[open with Bibis singing “Foxes” – ‘Oh, you will ride your foxes, and swim with armies. You said you’d build
us a tower where we could stretch our legs and be free. ]
Hilarie Burton: Hey you guys, this is Hilarie Burton here doing the FIRST ever Southern Gothic Productions Podcast. We are in great company today. Denise is facilitating everything for us. I'm here hanging out with Nick Gray, the writer of our first project, ‘Pedestrian,’ and also my personal muse. He's written a lot of stuff for us with the production company, and also Kelly Tenney, who is my production partner and the brains behind the operation. So we're excited to tell you guys a little bit about what we've been up to and where we hope to go in the future and we wanna just give you all the dirt.
Denise Gideon: We're here talking with Hilarie Burton, Kelly Tenney, and Nick Gray for the first podcast for Southern Gothic Productions. We're here doing a little bit of a round table. I think I want to ask you guys first, I ask the other people this, when they start productions or start a new band or anything like that, I say, you know, how did you find yourself here and, you know, when did the idea for this company kinda come to fruition and do you ever look around and go, oh my gosh what have I started?
HB: [laughs] Kelly and I met in Season 1 of One Tree Hill and Kelly was the man who, when I was traveling back and forth from Wilmington and New York and stressing out, working 7 days a week, Kelly Tenney was the rock of the show. He was the one that just made everything seamless and easy and great, and really knows how to take care of people, and multi-task like no one I’ve ever seen. A couple years later, you know, I started to get involved with, you know, local theater companies and just making friends with all the local talent that exist here in Wilmington, and there's quite a bit of it, and really just being a fan of Wilmington in general, you know, I started to get this idea that I wanted to keep production here. And I met Nick through a friend of a friend. My friend was dating this girl that was friends with Nick and so we all went out to dinner and next thing you know he and I are buddies. And then, it wasn't until like a year later that you gave me ‘Pedestrian’. I brought it in, handed it to a couple people in the production office, and Kelly was the one that was like, ‘alright let's do it, let's make it happen!’ So, I don't know, are you guys scared that we're... [laughs] how did we end up here?
Nicholas Gray: [laughing] Yeah, I don't know. We don't ask that question.
HB: No, we don't ask that anymore. I mean, well Nick, you kinda had a journey to get back to Wilmington. Because you worked here and you left and you came back right?
NG: Yea I was here, when we first met and then I went to Chicago and then I came back here, after like a year. When I was like, I don't really know what I want to do. But there's, you know, there's a lot of stuff coming back to Wilmington so...
HB: Yea, I mean there's a lot of production coming back here. When Kelly and I first started working with Nick, he was still in Chicago so, the first few interactions you had with Nick, it was over the phone, right?
Kelly Tenney: I did, we talked back and forth and e-mailed. All our script choices are things that we were talking, you know, things I wanted to talk to Nick about changing, or…
HB: Yeah, how many people have you showed ‘Pedestrian’ to? ‘Pedestrian’ is the first film that Southern Gothic Productions is gonna put out there. You know, it's Nick's baby. Kelly and I fell in love with it. But, you know, the first version you get of a script, obviously you're gonna make a lot of notes on it and Kelly and I have worked in the realm of television, so we're very interested in: what's production friendly? what's realistic to be able to shoot on this budget? You know, how do we tailor the script to make production as easy as possible? Without-
KT: To keep our director, one of the persons we we're trying to get to direct at that time, involved.
HB: Yeah.
KT: Yea, we were in Honey Grove, Texas, and we had a script meeting.
HB: Oh yeah! We had a huge episode of One Tree Hill where we had a contest to go and shoot in somebody's hometown. And that was right about the time we were really cooking up steam with ‘Pedestrian’. And my brother, Billy… James... whatever he goes as these days, he keeps changing his name… my brother, Kelly, and I were in this little tiny hotel room in Honey Grove, Texas just going over page-by-page of the script. And then we sent it to Nick, and we were blown away by how receptive he was to the notes that we had, how creative he was and how quickly he could interpret the questions that we needed answered into, you know, changes on the page. How many people have you shown ‘Pedestrian’ to before you gave it to me?
NG: When I lived in New York, before I moved here the first time, we did a… I did a table reading of it, so I had like 6 people there. My roommate's mom read it [Hilarie laughs] and you know, a few of my close friends read it. I mean that's basically it, you know maybe like six people.
HB: Yeah. I remember, we had talked about it, Nick and I had, you know, just in passing been like, ‘ohh you have a script?’ ‘Yeah, sure, I'll read it!’ you know, whatever. And you were kind of shy about doing this for me, like, it took like a year. And then one day I got, was it like a e-mail from you? That was just like, ‘look, I really wanna make this movie and I think you can help me, and I would love it if you did.’ And I just remember being like, ‘Yeah! Yeah. I wanna do everything I can to help this person.’ Because you were just to the point and you wanted it and that drive is something that's inspiring. You know, we're down here in a community of really talented people but talent only gets you so far. It's that drive, and that ambition, and that focus that gets you to where you need to be to accomplish… Making a movie is a huge feat! Yeah, you had that and now we're building our little company around it. So don't lose it Nick, don't lose the flame or we're doomed. [laughs]
DG: Well that kinda goes into tying it back into my second question, which you just opened up perfectly, was, you know, motivation for pursuing, you know, this project and pursuing this company. I guess you just answered it right there.
