Austin Film Festival Conversations: Cindy McCreery & Andrew Shea, the Writer & Director of ‘I’ll Be There’

Photos of Cindy McCreery and Andrew Shea Courtesy of Mark Austin and David Cox.

I’ll Be There is an incredible motion picture about a family at a critical turning point in their lives that recently screened at the Austin Film Festival, and it also took home the award for Best Texas Independent Feature at the festival. And in order to properly celebrate the film’s brilliance, we sat down with Cindy McCreery, the writer of the film, and its director, Andrew Shea, to learn about its assembly.
 
John Betancourt: Cindy, what was it that inspired you to write this feature?
 
Cindy McCreery: It was inspired by my brother, who had gone through bladder cancer surgery. And it was at the time when Michael Jackson died. So, his body was being autopsied next door at the USC Norris Cancer Hospital. And over that time period, I, you know, ended up being there quite a bit with him because they didn't live in LA, I lived in LA, but my family did not. So, it was really inspired by that real experience. And then it kind of took a life of its own after, you know, after I wrote the script and several versions of it. And we did a stage reading. But that's really where it came from is from that real experience.
 
John Betancourt: Now Andrew for you, what motivated you to come onto this project as its director?
 
Andrew Shea: Well, I, at the time, in roughly February, March 2018, I was wrapping up my documentary project, it was the third documentary I had made since 2012. And I was eager to take on another, fiction film, fiction is my background, first in theater. And then in in filmmaking, I had made three narrative films in the late 90s, early 2000s. So, I was looking for a new narrative project. And Cindy, and I, you know, we're colleagues, we see each other all the time at UT. And I asked her if she had any interesting independent projects in a drawer somewhere that you know, that she might have stashed away that we're looking for further development and possible production. And she sent me this script, and I was just very drawn to it right from the outset, I felt it was very raw and real, emotionally compelling. I was very drawn to all the family themes, and I found the end without saying too much to give away. But you know, I found the end, really beautiful and surprising and compelling. So, you know, I jumped on board since Cindy was open to collaborating with me.
 
John Betancourt: Something I genuinely appreciated about this film, was that it shows American families as they actually are, and I was curious, for Cindy, what motivated you to showcase families… properly on screen?
 
Cindy McCreery: Well, I, again, drawing from my own experience, I come from a blended family. I'm the youngest of six kids, and we have you know, my parents have been married a long time, but they were married to other people before and they have kids with, you know, so, that was really what inspired the story in the first place is, you know, what makes a family and also the complications when you're a kid trying to understand, you know, that dynamic of, you know, your siblings maybe have a different father and they go on Thanksgiving after, you know, breakfast, they go spend Thanksgiving afternoon with their other family. And, you know, I think a lot of us can relate to that. And so, it was an opportunity, the more I worked on the script to explore those things. You know, at first it was kind of more thinking just about oh, like being a caregiver, and the sort of oddness of having the celebrity issue going on around me, but then it really evolved more into like, being a blended family and what does that mean and what do families look like and sibling relationships from that point of view.
 
John Betancourt: And to dive further in these family themes, Andrew you mentioned that the family dynamic was a big draw for you. What specifically about that dynamic really resonated with you?
 
Andrew Shea: Well, the central relationship, I mean, as a director, I'm mainly interested in relationships, and the central relationship between the siblings, and all of its backstory, all of the ups and downs, the estrangement between them, all the sort of… and I was just, I found it very real and very compelling. And, you know, in the end there, there's, there's a sense of coming together there that I, you know, found very emotional, I was also drawn to the flashback structure that Cindy had, had developed in the early draft. And I really, I, as a director, I was challenged and intrigued by how to structure that in a way, knowing that it was likely going to be a low budget film, with such a large cast, and sets of siblings, five different siblings, both younger and older versions of them, I just thought was, was a great logistical and creative challenge. And, and I love the era, I love the 80s era. I found that very appealing. Yeah, and I love the 90s era. I mean, it's really a period piece, you know, it's the main, the present day is 2009. But all those sibling flashbacks are set between 1983 and 1988. And I found all of that very, very compelling.
 
John Betancourt: I think what you each have put together here is a very, very poignant film about American Family Life. What does it mean each of you to have assembled a film that is going to properly represent America?
 
Andrew Shea: But honestly, I don't think I think of it as a very particular family, and, you know, a unique family that we have tried to breathe life into with, you know, the incredible aid of our amazing cast who really are responsible for breathing all that life into it. And, and I like to think, as you're saying that the themes are more universal, and that people from all walks of life in this country can relate, you know, we all come from families, whether we all come from large, blended families or not we all come from families and all families have problems and all families have love. And you know, this is a story that touches on those sort of universal themes. So, I am hopeful that people find something personal that they can relate to, in the story. But I didn't set about trying to make a film about an archetypal American family, it was always very narrowly focused on the trials, tribulations, and joys of this one very particular set of siblings and their extended family.
 
