Former State Lawmaker Turns Personal Tragedy Into Movie

Rusty Surette, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A former Oklahoma lawmaker is taking his personal tragedy to Tinseltown.

"Heaven's Rain" is a movie based on the true story of Brooks Douglass and his sister, Leslie.

The siblings were shot and their parents murdered 31 years ago inside their Okarche home.

It was 1979 when it happened. Two men on a rampage worked their way into the Douglass home in Okarche. The family of four was hog-tied for several hours, and then the shots were fired.

It's a gut-wrenching scene in the movie "Heaven's Rain;" a true story based on the lives of Brooks and Leslie Douglass who somehow survived that deadly home invasion.

Brooks produced and co-wrote the film that gives audiences an intimate look into the lives of his parents, Richard and Marilyn Douglass, who did not make it.

Steven Keith Hatch was executed for his role in the murders. Glen Burton Ake was sentenced to life in prison.

"It was to me an opportunity to show the world who my parents are, who they were and the impact they had on the world and on people," said Brooks, who now resides in Los Angeles.

In the movie, Brooks plays the role of his father, who was a pastor at a local church.

"I remember him riding in the car, preaching in the church services, and I remember him in Brazil. I don't remember him as the guy who died on the floor," Brooks said.

What happened that night forever changed Brooks and his sister. Leslie is now an assistant principal at Webster Middle School in Oklahoma City.

"Even as a teacher working with kids seeing what they struggle through losing a parent or mother or dad or both, I can relate with them and be able to discuss that with them to see what they're going through," Leslie said.

Brooks attended law school and was elected a state senator in 1990. In 1992, he sponsored a victim's rights bill after fighting a system he said favored the killers of his parents. His career as a politician was a short one, and eventually Brooks moved to California to pursue his passion as a filmmaker.

His first flick and taste of Hollywood has come with its own personal rewards.

"At the end of the day, it's been fun because we've been able to get to know a lot of people who knew my parents," Brooks said.

Brooks said response to his film has been positive although he admitted some family and friends hesitated at first to the idea of making a movie out of a personal tragedy.

"It was hard talking about everything, and you think, how is this going to turn into a movie?" Leslie said.

"There were people not very supportive and there were people concerned with how the story would be told," said Brooks. "I don't see it as a crime story. It's a story about a family, and love the family had and the kids trying to overcome a tragic event."

"Heaven's Rain" returns to theaters nationwide in early 2011. Brooks said 95 percent of the movie was shot in Oklahoma.

More:

• Oklahoma Lawmaker's Real Life Tragedy Debuts on Silver Screen