7 minute read
SCOTT PRYOR
SCOTT PRYOR On TULSA and the risks and joys of filmmaking
By Alex A. Kecskes
Known for the gripping drama Blackbear and the taut drama The List, actor/writer/director Scott Pryor is also a well-known trial lawyer, married, and raising three sons. Together with his wife Laura, they run Pryor Entertainment, a thriving Atlanta-based independent production company.
Inspired by true events from one of Pryor’s actual trial cases, TULSA follows a desperate marine biker whose life is turned upside-down when he’s united with the sassy 9-year-old daughter he never knew existed. TULSA is a funny and heartwarming story of redemption, family, and forgiveness—even in the darkest of times. The award-winning drama scored sixth in the category of All-Time Box Office for Self Distributed Movies.
Thank you for taking the time for this interview. TULSA is an emotionally powerful, faith-based film. Can you go into the trial event that inspired you to make it?
Scott Pryor: I was preparing for a trial some years ago, representing a family that had suffered a very horrific tragedy. I asked the family I was representing how it affected them—both financially and personally. The father said, “My daughter used to love to go dancing with me, but after the tragedy, she could only dance for ten minutes before we had to leave.” So that stuck with me. And then a friend of mine, who’s kind of a grandfather to me, related his story, which was brought to life by Cameron Arnett, who played the bishop in the movie.
Many actors who direct their films say it’s not an easy process. Can you go into the challenges you faced wearing both hats?
Pryor: Typically, when we’re filming, our two biggest challenges are time and money. We shot TULSA in 20 days. As an actor, I’ll sometimes have to walk into a scene at two o’clock in the morning. And I’ll have just 20 minutes to shoot the scene and nail it. That’s an added layer of pressure because on the production side and as co-director,
Scott Pryor
I know that we can’t be at this location longer than 20 minutes. Sometimes a cast member can’t shoot one day, so you’re constantly switching stuff around. On top of all that, we filmed in Augusta, Georgia. It was a great location. Clint Eastwood used it. But it’s really hot, so being in a black leather jacket and biker boots in high 90-degree humid weather in July is—well, I Iost ten pounds. And sometimes a location would drop out and we’d have to rush over to a new location and work that out. But the flip side of all that is I got to co-direct the film with Gloria Stella, who had helped produce one of our previous films—Blackbear. We did a lot of preparation before shooting--like setting the style and color palette. My wife also helped behind the camera with creative and logistics.
Do you have a favorite scene or scenes?
Pryor: Oh boy. I have so many. I like the comedic scene when the social worker’s boss came in and grilled Tommy and Tulsa. And Tommy pretends that he’s a person of faith.
Where on Earth did you find the adorable Livi Birch? She was absolutely phenomenal.
Cameron Arnett and Scott Pryor
Pryor: We went to a casting agency. We had so many submissions. But Livi came in and we found her to be very mature and spunky. Her mom is very sharp and rehearsed with Livi. We had an air B&B in a big house where we built this great relationship.
What have you learned about filmmaking that truly surprised you?
Pryor: That’s a good question. Filmmaking kind of follows the principle of ‘if you build it they will come.’ I was once asked how we get these great actors for our films. When we send out a script, a lot of people appreciate the strong, powerful storytelling. So what I’ve learned is that if you tell a very powerful story with a really strong script, it attracts people to the project. So the key to bringing people together is the story. The other big draw is to offer something they believe in. We look for talent. If we see that a DP may have ‘the eye,’ even though they may have only done one film or just helped with one, we’ll bring them in. So we sometimes recruit people who have passion more than experience. We also treat people well.
Is there an actor or film that inspired you to go into making films?
Pryor: Certainly Sylvester Stallone in his Rockys and Rambos. The inspiration for writing a film like Rocky was a huge influence. Then Matt Damon and Ben Affleck when they came out with Good Will Hunting. When that story came out and they won Oscars, it was another huge inspiration for me. In terms of actors, there’s Chris Pratt, Casey Affleck, Tom Hardy, and Christian Bale. And there’s Johnny Depp, who really intrigued me.
With all the flashy superhero films and the endless spate of horror films, do you feel today’s audiences hunger for feelgood, inspirational films like TULSA?
Pryor: I went to a conference a couple of years ago that featured some Hollywood executives. I remember them saying that the challenge they face is finding really good, original scripts. They see sequels and prequels and remakes, over and over. So I believe there’s a huge need for feel-good films that connect emotionally with the audience. I like super interesting characters. And I enjoy stories that take a left turn when they’re going right. What I don’t like is, predictable.
Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic, in which Tom Hanks (pictured with wife Rita Wilson) play Colonel Tom Parker, is set to resume filming on the Gold Coast. (Photo: Instagram)
Tom Hanks Filming of the Elvis stopped in March after Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson contracted coronavirus while shooting the biopic and returned to Los Angeles. Productions of film and television shows across Queensland and worldwide were shut down amid mass pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, back on Elvis set as production but a number of productions were able to resume in a Queensland bubble from June. hits high gear on Gold Coast Hanks’ return to the Gold Coast on 8 September sent a major signal that the state’s film industry was one of the few locations again fully open for business, with even more productions likely to commence with the expected easing of pandemic restrictions at the end of September.
By Katrina Beikoff
Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks has emerged from COVID isolation Queensland's Gold Coast, giving the green light for cameras to roll again on Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” biopic. Hanks’ return to the set of the Elvis biopic at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast, after flying into the country and spending two weeks in quarantine until 22 September, kickstarts a burst of film and television productions in Queensland ranging from blockbusters to reality TV shows.
The Elvis film headlines a host of new productions around the state including reality-TV show Love Island, quiz show Millionaire Hot Seat and the second season of fantasy series Bureau of Magical Things by Jonathan M. Shiff Productions on the Gold Coast. Feature film Kidnapped and rom-com This Little Love of Mine, both by the Steve Jaggi company, have begun filming in Port Douglas and Cairns, and shooting is expected to begin on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s NBC TV show “Young Rock” in Brisbane during October. The third season of crime series Harrow by Brisbane-based production house Hoodlum is also expected start filming in the state’s southeast in October. Love Island, the dating reality show featuring “Australia’s sexiest singles,” is one of the productions that has confirmed its move to the Gold Coast, making it the first time the show has been staged in Australia after the first two series were filmed in Spain and Fiji. Channel Nine confirmed the Gold Coast location of the Love Island villa and production as part of their Nine Upfront reveal of new and returning programs for the year.
“Season three will see a new group of Australia’s sexiest singles who have given up on finding love the modern way – by being an influencer and sliding into another influencer’s DMs – to embrace the love quest in the traditional way: in a villa on the Gold Coast filled with cameras and really hot people,” Nine said in a statement. Love Island Australia is produced by ITV Studios Australia. The production joins Nine stablemate Millionaire Hot Seat, that has moved 30 episodes to the Gold Coast, with host Eddie McGuire commencing taping in the last week of September. The Gold Coast move is the first time Millionaire, Australia’s longest-running quiz show, has left Melbourne.
The move to Queensland has already been a hit with Queenslanders, with the show’s producers closing contestant applications within 48 hours following a stampede by applicants hoping for a shot at winning $1 million.