HB: Yeah I think part of the motivation for me was… I'm originally from the south and I left right after high school, you know, went up to New York, was working at MTV. I love New York. I love living there, but I was raised that lifestyle is every bit as important as a career. And what I discovered when I then moved down to Wilmington was that I could have both. I could have a family life. You know, my entire family has moved down to this area. It's beautiful, you know, it's so versatile and it's an artistic driven community. You know, it’s the kind of place where I wanna raise my kids and so, you know, to also have the career here, to have a community that's not New York or LA, there's such a high end film quality here. I don't know, it was important to me to build something here.
KT: The film community here is outstanding, I don't think I've ever been anywhere else that at all touches what we have in Wilmington and in North Carolina. And it's one thing that Hil and I talk about a lot, it's keeping the community here and not allowing it to go to Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina. Because it's so important to keep our friends and our families with us to grow, as our... that's one of the reasons our company is desperate to stay put in the state. We don't wanna leave. We don't wanna have to go somewhere else, uproot everything that's been growing.
HB: Well and that's another reason why we're very confident that this production company is gonna be a success. Because we're not working with strangers, we're not working with patchwork crews, you know, we're working with people that came up to me the last day of shooting this past season of ‘One Tree Hill’ and said, ‘Hilarie, anything you need, I'll work for free, I'll help out, anything you need at all, you know, I'm in.’ And that's not something that I'm gonna get in a big city, you know. That's what I get because these are my friends and these are my family members and I'm really proud of that and I wanna do right by them and make a great product, you know.
KT: And they want this company to succeed, they realize how important it is to have homegrown productions. So they're gonna do... the crew here is gonna do everything they can to help out this production company, also.
HB: Now, Nick is a writing machine! Now, where do you get your motivation?
NG: You know, I don't even really know where it came from, because a lot of people who follow the blog know, ‘Pedestrian’ is the first thing I ever wrote and at the time I didn't really think it was that great but, you know, I did, I put a lot of work into it since the very beginning. But I'm really glad that I found that. Because before that I was acting, and then I just kinda figured out that I was supposed to be a writer and it, I mean, it turned everything upside down for me. Then I just kind of, started really, really writing and thinking about life, every single day, observing people, and you know, seeing all these events, and listening to people talk, and you know, that's kind of when you become a writer. Soon it all just infiltrates your mind and it just doesn't stop.
HB: That's true. He and I were hanging out [laughs], we were watching ‘Grey Gardens’ on HBO and just making each other laugh. A lot of the time when we hang out it ends up being like, ‘Yeah, I need to put that into something,’ ‘This needs to be a something.’ Our inside jokes will be sprinkled throughout our project.
DG: Well all this you talk about kinda ties into... I guess your guys' mission statement for this company.
HB: Yeah! I mean our mission statement is that… we want to be a self-sufficient film production company in an area that deserves it. This area deserves to have a cheerleader and have a leader. You know, leadership has always been something that's been very important to me and, you know, leadership is really important and the Wilmington community has always been dependent on projects to discover us, you know. First off they, other producers and other towns discover Wilmington. They, you know, come here and bring the project here and hopefully spend money here. We need infrastructure and we need leadership and Southern Gothic is willing to just step up and do that for the community. I just recently joined the North Carolina Film Commission and it’s important to me that we pump some blood into the North Carolina film community. You know, we need to shake it up a little bit, we need to educate New York and LA about what our community has to offer. And we need to solicit work to come here to keep our crew base here. And during all of this we will be making movies of our own. But yeah, we’re meant to keep this town employed and meant to make projects that spotlight what a beautiful place this is. We like to hold a little flashlight up to our pretty town.
DG: Well you got the drive and the desire but when are the times when you kinda had to reel yourself in and say, ‘I've gotta continue to remember to take some baby steps, let's not try to giant leap everything?’
HB: Well money is an issue! [laughs] You know, this is a time, economically, where nobody has any money to invest. You know either they locked it, or they're being… They're very tentative to put it out there and so… I've been counting on being ready to shoot. We have… Kelly has… You've scheduled everything.
KT: Everything. The budgets are done and we're ready to roll.
HB: Ready to roll. We've got a couple investors lost. But you can't start with a couple, you need... I don't wanna be one of those projects that starts and then has to stop because we ran out of money, you know. So we want the budget of the film in the bank so we're not wasting anybody's time once we say ‘action’ that very first day. Because, you know, I know too many people who have gone to work on projects, and they get two weeks into filming and then the project’s dead, and it never gets finished…
KT: … never gets finished.
