NM: And this all comes through Jimmy Johnson, George’s great-grandson?
BH: That’s why it was so important to work with Jimmy on the project. When I was able to reach him he was really enthusiastic. He was really intelligent, really well-spoken, an accomplished public speaker. I was going to have him, at the beginning of the film, at the actual battle site, with his voice-over underneath. I thought that image would be really powerful, to hear his voice. But unfortunately his health really declined quickly. I did shoot the interview with him in October. I don’t know if he knew about his cancer, but when he finally did seek treatment it was way too late. And he died a week before the film premiered in Kansas City. He was from Kansas City, so it was particularly tragic when he was such a huge part of the story. But he did get to see a rough cut, and it had to be gratifying for him to know the story was getting told. He and I had developed a friendship, based on the story, and a real passion, and it is so sad that he wasn’t able to be a part of the premier the State had. He would not have only been rewarded by all that, but to be able to tell the story, from his own mouth. Imagine the Q and A after screenings, with him there. It’s a huge loss. I am just incredibly thankful that I got to do this project while he was still alive.
NM: You seem pretty emotional about that. Were you close?
BH: We didn’t get to socialize; there really wasn’t the time to do that. But we did share a common bond and passion for the story and a desire to get it out there. I think it meant a lot to him to find someone who felt the same way about it. I mean, the effort it took to get this all together was such a long slog. The guy who sort of discovered it, a researcher named Chris Taber, compiled a lot of research about it. But it was mostly unknown, hardly anyone knew anything about it. And Jimmy spent years in research. He was a teacher, had a doctorate in archaeology. He did a dig at George’s slave farm, and became acquainted with, I believe, the great-grandson of Jesse Miller, George’s master. From what I’ve read, and what I was told, he greeted Jimmy with some racially based unpleasantness. But through the process of Jimmy’s research, they became close. And I was told that descendants of Jesse Miller were in attendance at Jimmy’s funeral. It’s like amongst the violence and the hatred, there’s redemption. It is possible for people to change. That’s what it says to me, and that’s pretty powerful.
NM: You were fortunate, too, in getting Clyde Ruffin to play Old George, and Moses Weathers to play Young George.
BH: Clyde is the Drama Chair at the University of Missouri. Here’s something else. I had never seen a picture of George, and I had no idea if the guys we chose would have any similarity. I sent a photo of Moses to Jimmy, and Jimmy said he had to do a double-take, because he looks almost exactly like young George. If you look at the facial structure and the features in the photo used in the film, the resemblance is uncanny. And Clyde isn’t too far off either as Old George. When we went to do a first read, Clyde just read a couple of lines, and I knew we had our guy. Finding the right talent for that kind of dialogue is tough, and finding someone like him who could pull it off? He’s just a natural, two or three takes at the most. We both considered reshooting his parts, me because of lighting and time issues, he because he felt he could have done even better. But I decided that at some point you have to go with what you have, and move on to the next thing. For me, that’s a feature version of the film.