[IMG:L]For Cameron Watson, making Our Very Own was more than just his directorial debut; it was the chance to take audiences on a journey back to 1978 for a glimpse at life in his small town of Shelbyville, Tenn.
Based on Watson’s own life, the coming-of-age film tells the story of Clancy (Jason Ritter) and his friends Melora (Autumn Reeser), Bobbie (Hilarie Burton), Ray (Derek Carter) and Glen (Michael McKee) as they dream big about life beyond Shelbyville. When the teens hear that Sondra Locke, a homegrown Hollywood star, is planning a visit, they see it as their ticket out of town. The frenzy surrounding her return is just the distraction Clancy needs from his mom Joan (Allison Janney) and dad Billy’s (Keith Carradine) constant fighting.
Watson calls the story “semi-autobiographical” with the true events being reconfigured to fit within the boundaries of a script. “It is very much based on real people and real events,” he explains.
One such character is Joan. Desperate to keep her husband’s alcoholism and their financial problems a secret, she is in constant turmoil. “[Joan] is loosely based on Cam’s mom,” Janney says. “I felt a little bit of pressure …I wanted to really be true to the character and to his mom and what she was going through…every scene that I had there was something huge at stake. It wasn’t a part that I got to skip through I really had to dig in.”
Friends for more than 15 years, it is no surprise that Watson wrote the part of Joan just for his Emmy-winning friend. “I gave [the script] to her many years ago and said if ‘I can ever get this off the ground would you entertain the idea of doing it?’ She read it and said she would…it took about three years to get it going but once it was she was right there, the first one in line…She started the ball rolling. We were so lucky to get so many wonderful cast members. It was my first film, a low budget tiny little film in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee and they all said yes, which is wonderful.”
[IMG:R]Janney worked closely with her onscreen husband Keith Carradine and son Jason Ritter to create the believable family unit. “I was amazed with [Keith]; he just came in and did it. He was fearless I was really impressed by him. I would just worry over everything and he would say ‘Come on, let’s just do it.’ He’s just a guy who’s never afraid to do anything, he just jumps right in. He really loves acting. I’m more tortured by acting than he is so I was amazed by him. Jason is one of the funniest people on the planet I truly adore him – sometimes you just connect with someone and I really connected with Jason and we used to make each other laugh a lot. I can’t speak highly enough of him, he’s just lovely.”
Autumn Reeser, who plays Clancy’s best friend and love interest in the film, says hanging out in Shelbyville for six weeks was a little bit of life imitating art for her and the other four twenty-somethings. “Literally one day we were driving in the car and sitting in the exact same position we were in when we were shooting the day before,” she says of killing time with her costars. “We would get in the car and there wasn’t much to do. You go to the Wal Mart, drive up to the next town over where Derek Carter is actually from and hang out with his parents, drive to Nashville… We had a séance in Hilarie’s room one night. It was kind of like we all really reverted back to high school.”
Cheryl Hines, who plays Joan’s friend Sally Crowder, confesses “It really reminded me of my teenage days, because there is just nothing to do. So we would spend a lot of time entertaining ourselves like these kids did and had a lot of fun doing absolutely nothing like these kids did. I too did the chorus and drama, so I was a total drama nerd like [them].”
Despite the down time, Reeser credits the locals’ southern hospitality for her favorite movie experience so far. “People were throwing us barbecues and they were fighting over who would throw us parties, all at their own houses.” Hines adds “I just remember we would have a few lawn parties and it was really hot so we would all drink a lot. At least that was our excuse!”
Watson says being back in Shelbyville was “surreal” as the town welcomed him and the crew with open arms. The filmmaker made such an impression that the mayor granted him the keys to the city and made Aug. 13 Cameron Watson Day.
[IMG:L]”I would be working on the film, shooting and directing say Keith Carradine and Allison Janney and the [art director] would come up and tap me on the shoulder and say ‘When you have a minute, Joan is outside to see you…she went to third grade with you.” So I would have to say ‘Hold on please’ [and run outside and yell] ‘Oh my God Joan! I haven’t seen you in 30 years.’ And then of course I had to throw her in the movie…It was a collision of my worlds. My adult world and my childhood all being in the same place for like six weeks.”
Things came full circle for Watson when he tracked down Sondra Locke in Los Angeles, in hopes of getting her stamp of approval on the project. “She is a great friend…she said ‘I think this is wonderful. I am honored. You have my blessing.’”
‘Our Very Own’ is now available on DVD.