HB: That’s something that we… I think it’s hard for us… we’re ready to go. And so, now we’re in our fundraising phase. But what we’re doing in the meantime is we’re continuing to generate… not only attention for Southern Gothic, but just keep ourselves creatively stimulated. You know, Nick wrote and is editing… in the process of editing right now… a short film that I shot with Austin called… [to Nick] Do you want to tell them about it?
NG: Yeah. We did a 3-day shoot for a short film called ‘The True Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend’ with Hilarie and Austin.
DG: …and that would be Austin Nichols, I’m sorry, so everybody knows.
NG: I forgot Nichols. Thievin’ Nichols.
HB: Thievin’ Nichols! [laughs]
NG: Yeah, and you know, we were so happy to have him do it as well. But it was just something that we wanted to shoot. You know, it was simple, and it’s creative, and it’s fun, and…
HB: We shot it for zero dollars. [laughs]
NG: Well we paid for the fish.
HB: Oh, I’m sorry we paid for… we bought a prop fish. Does that count? Yeah, what we wanted to do was go out and shoot like we used to in high school, for zero dollars, just go out and have fun. And we did it all in like, a weekend. All the wardrobe was like, from my closet or my dad’s garage, or something. You know, and we really, really did this low-file project that is adorable, and you know, I’m excited for people to be able to see it.
NG: Tell them about the bride that showed up.
HB: Hell yeah! We were in the middle of shooting at this big oak tree, and we see this photographer walking up, and we were nervous, because we were trespassing everywhere. [everyone laughs]
NG: We can say in the shot Austin was in the tree with a tuba.
HB: Oh yeah. He was being adorable. Austin’s hanging out in this tree with this old tuba that my Dad bought at a yard sale or something, and you know, I’ve got my brother Conrad helping us. My brother Billy is there. My Dad’s there. It’s all of us hanging out. And this photographer walks up and was like ‘Oh, hey.’ He’s like ‘Oh, I got a bride here, do you mind if we take some wedding pictures with you guys?’ [everyone laughs] And so in front of this tree with Austin up there with the tuba, we’ve got this cute little bride taking, like, photos that her children were gonna see. We love making memories, right? But yeah, you know, Nick was editing that. We… like I said… we have a website. We have a blog. We try to post something every day. Nick is working on a web series right now. You know, we are keeping ourselves creatively stimulated without losing that goal of ‘Pedestrian.’ You know, we’re just doing all these other things to build a buzz.
KT:… to achieve that goal.
DG: Yeah, you hinted a little about the blog site. Can you talk a little about that…. Why you guys started it. You guys started it in January, and each of you go around and tell me what your thoughts were when you first posted your first blog individually and what your thoughts were when comments started coming back to you.
HB: Kelly, this is kind of your deal, because Kelly really… he has taken the reins. We were not tech savvy leading into this, man. We still don’t consider us tech savvy, but it was your baby, so you go ahead.
KT: Well, we… one of our friends who is helping us raise money, Levi, suggested that we start a blog. I didn’t know a thing about blogs, except that I knew they were happening. I didn’t really know what they were about. And Levi was like, you know, you should really get something started, get it out there in the public eye. It would be good to have an investor see you’re bigger than just Wilmington. And we started, and we went in and just went to blogspot and set up an account, and started blogging. I think our first one… we were actually here on set.
HB: Oh yeah, we just tested it to see if anybody would look at it. [laughs]
KT: Yeah, and so I ambushed Nick and Hilarie, and I said ‘hey, let’s do the blog real quick.’
HB: It was so embarrassing!
KT: And the two of them looked at me and go ‘What? What are you talking about?’
NG: We still do.
HB: Yeah. [everyone laughs] But the thing is… Kelly will invite us out to a bar or something, and be like ‘Hey do you guys want to go get a drink?’ and Nick and I will show up and think we are just gonna hang out. Next thing we know, we got a camera out, and he’s asking us questions, and giving us a sign, and we’re just like ‘Are we getting graded on this?’ [laughs]
KT: They’re both troopers. They ran with it. You know, we’ve grown tremendously. Everyone… the comments that I read, and I’m pretty diligent about reading all of them… they are so supportive. Our Street Team is unbelievable!
HB: Oh, man!
DG: Can you go into that a little bit? The street team, for people who may not know what that is?
HB: You know what it is? We have a really loyal group of people that check in on our blog everyday. They hang out in our chatroom. There was actually one night when I was posting something, and I couldn’t figure it out. It was like, four o’clock in the morning…
KT: Megan helped you out…
HB: …I’m not sure at all. So I post something… I see the kids in the chat being like ‘what just happened? Something is wrong here…’ And I start sweating because Kelly is asleep. Alicia is asleep. Alicia’s been helping us with all of our blog stuff, and I don’t have anybody I can call. Megan, who is in our chat all the time, is to the rescue, man. And is just like, ‘Hil, don’t freak out, I’ve got you.’ This is a girl who I’ve never met in real life! I’ve never met her, and she’s helping me at 4 o’clock in the morning! So we have a really excellent group of teammates, you know, I want to share everything with them, I want to give them as much access as possible, because making a film is interesting, and we want it to be fun, and we want to include everybody. And when they see the finished project, they have been along for the whole ride.
