“A new preacher (Shea Whigham) rolls into a small town in rural Texas. Though he’s quiet and cagey, his sermons strike a chord with the congregation. But is he really who he says he is? The local police chief (Michael Shannon) aims to find out, especially after a body is discovered in the abandoned quarry outside of town. THE QUARRY is a Texas fable, a suspense-filled story of crime and punishment, a slow-burn search for redemption.” Director Scott Teems on THE QUARRY which screens at the 2020 edition of SxSW Film.
Editor’s Note: While SxSW was officially cancelled on March 6th, 2020, the below interview was one of many that already took place prior to the festival. To respect the creators, all already performed interviews are presented in their unedited entirety below. All of the below works WILL make their way out into the world in one way or another, and we will update this article with updated information when we have it. — JW
You are back at SxSW this year! Tell me about what you have had here in the past, and your favourite aspects of the city.
My first film, THAT EVENING SUN, premiered at the festival in 2009, where it won the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award. It was a seminal moment for me as a filmmaker, so Austin holds a special place in my heart. It helps that they’ve got good food and beer here, too.
THAT EVENING SUN is one of my favourite films from SxSW! How did THE QURRY come together?
THE QUARRY took ten years to make it to the screen. I first read the novel as I was finishing up THAT EVENING SUN in 2009, and hoped it would be my next project. It didn’t quite happen that way. Like so many independent film endeavors, we had lots of starts and stops over the years, but we were finally able to pull it together when Shea Whigham and Michael Shannon committed to the lead roles in late 2018. We shot the film in March-April 2019, cut the film over the summer and fall, and wrapped it all up just after the new year. What a long, strange trip it’s been.
What was your biggest challenge with this project, and the moment that was the most rewarding to you in making THE QUARRY?
Time and money are always the primary challenges of a film shoot, and THE QUARRY was no different. Every day the schedule was stuffed. Still, in spite of the chaos, we found the little moments that made it all worthwhile. Capturing a flock of birds as they moved across the sky in perfect formation. Discovering an unexpected location to shoot the ending, which gave us a rich and resonant backdrop upon which to stage the climax. Watching as two actors locked in on a long take, doing the dance of drama. These are the things that kept us going.
I am about to get technical, but I would love to know about the the visual design of the movie; what camera did you film with and how it was photographed!
Thanks to the generosity of Arri, we were able to shoot our film with the large-format Alexa 65. Big themes need a big canvas, and the 65 opened up this Texas-set story in a way that other formats simply couldn’t have. It helped us better tell this story, which is a marriage of the epic and the intimate. Michael Alden Lloyd, the director of photography, utilized the format to give each location a presence and identity without ever losing focus on the actor in the middle of the frame. He created a world.
What are you looking forward to the most about showing your movie here in Austin?
The audiences in Austin are always enthusiastic. I’m hoping this time is no different.
And final question: what is the greatest movie you have ever seen at a film festival?
I like Craig Zobel’s film COMPLIANCE quite a bit, but attending the World Premiere at Sundance in 2012 was an experience I’ll never forget. Others have documented the events that transpired at this screening better than I can, but let’s just say there was a lot of yelling in the post-film Q&A. A LOT. And a bulk of it was coming from this righteously angry dude who was sitting right behind us. The back of my head was soon soaked in his spittle. I thought a fistfight was surely going to break out. And, truthfully, I was a little disappointed when it didn’t. And though some of the emotions the film sparked were clearly negative, I was thrilled that a little independent film could arouse such impassioned responses. I only hope I can illicit a similar kind of rage in an audience some day.
For more information on this film and to follow its progress into the festival world, point your browser to www.sxsw.com/film!