More about our conversation with Carolina alum Jeb Stuart (BA English ’78, MA communication studies ’82), writer and director of "Blood Done Sign My Name," an independent film in post-production in L.A. that is based on Tim Tyson’s memoir. Stuart returned to the area in North Carolina where he grew up to film the movie.
Q: How did you begin the process of writing the script?
A: “I had two years of waiting to get the rights to the project. This gave me a lot of valuable time to think about ways of dealing with the challenges of turning a part-memoir, part-scholarly treatise on race in America into a movie. It still took me about 20 drafts.”
Q: How did filming go in North Carolina in summer 2008?
A: “Shelby was really where we ‘made our Oxford.’ When we scouted locations in North Carolina, we looked at about 25 county seats. North Carolina is a beautiful state, but Shelby presented us with about eight out of the 10 criteria [needed for being a good location for the movie.] And Gastonia gave me a place close to Charlotte where I could shoot at historic black churches, and I could use the downtown to stage riots. … We had 14-hour days, but it was terrific to be in North Carolina.”
Q: Why did you choose to do community forums with Tim Tyson during the filming of the movie?
A: “Sometimes it’s intimidating and scary when a movie company comes into town. I wanted to put a face with the project. I also wanted to expose the communities to our crew. I tried to run a very open set, where the community could come and witness what we do, because it’s rare when a movie comes to your town. I wanted to share that experience, to have somebody put the headphones on or see how a camera department works.”
Q: What was it like to work with Tim Tyson on the movie?
A: “It was a terrific experience. There will probably be things Tim cringes about, but I hope when this is all over and done he looks back at it with a feeling of participation. It wouldn’t have been as good of a movie without Tim Tyson’s involvement. One of the best moments I had during this entire experience was after I sent the script to Tim in March. [For awhile], I didn’t hear anything from Tim. Then I got a call one afternoon and he said, “‘I’ve cried and cried. I was so moved.’”
Q: Were you pleased with the cast and crew you were able to attract for the movie?
A: “The talent we were able to bring into the project was tremendous. We assembled a phenomenal crew, and the cast just came out of the woodwork; we were very lucky. We were lucky to get Nate Parker [of “The Great Debaters”] as Ben Chavis and Rick Schroder [of “NYPD Blue,” “24,” “The Champ”] was great as Vernon Tyson. We have a huge number of speaking roles.”
Q: What’s it been like to make a true versus a fictional story?
A: “It’s different when you’re carrying the weight of a true story. But I made it really clear to everyone who worked on the project that I’m not in the business of making a documentary. I’m making a movie.”