Cindy McCreery: Um, well, it's funny, I again, I didn't, you know, I just kind of set out to just write about my experience. And you know, because of the blended part is so personal to me. You know, it just that was really the family I know, and understand, you know, my husband's family, they're not blended. They don't, you know, they're full siblings, you know, parents, same parents, and they have complications, too. I think growing up, sometimes when I'm explaining my family tree, it could get confusing. And then, you know, the older I get, the more I realize, like, this is pretty normal. Most people I know. I mean, the divorce rate’s pretty high in our country. So, it's not that unusual to have that. So, I'm excited for people to hopefully connect that way and appreciate, you know, like you don't, what makes a family. I mean, families are defined in so many ways these days. I mean, you have your founded family, you know, people create their own families that are outside of the family they grew up with, and so hopefully they can just see that you know, that, that love, and connection is the most important thing, especially when you're facing death or a very scary time. When you realize what's really important, and you know, some of those dynamics that you had when you're kids, you know to kind of let go of some of that stuff and kind of appreciate the love that you do have.
 
John Betancourt: What did each of you love the most about working on this project?
 
Cindy McCreery: I mean, it was, for me, I've written a lot of films and TV, as a professional, but haven't had a lot made. So, I've sold a lot of projects, um, you know, or I write, and then I'm just kind of like, “Okay, bye. We'll see you later.” And so, for me, I loved I just loved being involved from every aspect from the casting, every part of the creative process. And it was fun with Andrew, because Andrew was very open with me, you know, we talked through so many things. And so, it was a really fun process. And I loved, you know, producing the film, and thinking about, you know, everything from costumes to like, what do we want to look like, and to be a part of that, was really exciting. And I love doing something that was different, you know, for I think this story is a little different, you know, we have a little bit of magical element in there a little bit. And I love that, you know, my partners in the film with Andrew and Melissa, and Barb and the other producers were just so open to exploring this world and evolving it. And I really appreciate it, that part of it. So creatively was very exciting for me and fulfilling.
 
Andrew Shea: Yeah, I mean, I would echo the things Cindy said, it was a very positive collaborative experience with Cindy, first of all, but also with your other producers, the editor, and my fellow producers, also my wife, Melissa, she and I've had a 30 year long, creative collaboration as well as a 25 year-long marriage. So, and my daughter is in the film and was my assistant, and also was the choreographer of the film. You know, and this for me was, it represented an opportunity to kind of bring together a lot of elements of my, not just my family life, but my professional life, my career, which it started in theater, and this is very, and then my work in narrative, and my teaching, but even my documentary work over the last 15 years, very much affected, I think my approach to making this film. All the film was shot entirely handheld. And that's probably not a choice I would have made before I'd made my documentaries. And, you know, I teach working with actors. That's, that's what I was hired to do when I was brought to the University of Texas 20 years ago, but it was time for me to get behind the camera again, in a narrative film, and really test, not just what I knew before I was brought to UT but to test a lot of the ideas that I've been preaching and teaching over the last 20 years, and we were blessed with a really remarkable cast. And for me, that was what I was most excited about going to set every day was working with Jasmine and Ryan and Dory and Vicky and Celestina, and the rest of the kid actors in the cast. So, it really for me, brought together so many personal and professional threads of the last 30-40 years of my career. A very, very satisfying experience.
 
John Betancourt: Now we’ve definitely talked about some powerful concepts and topics today, and well… to perhaps break away from that for a moment, and considering the film’s hook, I’d be foolish to not ask each of you, what your favorite Michael Jackson song is.
 
Andrew Shea: I'll jump in there, you know and this this may sound self-serving given the title of the film but I, you know, given where my era in the late 60s early 70s, I love “I'll Be There” and I'll go with you know with the Jackson Five with “I'll Be There” right from you know, pre MJ and his incredible run as a solo artist.
 
Cindy McCreery: I really love “The Way You Make Me Feel”. It's a good one. Yeah, I'm definitely more of the older, from the Thriller and his first albums.
 
John Betancourt: The last question that I have for both you today. What are each of you most proud of when it comes to work on this project?
 
Cindy McCreery: Oh, well, gosh, I'm just really proud of the way it came together. I mean, it, it really was, I was thinking about this morning, just like such a labor of love. I mean, we just all, the actors, were so committed, our crew, I mean, Andrew and Barb, and Melissa and our other producers and investors. I mean, like it, it was really, I'm just, just really, it's kind of overwhelming how it took such a village to make a movie. I mean, it's kind of a miracle any movie gets made, really, when you think about all the elements that go together. And I think you know, I'm just really proud of how it turned out. I think it's really beautiful. I think Melissa and Andrew did a really beautiful job. In the edit. I mean, it, it changed, it just changed every day, from the time I wrote it to through production, and I’m just really, really proud of it. And it's, you know, it is so personal for me. So, I feel very proud of the film and excited and I think it's moving. And it was just really a positive experience overall. So, I'm excited for people to see it.
 
Andrew Shea: I mean, similarly, you know, the, the overall collaboration with all of the creative partners starting with the cast, of course, but also, you know, Juliana, the costume designer, Cindy, as the screenwriter and fellow producer and sort of my partner in this from the very outset, it's been, you know, as Cindy said, a real labor of love for, for a large group of people, and I am very proud of the collective spirit and commitment to the project, that so many people shared and, you know, the set was exhausting. And, you know, it was it was over 100 degrees every single day of production. But people really kept a great spirit about it, I thought, and I really do credit the cast, you know, for, I think we were really fortunate to land such wonderful actors in the principal roles, and they just bring so much heart and craft, and depth and sense of humor to, to the story, really bringing it to life. And, and if I had to single out one element that I'm most proud of, probably it would be the performances, and that's maybe the most important piece. But there's so many other elements that Cindy and I also mentioned that, you know, really brought all that together. I didn't mention Stephen Trask, the incredible composer, you know, so many key collaborators contributed so much.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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