Keep on Trucker-in'

Facets staff member Susan Doll interviewed director James Mottern about his independent feature Trucker, which showed exclusively at Facets in October. Trucker has turned out to be a favorite among Facets employees, and we are all rooting for it to make a big splash during this awards season. Trucker is released on DVD today, January 5.


Facets: How did you get interested in the subject matter of a female truck driver, or truck driving in general? What drew you in?

Mottern: I grew up in the great State of Virginia and there's a lot of trucking down there—there’s a lot of trucking in most places where people don't have a bunch of money. It's a good job and you can come from very little and not have to wear an apron or a name tag and work for a big corporation like Walmart. You can be free and make decent money and provide for your family. It's also a good living for someone who has a somewhat rambling spirit, which is a lot of people; sometimes they just don't allow themselves the opportunity to listen to that part of themselves. Since I was very little, trucking always intrigued me as a way of being free and I like to be by myself, so driving a truck seemed pretty much perfect. When I moved to California I looked into going to this truck driving school out in Arcadia but got into documentary work, which allowed me to travel like I wanted to. But when Michelle Monaghan agreed to do the part in Trucker, I called that very same trucking school and a really terrific instructor named Phillip Malloy taught her how to drive a big rig. Every time you see Michelle behind the wheel she's really driving. Anyway, I got to live my dream through my actress and she's a hell of a lot better at it than I'd ever be.

Facets: Truckers and their profession amount to a sort-of subculture due to the isolation of the road. Their trucks are akin to their living spaces and truck stops are like their neighborhoods. Almost everything they wear, eat, enjoy during leisure time, or need for their trucks comes from a truck stop. They have their own slang, clothing style, jokes, and even their own set of symbols. How much did you get into that while you were writing the movie? It seems alluded to in the film—Diane’s clothing, for example—but not dwelled on.

Mottern: The trucker lifestyle is one you can never quite get a handle on. There are a lot of truck drivers, and they come from all walks of life; and although they can be perceived as an odd or somewhat enigmatic subculture, they are actually a huge part of the American workforce. As of 2006, there were 3.4 million truck drivers employed in the United States. It's true that many, probably most, come from modest means and they do have a particular lifestyle, language, set of rules, and I did do quite a bit of research on truck driving to try to understand it. But the more I learned the more I realized that in terms of a subculture it was pretty abstract and always in flux. What I did find is that truckers tend to have a nomadic spirit: They don't mind being alone; they're industrious; and they usually possess a certain wisdom that comes from seeing thousands of faces and hundreds of thousands of mile of open road. To me they encapsulate an American ideal that maybe never really existed and is maybe more a myth than anything else; but it resonates still of pioneers and cowboys and long trails and the search for freedom. At least in the way that I understand it.

Facets: How did you get Michelle Monoghan interested in the part? Did you know her? Or, did you just take a shot that she would be interested?

Mottern: You know, since this picture came out, Michelle's been getting rave reviews pretty much across the board. There have been a couple of naysayers who must live in their mothers’ basements and don't get enough sunlight or something, but basically everyone can see what a bang-up job she does in this part. It's a role where at first you kind of think you know what she is doing but then, as she goes through the film, she surprises you in these subtle and not so subtle ways. That was my hope in making this film. That something seemingly familiar wasn't something you necessarily understood at all.

I'm a real film fan, almost a cinephile, although I leave that title to the diehards. But I aspire. In any case, I like women in movies. Sophia Loren in Two Women; Ellen Burtsyn in The Last Picture Show; Gena Rowlands in Faces, and anything else, really. Even Marianne Faithful is strange and terrific in Girl on a Motorcyle. There's a ton of great, eclectic, incredible roles played by women over the years, and it makes my blood boil that there aren't more. I don't understand it. Anyway, I hold up what Michelle did in Trucker to any of those performances and many others. I think time will attest to what she did in this picture. Anyway, the reason I mention all this stuff is that Michelle has always been a great actress in all these films she's been in. Since this movie came out and she's been getting good notices, sometimes people say she's just played "the girl" up until now. That's true in a way. But to me, she made Kiss Kiss Bang Bang what it has become—a cult classic. She captured incredible pathos and humanity in North Country. In Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck did not utilize her prowess, and I have my own opinion on that, but she did a terrific job. Even in The Heartbreak Kid, she is infinitely watchable. Yeah, she's played the girl, I guess, but what a girl! Anyway, my point about Trucker is that I'd seen her in some of these roles (some she did after Trucker or was in process), especially this one incredible shot in North Country. When I saw that shot—along with what I'd seen of her other work—I knew she was my Diane Ford! And being a near-cinephile, I knew she had that magic that those actresses I mentioned possess—in spades. I sent her the script through her manager, and she agreed to do it, and I am lucky—blessed really—that she did. The DVD comes out on January 5, and I hope it means that people who never got to see her in the theater will run out and buy or rent or borrow a copy and see what she did. I still like watching this film after seeing it a couple hundred times in very states of completion.

Facets: Getting an independent film produced and released is a major challenge that most movie-goers understand. But, what about getting the film exhibited? What are the obstacles and challenges of getting your movie to the people who would be interested in seeing it?

