As part of his research for Paulist Productions' made-for-TV movie, "Judas," Humanitas Prize-winning writer Tom Fontana studied seven different Bible translations searching for clues to the motivations driving the apostle who betrayed Jesus.

Fontana discovered something that singled Judas out from the rest of Jesus' inner circle. Judas hailed from Jerusalem while the other apostles came from Galilee, which was considered a backward region. Building on Judas' "outsider" status, Fontana wrote a script exploring a conflicted character who managed to miss the message of the Messiah in his longing for a temporal savior from occupying Roman forces.

"What was challenging was really trying to give Judas a heart and understand his emptiness, need for meaning and thirst for spiritual satisfaction," Fontana told The Tidings in a recent phone interview from his production office in New York. Fontana, who also served as co-executive producer of the film, said his screenwriting approach explored the question: "What if Judas was a guy who almost got Jesus' message?"

Fontana's Judas, played with a passionate intensity by 34-year-old Catholic actor Johnathon Schaech, is always thinking about how to cajole Jesus into capitalizing on his growing notoriety. Judas' efforts sometimes produce humorous moments, such as when he suggests that Jesus charge for his miracles. Another moment of levity occurs when Judas and Peter panic before their first miracle of raising a woman from the dead and wonder out loud if "there's a back way out" of the burial chamber.

"The most serious circumstances have some kind of humor in them," explained Fontana, who wrote the script using contemporary language. Besides his own Biblical research, he received a lot of guidance from the late Paulist Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser, who died in 2000 before the script was completed, and, later, from Paulist Father Frank Desiderio who succeeded Father Kieser as president of Paulist Productions and the Humanitas Prize. Father Desiderio is co-executive producer of "Judas" along with Fontana.

Fontana, who grew up in a Catholic family with a sibling who became a nun, said that the experience of writing "Judas" reinforced a personal "deep love for Jesus and his message of love." As an acclaimed screenwriter who has written for TV shows such as "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "Oz," Fontana said there should be more dramas dealing with life's great questions.

"I think that the search for the meaning of life is shared by every person on the planet," said Fontana. In 1983, he penned the movie "The Fourth Wise Man" starring Martin Sheen. He hopes to collaborate with Paulist Productions in the future on an idea he has for a movie about the Biblical character, Nicodemus.

At a screening of the film last week at St. Mel Church in Woodland Hills, Father Desiderio said the script reflects Fontana's "fundamental idea" that Judas was looking for the Jewish Messiah to be a warrior-king.

According to Desiderio, there have been approximately 150 movies made about Jesus. "Every Jesus movie fits its age," said Desiderio. He believes that "Judas" and Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" complement each other. "Culturally, this is a wonderful opportunity for Christians of different denominations to talk to each other," said Desiderio.

"I enjoyed it very much," said Kathy Forman, who attended the screening at St. Mel Church. "I liked the language and persona of Jesus."

Lois Gossman, also present at the screening, said she liked the way Judas was "brought forward" for an examination of his human weaknesses, which were portrayed "so strongly."

"It's very timely for Lent," commented catechist Ging Mangaliman. "I was so touched."