KT: They feel like they’re part of it, which they are!
HB: It’s not a two hour experience for them, it’s a two year experience, and I think that’s what makes us different from other production companies.
KT: And they motivate us! I mean, like I said, I get out and I read their comments, and I see that what we’re doing means something to them.
NG: I mean, it’s really… it’s a bit strange to me still, because a lot of people came to the blog because of Hilarie, obviously, and you know now the people who come to the blog regularly are there for Southern Gothic…
HB: … your writing, and Southern Gothic, you know.
NG: … for just Southern Gothic.
DG: What made you guys decide not only just to talk about ‘Pedestrian’ and you’re company, but you’ve branched out, you let people know about music that you enjoy. You guys are doing reading of books that you enjoy. Is it just wanting to share your love of the arts?
HB: You know, I’ve always been obsessed with the relationship between the artist and the muse. You know, and I’ve said a number of times, ‘Nick is my muse. Nick is my muse.’ But I think having a repertoire of little tiny muses, whether it’s…. a song can be your muse for the day. You’re daily muse, what is it? Is it a section out of a book? Is it a song? Is it a poem? Is it a really beautiful picture? I mean, it can be anything and I want the things that inspire me when I wake up in the morning to… I want to be able to share that with other people. And we get some of the best comments in the world, you know, there are people that are like, ‘Oh, I’m having the worst day ever, but I just read about you going to see this community theatre production last night, and you’re right, I’m going to go see a play this week and get out there!’ I mean, that’s a great feeling.
KT: I can’t tell you how many people have started their own blogs, and visit each other, and cross pollinate. It’s really special.
NG: But all the abstract things that we talk about on the blog that aren’t necessarily about ‘Pedestrian’ or about film… or even Bibis who is the music artist that you just mentioned. I think it’s just about kind of , you know, setting our tone and telling people to get to know the company. I think what we have is, you know, people who look at the blog and don’t really know exactly what it is. If they go through, you know, all the blog entries I think they can get to know us really quickly. I think that’s valuable.
DG: Well, and also you kind of answered a call for them as well. I know that you guys have posted photos and stuff of people, as you call them, your street team, making their own t-shirts, but then you guys started offering t-shirts to them. You got your new logo, and you got t-shirts made up, and now you’re asking people to represent your company and themselves and their support of you guys through wearing the t-shirts.
HB: It’s really incredible. One of the things that I learned working at MTV was that you are nothing if you do not respect your audience, and if you do not respect your fans. And so I’ve always been very, very grateful to the people who have allowed me to be in the position I’m in. And it has been overwhelming the number of people that, once they found out about Southern Gothic Productions, have just jumped on board and have been absolutely supportive and so, you know, we’re sitting around kind of going through one of these glowing comments that everyone has been offering up and everybody really wants to see ‘Pedestrian’ happen. We’re raising money, and Kelly s like ‘Why don’t we… let’s sell t-shirts!’ You know, we joked about it but we call it the Great Bake Sale, you know, and I mean, it goes back to doing like, high school fundraisers, whether it’s for the school football team or for the school government or you know, drama department. We’re putting it out there to the fanbase: Hey, look, we want every single one of you to be a part of this. This is a production people for people who love art, by people who love art, and you know, we’re making art. Let’s all do it together. So, you know, right now we’re doing this t-shirt sale that is contributing directly towards the production of this film, and I think that that intimacy between the audience and the production company and the actual project is something that’s new and fun, and I love the bake sale, man! Nick and I were joking earlier… What did we say we were going to do? Lemonade stand…
NG: Lemonade stand…
HB: Taco stand… I have all these strawberries in my fridge right now. We want to make… strawberry salsa? Or strawberry jam?
NG: Well, we were going to sell the salsa at the farmer’s market…
HB: Yeah, there’s a farmer’s market in Wilmington. Nick and I were contemplating making a strawberry salsa. Imagine that! Serving it up at the farmer’s market in downtown Wilmington! [laughs]
DG: Well, Kelly mentioned that he grabbed his camera again on you guys when you were putting all the t-shirts in the packaging. I mean, I think you guys show too that you’re just people doing what you need to do to get your film made. You’re packing your own shirts and sending them off to the fans.
HB: Oh, dude, Billy, my brother, has been a sweetheart because he donated his garage and turned it into his little sweat shop. I go over there, sign all the shirts. Kelly and I are over there; We’re rolling all the shirts, tying them up with ribbons, writing love letters to our fans, and…
KT: … printing out labels.
HB: Oh, man, Kelly’s been printing out labels. Billy’s shipping stuff. You should have seen it. The first order we shipped out… it was what? Like 250? The, like, very first day we were shipping stuff out. They all had to go over to a camera facility to check out some equipment and I’m like, ‘yeah, yeah, I’ll go and bring it to the post office!’ I’m this little girl carrying this huge tupperware container of huge packages, and they’re all looking at me like, ‘What are you doing?’ So yeah, we got it down to a system now, and we’re just going to keep trucking. That’s the thing you have to… you have to be inventive and self-sufficient and especially in this age of new media where, you know, you don’t need a middle man to communicate with your audience. You can do it yourself now, and we’re really proud to be exploring that, and inventing new ways to do it.
