Jones and when you hear about these, they’re captivating because you wonder what you would be like in those moments. What kind of person would you be? How would you feel? I think that’s where film is so powerful because it can transport us and help us know what we really would feel like because it can put us in their shoes.”
James has total confidence in Halasima’s ability to do just that. He's watched as his cousin went from being a teenage employee at KSL-TV in Salt Lake City to director of Imagine Dragons’ “Demons” music video, which was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. “The Last Descent” marks Halasima’s first full-length film.
“I’m trying to help create a filmmaker,” James said. “There’s clearly a celebration of a life that’s taking place and there’s also an opportunity to say, ‘Here’s someone who is going to do fantastic things.’ … To be able to showcase that talent is something that’s really exciting for me and definitely a blessing to be able to pull some leverage here and show people how great he is but also so that he can believe in himself and finally get that forum and opportunity.”
Although the official amount used to make the movie has not been disclosed, James said he is proud of what Halasima was able to do with the budget.
“I think you can see that I funded it, but I funded it on a very small budget,” James said. “It looks like it was done on 10 times the budget that Isaac had, and I think it’s really neat that he was able to tell such a fantastic story and be so true to the story and explore some really interesting things with characters and it’s got some really powerful acting … and I hope that is something that comes out of this, that as we go on to do more projects and as other people are looking for people to direct their projects, they see Isaac as a really good viable option.”
James is grateful for the means to fund such a worthy endeavor, one that means so much to him personally.
“It’s a huge blessing,” said James, who in 2009 sold his web analytics company Omniture to Adobe for $1.8 billion. “I worked really hard, but a lot of people work hard and there’s an element of lucky and there’s a rich reward to everything you do. I took some risks and got some rewards but the best rewards are being able to do things you want to do to help other people, and I think this is a really important story to be told.”
The film was shot in Utah, a state that James said is “a little underrated.” And although it does showcase some of Utah’s beauty, he insists that the film is focused on people.
“There’s a lot of great people here who do a lot of great things, and I think it’s just fun to show that and it’s not about Utah and it’s not about Utah culture,” James said. “It’s just about people.”
James believes that the story of Jones, and now the film, serves as a powerful reminder of the fragility of life and hopes this is what viewers take away from "The Last Descent."
“I think the biggest thing is just are you ready for death? Every day is a blessing and how do we live our lives?” James said. “How do we manage our relationships? When anybody has an interaction with us, how do we leave them feeling? And it’s a great reminder of that. You see someone who is healthy, full of life, living a great life, has great relationships … and it can go. You don’t know when, why or how and it’s just another great reminder to try to interact with people in a way that you never know what someone’s last interaction with you may be.”
Email: mjones@deseretdigital.com