Brian Dennehy - “Clarence Darrow”

Brian Dennehy, a time-honored actor, is a true scholar of the Scopes Monkey Trial. Playing Clarence Darrow in Alleged and having played his opposing character (William Jennings Bryan) on Broadway, Dennehy knows the details of the trial, inside and out.

Dennehy calls Darrow the “first great Civil Rights lawyer... a fascinating character. Alcoholic. Very, very cynical. Very dark personality. Brilliant lawyer. One of the great figures of the first half of the twentieth century in America. It’s kinda fun playing someone like him.”

As for working with Senator Fred Thompson, Dennehy shares his praise. “Fred’s a great guy. Interesting guy... He’s a classic American character out of Mark Twain himself.” When asked who would win in a real life debate, Dennehy chuckles and tips his hat to Thompson. “He’s a real lawyer. I’m just an actor. An aging actor at that. He’s the real thing. He really knows about law and debate in a way that I don’t.”

Dennehy left us with his impression of the film (and Hollywood today). “Well, it (Alleged) ain’t about vampires. And it ain’t about teenagers. So I don’t know what to expect. But, it’s a good script. It’ll be an interesting, thoughtful, and thought provoking movie... Provoking thought is not exactly the prime objective these days of most of what comes out of Hollywood.”

Fred Thompson - “William Jennings Bryan”

Senator Fred Thompson, a politician, lawyer, and actor, plays the great orator William Jennings Bryan in the film. With numerous connections to his character - both ran for president, were members of Congress, and practiced law, Thompson seems perfect for the part. He admits his personal experiences helped prepare for the role, but states, “you kinda have to put that aside, and try to envision yourself as the character involved. It’s still a challenge.”

The Scopes Trial occurred in Thompson’s home state of Tennessee, so he “always understood the outlines of the story... but as will happen sometimes, the real facts are not totally consistent with the way it’s always been portrayed. I think the script does a little better job of that.”

When asked of his co-star Brian Dennehy, Thompson showed his sweet spot. “He’s one of my all time favorites. As a character actor, I’ve watched him for a long, long time. He’s just a great actor and a great guy. It really presents a challenge going up against him.” Thompson is honored to work with Dennehy. “We have a couple courtroom scenes that are pretty good. I enjoyed those.”

When Alleged comes to theaters, Thompson is sure we won’t be disappointed. “It’s got Brian Dennehy in it! So it’ll be a good movie.” A true fan.

Nathan West - “Charles Anderson”

Lead actor, Nathan West portrays Charles Anderson, a very ambitious young journalist. “His character is really used to tell the audience the story,” explains West. “One of the challenges of the movie is that you have two stories. You have this courtroom drama, and you have a love story... it’s a balance.”

West and co-star, Ashley Johnson, team up for the on-screen romance. According to West, the film is “85% a love story. Ashley and I have really good chemistry.” West’s favorite scene is with Johnson at the end of the movie. “It’s a really heavy, emotional scene between us, but it’s done with just... I mean, the way this thing is being shot, it’s so beautiful. Every scene you see in this movie is beautiful. My gosh, it’s gorgeous.”

West is nothing but complimentary of his co-stars. “I’ve grown closest to Colm (Meany) because we work a lot together. Just watching him, how free he is in front of the camera. All the experience, you can just see it. He just carries it. He exudes this confidence.”

When asked if he would return to the mitten state, West exclaimed, “I would come back to do another film ANYTIME in Michigan, ANYWHERE in Michigan. What’s the whole hand thing? How does that work?” He charmingly displayed his right hand, curious how to use it as a map.

Tom Hines - Director

“I’m big on moments in film. Scenes are good, but moments make a scene and moments make a film. And there have been so many great moments.”

Director Tom Hines works closely with the all-star line of talent. “Hire good actors. It makes life easier as a director... I love actors. I really do. I connect to actors. I feel for them. And I get excited for actors when they get good material, and all these actors have just fantastic stories to work from.”

The story of Alleged, according to Hines, “gave us a nice piece of history but with a nice piece of romance involved as well.” Of course, the Scopes Trail is the notable drama of the film, but Hines admits, “I’m a romantic comedy goofball too... I’m a sucker for Nathan West and Ashley Johnson every time I put them together. There’s nothing like that... to put two lovebirds together and watch them fall in love, and watch them break each other’s hearts, and hopefully watch them fall in love again.”

Finding a location for the film is a different story. Hines says, “The hard thing is to find an entire location. I mean, you can find a courthouse, but then next door to the courthouse is a house with aluminum siding and three cars with people who aren’t going to move their cars every day.”

Crossroads Village, however, is the perfect solution. Hines calls the park a “self-contained backlot.” All the right buildings. No telephone poles. No electrical wires. “We were lucky to find it. It’s little happy accidents that make you feel like it’s the film you were supposed to make.”

Fred Foote - Writer/Executive Producer

“As the screenwriter, to see professionals of such caliber delivering lines that you wrote is almost inexpressible... how exciting it can be. It’s been a tremendous thrill.”