DG: Well, Hilarie, how many shirts do you average of probably have signed?
HB: That I signed? Well, I signed at least a thousand.
DG: Oh my god. [laughs]
HB: You have to order it, and yeah, you have to order it. You know, I talk about the mall tours that we’ve had to do for ‘One Tree Hill’ and what a great experience to be able to shake the hand and sign a picture for someone who has kept you on the air and given you a job. You know, while our fanbase for Southern Gothic is spread all over the world and I can’t meet every single one of them face to face and shake their hands, I want to send them something. I want to say thank you, and I’m very grateful that everybody’s participating. So, I’ll sign shirts all day! Billy makes me popcorn and puts in movies for me to watch. I’ve been watching a lot of new musicals at the kid’s house. [laughs] So, you know, just imagine me watching movies over and over again while signing t-shirts! [laughs]
DG: Well, I always say that, you know, the one thing that maybe you do, or I do, or Kelly or Nick or… one word or one comment that one person makes may just be a comment to you but it may be the world to them.
KT: That’s so true.
HB: There have been days where I’m like, ‘Uh… there’s so much to do! I’m losing my mind! I gotta write a blog! This is so stressful!’ and then you go on, and you read the comments, and it’s like, ‘aw, really?’ Man, you guys are… It’s like getting valentines every day!
NG: That’s so true.
DG: That’s a good question then. Each of you go around, tell me one… you don’t have to be specific, but maybe one comment from the blog if you had a bad day that just kind of lifted you up, just kind of making you glad that you’re making this company and that you got this blogsite to be able to connect with the people following you.
HB: You know the thing that’s made me really excited in the last week or two? Is Nick, Kelly, and I introduced a good friend of ours, and an artist that we are gonna represent: Bibis Ellison. And the speed in which our fanbase took to her and they were supportive of her. I mean, she was nervous about putting her original stuff out there! She doesn’t play it a lot out in public, and she was a little scared. And right away there were like 75 comments telling her how great she was! And so, for me as an artist, to see another artist friend of mine uplifted like that and just the warmth and the enthusiasm of our community, you know, we’ve got a really good bunch, and I’m very proud of that.
DG: And Kelly, what about you?
KT: I think it was the video that several street team members put together…
HB: Oh…
KT: …that talked about, you know, ‘shout from the mountain, shout from the rooftops.’ And what Southern Gothic meant to them. It really did touch me, it was really…
HB: That was the St. Patrick’s Day video. That was lovely.
KT: Yes, it was. It was.
HB: All over the world!
KT: All over the world. Very emotional.
HB: What about you, Nick?
NG: Well, I had a birthday recently…
HB: Yeah, you did. [laughs]
NG: But Hil just posted a really, really special blog for me on my birthday, and there were, you know, just over 100 comments of people that I don’t personally know wishing me a happy birthday. That’s a really intense thing.
HB: I love you! You’re really good looking, Nick. [laughs]
NG: Thank you… you can’t do that on a podcast though. [everyone laughs]
HB: They can sense it.
KT: And when Austin’s happy birthday song… Bibis sang ‘Hapy Birthday’ to Austin…
HB: Yes!
KT: He was very, very touched by it. He sent us emails and it was a big deal to him on his birthday.
HB: I mean, anytime you make yourself vulnerable and you put yourself out there, which is what we’re doing, you know, we’re not keeping our hits or misses a secret, you know. We’re sharing everything with our audience, and when you make yourself vulnerable like that, there’s always that fear that people are going to, like, come back and pick on you, or laugh at you, or relish in your failures. You know, you can’t have a success without having a couple failures to get there first, and to have this group of people just be so glowing and so strong for us, you know, that… it’s a foundation that I’m excited to watch grow. I mean, these people that are following our blog right now, and have been following us for the last couple months, and helping us, you know, whether it’s with graphics, or the blog, or spreading the word, or anything… these people are the foundation of a company that is going to still exist in 20 years. You know, and I want them to take pride in it as much as we take pride in it.
DG: Well, how do you… do you feel like this… do you feel like you’ve started out creating a fanbase, but in a way you’ve created a community and a family with this company and this blog.
HB: It’s a social network, yeah, like, part of the reason we started this company too. We’ve worked in enough settings that we know what kind of tone we want for our company, and I very much believe in kind leadership. One of my favorite film experiences was working on a movie called ‘The List’ and that was shot here in Wilmington. Gary Wheeler was the director, and he’s been my mentor through all of this, because he started his own production company, Level Path Productions. And this man was so kind, and good to everyone around him, but everyone worked their asses off! You know, I saw people that I’ve known for years, just killing them selves, not because they’re making any money. I mean, there was no budget on that movie, but because they loved him and they believed in him, and they believed in his product, and so, that’s the kind of tone that we want to set. I want people to come into our blogs, or come into our website, or come into anything that we put out there, and feel comfortable and proud to be a part of it, and want to help more. I always want to help more. I always want other people to walk away feeling good. I want to walk away feeling good. We don’t make fun of anybody else. We don’t compete with anybody else. Our only competition is ourselves, and we’re going to make something great because of Nick’s flame, you know, you’re so motivated, Nick! [laughs]
DG: You guys were talking earlier about Austin Nichols. What’s it mean for you guys as a company to have started wanting to get this film ‘Pedestrian’ made and know that you already have the face of your lead character, Lincoln Booth.
