by
John Sayles
37
Shooting
0
terms
8
notes
43
DANNY
Now it's clear from this parable that Jesus hadn't heard nothin about the union.
A rumble from the pews --
DANNY
If He was walking the earth today an seen the situation we got with these coal operators He'd of changed His tune.
HARDSHELL
Rising from his seat, incensed --
DANNY
"A man deserveth an hourly wage," He'd say, "for though the pit be gassy and the face fulla slate a man still toileth by the sweat of his brow and want a better deal here on earth--"
DANNY
Now it's clear from this parable that Jesus hadn't heard nothin about the union.
A rumble from the pews --
DANNY
If He was walking the earth today an seen the situation we got with these coal operators He'd of changed His tune.
HARDSHELL
Rising from his seat, incensed --
DANNY
"A man deserveth an hourly wage," He'd say, "for though the pit be gassy and the face fulla slate a man still toileth by the sweat of his brow and want a better deal here on earth--"
48
Sounds like a smart fella. (smiles) I think you're real pretty, you know that, Bridey Mae?
BRIDEY
Thank you.
HICKEY
Int she pretty, Griggsy? Best lookin mountain trash I seen in a long while.
noooo
Sounds like a smart fella. (smiles) I think you're real pretty, you know that, Bridey Mae?
BRIDEY
Thank you.
HICKEY
Int she pretty, Griggsy? Best lookin mountain trash I seen in a long while.
noooo
50
The casting of Few Clothes seems to have been our reward for surviving all the ones who got away, all the actors who got cold feet or lastminute conflicts on our previous movies and sent us back into casting only days before we started shooting. Few Clothes is mentioned in the history books as a giant of a black miner who was rumored to be a good shot from his days in the army during the Spanish-American War, kind of the John Henry of the coal fields. We needed somebody not only big but with the kind of power that could keep him walking head up and alive through the treacherous racial minefield of the rural South in 1920. We saw lots of ood actors, but the combination of size and the kind of power that comes across even when held in restraint was hard to find. Now and then we'd consider making an offer to James Earl Jones, but after three-and-a-half-movies' worth of dealing with name actors and their agents it seemed so unlikely, he seemed so clearly out of our league, that we never took any action on it.
We were already in West Virginia, doing preproduction work, when we decided what the hell and contacted Jones's agent. We sent a script and a litany of warnings about the low budget and modest nature of our production, and in a few days we got a simple yes. James Earl turned out to be one of the best prepared, most helpful actors I've ever gotten to work with. He understood the mixture of strength and savvy Few Clothes needed to help his men survive in a deadly confrontation far from home, and brought even the moments where he just sits and listens to life.
Sometimes you just get lucky.
yayyy
The casting of Few Clothes seems to have been our reward for surviving all the ones who got away, all the actors who got cold feet or lastminute conflicts on our previous movies and sent us back into casting only days before we started shooting. Few Clothes is mentioned in the history books as a giant of a black miner who was rumored to be a good shot from his days in the army during the Spanish-American War, kind of the John Henry of the coal fields. We needed somebody not only big but with the kind of power that could keep him walking head up and alive through the treacherous racial minefield of the rural South in 1920. We saw lots of ood actors, but the combination of size and the kind of power that comes across even when held in restraint was hard to find. Now and then we'd consider making an offer to James Earl Jones, but after three-and-a-half-movies' worth of dealing with name actors and their agents it seemed so unlikely, he seemed so clearly out of our league, that we never took any action on it.
We were already in West Virginia, doing preproduction work, when we decided what the hell and contacted Jones's agent. We sent a script and a litany of warnings about the low budget and modest nature of our production, and in a few days we got a simple yes. James Earl turned out to be one of the best prepared, most helpful actors I've ever gotten to work with. He understood the mixture of strength and savvy Few Clothes needed to help his men survive in a deadly confrontation far from home, and brought even the moments where he just sits and listens to life.
