Tonya S. Holly – An Independent Filmmaker with a Heart
Tonya S. Holly isn’t your usualy LA-based independent filmmaker. The creator of “When I Find the Ocean,” (Director/Producer/Writer) recently received a KIDS FIRST! endorsement and acceptance into the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival. Her film will be released theatrically through Monterey Media this June and the DVD will be release August 5th. The story is about 12-year-old girl, Lily Strickland who has lost her father, a sailor, to the sea. She and her mother go to live with her grandparents. She runs away from home with her pet dog and rabbit to escape abuse from her step-father. She never had closure on the death of her father so she sets out on a trek to the ocean to find the closure she needs to heal her loss. Starring Lily Matland Holly, Diane Ladd, Lee Majors, Graham Greene, Richard Tyson, Bernie Casey, Amy Redford, George Lindsey, and David Fralick, “When I Find The Ocean” has won awards at The Reel Women International Film Festival and The Myrtle Beach International Film Festival.
An Alabama native, Tonya S. Holly has 17 films to her credit; including Toy Soldiers (1991), with Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr. and Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin, as well as Body Snatchers (1993), made in Selma and starring Meg Tilly and Forest Whitaker. A graduate of the University of North Alabama, Tonya did extras casting on the Oscar-winning Blue Sky (1994), starring Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones. For Blue Sky, she cast the UNA Pride of Dixie Marching Band as well as Muscle Shoals singer-songwriter Billy Lawson and several extras from her native area.
Tonya has worked closely over the years with CBS, HBO, NBC, Fox, Morgan Creek, Universal, Buena Vista and a number of independent companies. Her feature-film credits are quite impressive as is her work in television. Tonya opened Gem-Star agency in 1989 to nurture native Alabama talent and founded the Alabama Filmmakers association to promote the film industry in the stage Tonya founded Cypress Moon Productions in 2001, writing and directng the award-winning short film, “The Mirror,” then her first feature, “When I Find the Ocean.”
We spoke last week:
RL. Congratulations on the success of your film, “When I Find the Ocean” and congratulations on securing distribution through one of our member, Monterey Media.
TH. I love Monterey, they have wanted this film for so long. They get it; they wanted it. They appreciate the messages in the film about overcoming obstacles, crossing racial problems of the time, and friendships. As a child I didn’t know prejudice.
RL. This is a wonderful first feature. You’ve taken received some great awards. You should be very proud of yourself. I’ve been told that the film is based on your own true story. Tell me about that.
TH. A lot of it is. I actually believed when I was a child, that if I followed the creek that I could get to the ocean. But, my father was not killed at sea and I didn’t suffer the type of abuse that this girl does. I did get a spanking in the tool shed once but nothing like the girl in the film. I do know other kids who suffered that kind of things and applied that to the character. The loving relationship that I had with my grandparents comes out in this film.
RL What do you hope people will come away from this film with?
TH. I hope it touches on the kid in all of us. In our time when the Internet and videogames have such an influence on us, I believe this film projects the idea that there’s a lot more journeys out there and sparks kids’ imaginations.
RL. Have you had any criticisms of the film that made you rethink it at all?
TH. Of course. One suggestion is that I leave some of the prayer out of it. I would not do that. That’s what this family is about. It’s a story I had to tell which includes this family’s strong faith. I had a person talk to me after one screening about what she had been through – she didn’t know the step father had been abusing her daughter. It took years before she knew it was happening. In Selma at a screening, people commented about friendships they have that cross racial barriers. I had a preacher approach me who said he wanted so many people to see this film. I realize that not everybody likes a clean family film. This film doesn’t appeal to people who thrive on lots of special effects.
RL. Is there anything you would change at all?
TH. I think every director would change many things. If I had more money, there are a few things I would change. I could tweak it forever. There are some places I wish I had more footage. As an independent that’s one place where you’re limited. You have fewer cameras and fewer shots to choose from. There are 23 minutes of footage that I cut of this film. The toughest thing a filmmaker, is when you let it go to the audience. I remember something Robert Redford said at the opening of “Lions for Lambs,” “It’s not my film anymore, it’s the audiences.”
RL. What will success look like for you in the release of this film? Audience? Money? What’s important to you?
TH. When everybody has a copy; when I start seeing it on people’s movie shelves. Really, when people are buying it, then I will know we have succeeded. We’re gearing up for our next film, another family film – the story of Bonnie and Clyde. It has nothing to do with the original film, but the fact that my parents had some old newspaper clippings that caught my attention. We’ve got ten projects in development right now – some have screenplays written already, others are just ideas. I’m a writer first, I call myself a storyteller. When I directed “The Mirror,” my first short film, it was to find out if I could be a director. I found out that I could.
RL. Your daughter, Lily stars in this film. How was it working with your daughter?
