Austin Film Festival Conversations: The Cast and the Writer/Director of ‘Re: Uniting’

Still from ‘Re: Uniting’ Courtesy of @sydwonphotography.

Re: Uniting is a powerful motion picture that recently screened at the Austin Film Festival, about the importance of living life to its fullest and cherishing the moments we have. And we here at NTG had the distinct honor of being able to sit down with members from the cast of the film, Bronwen Smith (Carrie), Michelle Harrison (Rachel), David James Lewis (Danny), and Roger Cross (Collin), and the film’s Writer/Director, Laura Adkin to discuss this powerful feature.
 
John Betancourt: I would love to know from each of you, what it was that attracted you to take part in this film, and for Laura, what it was that inspired you to write it?
 
Bronwen Smith: For me it was that Laura was creating a role that she said that she was making for me, and I was ready to embrace that. And then when she said, what other people were involved, I was more than happy to do that. But a role that I could sink my teeth into, like, there's a lot of… in TV you're in, you're out. And this gave me an opportunity to really dive in deep.
 
David James Lewis: It's so interesting that you said this because we've talked about it. And you're such an amazing theater actor. And Laura is like, she's such a great actor, I want to give her something to like… because you're such an amazing actor. But then, but then in film and TV, we just like… all we do is carry water for the leads of the show.
 
Bronwen Smith: Yeah, exactly, exactly. So here, I got to do that much more.
 
Michelle Harrison: For me, the script, yeah, working with Laura ,watching Laura, like, over the year, you know, write this script, and then send a rewrite, and then working with all these amazing people, because it was really a gift to be able to sit across from all of these people and act in great scenes, and be able to have the time to do that.
 
Laura Adkin: Um, I mean, so I've told this story many times, but you get to hear it again. 10 years or so ago, I was at the Toronto Film Festival, and they were doing a 25th anniversary screening of The Big Chill. And all the cast was there, and the director was there. And they talked about shooting it. And I just remembered how much I loved movies like that. And I wanted to write something like that with a big ensemble and, and just people talking and dealing with stuff. It was like irreverent, witty dialogue, dealing with deep subject matters. So, I just had that idea in the back of my head. And then I don't know, a couple years ago, I was like, I need to make my first feature. I read a bunch of scripts. And I was like, “I don't want to make any of these movies. I want to make the movie that I wanted to make.” And the idea for this has always been in my brain, but I don't think I was ready to make it until I was at this point in my life.
 
And then so you know, some of the subject matters are just things that I'm curious about and, you know, terrified of and I mean, I love a good death. I really do. Not to give any spoilers. No, but like, but death and dying and aging and like unfulfilled potential? And did I make the right choices? These are all things that I think about all the time, I do talk about death all the time, because it frightens me. And so, you know, to deal with it, you know, and I had known a couple of people who had, you know, made the choices that one of the characters’ made, to me that was really interesting to just sort of to process that. And that's what I do in my writing is the things that I'm terrified about or the things that I want clarity on or want to deal with. I just write it into a script and make y'all deal with it. (Laughter from everyone.)
 
David James Lewis: Well Laura---
 
Roger Cross: She’s his wife, and she said, “you’re doing this.”
 
David James Lewis: Laura is my wife, and more importantly, she's my “Sensual Lover.” (Laura rolls her eyes). You're not! Wait a second! (Laughter from everyone.) Honestly, Laura's, like, not even kidding. Laura's like, “I'm going to do this thing and you're going to be like, okay.” But I'm not in it because she’s, my wife. I'm in it because she's a talented person. Her stuff is really interesting. And she wrote a really interesting character for me that is a character I never get to play but is quite close to who I am as a human being… a bit of a thing, a wing nut, whatever. I get drunk and I do drugs. Not anymore! (Long pause, laughter from everyone.) But these are the parts I don't get to play. I always play very sort of buttoned up staid characters that are just you know doing the best they can, but this was the character that was like out of control and just didn't really have a lot of boundaries. And, this has been… I've been fortunate to work a lot over the years this has been the best character, the most fun character I've ever played.
 
Laura Adkin: You didn't have to use your acting voice.
 
