Collin Jacobs is climbing the ladder of success at a large coal-mining company, EcoSource, based in New York City, when his father, the President and CEO of the company, asks him to travel to Mentone, Alabama, a tiny town in the foothills of north Alabama, to acquire a site for the company. The land, formerly an old farm known as the Hawkins Place, lies adjacent to Camp Riverview, a camp for handicapped people run by Tommy Owen. Collin is immediately taken by the beauty and serenity of the mountainous region and the odd charm of Mentone's natives, but his interest is aroused when he collides with the feisty Tommy.
The feature film, "Southern Heart", is the culmination of a lifelong dream for its producers, writers and lead actresses, Jamie Hendrix Collins and Emily Carpenter. Around 1989, Jamie and Emily wrote this romantic comedy set in the north Alabama town of Mentone. Neither of these native Alabamians had any connections with anyone in the industry. More than that, Jamie comes from a family of farmers.
While growing up, she spent her free time helping her father harvest potatoes and cotton in the northern Alabama mountains. However, both of these extraordinary young women had always had a burning desire to produce entertainment that would be appealing to a broad based audience.
After completing the screenplay, Jamie and Emily set out to produce the film. Not knowing where to start, they began by going to the local video store and reading the credits listed on the back of the films which they most enjoyed. They would write down the names and then begin calling these people, not being phased when many failed to return their calls. On more than one occasion, they were offered assistance by various producers, directors and financiers but politely refused their offers when it became apparent that these persons were not prepared to produce the project in accordance with "the vision that God had given them". You can imagine how difficult it was to decline these offers after struggling for almost nine (9) years. However, they never lost sight of their dream, but more importantly, they never compromised their vision.
In February, 1997, after struggling for nearly nine (9) years in their futile attempt to produce this project, they made a monumental decision. They came to the realization that they could "live with failure, but could not live with regret". They took a calendar and with a bold "red" marker, drew an "X" over the date of October 17, 1997. With the determination that is rarely ever seen, they proclaimed that they would begin principal photography on that date. Period. They had waited long enough for others to assist them. These two young ladies now knew that it was up to them to carry this project from a dream to its reality.
Posted on Sunday, November 26 @ 13:47:59 EST by khazanah
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