Mottern: Okay, Susan, don't get me started on this one. This is a book. Well, you know that producer Marc Gill wrote about how the sky was falling in indie film, and he was right. It's been a slog. It's a nearly insurmountable task to get an independent film completed in the first place, and even more difficult to get it into theaters, and beyond that to get people to come see it. There is so little money around, ad costs are huge, and the places to exhibit are slimmer and slimmer. On top of that, DVD sales are slow, piracy is rampant, and video chains are closing down left, right, and center. But we have a distributor who has been very open about hearing new ideas and working with our producers and talent to get our film out there.

In terms of production of smaller films, any film really, I think that in general, people in the movie business have to realize that the money that has been out there for all these films and for their personal gain simply does not exist anymore. I have an especially sore spot for agents as they are the gatekeepers of all these projects; and I understand that their job is not to make movies but to make deals. Some agents I have dealt with are extremely progressive in the way they see reality, but others refuse to accept that that movie business they came up in no longer exists. I would hope that agents soon will come to terms with the fact that their talent—and the projects they want their talent in—need nurturing and thought and that they don’t just gun for the highest number. Talent needs to account for themselves and to be more involved in this process as well.

In terms of distribution I think that any indie production needs to build into their budget at least some funds for self-distribution. Even larger distributors are looking for other sources of financing or partnerships to distribute films, and I think it falls on the shoulders of the filmmakers to learn the distribution business inside and out; so that even if a distributor picks up their film, they are versed in the logistics of mounting a campaign. A filmmaker may not understand everything in terms of business but is almost universally the best and most ardent supporter of his or her film. There's a great book by author Marshall Fine about Cassavetes that I highly recommend as an inspiration for this type of approach.

Facets: What’s it like to be in the same boat as “independents” that are supported and distributed by the major studios?

Mottern: We made this picture for $1.5 million in 19 days. When I heard I had $1.5 million to make a movie, I pretty much jumped up and down. $1.5 million, I thought? That seemed like a hell of a lot. Turns out I was wrong. But it was just the right amount for this movie. 19 days? Incredible! Turns out 19 days is not that long to shoot a movie. But for this picture, it was perfect!

It's true we're up against studios that have a lot more money to make and distribute a film. And in some ways, I wished our movie got picked up by Sony Classics, Lionsgate, or one of the others that circled around it. But you know what? We didn't, and STILL Michelle got great reviews. And I got to learn things I never would have known!

Our movie is a tough one. Her character is a tough one. She's not easily accessible, or nubile, or victimized, or trashy. There's no easy way into this character, and so we always knew it might not fit exactly what indie distributors or main stream distributors wanted for their models. And, it's a simple story by a first timer with a female lead! There're a lot of strikes against this film in the world in which it exists. But we fought. I fought. Michelle fought. Our producer fought. Michelle's management and publicist fought. Everybody was so committed to this film and to Michelle's performance that I sort of feel like we beat the studios. Where there was no money, there was passion and grace, and to me that means a hell of a lot. You can't eat passion and grace, I realize; I'm not a fool. Mostly. But someday if I'm lucky enough to die in my bed, I don't really think the Ferrari I never owned is going to matter as much as knowing what we achieved with Trucker, the people we met, and the fun we had.

Facets: How would you characterize the reception the film has gotten so far? What’s good about it; what’s bad about it?

Mottern: It makes me real proud that people have reacted so positively to Michelle's performance. Going into this film, that character was everything to me. It was the film, and so when people react to her characterization of Diane Ford, it gives me a great feeling. What I have found interesting is that the people—and there are actually very few—who do not like Michelle's performance are actually people who do not like Diane Ford! I've always said that Trucker is like the magic lasso that Wonder Woman has that makes people tell the truth. There's something about this character that reminds people of women they've known or experiences they've had. Sometimes not so great, you know? There's always a very strong reaction to the film, and especially to Diane Ford; and it makes me know she's struck a nerve with viewers. I've also really enjoyed watching this film with audiences as there are parts in the film that will literally make grown men cry. But not in a sentimental way, which I would find despicable. I tried to tell the truth in this picture the best I could, and Michelle did too. We all did. And that comes out, I think. There are some truths in this picture that kind of get you in the gut. I know I made the film, and saying this might seem pandering, but it is something I have observed. And there's one scene in this picture that still puts my stomach in knots and brings a few tears to my eyes no matter how many times I watch it.

Facets: What’s your next project?

Mottern: I just finished writing this script for Michelle that takes place at the beginning of the twentieth century, and it's about a lot of things. But, one thing it's about is the relationship of white women to black men in America. Every now and then, movies about "racism" come around, and I find that compelling; but I find this specific and definite underlying relationship extremely interesting. And in this script there are some things that I can honestly say have never been seen in film before. I realize I sound like a carnival barker, but it is very exciting to me. And, the fact that Michelle will hopefully be a part of it is a dream come true. I'm not saying she is definitely doing it; but I wrote the damn thing for her, so she better have a really good reason not to! I've also just cast this great script we've been working on called The Fallen about a Boston firefighter who becomes involved in crime. We'll shoot it this spring back East. There's a lot of violence; it's real sexy in parts; it’s got great action; and, we wrote some very funny parts too; But really what it's about is identity and class and what a person has to do to retain his or her freedom in the world we live. Broad, I know, but it's what I like, I guess.