David James Lewis: Didn't have to use my acting voice. I was able to use my real voice. Thanks babe, we can have a chat when we get home. (More laughter)
 
Roger Cross: My friend Michelle here, who I’ve known forever, called me and goes, “Listen! This friend wrote this script and it’s awesome. You should check it out, blah, blah, blah, blah.” And I'm like, “Alright, well, you know, send it to me.” And she goes, “You know what? I'm gonna send you a short she did. And it's great,” whatever. And she sent me this short. And I’m like, this lady knows what she's doing. She's pretty damn good, right? And this guy was in it too. (Gestures toward David) And I'm like, that's pretty cool. And then we talked about it and then she goes, “Okay, I'm sending you the script.” And I read it, and I was like, “Wow, this is heavy.” Interestingly enough. And maybe this will give away too much. A few years ago, I was asked to do a play about that lady on Vancouver Island that… she made a choice. And that didn't work out. But it was kind of like, I didn't know how I felt about subject matter. And so, it was very interesting reading this and I went, “Okay, this is the way you dealt with it.” It's… I don't think you could have dealt with it in a better way. And it was beautiful, and how the story was crafted. And I was like, “If my schedule works, I would love to do this.” And beautifully enough, it all worked out and landed in the right spot and the right time where I was able to do it. And you know, be roomies with the lover here. (More Laughter)
 
David James Lewis: We became roommates because Laura and I talked about the fact that if she's directing it, I'm acting in it, we, we had a place we could have lived together. But we wanted to separate church and state it was like, I don't want to….
 
Laura Adkin: Yes, my Sensual Lover moved out.
 
David James Lewis: Yes, Sensual Lover, which is the name of my upcoming autobiography. (Laughter)
 
John Betancourt: Oh, that’s something we need to expand upon later! But for now, this really is a movie that tackles some tough topics, starts a tough conversation, and we are seeing more films do that right now. Why do each of you think it's so important to have this film out here now, and start those conversations?
 
Bronwen Smith: For that very reason, the conversation is an opportunity. I mean, there's always catharsis in art, which is so important, which is the whole reason that we do this, so that people don't feel so alone, when they're facing these sorts of things, they can see themselves reflected back. And that's helpful because loneliness is such a prevailing thing in our society. But, but exactly what you said, to start the conversation so we can begin that. And that's the purpose of art. And that's why we have to keep doing this so that people can have those conversations.
 
Michelle Harrison:  And I think we see, like so many of our friends, parents who have, like, either passed away or had dementia or Alzheimer's, and you watch the deterioration of someone older, with all of their capacities. But then to see a young-ish mother, who's dealing with that, and having to make a choice. I don't know how much you can say in this interview, but somebody in their middle age with a family, having to make a difficult choice with children, to me was really interesting. Laura and I, we had a lot of disagreements about this part of the script for a while. Laura stuck her ground and said, trust me, and I did. But I think all for the better because we are telling a story about something that you don't see as often.
 
Laura Adkin: I mean, I think there's lots of conversations I wanted to have, right? It's not just that one thing, which is why I wrote this as an ensemble, because I wanted different people to be having different perspectives on different things that were happening. It's… for everyone, it's about like with where they are in their life, where they were before, the people who knew them when they were younger. Because that's interesting to me, this idea of the people who knew you when you were like, 18,19, 20, who knew all the dreams that you had, who were your first real family that you chose for yourself. And then, you know, to see everybody later, and it's like, the people that are doing the things they said they would do, people that aren't doing those things. And so, it was important for me to have different perspectives. So, there's different secrets or different things. But it's, you know, it's about like, just being, like, authentic. And I think a lot of these characters were holding on to things that didn't make them authentic. So wanted them all to have the feeling, I also want the audience to be able to watch this and go like, “Oh, I connect with, or I would connect with Carrie, I connect with Rachel or connect to like, whoever.” Yeah, that's why I wrote it, the way that I did.
 
David James Lewis: Yeah, I mean, I'm in my 50s, which is weird, because I look like I'm like, early 30s. But I… pause for shock. (Laughter from everyone)
 
Roger Cross:  Comedian on the weekend.
 
David James Lewis: I think about… I think about death. Probably because icons that I've seen, you know, whether it's the David Bowie's or recently, Matthew Perry, like, people are moving on and, and friends of my parents are moving on. And it's just like, it's something that when you're younger, you never think about. You think you're going to live forever. You are impenetrable. And so, to have to watch this movie where people are dealing with how they handle loss, or what the next thing looks like… it's really interesting. It's… it's uncomfortable, but I think it should be but it's also like, I think it's liberating. I watch this film, and I cry every time, but I feel good at the end of it. I don't feel bad. I feel good.
 
Roger Cross: Hey, listen, you know, what was really interesting, is the grass is always greener, on the other side is a big thing there. So, no matter how amazing someone might look from the outside, you know, that's my character, for example, got it all together, millionaire, he's got everyone wanting to, you know, these women want to be with him, men want to be him. And yeah, he's the… you know? And there’s the lady with a beautiful kids and everyone’s all “Oh, my God, you're amazing!” The neurosurgeon, she's doing her thing, she's all this, whatever. But you're all missing something in your life. And it's great that we can actually as a society now have these conversations and have the bravery to do it. Because in the past, you know, you hold on to it, and you take it with you, you don't deal with these things, especially as men, you're men, you're tough. You know, we swallow that, bury it down deep, and you don't deal with it. And now we're in a place where we can actually talk about it and put it out there to other people that I'm not alone and say, “Yes, we can do this. And it's an important thing.” And I think this is this is an important movie and it's… I'm so blessed.
 