Fred Foote, a native of East Lansing and first-time screenwriter, began the journey of Alleged about seven years ago. Foote explains the vast misunderstanding of the Scopes Monkey Trail. “It was that difference between what really happened and what we as a culture believed happened that intrigued me and got me started on writing the screenplay.”

Foote admits a “clumsy and ignorant” start. “I began not even knowing it was a separate art. I thought, ‘I’ve been to movies’. So, I just sat down and began to type scenes.” He laughs at his own naivety. “Probably 15% of those first drafts survived. In the meantime, I’ve been writing and re-writing and getting advice and input. And then writing it again. It’s been a long, long process.”

Foote is overjoyed with the end result. Of Brian Dennehy and Fred Thompson, Foote says, “I think it’s great to put these two titans, these two greats into the same film.”

Filming in his home state is the icing on the cake. Foote says, “It’s exciting to film in the state that I grew up in... And in a way, it’s a story about a town that was down on its luck, had hit economic bottom, and was looking for a way to scramble out and put itself back on the map. And Flint, in a way metamorphically, is that kind of town... there is a certain poetic justice to filming in Flint, MI.”

His advice to other screenwriters? Foote says, “Take one script and beat it to death. Beat it and refine it and rework it. Work on that one script until it glows.”

Joseph Porro - Costume Designer

“Every period has something interesting that’s fun as a designer to go in and investigate. In the 20s, it was that little short skirt. It was the first time in history that women got to the knee level with the skirt.”

Porro, the Costume Designer, has gathered thousands of 1920’s clothes for the Alleged wardrobe. He is using as many original pieces as possible to stay true to the period. “Because the clothes are so fragile, they are almost 80 years old, they are disintegrating right on the bodies of the extras as they’re wearing them.” Most of the clothes are rented, but Porro admits that, “we did make some of our principal wardrobe, especially for Fred Thompson and Brian Dennehy, because they are rather large men and period clothes didn’t exist in their sizes.”

In addition to being period appropriate, the wardrobe has to be season appropriate. The story takes place in summer, and audiences must be convinced of the heat. Porro explains, “it’s all done with color. Even now, when we’re shooting in 45 degrees, the DP (Director of Photography) is using a hot lens - he’s lighting it really warm, with warm colors. A lot of the wardrobe is in the lighter shades... and it works. It psychologically works. When you watch this movie, you’ll not feel the cold. You won’t know what time of year it is. And you’ll swear it’s 95 degrees outside.”

Porro is sure to thank us for our hospitality. “It’s hard for me being from LA, going to school in New York and working in Paris, to meet such nice people. It’s a little hard. You really mean it when you say ‘Good Morning.’ It’s kinda nice and refreshing to be here in Michigan.”

Marthe Pineau - Production Designer, Andy Krish - Set Decorator

Pineau and Krish, both members of the Art Department, have dressed dozens of sets for Alleged including a train, drugstore, courthouse, print shop, church, fairgrounds, fox house, barn, and multiple houses. Pineau states, “It goes by in quite a storm as we are dressing three to four sets a day.”

Of course, historic Crossroads Village helps tremendously. Krish expresses his thanks. “Crossroads Village was very, very kind. They let us use a lot of their artifacts. And then we went shopping for the rest of it.”

When asked of their favorite set, both Pineau and Krish quickly agreed. “Robinson’s Drug store was our most spectacular set... it was complete stocked with modern pieces and had to be emptied, and we had to turn it into a 1925 drug store with everything. Literally hundreds of feet of product from the period. Andy (Krish) did a great job actually creating the product because we couldn’t buy, for example, all the hundreds of apothecary items: the medications, the boxes, the product, the signage, the window treatments. We had a soda fountain, the counter, the ladies finery, the men’s tobacco, the dry good section, the school supplies section... It was just beautiful.”

John Berkholtz - Picture Car Wrangler

“Cars and costumes are the way to show a street at the right age. If you spend tons of money dressing a street versus leave the street the same and park 12 old cars, it’s gonna scream the period with the cars.”

John Berkholz, picture car wrangler for Alleged, gathers period appropriate vehicles and cares for them on set. Berkholz will use between 25 and 30 classic cars in the film with the largest day displaying 15 at once. He found all the vehicles in Michigan searching antique malls, contacting private owners, and using resources from the Sloan Museum (Berholtz says, “they were very helpful”).

“This (Michigan) is a great place to do this movie. If I was doing this in Florida, there are probably three Ts in Florida. So, this helps a lot.” In addition to payment for each classic, Berholtz arranges to “hopefully get the people who own them to drive them in the shot. We get them all dressed up... it’s fun.”

If you’re a car buff, watch for these unique items: three rare Coles made in Indianapolis, a one of a kind Ajax, and a 1902 Oldsmobile Horseless Carriage. And yes, every car is kept in pristine condition. “We haven’t done the wrecking, crashing thing, so that’s good!”