That Evening Sun

The pink marble courthouse steps in downtown
Knoxville, Rockwood’s calm streets, and scenic
landscape of Blount Country are captured in the
locally produced feature film, “That Evening Sun.”

“We are so proud that our company’s first feature
film was shot entirely in East Tennessee,” said
Larsen Jay, president of Dogwood Entertainment
and executive producer of the film. “It gives us all a
lot of pride to represent filmmaking in this area as
we unveil our film to the world.”

“It was the perfect place to do this story because
the experiences we were going through fit it so
completely in the surroundings in that beautiful valley,” said Academy Award
nominated actor Hal Holbrook.

“That Evening Sun” stars Hal Holbrook, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins, Mia
Wasikowska, Carrie Preston, Barry Corbin, and Dixie Carter. Adapted from the
short story “I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down” by southern author,
William Gay, the film
tells the story of aging
Tennessee farmer Abner
Meecham who returns to
his homestead and must
confront family betrayal
and the reappearance of
an old enemy.

A ruthless grudge
match ensues between
Abner and Lonzo Choat,
played by Holbrook and
McKinnon, each man too
stubborn to give an inch.
Fueled by anger and
haunted by recurring dreams of his long-dead wife, played by Holbrook’s
real-life wife Dixie Carter, lines are drawn, threats made, and the tension erupts
into savagery. Shot entirely in East Tennessee in August 2008, the film offers an
authentic southern backdrop for the drama, free of traditional clichés.

“The region was appropriate to the story which is the first consideration. It
needed to be a place worth fighting for,” said
Ray McKinnon, “That Evening Sun” cast
member, producer and Oscar-winning
short-filmmaker (“The Accountant”).

“Filming on location, in the actual place
where the story is set (in this case,
Tennessee), gives a film an authenticity that
you simply can’t replicate on a Hollywood
soundstage…when you immerse yourself in a
community, the spirit of the people and the
landscape can’t help but find its way into the
finished product,” said Scott Teems, the film’s
writer/director.

States are constantly competing to attract
and support films. The Tennessee Film
Commission offered several incentives and
an infrastructure for “That Evening Sun” to
shoot on location. Knoxville in particular is
home to a vibrant and talented production
community. The film’s
ambitious shoot schedule in
the sweltering August heat
offered a platform for local
crew to showcase their skills.

“The film production
crew was wonderful. Truly
wonderful, professional and
dedicated. We could never
have shot the film in 22
days and done as good a
job if the crew had not been
tops. They never missed a
beat,” Holbrook said.

“The year before we shot
‘That Evening Sun,’ I
worked on another film in Memphis, TN…
on both films, the Tennessee crews were
friendly, professional and on top of their
game. Plus they seemed to have a genuine
love for filmmaking that you don’t always
find when shooting in the bigger cities like
New York and LA,” said actor Carrie Preston.

“It reminded me of Australian film crews.
In Australia the industry is so small, there’s not
a lot of time and money to fall back on,
everybody really has to ban together and work
really hard to get things done. I saw that in the
East Tennessee film crew,” said Mia
Wasikowska, acclaimed for her role as Pamela.

After successful runs in New York City, Los
Angeles and Palm Springs, “That Evening
Sun” launches a multi-city expansion on
January 22, opening locally at Regal Cinema’s
Downtown West. EK

To watch the trailer, read about the film, check show times and more www.ThatEveningSun.com

Opening January 22nd

Buy your tickets today!
www.regmovies.com
Regal Cinemas Downtown West Cinema 8
1640 Down Town West Blvd. • Knoxville TN 37919
(865) 693-6327