A hermit, rumors of a murder and a living funeral inspired the story for the movie, "Get Low" starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek. The tale of guilt and forgiveness released in theaters on July 30 was co-written by Alpharetta pastor Scott Seeke.

Seeke's wife, Beth Birkholz, an associate pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (located at 2922 Sandy Plains Road in Marietta near Sprayberry High School), had heard the story that inspired the movie "at least 50 times." When Seeke heard the story for the first time from his wife's grandparents, he knew it was special.

"Out of the blue, (Beth's grandfather) started telling me this story about this guy who wanted to have his funeral preached while he was still alive. I just thought it was a lightning bolt from above," Seeke said.

"I sat and listened to the true story about what happened and thought, 'Wow, this would make a great movie,'" the Lutheran minister of The River Church in Alpharetta said.

Seeke contacted an old college friend, Chris Provenzano, who was working as a writer in Hollywood. In September of 2000, the friends teamed up to work on the story, a 10-year process to the screen.

Seeke said the movie, historical fiction, is based on an old hermit man in rural Tennessee. Ten thousand people attended the funeral held before his death and there were rumors of a murder. "That's what we used as the skeleton of our fictional story," he said.

"Get Low," titled from the old Southern expression "get low before God" or to humble yourself and ask forgiveness, takes a look at the human experience. The movie explores love, regret, forgiveness, and self worth through a man who locked himself away for 40 years and wants a living funeral so he can hear what people say.

"Obviously there are some things (the hermit is) worried about," Seeke said. "The movie follows him on his journey to have this funeral and to come to some resolution about these things in his life."

"(The hermit) is looking for forgiveness and he's not sure how he's going to get it. The movie is his journey to discover what it means to be forgiven," the New York native said.

The movie also causes the moviegoer to look at his own life. "As we watch these characters explore on their journey we learn more about what it is to be a human being in this confusing life that we live, " he said.

"(Get Low) is not a shoot 'em up action movie. It's a movie with real characters that real people can relate to," Seeke said. "(The characters) go on a powerful journey of self-discovery."