Hey, friends! Barbarella here. The mystery-thriller, GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS, comes out tomorrow in theaters, and on demand and digital. In the film, a young doctor (Thomas Hobson) is summoned to a remote town in post-Civil War Arkansas and discovers the seemingly idealistic town not only has its secrets, but also a menacing, supernatural presence surrounds it.
It's the interesting mix of characters that appealed to me, and I had the delight of speaking with one of the co-writers, Tara Perry, who also played my favorite character. Check it out.
I always find it kind of interesting, the labels that people put on their films: horror, drama, period piece. I think with GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS, I went in expecting it was going to be a little creepier and more haunted, but that's not really what this film is. To me, it's more like an interesting study of human nature that feels far more grounded in reality than I was anticipating. How would you categorize it?
“That's a pretty spot on description, right there. I really think of it more as a thriller, because it really does make you think along the way, the whole time. I mean, I've just been watching so many thrillers lately. I've just been so into them. But yeah, even a horror/thriller seems like it should be scarier than it is, but that's kind of what I categorize it as, a horror/thriller.”
Okay. You said you've been watching a lot of thrillers lately. What have you been watching?
“I've been down the rabbit hole on the Netflix nineties thrillers. I think it started with Identity, and then I just went from there; it just kept recommending stuff, and I was like, "Yeah, that'll do, that'll do.”"
Netflix gets you that way.
“They do. I know. I like to curse algorithms, but then again, I'm like, "But you are giving me exactly what I want.”"
You co-wrote this with Jordan Wayne Long. Who came up with the idea originally, and what was the inspiration?
“The idea came from when Jordan was little. He's from a town in Arkansas called Bald Knob. I'm from Jonesboro, about an hour and a half away. But in Bald Knob, it's at the base of the Ozark Mountains, in the folklore up there, there were these groups of vigilantes called the Bald Knobbers that were active in the 1840's, 1860's.
“The story always creeped Jordan out when he was younger, and it stuck with him that this group of people policing this town, without any remorse or control, what that could lead to. So that was really the inspiration for the proof-of-concept. And it changed from there a little bit. But there's definitely some of those initial inspirations, even down to the horns. The Bald Knobbers, you look them up, they made these homemade masks, and they have these really big horns on them. They're quite scary.
“In 2016, Jordan and Matt were looking for actors. Jordan asked me, "Do you know any actors in Arkansas that can ride horses?" Jordan and I had worked together. I had done a short film for him and Matt's company the year before. That was the first time we met. The second time meeting, I was like, "Well, I can ride horses if you ever want me to be in your movie." Basically, just saying, "I'll do it."
“Then he actually called me the next day and said, "You know, Matt and I talked about it. I think that's a great idea. Do you have anyone else in mind?" I said, "Well, Tommy," because Tommy's such a good friend of mine, and he loves going to Arkansas with me. We flew out that fall and filmed the proof-of-concept, and then Jordan started writing a feature film and sending us pages to read along the way, and he asked for notes and stuff. I just sent notes and ideas back and forth, and eventually he said, "Do you want to write this with me?" I guess my ideas were pretty good.
“We ended up writing the feature together in the fall of 2016. Oh gosh, we filmed so many things in the interim. A lot of shorts, some documentaries, another feature. We got married in 2019 after we filmed 12 Hour Shift. Jordan is the production designer, as well, and he started building the town of Norfork in the fall of 2019 to get prepared to shoot the next summer.
“The story changed from their idea of the proof-of-concept for when I forced my way into the film. They changed the characters around. Casting Tommy, Jordan was like, "I really have a different idea of where I can go with the feature." When we started writing that, it turned accordingly."
Annie is my favorite character in this. Who wrote the bulk of her dialogue?
“Oh gosh, thanks. Oh, thank you so much. I guess it was pretty evenly split. When we were writing dialogue, we would play the scene out a bit, and I loved improvising, so we would improvise dialogue and see where it would go. I feel like that's how we captured a lot of Annie's dialogue. She's just so quick and with it and in control. Typically you don't have a woman in a leadership role in the 1860's, especially in Arkansas. But I love that that doesn't hold Annie back. She says exactly what she wants to say.”
I was wondering, because I just assumed you knew you were going to play her, so you wrote her extra cool.
“Yeah, yeah. That too. I was like, "Man, I haven't gotten to play a character like this. What else do I want to be able to say?" Or I would love to kick some ass in this film, if I can. And I did. So that was fun.”
Yeah. She was definitely a fun character. Would you share one story from the set that you feel best represents your overall experience working on the film?
“Wow. We shot in the height of the pandemic, in June and July of 2020. Everyone, cast and crew, were all so respectful and devoted to keeping everyone safe that I think it's a testament to the set itself and the filmmakers – Jordan, Matt and I – that we presented a set that was friendly and welcoming and safe. And it was somewhere that everyone felt really comfortable and happy to be at for two months.
“Two weeks after we wrapped, after everyone got home, we all celebrated because we made it through the entire production, no illnesses, no sicknesses, whatsoever. I think that's the memory that really lasts and stands out for this film because we didn't know if we were going to be able to make it happen, and we pulled it off with everyone being safe.
“I know that’s not really a story from the filming, because it was a little bit every day, but I think it's a testament to people's work ethic on the film and their desire to be a part of a project that they felt was going to do something.”
What was the best career advice you've ever received?
“Wow. Just to keep doing it. There's going to be times in your career where it feels like a lull. Is it in your control? Is it completely out of your control? But just to keep doing what you're doing. I was discouraged from writing at one point, but I knew that I was good at it, and I knew that I really enjoyed it, and other people seemed to enjoy it. So just continue to push through and do it.
“I think that can be in all aspects. I just read an article about ten actors who got their start later in life. People even asked me, “I'd love to do what you're doing, but I'm forty.” And I'm like, “Do it. You can absolutely do it now, absolutely. If you're doing it with the right intention, just keep on going. Be tenacious.””
With writing, what is your process? Do you schedule time to write, or do you wait until you're inspired? Do you have a routine?
“[I’m not] an I-need-to-write-two-hours-daily-to-feel-like-a-writer type of writer. If I'm inspired, I can't wait to write and open up my laptop and click away. But I feel like there's so many other aspects to writing that is other than just putting your pen to the paper or your fingers to the keyboard. Thinking, using meditation, trying to find new ideas, watching other shows to get inspired, going to theater, all of those things also make me feel like a writer, because I'm constantly using my own creativity to think of a story that I would love to see. I love the genre films, and I'm like, "You know what I've never seen? I've never seen a genre film that does this." And I'm like, “Well, why don't you write it?”
“That's how I like to write. When I am inspired, I typically will sit down and be able to get enough out on the paper that it wouldn't be shooting-draft ready, but close enough that you just need to polish it. I think that's also something good not to focus too much on the same script over and over and over, perfecting it.
“It's almost like, if you have so many ideas, just get them all out. That's how I've been the last few years, and it's worked out so far. I guess at some point, I might have to have a schedule to where I do write a certain amount of hours, but I'm not held down by, “Oh, I didn't write enough words.” Or I was supposed to write twenty pages, and I didn't. It's okay. I get it out when I get it out.”
You can see Tara Perry, Thomas Hobson (That Girl Lay Lay), Phil Morris (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock), Tim Blake Nelson (Old Henry), Angela Bettis (Girl Interrupted) and David Arquette (ScreamFranchise) in GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS starting tomorrow in theaters, and on demand and digital. Check out the trailer.
