OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) - Filmmaker Rusty Cundieff said his latest project, “White Water,” is comparable to the 1994 film “Forrest Gump” in a specific way.
Cundieff, who will begin shooting “White Water” in Opelika and the surrounding area starting Monday, said that in the same way “Forrest Gump” was a story about a naïve person in a complicated world, “White Water” deals with a 9-year-old black child dealing with racial tension in the South in the 1960s.
“What really struck me reading the script was that there was a point of view that I had never seen in a film before, which is the child’s point of view in what segregation was and what racism was back then.” Cundieff said. “Because it’s through his eyes, a lot of the meanness that you see in some of the other movies that deal with this period is just not there in that way.”
The film is based on the book “White Water,” which was written by Eric Stein and Michael Bandy, who grew up in Opelika and based the story on his own childhood there.
“I thought it was a different take on the period that you don’t normally see because it didn’t come from an angry place,” Cundieff said, comparing it to other films dealing with race issues. “There’s some serious stuff, but there is a lot of humor.”
Leading up to production, Cundieff and the film crew spent nearly two months scouting locations and setting up an office at The Train Depot on South Railroad Avenue in Opelika. Producer Dwayne Johnson-Cochran said the city has been very accommodating to the crew.
“In the last month, we’ve had so much cooperation from the people here,” Johnson-Cochran said. “We really feel that this story, which took place here so many years ago, was apropos to be shot here and we’re just very happy that the town has welcomed us so well.”
Johnson Cochran said the film would utilize several locations in the area, including the historic district of Opelika, as well as parts of Waverly and the courthouse in Lafayette.
“We’re doing everything we can for our budget to make this film look like 1962,” Johnson-Cochran said.
Cundieff said it was very important to Bandy and him that the film be shot in Opelika, although for a time, locations in Mississippi and Louisiana were considered.
“A lot of film is based on where, economically, it makes sense which always is not exactly what creatively makes sense,” Cundieff said. “Ultimately, we became very fortunate that the economic logic and creative logic joined forces and we ended up here in Opelika, which is great.”
Johnson-Cochran said the film would feature the bus civil rights activist Rosa Parks was arrested on in Dec. 1, 1955 in Montgomery when she refused to sit in the black section of the bus. The bus is currently on exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
“It’s a treasure to have that bus here,” Johnson-Cochran said. “It’s a national monument and we’re honored to have it.”
The main role will be played by twin brothers Amari and Amir O’Neal. Other principal actors include Sharon Leal, Larenz Tate and Barry “Shabaka” Henley.
“You don’t watch the name, you watch the performance, and I think we have some very strong performances in this,” Cundieff said.
Cundieff said despite the smaller financial scope of the film, he always considers the story first.
“I’m not a person that believes that money trumps the story that you are trying to tell,” Cundieff said. “This story could be done with a much bigger budget with much bigger stars, but I don’t know that it would be better because it’s really about the story, the actors and what they bring to it.”
Ultimately, Cundieff hopes the film will tell a story that everyone can relate to.
“I hope it’s something that Opelika and the towns can be proud of see it as a positive look at where we’ve come from and, more importantly, where we are now, which I think is a good place,” Cundieff said.
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Information from: Opelika-Auburn News, https://www.oanow.com/
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