David James Lewis: I just wanted to that was a good answer, considering the smell of bacon was coming in and I was ready to bolt! (Laughter from everyone)
 
John Betancourt: I’ve heard a lot of passion here when it comes to your answers, and it’s a passionate film that clearly you all loved working on. I just want to know what you loved the most about working on this project?
 
Bronwen Smith: The seals that I got to see. (Laughter from everyone)
 
Roger Cross: You and those seals!
 
Bronwen Smith: We were just shooting in this beautiful spot in the Pacific Northwest, and these seals would pop up from the ocean. And it was just it was, it was glorious. It was the most… it was a magical summer camp with the best people you could possibly be with doing a job that you love the most and, and a gift of an opportunity with the scripts and a filmmaker that could guide us all the way like it was just…
 
Michelle Harrison: Good answer. That’s an extra sound bite right there. For me, it was working with all of these people, it was the most wonderful experience, all these old friends of mine, and we got to finally get together and do this together and do what we love and work. She (Laura) killed it. And it was really, it was really wonderful to watch her rise to that occasion and just carry that torch. And I always say Laura was like, so calm on set. And so like, nothing could bother her.
 
Laura Adkin: Yeah, I mean, I think the whole thing was great. We had lots of amazing moments, getting to work with all the actors, getting to work with an incredible crew, getting to shoot in this amazing magical place. Getting to be creative with everybody. But you know, the adaptability of the actors was probably my favorite. I love when things go wrong, and then you fix them, and then it's amazing. I don't know if you all remember this, but there was a scene that was not working. It was not working. And I was like “Everybody stop! Five-minute break! And then I rewrote the scene, I think on a napkin and I'm like, “This is your line! This is what we’re doing!” It was just not working. And then we just reshot it, and then it all worked. So that was my -- I will tell you my least favorite moment was in the sailboat. I have such bad motion sickness. And that boat was like…
 
David James Lewis: It was supposed to be attached to the dock but still…
 
Laura Adkin: Yeah! It was moving! Also, we have this fake cigarette smoke happening in the thing. I mean, there was a moment where I was like, “I gotta go, I gotta go. I feel like I need to—" I had to leave. Our sound guy also almost vomited. He stayed in there, though. I got off the sailboat. I tried to watch on the monitor. Not on the dock, but I couldn't because of the thing. So, I was so nauseous and sick and have no idea what happened that day. And then I saw the footage and I was like--
 
David James Lewis: Oh, we made sensual love.
 
Laura Adkin: No, you weren't even there. But I did watch the footage after and I was like, “Oh, that's what happened that day.” No recollection of the scene. You did great acting, you and Jesse (L. Martin). And that was like another magical thing that happened. Like I wrote that in a tree house. It was supposed to be a treehouse. And then my cinematographer. He was like, “No, it should be in a sailboat.” I'm like, “How are we gonna get a sailboat?” And then we went and looked at some treehouses, one at Michelle's house. And then Sterling, who was my DP was like, “No. It has to be a sailboat.” And then we got a sailboat. (Laughter from Everyone)
 
David James Lewis: So obviously working with all of these actors who are working actors is so exciting, so fun to like, actually do scenes that aren't just like one and a half page where you tell number one on the call sheet where the danger is, or why they should be, you know, falling in love with the guy that owns the pumpkin patch. We make those movies and they're important. They're so important. I got to do all that. But even more importantly for me, my son, who was 18 at the time, he came, Laura was so gracious to invite him to come and work on the set. And he was an actor, but she brought him on as a crew member. And he ended up working in the camera department. And he did an amazing job. And he's since then he's worked on like 20 films and TV shows and stuff since then. Yeah, it's been unbelievable. But there was a big scene that we shot; it was a very big scene that we shot. And we ended our day, and I went immediately to the bar and had a drink because I was just like, I couldn't deal with all of this. It was difficult and, and my son texted me out of nowhere. And he's like, “Dad. That is the best in person acting I've ever seen in my life.” And then I was like, in tears. It was. I got to have this amazing gift. Thank you, Laura for that, by the way, that my son will never forget whether he likes me or loves me or whatever, down the road, but yeah, it was such a powerful moment. So that was that was that was a personal one for me.
 