HB: Kelly, that was your idea.
KT: I’m sorry, what was my idea?
HB: To give the script to Austin.
KT: That’s right. He came to us this year on ‘One Tree Hill’ and immediately you could feel his presence. I mean, he was… when I saw him I was like ‘Wow.’ Hil and I started talking about it, and she’s like, ‘Let’s just give it to him.’ You know, we were like, do we have to go to his agent? Do we have to do it normal? And she was like ‘No! I was hanging out with him last night. Let’s just do it.’
HB: He really impressed me because he… you know, we’ve all been working together for years, and he shows up in this brand new setting and had memorized the names of every crew member on the back of our call sheet. Could walk onto set and shake any man’s hand, say ‘Hey, how are ya?’, call them by their name, look them in the eye, and be able to carry a conversation because he is kind and graceful and appreciative of every single person on the set. And, you know, I’ve worked with a lot of actors, and that’s a rare thing, you know, to have someone take the time to do that. Not knowing… I mean, when he first started working here, you know, we didn’t know how many episodes he was even gonna be in. He could have been in and been out. So, he didn’t have to take that initiative, and he did. And then he was just so… well trained as an actor, and very cooperative.
KT: He’s a trooper. He’s a trooper.
HB: He really is a lovely, lovely man to work with. He’s the kind of man that other men like hanging out with, and that women fall in love with. He’s that guy. He’s an old movie star. You know, he’s Carey Grant. He’s… you know who he is? He’s that… oh, why can’t I think of his name… from ‘Gone With the Wind.’ Brett Butler.
DG: Clark Gable.
KT: Clark Gable.
HB: Clark Gable! That’s exactly who he is. He’s Clark Gable. Just, charming and so we pitched it to Nick, you know, Austin fell in love with it. We talked to Nick about it, and then Austin started writing Nick, like, letters, after he read ‘Pedestrian.’ Didn’t he send you a poem or something awesome?
NG: He sent me a really nice email. And, you know, it’s really strange. I remember I was thinking about it. We were driving around when we were on the film shoot, you know, for ‘Boyfriend and Girlfriend’ and…
HB: That was really the first time you guys hung out. I mean, he’d been attached, and you guys had talked like a little bit.
NG: Yeah, and I was directing the short film that you’re going to be in.
HB: Yeah.
NG: And he was in the backseat, and I was in the front seat, and you know, we all were kind of joking around, beating off of each other, and then you know, sometimes in these moments of silence I would be just kind of sitting there thinking… that’s Lincoln. You know, this character was really, really important to me, and it’s pretty intense…
HB: Yeah…
NG: …for me personally.
HB: I mean, you gave birth to Lincoln. I mean, you invented him. He totally popped out of your imagination, and so…
NG: I mean, this is really the first time that I’ve experienced this…. Is with Austin, and you know, for the rest of the characters that are in the movie, and in other stuff that follows, I don’t really think it will be the exact same feeling as that, because it was really the first time I’d felt it.
HB: Right, I mean, as he was just talking and interacting with us, did you see him doing Lincoln things? That time he got really quiet in the cemetery was strange.
NG: Yeah.
HB: You could tell that story.
NG: No… [everyone laughs]
HB: No, he’s… Austin is a very layered man. He can be very charming, but he is also very sincere and very serious, and very focused, and has been wonderful getting his team involved to help us out and raise money to get people attached. You know, and he’s taken on more than the normal actor would. He’s taken on producer’s responsibilities. And we’re really happy to have him be a part of this team, you know, he’s someone who is very easy to believe in. It’s very easy to trust him and believe in him because he’s just got it all. He’s a good one.
DG: Well, how did he find… did you ask him to post on the blog? Or did he say ‘hey I’d like to do it’?
HB: Oh, he wanted to!
KT: He wanted to! He wanted to write a post.
HB: He’s been a busy, busy boy. You know, he’s also out in LA. That’s one of the things too. The juggle that all of us are having to do. You know, because we all have other things going on, and you know, I have to go out and continue to audition for things to maintain my profile with Southern Gothic to gain the exposure that it needs. And he’s doing the same exact thing, you know, he’s having to do other work to make sure that when ‘Pedestrian’ comes out his profile is still high. It helps with the sale of the movie and all the kind of stuff. So the juggle’s really tough. So the fact that he takes time out of his schedule and does conference calls with us, and writes blogs for us, you know, he’s completely invested in this. And that is…
KT: He wants to move here.
HB: Yeah, he loves it here. So it’s really flattering. It’s really flattering.