Sometimes you just get lucky.
yayyy
50
ELMA
I don't want you usin Danny on no crazy union business.
JOE
A man has to stand up for what he believes.
ELMA
Danny aint no man. Look, Mister, you gonna be movin on. Win or lose, you'll be walking outa this holler. We got to stay here.
JOE
I intend to leave a union when I go.
ELMA
My husband used to talk union. I see where it got him.
ELMA
I don't want you usin Danny on no crazy union business.
JOE
A man has to stand up for what he believes.
ELMA
Danny aint no man. Look, Mister, you gonna be movin on. Win or lose, you'll be walking outa this holler. We got to stay here.
JOE
I intend to leave a union when I go.
ELMA
My husband used to talk union. I see where it got him.
55
JOE
-- they had strikebreaker written all over them.
SEPHUS
Down here hit's the Baldwin-Felts that they use. They's just gun thugs, though.
JOE
They'll have the chief of police deputize them and all the company's mine guards -- so we won't just have to fight the operators, we'll have to fight the law --
SEPHUS
Not Sid.
JOE
I never known a small-town bull that wasn't in their pocket.
SEPHUS
(adamant) Not Sid.
JOE
-- they had strikebreaker written all over them.
SEPHUS
Down here hit's the Baldwin-Felts that they use. They's just gun thugs, though.
JOE
They'll have the chief of police deputize them and all the company's mine guards -- so we won't just have to fight the operators, we'll have to fight the law --
SEPHUS
Not Sid.
JOE
I never known a small-town bull that wasn't in their pocket.
SEPHUS
(adamant) Not Sid.
60
Time and again an actor would walk onto one of Nora's sets and say "Okay, now I get it.” The mood of the place would help feed their acting, help them inhabit the character. And in the natural settings—in the woods at night, inside the coal mine—there were moments of eerie identification. The cold mist really was cold mist, mud and cutting wind supplied free of charge, and the dark and the damp of the mine left us all cramped and shivering after a few hours underground. We could only push on and hope that we could just catch it all on film, that somehow the experience could be passed through the movie to the audience.
Time and again an actor would walk onto one of Nora's sets and say "Okay, now I get it.” The mood of the place would help feed their acting, help them inhabit the character. And in the natural settings—in the woods at night, inside the coal mine—there were moments of eerie identification. The cold mist really was cold mist, mud and cutting wind supplied free of charge, and the dark and the damp of the mine left us all cramped and shivering after a few hours underground. We could only push on and hope that we could just catch it all on film, that somehow the experience could be passed through the movie to the audience.
60
Nowhere in movie-making is the balance between practical concerns and creative process more in evidence than in production scheduling. Even large-budget movies have to make compromises here. Movies are rarely shot in sequence, though that would seem best for the actors. Instead, an actor may do his death scene in the first week of production, get married in the fourth and meet his future wife in the eighth. On low-budget features this is usually done without the benefit of rehearsal before shooting starts (since the Screen Actors Guild requires that actors be paid for rehearsal time).
lol
Nowhere in movie-making is the balance between practical concerns and creative process more in evidence than in production scheduling. Even large-budget movies have to make compromises here. Movies are rarely shot in sequence, though that would seem best for the actors. Instead, an actor may do his death scene in the first week of production, get married in the fourth and meet his future wife in the eighth. On low-budget features this is usually done without the benefit of rehearsal before shooting starts (since the Screen Actors Guild requires that actors be paid for rehearsal time).
lol
91
ELMA
Compny doctor said he wouldn't come out but there's a fella in Pikeville on the Kentucky side that'll treat union men on the sly. He'll be here by noon.
MAN
He treat colored?
ELMA
If he treats union he'll treat colored.
<3
ELMA
Compny doctor said he wouldn't come out but there's a fella in Pikeville on the Kentucky side that'll treat union men on the sly. He'll be here by noon.
MAN
He treat colored?
ELMA
If he treats union he'll treat colored.
<3