Interview: Director Scott Teems on Hal Holbrook, ‘That Evening Sun’

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CHICAGO – Director Scott Teems has been working the film exhibition circuit hard for the past two years since releasing “That Evening Sun” in 2009. Featuring Hal Holbrook in one of his finest roles, the film has built an audience one city at a time.

The compelling story is about a farmer named Meecham (Holbrook) in the twilight of his life, whose son has placed him in an elder care facility. Determined to reclaim his land, Meecham escapes from the facility, only to find another family living on his farm. He finds out that his son has allowed this, not knowing that the new tenants include a man named Choat (Ray McKinnon), who Meecham despises. His run-ins with Choat comprise the rest of the narrative, with themes of aging, family, friendship, redemption and truth.

In Country: Carrie Preston as Ludie (left), Mia Wasikowska as Pamela and Hal Holbrook as Meecham in ‘That Evening Sun’ Photo Credit: Cooper Dunn for © Dogwood Entertainment

HollywoodChicago talked to Scott Teems, before a screening of That Evening Sun on Wednesday, June 2nd, at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago.

HollywoodChicago.com: How did you get involved in this project, in both writing the script and making your feature directorial debut, and what were the steps to getting Hal Holbrook interested and on board for filming it?

Scott Teems: The original short story I found myself. I grew up in the South, I was born and raised outside Atlanta, and I’ve always been a fan of Southern fiction. I was looking for great classic story that I could sink my teeth into and adapt into a screenplay. William Gay [the short story author] was a guy I’d heard a lot about, but had not read his work. He often gets compared to Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy, some of my favorite writers. In a book of short stories, ‘That Evening Sun’ was the first story in the book, and it immediately grabbed me. The set-up, the premise, the conflict, the characters – it was all right there. I called my producer friend, Terence Berry, who I was looking to do something with. He went out and bought the book, loved it and for some reason both of us – call it naivete or ignorance – thought that making a film about an 80 year old farmer would be a wise move and a commercial endeavor. [laughs]

It took three years before the financing came together, from about 2005 to 2008. In the fall of 2007 we saw ‘Into the Wild,’ and for the first time saw Hal Holbrook as everything we were looking for, with the strength and fragility in equal measure. Someone who wasn’t afraid to be old. Also his name and history would help the movie be seen. Walton Goggins and Ray McKinnon were already involved as producers, and Walt’s former agent got us a connection to Hal’s current agent, and that allowed us to get the script to him.

HC: All of your actors seemed precisely cast to tell the story. What specifically were you looking for in getting the right type of actor for the setting and the events?

ST: This movie was particularly crucial to cast it right. It’s only a handful of characters, there is a lot of dialogue and the movie is unapologetically southern. I wanted to be in the country, in the middle of Tennessee and not hide behind that. I was insisting upon casting all native southerners. I gave that order to the casting director, Emily Schweber, who was awesome. When I first described the character of ‘Pamela,’ Choat’s teenage daughter, I said I was looking for a young Sissy Spacek. She immediately said there is this girl named Mia Wasikowska. And I said, ‘who’s that?’ And Emily told me she was from Australia. I said ‘no.’ [laughs]

So we were getting this cast of all native southerners and knew it was coming together really well. But we still hadn’t the role of Pamela. I saw every girl in Los Angeles from 18-25 years old that was from the South. Some of them were fine actors, most of them were pretty blonde girls with the ‘Daisy Duke’ shorts and big boobs. I needed an innocent 16 year old girl. Pretty, yet innocent.

HC: And that is where Mia Wasikowska came in again?

ST: Yes, she came through town and had big auditions then, including ‘Alice in Wonderland’ [she eventually played Alice]. She came in and had two hours to prep for the audition, and had never done a southern accent. Her agent told her to be like Sissy Spacek, so she went online and watched two hours of YouTube clips from ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter.’ Then she came in and had that quality, an energy that was really captivating. And she looked 16.

Scott Teems at South X Southwest in March of 2009

HC: What do you think Hal Holbrook understood about the role of Abner Meecham that made the role so uniquely his?

ST: He based his performance in large part on the father of Dixie Carter [Holbrook’s wife], who was only a few years older than Hal, Hal being 15 years older than Dixie. Dixie’s Dad even lived with them for the last 20 years of his life. The Carters were from West Tennessee, so he was a Tennessee man. He was similar to Abner, who never lost his roots and took pride in his land and house. Hal felt like he was really able to honor Dixie, her father and her family. Hal was invested in it in an unique way.

It was a very difficult shoot for Hal. We shot in August in Tennessee, hot and humid, and he is in virtually every scene. And we made the film in 22 days. It was long days, fast days and lots of work, it was quite the grind. But he wore that burden well and had the resolve to put it off.

HC: Did you get in touch with him after Dixie Carter passed away, did you get involved in that at all?

ST: I spent some time with him, and had a nice visit with him. She was one of a kind. She was on the set for about a week [she played Abner’s wife] and when she was there it was just a different set. Dixie had a gift of making everyone around her feel good about themselves. It was a real gift and she was the giver. She just made you feel that you mattered. She also rejuvenated Hal’s spirit as well, and shooting their scenes together was one of the highlights of the whole experience.

HC: What was the key for you in getting through the short shooting schedule?

ST: Framing shots and working with actors is about three percent of what you do as a director. You’re leading an army, and you’re manager, baseball coach, counselor, teacher, parent and you’re setting the tone for how hard everyone is going to work. The biggest keys are to articulate the big vision, so everyone is making the same movie, and then letting them go and do that.

HC: What aspect of rural or country life were you and the actors trying to communicate that maybe surburban and urban America will never understand?

ST: I’m not one who romanticizes that life, and I don’t think the film does either. It’s a pretty stark, lonely existence for those people. I don’t pine for the good old days. I grew up in the suburbs, so country life is probably preferable to suburban life. What I was trying to communicate with the film was more just a sense of place. And I want the audience to experience that, and capturing that sense of isolation. That’s why there is little music, a deliberate pacing and natural sounds of the environment, because I wanted a feeling of what it’s like on the farm. And what happens when someone invades into the peace and quiet. I wanted to give a sense of being there.

HC: Finally what feedback have you received from the audiences so far that has pleased you and what kind of reflection do you want someone to take away after they view your film?

ST: The audience response so far has been wonderful, I couldn’t ask for a better response. And also what has been cool is how the film has transcended audience demographics. We premiered in Austin at South X Southwest, to a crowd of 20-30 year old independent filmgoers, and won the audience award, then to the Sarasota Film Festival, where the crowd was made up of 60 year old retirees, and won the audience award, and also won a high school jury award in Newport, Long Island.

Really it has proven to me is that people like these films, they want to see these films, but they’re just not aware of them. Because everyone loves the movie who has seen it, but they just need a chance to see it. And that’s one of the hardest parts of being a filmmaker, fighting for the chance to have your film seen.

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com