That Evening Sun (2009)

Director:

Scott Teems

Writers:

Scott Teems (screenplay)
William Gay (short story "I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down")

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

I worked too hard. And too long. I aint goin down without a fight.

Plot:

An aging Tennessee farmer returns to his homestead and must confront a family betrayal, the reappearance of an old enemy, and the loss of his farm. |

Plot Keywords:

Tennessee | Farm | Flashback | Dog | Teenager

Awards:

10 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Hal Holbrook	...	Abner Meecham
Ray McKinnon	...	Lonzo Choat
Walton Goggins	...	Paul Meecham
Mia Wasikowska	...	Pamela Choat
Carrie Preston	...	Ludie Choat
Barry Corbin	...	Thurl Chessor
Dixie Carter	...	Ellen Meecham
Barlow Jacobs	...	J.D. the Cabbie
Anthony Reynolds	...	Hollis the Phone Worker
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brian Edward Keith	...	Deputy Keith (as Brian Keith)
Bruce McKinnon	...	Sheriff Roller
William J. Mode	...	Deputy Davies
Jacob Parkhurst	...	Steve Goodwin Jr.

Directed by
Scott Teems

Writing credits
Scott Teems		(screenplay)
William Gay		(short story "I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down")

Produced by
Terence Berry	....	producer
Raul Celaya	....	executive producer (as Raul L. Celaya)
Walton Goggins	....	producer
Adrian Jay	....	executive producer
Larsen Jay	....	executive producer
Ray McKinnon	....	producer
Anthony Reynolds	....	associate producer
Jeanine Rohn	....	co-producer
Jeanine Rohn	....	line producer
Laura D. Smith	....	producer
Michael Twardy	....	segment producer
Brandon Ward	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Michael Penn

Cinematography by
Rodney Taylor		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Travis Sittard

Casting by
Emily Schweber

Production Design by
Mara LePere-Schloop

Set Decoration by
Kelly Anne Ross

Costume Design by
Alexis Scott

Makeup Department
Mary Young Everett	....	key hair stylist
Laura Godwin	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Raul Celaya	....	executive in charge of production (as Raul L. Celaya)
Kim T. Le	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ian Campbell	....	second second assistant director
Kim McCray	....	second assistant director
Jim Simone	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Rachel Boulden	....	art department coordinator
Rachel Boulden	....	set decoration buyer
Rachel Boulden	....	art department coordinator: set decoration department
John Gajda	....	set dresser and swing
Frank Gray III	....	property master
Matt Hodges	....	construction foreman
Carianne Lance	....	assistant property master
Jim Prodger	....	leadman
Eric Brice Swartz	....	lead scenic artist (as Eric Swartz)
Eric Brice Swartz	....	on set dresser (as Eric Swartz)

Sound Department
Tim Chilton	....	foley artist
Paul B. Clay	....	supervising sound editor
Bob Costanza	....	sound effects editor
Penny Harold	....	dialogue editor
Jim Hawkins	....	sound mixer
Steve Kinsey	....	sound mixing technician
Ethan Payne	....	boom operator
Drew Ponder	....	boom operator
Carl Rudisill	....	sound mixer
David Torres	....	foley mixer
Ben Whitver	....	adr mixer
Sid Williams	....	additional sound mixer (as Sidney Williams)

Special Effects by
Lisa Reynolds	....	effects assistant
Bob Shelley	....	special effects coordinator
Randy Southerland	....	effects assistant

Stunts
JoAnn Bernat	....	stunt double: Carrie Preston (2009)
Bob Fisher	....	stunt double
Jacob Parkhurst	....	stunts
Susan Saddler	....	stunt double: Mia Wasikowska
Lonnie R. Smith Jr.	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Aycock	....	grip
Katherine Bomboy	....	still photographer
Gary W. Brooks	....	additional grip (as Gary Brooks)
Darrell Brown	....	additional electric
Ron Clifford	....	electric
Jared Coatney	....	additional electric
Jim Conn	....	third electric
Cooper Dunn	....	"b" camera operator
Cooper Dunn	....	camera operator
Cooper Dunn	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Chris Durfee	....	grip
Ramon Engle	....	Steadicam operator
Tracy Facelli	....	second assistant camera
Gray Hemphill	....	additional camera loader
Gray Hemphill	....	additional second assistant camera
Roger Herron	....	additional electric
Kenneth Howard	....	best boy grip
Tad Howard	....	best boy grip
Gary Johnson	....	best boy electric
Daniel Murphy	....	gaffer
Doug Oh	....	first assistant camera
John Stewart	....	additional grip
Dustin Tate	....	key grip
Manny Villegas	....	additional grip

