Screamfest LA 2016 Exclusive: Director Simon Rumley Talks Los Angeles Premiere of Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word; Exclusive Clip and Stills
Sean Decker
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With filmmaker Simon Rumley’s horror thriller feature Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word set for its Los Angeles premiere Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 7:00pm at Screamfest LA, read on for our exclusive chat with the director, and then have a look at the trailer and some stills!
Produced by Peter Facinelli and Rob DeFranco and executive produced by Adam Goldworm from a script by Ben Ketai, Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word stars Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints), Erin Cummings (Bitch Slap) and Mike Doyle, and revolves around a young death row inmate executed for his crimes who leaves behind him a curse letter, promising vengeance for all those connected to his unfair trial.
Rooted in reality (Johnny Frank Garrett was executed on February 11, 1992 by the state of Texas for the rape and murder of 76-year old Sister Tadea Benz, a crime for which Garrett unwaveringly professed his innocence), Rumley, chatting with us from his native England, stated of his attachment to the film, “I was brought on board as a director-for-hire by producer Frank Mancuso Jr. The film is also produced by actor Facinelli who had first seen the amazing documentary (on Johnny Frank Garrett) The Last Word by Jesse Quackenbush, which he optioned.”
”Quackenbush is by trade a lawyer,” continued Rumley, “so his documentary focuses more on the legal improprieties of Johnny Frank Garrett’s trial, which makes for fascinating, shocking and ultimately incredibly sad viewing. It’s a condensed and older version of but similar to (the 2015 Netflix series) “Making a Murderer” on Stephen Avery. Due to the fact that Johnny Frank Garrett wrote a curse on his death bed, after which people involved in his death started dying, our film became more about the curse than the legal issues and unfair trial that he was subjected to. I think Tony wrote the very first draft, Ben the second and then Marc came in and wrote the shooting script. Ultimately I had no creative say over the shooting script, which was a new experience for me.”
Rumley, who in the past has delivered some powerhouse independent cinema (notably 2010’s feature festival darling Red, White & Blue), further commented on what attracted him to the material, “Well, Johnny’s story is an incredible and, as above, a very sad one. It’s basically about a kid who got railroaded by the system and whose family weren’t rich enough to challenge it, the end result of which was Johnny’s premature death by lethal injection. At the time, Pope John Paul II even wrote to the Governor of Texas, Anne Richards, asking for a stay of execution which was rejected.”
“It’s an incredible story and bears similarities to other documentaries about similar injustices such as West of Memphis and Werner Herzog’s Into The Abyss. (And) although this was always intended as a horror/thriller, I was hoping the film would allow the genre to go further into an exploratory direction in terms of the injustices of the situation. Although this didn’t happen as much as I would have liked, if nothing else, I hope this film will bring Johnny’s plight to a wider audience and that anyone who watches it will remember that Johnny Frank Garrett was a real person, and that they will further investigate this real person’s life and death.”
As for any similarities to his grittily written and directed Red, White & Blue, Rumley offered, “I’m not sure that it’s very similar at all, (though) that said, both films were shot, edited and cast by the same people: Milton Kam, Rob Hall and Karen Halford respectively – all people who are great friends and collaborators and who I hope to carry on working with.”
“Sean was great,” the filmmaker offered, when queried regarding his onset working relationship with star Flanery, “although in reality we didn’t spend that much time together off set. He arrived when we were already shooting in Shreveport so we didn’t have much time to discuss the role or toss ideas back and forth. But he’s obviously got a wealth of experience behind him, so I pretty much let him run with the role which is, in my experience, generally the best way to get a great performance from an actor. So, for example, one scene in a Lawyers Private Members type club, he was keen for his character to eat meatballs so we got him some meatballs and the way he eats them is a really great reflection of who his character is. Sean came to set, knew all his lines and did them again and again with no fuss and always word for word perfect, so he was a pleasure to work with and did a great job.”
“One thing I haven’t told anyone else,” revealed Rumley, “is that the stunt towards the end of the film where he flies over the desk he did himself. He said he wanted to do the stunt so we let him, not quite sure what to expect. We called, “Action,” and he literally did a backward flip over the desk and disappeared, and for a brief moment, everyone was like, “Where’s Sean!?” And then he stood up from behind the desk completely unscathed, and it was a bit of a, “Bloody hell!” moment. It was very impressive, and it was the take we used in the final cut.”
Pertaining to actor Devin Bonnee, cast to portray the titular role (and who’s also been tapped for Rumley’s next film Fashionista), “Devin did an amazing audition and, actually, at the time, looked uncannily like the real Johnny,” said Rumley. “We cast him immediately and I was super impressed by how he immersed himself in the role, managing to really take on an uncanny resemblance to Johnny during his trial. A testament to this was when Johnny Frank Garrett’s sister first saw a picture of Devin playing her brother in the film, and she said she almost burst into tears, (as) the likeness was so similar.”
“I try to work with people again who I’ve already worked and when writing my new film (Fashionista) I wrote a role specifically for Devin,” continued the filmmaker, ”(as) a kind hearted vagrant. It’s a completely different role but he has a real dignity and heart. He was also in Richard Linklater’s last film, Everybody Wants Some, as the Mad Hatter.”
“I think the most important thing with this film,” concluded Rumley of Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, “is that all the characters in it are based on real people, with the exception of the fictional juror, Adam Redman and his family. But Johnny Frank Garrett lived and breathed and his family; his mother, two sisters and various nephews, nieces, etc., all came to see the film at SXSW. I was nervous about how they were going to receive it because although it is ultimately very sympathetic to his causes, the film is still a genre film which plays up those elements of the story. I was really relieved that they loved the film, and therefore his sisters came up on stage at one of the screenings to talk about Johnny and their memory of him and their hopes that his name will one day be cleared. I think all involved in the project felt likewise, and anyone who sees the film and likes it can do more research on the case, and help keep his name alive.”
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