DG: Well, you’ve alluded a couple of times to the short film you shot, what’s a time table for that? What are you’re guys plans to get that into release? Is it just something you’d like to see it put on the web?
HB: I mean.. I think 'Boyfriend and Girlfriend' is something that we did... like I said, for no money, and in one weekend, you know, and with a, you know, a camera we got at Best Buy. That was for fun. [to Nick] But you're webisodes...
NG: Yea I think the webseries we... yeah, we have a few different avenues that we're exploring right now so, you know, we can't really give you a sure bet on what exactly we're gonna be doing with it but… I think 'Boyfriend and Girlfriend' is kind of like... It's almost like a thank you to our fans that've been with us, you know for right now because we don't wanna... we don't necessarily want to talk about 'Pedestrian' every day. Or we don't necessarily have to... It's kinda nice to have something new for us and it's something given at the end of the day. But that'll be on our website.
DG: How great is it though t o have like this new median like... you touched on it before and you're talking about your webisodes. It's such a great time for an independent artist, whether a singer or an actor or production company, to have so many avenues to be able to put your work out there without having to go through a major company.
KT: …Or studio. Absolutely, I mean it's really... it's enabling us, this company, to even exist. I mean to have to try to sell through a studio, all your work, is almost impossible to do as most of the actors have found out. This is... we can self distribute. We can get artists, we can get music, we can do... on our new site which is… you'll be able to see the digital technology that we'll be able to... digital downloads and for full length feature shorts and music. So it's absolutely allowing a small company like ours to succeed.
DG: And you're supporting local artists. You've talked a little bit about the artists that you're bringing on board, Bibis Ellison. What's it like for you guys to see somebody like that, that's local, that's your main concern, there in Wilmington, and being able to support them through this company?
HB: You know what? When I worked at MTV, I had to interview a lot of really untalented people. But they knew how to play the game. Right? They knew how to do press. They knew how to wear the right outfit. They knew how to answer questions correctly. They knew who to date. They knew what parties to go to and they were famous for terrible reasons. I think something that is very important to us is that, we find the people that are talented. And if they can play the game? Awesome. If they can't? We'll teach them how. Because there needs to be a cheerleader for the talent that exists in this area, you know. Southern Gothic... our name, Southern Gothic, came from the fact that... Southern Gothic literature, you know, Southern Gothic art, in general, is what inspires us, you know. Our region is one that inspires a beautiful melancholy to it’s art. And whether that's through song or through the written word or through film. I would hate the idea of Southern Gothic artists having to go to New York or LA or some other big hub, in order to be successful. There's no reason why they can't stay here and make their art, and have the spotlight put on them. And so that's our responsibility, that's the job that we're taking on. And something I think we're gonna be really good at.
DG: Talking to all three of you guys, and about the company, and just to kinda close things out for this podcast, tell me what each of you feel about Southern Gothic Productions. What heart, what desire, what is it that just drives you the most and wants to see this succeed besides the fact that it belongs to you guys, but what do you see is gonna drive you to get this, what does it mean to you and what do you think you bring to it and what do you think each of the others bring to it?
HB: Well that's a lot. [everyone agrees] Who wants to go first ?[laughs]
DG: Is that a little too heavy? I'm sorry.
HB: No, not at all. You know what, I think what we've done here is we have created a collection of friends and family, where we trust eachother a great deal. We also have fun with each other. And I think what's great about that is, it's infection. And, you know, whether it's Nick and I staying up, while watching Grey Gardens cracking each other up or, you know, my brother, Billy, coming over this morning or Kelly and I. Kelly goes on dates with me sometimes just to scope out the dudes that I hang out with. You know, we're a team and we're friends and it's fun! And I want anybody who’s at home, who's slightly interested in that, to be a part of the fun and to be entertained along the way. And I love the idea that people leaving our little Internet house with a smile on their face, having had a good time or being made to feel welcome and warm. And it's important to me that we're a feel good company.
DG: Okay, guys, can you add to that?
HB: Yea, top that!
NG: Well I think one of the things that's really important, just in my.. something that I’ve always been searching for. I had it a lot in college, I had people around me that, you know, wanted me to do well. And other people that I like and I've liked to work with and at the end of the day we were able to come up with a product that we liked. And in the past few years, I just haven't really had that. You know, I've been working really hard on my own but then when I got back to Wilmington and started working a little closer with Hilarie and Kelly... you know, the thought that we're able to turn out. I mean it has come, you know, rather naturally. And I think that's really rare. And that's why I think what we're doing is really important.
KT: I agree with you Nick, the creative juice and the flow of our company is the reason I wake up every day and say, 'Hey, this company's ours.'
DG: Right.
KT: And we can do it. We can make things happen. We don't answer to anyone but ourselves. What can we do? How can we make it happen? That's what drives me. Just to be around the creative... Hilarie's creativity, Nick's outstanding writing abilities. And our community here. I mean, I can look at our friends that we work with, and think that maybe we can make an impact in their lives, with this production company. It's what keeps us going.
