The feature film, "Southern Heart", is the culmination of a lifelong dream for
its producers, writers and lead actresses, Jamie Hendrix Collins and Emily
Carpenter. Around 1989, Jamie and Emily wrote this romantic comedy set in the
north Alabama town of Mentone. Neither of these native Alabamians had any
connections with anyone in the industry. More than that, Jamie comes from a
family of farmers.
While growing up, she spent her free time helping her father harvest potatoes
and cotton in the northern Alabama mountains. However, both of these
extraordinary young women had always had a burning desire to produce
entertainment that would be appealing to a broad based audience.
After completing the screenplay, Jamie and Emily set out to produce the film.
Not knowing where to start, they began by going to the local video store and
reading the credits listed on the back of the films which they most enjoyed.
They would write down the names and then begin calling these people, not being
phased when many failed to return their calls. On more than one occasion, they
were offered assistance by various producers, directors and financiers but
politely refused their offers when it became apparent that these persons were
not prepared to produce the project in accordance with "the vision that God had
given them". You can imagine how difficult it was to decline these offers after
struggling for almost nine (9) years. However, they never lost sight of their
dream, but more importantly, they never compromised their vision.
In February, 1997, after struggling for nearly nine (9) years in their futile
attempt to produce this project, they made a monumental decision. They came to
the realization that they could "live with failure, but could not live with
regret". They took a calendar and with a bold "red" marker, drew an "X" over
the date of October 17, 1997. With the determination that is rarely ever seen,
they proclaimed that they would begin principal photography on that date.
Period. They had waited long enough for others to assist them. These two young
ladies now knew that it was up to them to carry this project from a dream to
its reality.
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