Thursday, 04/10/08
Actors, crew approach Graham movie reverently
By BEVERLY KEEL
As warm sunlight sneaks around the window blinds and brings a sparkle to the dust floating in the air, a fresh-faced, wide-eyed Billy Graham sits alone at the end of a long conference table in a Nashville prison.
At the other end, and in many ways miles and years away, the towering religious figure Bob Jones bellows, "God gave me this position, not your mama, and I'm doing his work." After a few more emotional words are exchanged, the conversation is over.
"Cut," says ponytailed director Robby Benson, bringing an end to a scene shot Wednesday for the Billy Graham biopic that's being filmed in Nashville, Lebanon and Watertown.
The glistening dust was enhanced by a haze machine; the spectacular lighting is no accident. No detail is too small to be overlooked by the crew driven to maintain authenticity in the telling of the story.
Indeed, the older Graham is played by Nashville's Bill Graham, the famed preacher's first cousin and a preacher himself.
Actor captures nuances
Graham fans should be pleased with the casting of Armie Hammer, the great-grandson of industrialist/philanthropist Armand Hammer, as a young Graham. He bears a strong resemblance to the preachera stylist spent about two hours shaping Hammer's hair to resemble Graham's wavy locksand he's committed to capturing Graham's accent, movements and motivation.
"They've never made a movie about this guy, and beyond any sort of spiritual reasons or anything like that, he is really an iconic figure of the 20th century," Hammer said.
"He's gone places and done things that no one else has been able to do, and he can do it all with such grace. From an acting standpoint, that is such a difficult role to try to emulate.
"I've been going to church and reading my Bible and doing a lot of other spiritual work to get in that right headspace to even start to play someone like Billy Graham."
Hammer spent hours studying videos of Graham's sermons.
"One of the main things about Billy Graham is his gestures, his movements, the way he used his body just as much as his voice when he spoke."
Turner jumped at role
On Wednesday, country singer Josh Turner filmed his role as singer George Beverly Shea.
"He was a force to be reckoned with in gospel music, and still is," Turner said. "When they said they wanted me to do this part, and I found out it was only one or two lines, I said, 'Hey, I'll do it.' "
Before his scene, Turner wasn't nervous. "I know if I screw up, we can do it again," he joked.
While the vacant West Nashville prison has provided the backdrop for movies like Robert Redford's The Last Castle andJohn Frankenheimer's Against the Wall, it seemed like an unlikely setting for Billy: The Early Years, which recounts the conversion and early struggles of the world's most famous preacher.
But the crew bypassed the prison cells for third-floor offices, where each room was converted into a different scene.
Shooting is on schedule
This is the second week of shooting, which runs through May 10. Last week, Martin Landau, who plays Graham mentor Charles Templeton, shot his scenes with Jennifer O'Neill.
"We are on schedule and everything is perfect," said producer Larry Mortorff. "We are really pleased with everything even the weather is cooperating. On the days that it's rained, we were inside."
There's a sense on the set that this film is more than a movie, the work is bigger than the crew itself.
"It's like this is a message that he continued to get out his entire life," Hammer said. "Now that he is getting older and he can't get the message out, we're doing it for him.
"We're taking his story and his message and staying very true to that and getting it out."