DG: Well can you give, the listeners here, a peek on what they might see or hear from you guys? What are you guys gonna bring to the table to entertain your community?
HB: We have our short film that a. another local Wilmington artist is doing the score for. And so that should be up in the next couple of weeks. We are rapidly approaching, getting ready to shoot this webseries, but that's kind of a hush hush situation so… I think our fan base is used to us having secrets at this point [laughs] We love secrets! [laughs] Because we love the big reveal! We love the curtain covering it up and then being like bam! Check it out! But we also, you know, I'm going out to LA for meetings about 'Pedestrian' so as we know more on that front, obviously we share it with our community. And then we're putting Bibis in the recording studio! And we're gonna get some of her original stuff put down and put that up for people to check out and support her, you know. She is really wonderful and she's a constant source of entertainment and inspiration for us. We hang out with her all the time, so yeah. There's a lot going on.
DG: How much do you think you guys need to raise for the film and maybe what kind of a ballpark figure you guys have raised so far, with the t-shirts' sales?
HB: The budget of the film is 4.25 million.
DG: Okay.
HB: And when you're selling a film, or when you're raising money for a film, you raise money in chunks, you know. We have chunks that you get from investors. And so you split it up into like 20 chunks, you know, or like 30 chunks or whatever. People buy blocks of the film. And so we're selling these t-shirts, you know, trying to sell as many blocks on our own as possible because then you're not owing to anybody. Then it's just the product and the art. We don't have a number that we can give you on how many we've sold. Because every day it changes, you know. If this was printed in a week. You know, we sell t-shirts every day, so yeah. The movie's 4.2 million. You know, we start off selling these shirts that are autographed, you know, these are the limited edition t-shirts that we're selling right now. They have 'crew' on the sleeve, which is something that won't exist in any of the…
KT: …the reprints.
HB: Yeah, the reprints…
DG: Oh, cool.
HB: So we actually, we'll put it out there right now, we have a lot of the men's sizes left. The women's sizes are being bought up but we have a lot of men's shirts, which I like better, they're really soft. [laughs] I like the man's shirts. Plus there's nothing cuter than wearing, you know, little baby shorts and a big man shirt to sleep in. [laughs] Don't you wanna go to bed with Southern Gothic t-shirts?! I do. You know we're selling that first print of the t-shirt with 'crew' on the sleeve and my autograph. Like I said, I wanna send a thank you to as many people as possible. Because they've been so supportive of us. And then, you know, we'll continue making other things. We're gonna have an unsigned shirt that we'll sell later…
KT: …a women's halter.
HB: Yeah, we were just talking about making tank tops. Kelly does not know the difference between a tank top and a halter top. [Kelly laughs] God bless him, because if he did we'd make fun of him. [laughs] So yea, we're gonna continue to sell things. We're gonna be posting art for you on our website. Whether that's short films you can download... kinda like Amazon or iTunes. You know, we have Bibis's music that we're gonna be putting out there, selling. I compare it to Epsi. Epsi's that website where artists just put up their stuff. And there's no middle man, you know. The artist and then the consumer just work with each other. And that's exactly what we're doing on this. We are putting out our little table with all our little artsy projects on it, and products. And putting it out there for the consumers to buy. So hopefully they like the kind of stuff we're putting out.
KT: We're also gonna reach out to other film makers that haven't got distribution deals, that need to show their films.
HB: Yea I mean we have so many movie maker friends that... you know, while their projects do great at film festivals and get rave reviews, distribution doesn't happen for whatever reason. And so, post it on our website, and we'll sell it to our audience. And if you wanna see something that your friends aren't gonna be able to get in the Blockbuster or. you know, it's not something that's accessible. I know I'm an elitist when it comes to art. I wanna watch the thing that nobody else has watched. And so we're gonna be… we have a little niche carved out, you know. We support the underdog because the underdog is usually the talented one. He's just quiet about it and so we'll be the mouth piece.
DG: And expected filming dates for 'Pedestrian,' that's just when you guys can get everything... all your ducks in a row. Is that correct?
HB: Yea, we're shooting for the fall. And you know, and like I said we all have different things going on that affects schedules and stuff like that but, we're ready to shoot tomorrow. In a perfect world, we'd wake up tomorrow and say, 'roll camera.' So yea, you know, we wanted to do it when the season's right, you know, shootin’... because right now everybody looks kind of sweaty. Yea, you know, when the season's right, when the crew's available, all that kind of stuff. And what's great is that... it's that we're here. So none of that is guesswork, you know. Kelly, Nick and I are here. And no, kind of interworkings of this entire little town. So yeah, hopefully the fall.
DG: This is Denise Gideon closing out the first ever podcast for the Southern Gothic Productions. Hope you guys enjoyed listening to a little bit of information about Southern Gothic Productions [end of Foxes by Bibis fades in] and about Hilarie Burton, Kelly Tenney, and Nick Gray and what their up to and what their future is for this company. So make sure to check back for the second podcast coming soon. And see what new and exciting things Nick, Kelly, and Hilarie are up to.
[Foxes by Bibis fades out]
