I Saw the Light (film)

I Saw the Light is an upcoming biography film directed, written and produced by Marc Abraham, starring Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams and Elizabeth Olsen as Audrey Williams. It is set to release sometime in 2015. It is based on the book Hank Williams: The Biography by Colin Escott, George Merritt, and William (Bill) MacEwen.

Summary

The film revolves around country music singer Hank Williams’ rise to fame and sudden death at the age of 29.^[1]

Cast

• Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams^[2]
• Elizabeth Olsen as Audrey Williams, Hank's wife, manager, and duet partner^[3]
• David Krumholtz as James Dolan, a New York journalist^[4]
• Bradley Whitford as Fred Rose, songwriter who co-wrote several songs with Hank^[5]
• Maddie Hasson as Billie Jean, a 19-year-old pursued by Hank after his divorce from Audrey and eventually becomes his second wife and widow.^[6]
• Cherry Jones as Lillie Williams, Hank's mother^[5]
• Josh Pais as Dore Schary, a movie director, producer and former head of MGM Studios^[7]
• Wrenn Schmidt as Bobbie Jett, had a short-lived relationship with Hank after his divorce from Audrey. She gave birth to their daughter, Jett Williams^[7]
• James DuMont as WB Nolan, a music promoter and small-town mayor^[7]
• Casey Bond as Jerry Rivers^[8]
• Fred Parker Jr. as Faron Young^[9]
• Michael Rinne as Lum York, bass player in Hank's band, Drifting Cowboys^[10]
• Wes Langlois as Don Helms, steel guitarist in Hank's band, Drifting Cowboys^[10]

Production

Pre-production

Director Marc Abraham began developing the film in 2009 and adapted the screenplay himself.^[11] In June 2014, producers secured the rights to Williams' music for the film after making a deal with Sony ATV.^[2][12] Aaron L. Gilbert with Bron Studios will produce alongside Brett Ratner's production company RatPac Entertainment, G. Marq Roswell and Abraham.^[12] Creative Wealth Media Finance will finance the film.^[13] On 12 June 2014, British actor Tom Hiddleston who is set to play Hank Williams, posted an image of himself on his Twitter account, dressed as Williams with the title of the film as the caption.^[14]

Hiddleston will sing his own music for the film, also taking on William's southern accent.^[15] To prepare for the film and work on his singing and guitar playing, Hiddleston practiced with country singer Rodney Crowell.^[16] In July 2014, Crowell signed on to be the executive music producer for the film while Chris Little, who has worked with the Black Keys on The Man With the Iron Fists, signed on to serve as music supervisor.^[17] Crowell said of Hiddleston, "After nearly a month spent collaborating with this gifted artist, I'm as respectful of the man's work ethic as I'm mystified by his transformational skills. Without a doubt, the filmmakers chose the right actor for the job."^[18]

At the 2014 Wheatland Music Festival, Hiddleston sang "Move It on Over" and "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)", promoting the film.^[19][20]

Casting for the film for extras and additional actors begin in September 2014. Casting was done by Legacy Casting and Tracy Kilpatrick of The Casting Office.^[21] On September 12, Rolling Stone announced that Elizabeth Olsen would be playing Audrey Williams, Hank's wife, manager, duet partner.^[3]

Filming

Filming took place in Shreveport, Louisiana, starting in October 2014 and ending in December 2014.^{[2][22][23][24]}

Criticism

Williams' grandson, singer Hank Williams III, has publicly expressed his displeasure for Hiddleston's singing skills.^[25] Soon after Hiddleston's performance of "Move It on Over" at the Wheatland Music Festival, Hank III posted on Facebook, "here is how you do it Tom, You got no moan or soul in your voice," along with a video of himself singing his grandfather's hit.^[26] Williams III went on to critique Hiddleston's role, saying "To do a Hank Williams movie the way it should be done you need certain aspects in the mix to make right. It goes way beyond having an American to play the role of Hiram Hank Williams, Sr. for it to be somewhat natural, it needs to be an American from the South who has eat, lived and breathed these kind of roles before to make more respectable movie on Hank Sr."^[26]

References

External links

• I Saw the Light at the Internet Movie Database