Dallas County Living Well Magazine Fall 2014 | Page 11

evaluations of the movie, and it all makes for the
perfect ending to a memorable day.
Cut to the next morning! Somewhere near my
second cup of coffee, it’s starting to dawn on me that
we’re about to meet up and have breakfast with Bo
Duke a.k.a. Jonathan Kent a.k.a. Jim Cryer. Pick a
decade in pop culture since the 70’s, and John Schneider’s helped define it. His latest turn as the menacing
Judge Cryer in Tyler Perry’s The Haves and The
Have Nots has won him critical praise and a whole
new fan base. The show’s also been a break out hit
for the OWN network.
Andrea and I are now roaming the property, while
she takes various pictures. We notice the RV and
other things that we’d seen in Smothered the night
before. Schneider, who’s already finished a work out,
completed some studio chores, and a Skype interview
comes speeding down the driveway. I can’t help but
notice that the man known for driving the General
Lee just pulled up in an electric hybrid. He stops and
says, “Are you two hungry? Let’s go into town and get
something to eat.”
As we start down the highway, I ask him if he likes
to scare people in his work. “I like to shock people. I
don’t like to scare people,” he explains. “Sudden
dramatic occurrences that catch people off guard…
it’s nice to get people to move in to see something,
and then do something that gets them to jump back.
They have this physical reaction to your movie.”
“Do you have fears? I’d have to think starting up a
new studio would be pretty scary.”
“No. I don’t believe in fears. I don’t know how you
could do anything wholeheartedly if you’re afraid.
Maybe you’re afraid of the outcome. If you’re afraid
you won’t achieve it, it means you believe there’s a
time you stop trying.”
Schneider came up with the idea for the studios
while filming Smothered on the property over a year
ago. He says, “I realized it was the perfect place,
because of the natural settings, the houses, and all
the room to build more sound stages.”
He’s counting on the state’s tax break to help bring
filmmakers in. “Louisiana is offering 35% tax incentives for filmmakers. This is money that you get back
immediately, and can apply to finishing your movie,”
Schneider says.
Arriving at a quiet little place called The Whistle
Stop Café, John is treated like an old friend by the
staff. He tells us as we near our seats that he ate here
the first day they opened, and he continues to come
back often.
The local community seems to have adopted Schneider and it seems obvious that he’s expecting to make
a significant contribution to the area. “When we’ve got

movie crews coming in, that’s good for local revenue.
These crews are spending money somewhere.”
I’m curious about his writing: “You’re writing a lot
of scripts these days? What’s your process like?”
“Well, I’m a structure freak,” he says. “I structure
everything out. I have a theory on how stories should
be told, and I adhere to that. There are a couple of
storyboards in the house that have little stickies all
over them.”
While he’s been on break from The Haves and The
Have Nots this summer, Schneider’s spent a lot of
time doing work around the studios and writing. When
asked what a perfect day is like, he’s quick to answer:
“I wake up with Act III, clearly in my head. I sit down
with a cup of coffee and write it down. Right now I’ve
got four scripts I’m working on at one time.”
We take the time to finish our meal, and then the
three of us are headed to the studios again to finish
up with some pictures. On the return drive, I ask him
about the ongoing appeal of the Dukes, a show that’s
never been off the air. He says, “It’s about family,
and honor, even if it’s honor among thieves. Dukes
was also shot right. It’s beautiful. Nobody really talks
about that. You watch the cars going down the road,
and the horses are grazing, and then the car jumps
over the creek. The geese fly off. It’s lush and green.
It’s gorgeous.”
As we drive back through Holden, he continues,
“Every small town looks like it could be Hazzard
County. That building over there looks like it could
be The Boars Nest.”
“Tell us about your work on The Haves and The
Have Nots.”
“We’ve been picked up for a third season. I love working with Tyler. He’s a real creative force. My character
Jim Cryer is not a nice person. But he’s color blind, and
loves his kids. He’s got his redeeming qualities. The
fans are very devoted to what we’re doing.”
Arriving back at the studios, John walks us around,
pointing to various locations. You can tell his vision
for the studios is crystal clear. It’s easy to see that
Schneider is a man who’s lived out many of his dreams,
and he’s not done. However now he’s creating a world
where he’s helping people make their dreams a reality. As he puts it, “I want to make this a place where
the independent filmmaker’s dreams are realized.”
At the end of that dirt road we didn’t find Bo Duke.
Instead, we met a Renaissance man who’s spent his
career making people believe. He likes fine art and
a story well crafted. Now he has John Schneider Studios, a place where people will have a chance to tell
those stories.
John Schneider Studios has a