Eric Anderson left a comment on the review of August: Osage County that I wrote in November. He's a graphic designer and marketing specialist in Chicago, as well as a screenwriter. Among his current projects is a feature film, Ink, adapted with director Scott Smith from the book Rumor Has It by Chicago newspaperman Charles Dickinson.
If you've seen August: Osage County you know what an amazing performance Deanna Dunagan gives as pill-popping, acid-tongued matriarch Violet Weston, pictured above. And you've been enthralled by playwright Tracy Letts' terrific dialogue. Well, here's a chance to see Dunagan and Letts in another project - this time, in Smith and Anderson's film. They're joined in a short clip by fellow Steppenwolf ensemble member Jim True-Frost.
Here's the comment Anderson left: "Just prior to the play's opening at Steppenwolf in Chicago, I had the opportunity as the writer of an independent film to work with both Tracy Letts and Deanna Dunagan on a few scenes from the film. Deanna plays Muff Greene, the head of editorial for a failing newspaper, and Tracy plays Jack Derringer, the paper's publisher. Jim True-Frost fills out the cast as Danny Fain, a reporter who decides to turn a tragedy into a news story for his own benefit."
A clip from the movie is available at Fulton Market Films. Just click on the directors link, then click on Scott Smith's name, and look for "feature film excerpt - Ink" on the right-hand side.
I enjoyed getting a small taste of what Dunagan would be like in another role. And while I've heard that Letts is a great actor as well as a great writer, I'd never seen him act, expect for a few lines in a Seinfeld episode. So it was really interesting to watch them, along with another member of the incredibly talented Steppenwolf troupe. I hope someday I'll get to see the completed version.
6 comments:
Fabulous. A trace of Deanna's West Texas accent is there too.
Glad you enjoyed it. I thought it was pretty interesting to see Deanna in another role. I'll have to listen again to see if I can catch the accent!
The accent is obvious to me, because my people back in West Texas sound like her. It's distinctive. A lot of people think that Texans have a southern accent. Some do, but those are the folks way east and southeast...then you get some who are all mixed up like Laura Bush because she's from Midland, TX but lived in Houston for a number of years (listen to her say July and that's West Texas, but the rest is a mix). I don't have much of an accent but I can turn it on when I want, i.e., we moved to West Texas when I was about to turn TIN (10)and that where I was fixin to learn to write with an ink PIN but I didn't know how to go FUTHER to change the OHL in the car before there was an engine FAR. (Okay, goofy, but still...)
Well thanks for the explanation. Now I know what to listen for!
TRacy Lett's is a very good actor. I 've seen him in several Plays.
Thanks for the comment, Anonymous. I hope this movie does get finished so I can see him on the big screen.
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