'Redneck Roots' to screen at Kannapolis' Modern Film Fest

None — Let's face it, with the economy in the trash and movies coming out to talk about layoffs, there is a definite a spot in people's hearts for a light hearted, farcical comedy.

That was the mentality that went into creating, "Redneck Roots," which was written and directed by Joanne Hock and produced by the Charlotte-based Emulsion Arts production company.

"I think I was tired of the recession. We were tired of the recession. We wanted to laugh. We just wanted to be silly and change things up. We had another film, a dramatic narrative project ready to go about a mill closing the doors and putting an entire town out of work," Hock said. "But we thought, 'who wants to see that right now?' This Redneck comedy was a refreshing change for me and the entire Emulsion gang had fun in the film's creation. It's a wisecrack comedy gone south."

"Redneck Roots" plays at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at Modern Film Fest at the historic Gem Theatre in Kannapolis, N.C. Tickets are just $4 each and Hock is scheduled to be in attendance at the screening.

"Redneck Roots" tells the story of Chris Dowdy, a beautiful young woman, who has always been ashamed of her kissin' cousin redneck past. So when her sister's high school graduation calls her home, she covers up the truth, lies and leaves the big city and her boyfriend behind in a gigantic fib.

Unbeknownst to Chris, her jealous boyfriend, Ben, takes off in hot pursuit after his true love into the deep South. Nothing could prepare Ben for the oddball, off-kilter loveable kin and townspeople of Beaver County. Nothing.

A sexy sister, a Mamma that loves Jesus and a Daddy that loves the "juice" sets the tone as a funny foul-mouthed grandmother, a tight knit group of backyard bubbas, storekeepers, police officers set off rapid-fire one liners all day long. A radio deejay with irritable bowel and Tourette's Syndrome rounds out the amusing cast of characters that keeps us laughing.

"Redneck Roots" is truly a romantic comedy gone south; full of heart, butt cracks, wisecracks and pull-my-finger fun!

And audiences may be surprised to learn that when it comes to the characters that inhabit the movie, truth is stranger than fiction.

"One of my Emulsion Arts business partners, Lisa Gergely went to a wedding in West Virginia. She came back with some stupidly absurd stories," Hock said. "We had a lot of 'Yuk Yuk' and 'Nu-uhhh' moments. Like, 'Nuhhh uhhh, Did that really happen?' The idea just snowballed from there. Rednecks make for a lot of funny!"

Hock's own past helped flesh out many of the characters as well.

"I have absurd friends, quirky neighbors and colleagues and they all served as sources for the material. And ironically, a UNC Chapel Hill college professor inspired me for some of the Bowel movement humor," Hock said. "Then throw in a couple of redneck sorority sisters (is that an oxymoron?) that were cute, funny, sassy and very country and you've got some personality oddballs to build a story around!"

But don't think Hock aimed to make fun of anyone. She is proud of her past and the people from hr life.

"I think the actors and crew LOVED the characters and really bought into what I wanted to do with the story. We never made fun of anyone...we were paying homage...to cultural differences. My art department and wardrobe department really paid homage to the characters," Hock said. "When we made the movie we wanted our cast to be loved by the audience. So the film was produced with ' wink' at the viewers and a sense of lightheartedness. We will laugh at us and they'll laugh back. There was a lot of that on the set and I think it translated to the screen."

It also translated off screen as well. With such a fun script the cast and crew often had trouble keeping a straight face while filming.

"Well, GOD bless Jeff Hamrick who played Darrell Pigg. He's a funny guy anyway but he had to do some pretty ridiculous things for his character. Like spending an entire day on a toilet." Hock said. "I'd call, 'CUT!' and turn around and the entire crew would just bust out laughing. And sometimes even in the middle of takes I'd see the crew shaking with laughter trying to hold it and I'd think to myself, 'good, good! This is good.'"

Hock said she also had a great cast to carry out the zany personalities.

"Well Dean Napolitano (Ben) is a hottie, so I had fun directing him. He and Jeff Hamrick (Darrell) were very physical with their humor and their interactions," Hock said. "That was refreshing for me to be able to work with them, block action, use stedicam camera work to chase them around and have that sort of comedic energy translate to the screen."

Despite the humor, Hock said there is a message mixed in with the laughs.

"I hope that after seeing the film they realize that down deep inside we're all pretty much alike and that we should embrace one another.... whatever our differences are," she said. "And a side note...a little bit of southern hospitality goes a long way."

Hock also talked about her background in film, getting, "Redneck Roots" off the ground and upcoming projects.

MFF: What's it going to be like screening, "Redneck Roots" at the Gem Theatre and what is your personal connection to the theatre?

HOCK: "I love The Gem. It is a special place and it is the inspiration behind the film that we have in development now."

"When I was a child I heard my grandfather tell countless stories of the old Hollywood days and how the movie theatre business ran. The Gem reminds me of my grandfather and I can't wait to tell this story. It will pay homage to my family and to the south. Southern stories are the best."

MFF: What were some of your best experiences working on this film?

HOCK: "Every day was a joy. We were filming 12 hours a day in 90+-degree heat, sweating and laughing."

"I think watching the crew just give there all day after day put a smile on my face. I've never seen people work that hard or laugh that much in all my career."

"We also filmed on my birthday. That was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. I had a great cast, a great crew and an incredibly great day."

MFF: What were some of the most challenging aspects about working on this movie?

HOCK: "I guess lack of money. What can you do when you don't have any? I think our producers were very resourceful. Lisa Gergely got us some great cars from Mercedes Benz of South Charlotte. Two of the picture cars cost more than the entire film's budget."

"Perry's Jewelry loaned us exquisite custom pieces. One of the necklaces that Heather Gilliland (Chris) wore was worth $250,000!"

"Man, if we could have sold that we could have doubled the production budget! We also got us some great food from Bojangles and that helped when we had big crowd scenes and a hundred people to feed."

MFF: How did you grow as a filmmaker working on this movie?

HOCK: "I learned to trust my instinct. Trust that the process is working and be a really, really good communicator."

"Another thing that I learned is to surround yourself with really, really good people. Good producers, good editors, good musicians, good talent. Hire people that are smarter than you...then you're in a good place."

MFF: What has been some of the best advice you have received as a filmmaker?

HOCK: "If you want to do this it won't happen overnight. It takes Inspiration, perspiration, perseverance and patience."

MFF: How have people responded to the movie and what have been some surprises for you during screenings of, "Redneck Roots?"

HOCK: "Well it really is just being completed. So we've done a lot of rough-cut screenings to get feedback and work out the bugs. Some of the earlier cuts were too over the top so we 'tempered' the sound design and re-edited what didn't work based on feedback."

"Robin Grey, my producer was on site during these focus sessions to 'listen' and react to our audience. That was helpful to have a producer with that sort of experience to be able to come in and arm wrestle with me and say...'Joanne, you gotta cut this. It is not working.'"

"As a director you fall in love with everything ...so you need someone who is objective to offer a more 'show business' side. Now after months of work, give and take and pure diligence, I think we're there."

"Everyone that sees the movie...says that the movie has HEART. I had one woman tell me that she laughed her make up off. And her friend sitting with her said she cried her make up off. That's so GREAT! If we're getting those kinds of reactions...we did do something right."

WSOC