Lots of stories to tell regarding the journey that led to LADY IN WHITE.
I had the good fortune of directing OLYMPIA DUKAKIS in 1994. The film, MOTHER, (alternate title: THE HAUNTED HEART), was independently produced and starred Diane Ladd in the title role. Olympia played Mrs. Jay, Diane's character's scheming and seemingly ruthless “best friend.” It was shot on a tight, thirty one day schedule with a budget of $3,000,000.
During the course of re-working the script with the writer, Michael Angellela, I felt that Olympia's character was in need of some hidden motivation to flesh out what was driving her desperate attempts at controlling (and ultimately, tragically destroying) her best friend Olivia's life as well as her own.
This behind the scenes footage is the “reveal scene” in the film where Mrs. Jay ultimately exposes to the audience the tragic secret that is driving her: she has terminal cancer.
There are times, on set, when an actor is called upon to bring forth an emotional response from the audience that can only happen through skill and a gifted capacity for tapping into the deep-set fear and horror that life experience has forced us to confront.
We shot this in one take.
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