10 Dec 26th, 2024-Jan 1st, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Second Act Disgraced Arpaio attack dog Andy Thomas now makes Christian rom-coms. BY STEPHEN LEMONS F or years, two-time Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas partnered with Sheriff Joe Arpaio to instill fear in Arizona communities, jailing and indicting critics and political enemies and persecuting Latino landscapers, nannies and restaurant workers who happened to be in the country sans papers. Then, karma caught up. Arpaio was held in criminal contempt by a federal judge and booted from office by voters. And in 2012, Thomas was disbarred by a disciplinary panel of the Arizona Supreme Court, effectively ending his political career. And while Sheriff Joe is still looking rather lifelike at 92, Thomas seemed to fall off the face of the planet. The last anyone in Arizona heard of Thomas, he was finishing fifth in a six-way Republican primary for governor. For a while, he wrote scholarly pieces for an obscure right-wing think tank in Washington, D.C., but then seemed to vanish like Sauron’s evil spirit after the fall of Barad-dûr. But it seems the Harvard Law grad hasn’t disappeared at all. Instead, like fellow Arpaio associate Mark Goldman, the now-58-year-old Thomas has embarked upon a career in the arts. Specifically, he has taken up filmmaking, directing and producing Christian movies in Texas. Thomas’ production company is called Summerbrook Studios. The studio is based in Dallas and was established to create “powerful, uplifting films to entertain and inspire,” according to its website. Thomas did not reply to emails requesting an interview. Summerbrook’s first offering was 2022’s “Lake Lavon,” which takes its title from a nearby reservoir that supplies water to residents of North Texas. Written, directed and produced by Thomas, the 95-minute “rom-com” bills itself as a tale about “a young couple who find faith and each other as the world tries to keep them apart.” It can be rented for $1.99 on Amazon. Phoenix New Times paid the fee and lost a bit more than $1.99. “When Harry Met Sally” it is not, though Summerbrook’s site claims the film was “a number-one hit on the Christian Channel.” Extremely light on the “com” and with a mere tissue of plot, the flick involves an on-again, off-again romance between two 20-somethings in the Dallas area. Meet Mr. Nine Avery Clark is a Pollyanna-ish ray of sunshine who works at a coffee shop while living at home with her mom and her mom’s creepy boyfriend. At an auto repair shop, she meets Bob Mills, a responsible young man with a career as an engineer and a moody disposition. After a date of frisbee golf and cheesesteaks, Bob invites Avery to meet his aunt and uncle. It turns out the aunt, who’s a big Christian, has reservations, courtesy of a message from the Holy Spirit. “The enemy is just trying to grab hold of her,” she warns Bob. She doesn’t appear to mean the Russians. Satan’s intervention takes the form of a drunken game of Twister, with Bob finding Avery astraddle another gal’s man. Though an innocent misunderstanding, Bob breaks it off with a tearful Avery. But fear not! They reconnect during a chance meeting at a burger joint where Avery has a new job. “I have a feeling God sent me to this restaurant so I could see you No longer allowed to practice law, disgraced former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has taken up Christian filmmaking. (Courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0) >> p 12