Casting Department
Michelle Babin	....	casting assistant
Jen Levy	....	casting associate
Jennifer Levy	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Celeste Dye	....	set costumer
Amira Inas	....	additional costumer
Nancy Jones	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Tyler L. Cook	....	assistant editor
Harry Muller	....	color timer

Music Department
Linda Cohen	....	music supervisor
Alistair South	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Chelsea Summer Bledsoe	....	pass van driver
Ciara Skye Bledsoe	....	driver
Doug Bledsoe	....	driver: honeywagon
E. Michael Bledsoe	....	additional driver
Ron Bledsoe	....	transportation coordinator
Sam Johnson	....	driver
Timothy E. Roberts	....	driver
Katrinka Steele	....	additional driver
David Whitsell	....	additional driver
Kenny Wright	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Zack Ballard	....	cast production assistant
Jim Dobson	....	publicist
Andrew Dunlap	....	office production assistant
Judy Geletko	....	post-production accountant
William Q. Horton	....	office production assistant
Ben Jay	....	set production assistant
Rachel E. Kaufman	....	production assistant intern
Brian Edward Keith	....	on-set medic (as Brian Keith)
Bryan Meyers	....	first assistant accountant
Mary Beth Roberts	....	location manager
Chelsea Samples	....	associate production office coordinator
Tyler Sheldon	....	production secretary
Shari Sontag	....	key production accountant
John P. Stepleton	....	key set production assistant
Greg Tresan	....	head animal wrangler
Penny Walker	....	medic
Mari Wilson	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Justin Bell	....	special thanks
Perry Gibson	....	special thanks
Rebecca Green	....	special thanks
Zeke Lopez	....	special thanks
Nathan Lux	....	special thanks
Gisela Moore	....	special thanks
Vicki Peterson	....	special thanks
Bob Raines	....	special thanks
Michael R. Williams	....	special thanks (as Michael Williams)

Production Companies

• Dogwood Entertainment (presents)
• Ginny Mule Pictures (in association with)

Distributors

• Image Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2010) (Canada) (DVD)
• Freestyle Releasing (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Lightnin' Production Rentals  transportation equipment
• Sessions Payroll Management  extras payroll services
• Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission  special thanks

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some violence, sexual content and thematic elements

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45107)

Filming Locations:

Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Dogwood Entertainment

Trivia:

Dixie Carter's final film appearance.

Quotes:

Abner Meecham:Ha! Folks in hell will be eating Eskimo Pies before Lonzo Choat hauls me anywhere.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Maltin on Movies: The Romantics (#1.6)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

Depression Era

Hal Holbrook is a treasure. So is this film.

I've been looking forward to "That Evening Sun" for a while now, and not just because it was shot in the county and surrounding towns where I live here in Tennessee.

My anticipation was largely because of Hal Holbrook, an iconic performer I have seen in his one-man "Mark Twain Tonight!" stage show, and who appears in occasional guest shots on TV where things must move very fast, and less often in film, where things are allowed to proceed at a more measured pace.

I was not disappointed, the character study of Abner Meechum, the refugee from an old folks' home and renegade on his own property is rich, complex, and satisfying throughout. Admittedly it may not be a big stretch for Holbrook to play a cranky 80-year-old, but that doesn't lessen the impact of the performance at all.

Surrounding him is a cast of surprisingly strong players: the antagonist Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon) is an especially worthy and believable opponent, and supporting cast Pamela and Ludie Choat (Mia Wasikowska and Carrie Preston) likewise hit just the right notes, tugging this farm county family drama at precisely the right pace. I especially enjoyed Barry Corkin, perfect in the Wilfred Brimley-esquire good neighbor role, and a special mention for the cameo by Dixie Carter, Hal Holbrook's wife in the movie as well as in real life.

Where I saw the film, at a packed 1pm matinée, the audience laughed at several of the moments, self-reflective as they were of Tennessee rural life. I don't know that they would garner that kind of introspective appreciation in other parts of the country, but here, people know their country folk and can laugh with, rather than at them.

"That Evening Sun" is a simple yarn: Abner tires of life in a retirement home and returns to the farm he and his deceased wife occupied for most of their lives, only to find it occupied by a neer-do-well, but one with a property lease Abner's "guardian son" has approved. The story is more than the tug-of-war between owner and lessor, it is between hard-working- older and layabout younger, and between lives at noon and the sundown that inevitably follows. Taken from William Gay's short stories of Southern life, "I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down," it's the unraveling of a proud man in the twilight, as his own sun is setting, and his fight with the oncoming night.

Hal Holbrook is a treasure. So is this film. It's Indie with a capital "I", an armful of festival awards, and, one hopes, a long run ahead.