By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director (photo above courtesy of Hudson Old & the East Texas Journal)
Thanks to premier film patrons Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery of Scroggins, a Whatley Enhancement Grant, administrative support at the college, and some influential encouragement of local friends, the honors program of NTCC finished its six days of filming on 15 August. Starlight: Adina De Zavala and the Making of a Patriotic Supersite will become the eighth feature-length production of Honors Northeast, all on historical themes pertaining to Texas. The previous seven films, on the father of prohibition, Morris Sheppard; the populist from Hughes Springs, Wright Patman; the Lake Caddo heroine, Harriet Potter Ames; Texas Governors Ma and Pa Ferguson; Sam Houston and the End of the Texas Cherokee; the cosmetics CEO, Mary Kay; and the singing legend, Barbara Conrad--can all be viewed in their entirety from the honors website: www.ntcc.edu/honorsfilms.
This is the first time that the filming of the production occurred over a two-week period, including over seven sites. The decisions of director, Jacob Lambie, and unit production director Peyton McClendon led to a less-rushed sequencing, and a remarkable balancing of available scenes with available actors while heeding the needs of the script. This year’s film producer, Jalyn English, accompanied every day of the filming, and began to process much of it, employing Adobe Premiere, and Adobe Prelude, installed by Adam Bise of NTCC computer services, and advised by last year’s producer, Miguel Paco.
As the film highlights the indispensable role of De Zavala in securing the Alamo as the epicenter of Texas patriotism, the NTCC group was beholden to the efforts of residents in Franklin County to commemorate Texas traditions. The Alamo Mission Museum of Franklin County, maintained by Jacqueline Bateman, has become perhaps the most accessible, real-scale Alamo facsimile in the nation. The Alamo facsimile in Dripping Springs, used for the 2004 film, burned down. The Alamo facsimile in Bracketville, the site of the John Wayne film of 1960, is no longer open to the public. There is also an Alamo facsimile in Plano. No one has ever been allowed make a feature-length film at the actual Alamo, even after a well-heeled bid of a Hollywood filmmaker in 1969.
Five scholars of Honors Northeast--Maritza Quinones, Harley Anderson, Jalyn English, David Martinez, and Dr. Andrew Yox researched and developed the film’s script at the Dolph Briscoe Center in Austin, last May. Former Humanities Professor of NTCC, Tom Wilkinson of Mount Vernon, edited the script. The story deals with the surprising ascendancy of the Alamo as the focus of Texas patriotism. When the State of Texas commemorated its 50th anniversary in 1886, it staged its celebration at the San Jacinto battlefield. Everyone had apparently forgotten about the Alamo.
Though the patriotic heiress, Clara Driscoll, played in the film by Rebekah Reed, paid the purchase option to secure the land around the Alamo, and though the state had title to the building by the late nineteenth century, a single woman, without funding, was the primary motive force in the making of this Texas icon. Adina De Zavala, the granddaughter of Texas’s first Vice President, Lorenzo De Zavala, first approached the giant Hugo Schmeltzer grocery firm to secure the land around the Alamo. She next persuaded Driscoll to secure the site financially, and then bathed the landmark in the limelight when she staged the “Second Siege of the Alamo” in 1908. Rather than allow part of the complex to be destroyed, the ancient Long Barrack, Zavala risked her life, taking possession of the building when it was about to be destroyed. Her action created a national sensation, highlighting Texas’s famous revolutionary fortress, and bequeathing to modern Texans an accessible symbol of their heritage.
The film explores the intense Catholic faith of De Zavala, and her concern that Texas patriotism be equated with love and sacrifice rather than a mere victory.
The filming occurred with substantial help coming from the community and college: Former NTCC professor, Glenda Brogoitti of Mount Pleasant, has provided a steady stream of aid, and help to the film series. The Pittsburg Rural Heritage Museum, the Franklin County museums mentioned above, and the Tennyson Methodist Church of Mount Pleasant opened their doors to the filming. Martin Holden of Theatre Northeast allowed for the loan of historical costumes, and other authorities at the college such as Carolyn Franks advanced the possibilities for added scenes and help directly on the NTCC campus. Four Jefferson B&Bs—The Carriage House, the Delta House, Kennedy Manor, and the White Oak Manor permitted the group to use their premises for filming.
The cast rehearsed at Jo’s Coffee Shop and at the East Texas Journal in downtown Mount Pleasant.
The cast was well stocked with drinks, food, and a two-night stayover in Jefferson, Texas due to three separate gifts by Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery.
Kenny Goodson, former computer services director at NTCC, and Sam Griffin, a freshman honors student are exploring musical themes for the film. A trailer is scheduled for production by October, and the premiere by February.