Roger Cross: Well, for me, it sounds like a broken record, but it was working with all these people and getting to bring this character to life and share these moments. And as you said, it was easy to be there, be present with these amazing actors and give your 100% every opportunity you get, and work it out and as Laura said, if it wasn't working, let's make it work. And you know, she rewrote stuff, she was receptive to what we had to say, but stay true to her vision. And, like Bronwen said, it was like summer camp, it was almost like boot camp for acting. Because if we're gonna make this happen, we all got together during COVID. So, we stayed on Bowen. And I roomed with this this dude. But seriously, it was, recharge the battery. Because I've been very busy. I was juggling shows. And literally before I did this movie, this guy and I hadn't worked together before. And literally just before this movie, I was doing a show and you happened to be there. We actually had a scene together. Yeah, after all these years of the business, we worked together, and all sudden, he's like, “let's talk about our characters in Laura’s movie.” So, while we're shooting this other movie, we're also…
 
David James Lewis: It kind of became like Acting 101. A little bit like we, we do this long enough, we're just like, we kind of do what we kind of do. This was… this was a great acting exercise. It was so fun. The young actors on this show, were like, “Watching you guys work was just like, wow.” Oh, we're just working. But they were like, “Oh my gosh, it was like being an acting class.”
 
Roger Cross: Richard’s Son. He kind of came up to me and he was like, “How do you what you do? I don't know. But I aspire to do it. Yeah, but yeah, it was an incredible experience. It's amazing.
 
John Betancourt: The last question that I have for you all today. What are you most proud of when it comes to your work on this project?
 
Roger Cross: I'm most proud of the whole thing. You know, the whole thing, is art really art if no one sees it? And I'm like, yeah, it is because this was art. And I think everyone should see it. And everyone hopefully will see it, but if no one sees it. It was so fulfilling and beautiful for me that I'm just thankful I was a part of it.
 
David James Lewis: Yeah, I mean, I'm so proud of my wife, SL, Sensual Lover. (Laughter from Everyone) I am… I'm so proud of you. Like… listen… I live with her. We live together. I have seen the ups and downs and middles and downs and ups. It's a roller coaster ride of how hard you and Christa have worked on this, and I've seen you just be like “I hate this movie. I've watched it 500 times.” Then, “I just watched it last night. It's a good movie.” Later she's like “I can't even” and then she loves it again. Because obviously you know so much about it, but I'm so I'm so proud of you. I'm so, so, incredibly, incredibly proud of you, for what you've made for all of us and for yourself. Yeah, amazing.
 
Laura Adkin: I mean, I just the whole thing about how hard everyone worked and we're all still friends. Yay! It’s a big deal when you can film, and everyone still likes each other. And I think I think for me, what I'm the proudest of, is that I was able to create a safe, fun, respectful set. And you know, where Christa, I worked really, really hard to make sure that everyone that came on to this movie was the right person to come on to this movie, from the PAs to the actors to everyone in between, you know, we had a lot of an amazing, talented crew that were so respectful, and we were respectful of them. And like, you know, I think that's the way that movies need to be made, I think, you know, I really worked hard to only have 10-hour camera days, we had a couple 12, but mostly 10-hour camera days, I, you know, we really wanted to just make a film that didn't feel like too much work. And like that people enjoyed being there, and that everyone felt like their contribution to the film was important, because it was every single person.
 
John Betancourt: You know, I am hearing that sentiment about how a set should be run more as of late.
 
Laura Adkin: Yes, just because we've always done things a certain way doesn't mean we need to keep doing them that way. I think, you know, you respect people's time, and you respect, you know, the fact that everyone does actually have a family and they do have lives and they have things they need to get to, they don't need to be on set all the time. So, that's what I'm really proud of is that we I think we've made that happen.
 
Michelle Harrison: I'm really proud of well, all of us just being able to breathe through all the scenes, it never felt like going to work. It never felt like there wasn't enough time to do a scene, it never felt like things were missed, because we were trying to rush through. It just felt like we were all kind of breathing. Even though our characters are breathing in different rhythms. We were all breathing collectively together to make this piece of art. And like you said, nothing didn't work. And a lot of times, you're when you're in a scene, you're dealing with things that aren't working or the person across from you, or the time or the weather, and it all just magically worked. Un-magically, magically, because there was a lot of thought behind that magic.
 
Laura Adkin: And even when it didn't work, like the most magical moments in the film, and in any film, I've ever made, happened when I had an expectation of what was going to happen. And then that didn't work. So, we had to pivot and find something different.
 
Bronwen Smith Well, all of the above answers. (Laughter from Everyone) Steal from the artists. And it's hard because like I sort of like bristle at the idea of the pride because then it feels like… “ew”, because it's so much gratitude for the privilege and the opportunity that I just get to do this. But one of the things that struck me today was seeing all the names and the faces of all of these students that Laura and I have as acting students. And it really like, I mean, that's Laura, she gave them the opportunity. Like that's all on her, but it really made me proud for them to see them up there and to see their names on the credits.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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