Steve Taylor: The Monstrous Journey of Making a Monster Movie
When we launched the CCM Pop Culture & Oddities Archive, we needed something unforgettable to kick things off. Thankfully, Steve Taylor donated a very unique item back from his Squint tour. It’s an eery relic that now has a permanent home in our collection.
But Steve didn’t just drop off a piece of Christian rock history. He stopped by to talk about the new movie he produced SKETCH which is out now in over 2,000 theaters across the country.
Produced by Taylor and directed by Seth Worley, SKETCH is a deeply creative, visually rich, and emotional film.
“Seth Worley, the writer-director, has been a longtime friend, and I’ve collaborated with him since he was a teenager,” Steve said. “He sent me the first draft of the first act of this script eight years ago, and I thought it was great even back then.”
After years of development in Hollywood—including the involvement of actor Tony Hale (of Veep and Arrested Development)—the project stalled. Hale had helped shape the role of the father in the film, but even with a strong script and cast, no studio wanted to make it.
“Eventually Seth moved his family back to Nashville, and I think he was pretty disappointed,” Steve recalled. “I met him three years ago just to catch up… I said, well, give me the script. And I read the latest version and it was even better. And I got back and said, we can make this movie.”
The decision was made to go independent. Shoot in Nashville. Use a scrappy crew of trusted creatives, including graduates and current students from Lipscomb University’s Cinematic Arts program, where Steve teaches.
“We got to be scrappy.” Steve said. “But we got to do this.”
Thanks to early financing from Jon Erwin, and eventual distribution through Angel Studios, SKETCH made it to the finish line.
The story centers around Amber, a ten-year-old girl struggling after the death of her mother.
“We found out that her mother died six months earlier, and her dad is concerned,” Steve explained. “So he takes her to a counselor, and the counselor finds that Amber likes to draw, so she gives her a sketchbook and says, put all your feelings in this sketchbook. And Amber goes to town and starts drawing all these comically horrific monsters which are representing all the angst that she’s been feeling.”
Then those monsters come to life.
The film blends emotional drama with fantasy and dark comedy. It’s imaginative, sincere, and visually bold.
“It premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in September and got a fantastic response,” Steve said. “And based on that, we thought it was going to be easy to get a distributor. And, that turned out to not be the case. And then I gave Angel a call… they’ve been fantastic. They’re taking it out wide.”
Despite the Angel Studios label and the faith backgrounds of many involved, SKETCH shouldn’t be labeled a Christian movie. There’s no explicit religious message. It contains some light profanity. And the themes are deeper and darker than you might expect from a PG-rated family flick.
If you have tweens and teens, especially those who appreciate a few jump scares, get out to your local cinema. This story will open up conversations about grief, expression, and how we deal with what’s inside.
And while music may not Steve Taylor’s main focus, it’s not off the table either… and this is the news you’ve been waiting off. A nervously excited glimmer appears in his eyes.
“Yes, there may be some touring next year,” he teased.
In the meantime, Steve is just enjoying the moment—one that’s well earned.
“It’s highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes,” he said. “It was at 100% until yesterday when some Grinch dropped a…”
We all laughed. But the truth is, this kind of release is no small feat. What began as a quiet idea passed between friends, dismissed by studios and nearly left behind, has now found its way to theaters across the country. SKETCH is proof that with persistence, passion, and a touch of creative chaos, even the messiest paths can lead exactly where we’re meant to go.
SKETCH is in theaters now.