TH. That’s what Lily wants to do more than anything in the world – act. She came to me and wanted the role. She really worked hard and deserved it. She never quit. She would stay until the last second every day. She’s involved in plays and we’re looking for an agent for her. My husband and I did the sound track. He plays with Little Richard. Both my mother and father are song writers. He and my mother met and wrote songs together. Music was always part of our lives. My Dad was one of the “Hacker Brothers.” He was related to Elvis. Elvis’ grandmother and my great grandfather were brother and sister. Elvis came to the funeral and came to visit the family a lot. Back when my Dad was trying to make it, so was Elvis – they were poor kids trying to make it in the music business together. My Dad and I wrote a song together that’s in the movie, “Come Day Go Day.” My mother wrote for George Jones and Tammy Wynette. One was a hit, “The Ceremony.”
RL. And, you have quite a line up of other stars: Graham Greene, Diane Ladd, Lee Majors, Richard Tyson… How did you manage to get such high rated celebrities for an independent feature?
TH. It was the script. I sent them the script. I talked with their agent, and the first thing they wanted was to read the script. Richard and I had worked together on Lakota Moon, a pilot for Fox. Graham wouldn’t even talk about anything until he read the script. I met Diane Ladd at the American Film Market, we started talking and she adked me to send the script. I did and she joined. Amy Redford was wonderful. I had seen some things she had done. I thought she’d be perfect if I dyed her hair black and she agreed.
RL. I have to ask what was Graham Greene like to work with? I am such a fan of his.
TH. Totally professional. The greatest thing about him was, when he came to my building. He had been an engineer for music before he got into acting. So, he came into the studio and said, “I have to tell you something – My knees almost buckled. I had tears in my eyes. It was an amazing feeling to be in the building where all these great musicians had recorded. I knew about Muscle Shoals studios my whole life and it’s so exciting just to be in this building.” Back in the day, Muscle Shoals was the most famous recording studio in the world – Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Traffic, Paul SimonBill Hayley & His Comets all recorded there. The sound track for this music has everybody on it – Russell Smith from Amazing Rhythm Races, Heart, Kedmo, Donny Fritz (played with Kris Kristofferson), Donna Jean Bradshaw, and more.
RL. You’ve been involved in promoting the film industry in Alabama. Tell me more about that.
TH. Haven’t gotten the tax incentives passed yet. It passed the Senate but then it was killed. I founded the Alabama Filmmaker’s Association in 1991. They regrouped about 5 years ago and became a sponsor of the American Film Market. Even though there aren’t any film tax incentives still in Alabama, we’ve continued to be a sponsor of the Film Market.
RL. You must be quite the local celebrity. How does someone from Florence, Alabama do all this? Is it difficult to be successful in the entertainment business when you’re not in a major city such as LA or NYC?
TH. I don’t know. I do know that I am very outspoken about shooting in the South and getting people to recognize filmmaking an industry. There are a lot of musicians here. You’d be surprised. I’m sure it would be easier to be in a big city where you can just drive home at the end of the day. But, I chose to raise my kids here. It’s definitely a good place to raise kids. And, I love the scenery. It’s so untouched. I love the people. Property’s not as expensive either.
RL. Many of us have people or experiences in our lives who have profoundly affected them in their careers and personal development. To what do you attribute your success?
TH. Several people that come to mind immediately. My Mother. My Dad. My grandparents. Barbara Streisand is someone who I admire. She sings, directs, produces. She wears all the hats. I’ve always admired her. My Aunts. My mother has five sisters and my Dad has five sisters. They’re so strong. They’ve seen so many things in their lives that people shouldn’t have to see and they’re all so strong. That’s another reason I stayed here because of my relationships with my family.
RL. What do you know now that if had you known it at the beginning of making this journey would have made things so much easier? What advice would you give to filmmakers creating their first independent film?
TH. One of the main things is don’t let too many voices get into your head. If you’ve got that vision, stick with it. One of the things that’s been a strong message in my life, is “don’t tell me that I can’t do it.” I believe that if you can dream it, it can happen. But, it’s not easy. It is extremely hard work and I sacrificed a lot to make sure this picture got done and released. A lot of people would have given up a long time ago. When I first wrote down the title of this film, I was telling somebody about my idea when I was a kid that I could get to the ocean from the stream – that was in 1990. When things pop up that you don’t expect like music clearances – independents have so much work to do. Everybody would leave at the end of the day and I would stay to sign checks. I know a lot of people who would like to let go of the reigns but you’ve got to stick it out and follow it through if you want it to be your work. A friend of mine said, “For your first film, you had to choose the toughest things to deal with: animals, children, food, water.” These are all difficult things to deal with and I had to include everyone of them. Before shotting in the woods, we had to talk with the actors and crew about snakes and ticks and teach them how to handle them. These are things you don’t always think about.
RL. What’s next up for you?
TH. The Story of Bonnie and Clyde is up next. We hope to be in production in the fall. I’m casting it right now. Probably around May of next year it will be released. The other is the trilogy: Sleeping Giant: the Union of the Seven – like a Chronicles of Narnia feeling. We plan to shoot in New Zealand. The other two aren’t titled yet. She is the writer on that. And, they will have a book release as well. Also, When I Find the Ocean will have a book release.
RL. Thanks for taking time to talk with me and to share your insights with KIDS FIRST! News. Best wishes for successful theatrical and DVD releases after that.
For more information about this film or Tonya Holly, go to http://www.cypressmoonproduction.com
