Actors praise movie's quality, storyline

Caviezel's other films may boost interest in 'Madison'

By Don Ward
Editor
INDIANAPOLIS (November 2001) – Despite the excitement among Madison locals and extras, perhaps no one is more proud of the movie "Madison" than the actors themselves.

Photo by Don Ward Jim Caviezel poses with extras (left) Brent Yingst, 14, and Wade Norton, 15. Both boys, from Madison, IN., played extras in the movie 'Madison.'

At the film's Oct. 18 Midwest premiere in Indianapolis, several actors returned to celebrate the showing to a "hometown" crowd at the Hilbert Circle Theatre, while using the occasion to renew friendships.
But following the premiere, much of the discussion at the post-premiere reception centered on how the movie played, the realism of the storyline and the beauty of the cinematography, with the city of Madison and the Ohio River valley in the star roles.
"It's a wonderful movie, and there's no reason why it shouldn't been seen by a nationwide audience," insisted actor Jim Caviezel, who along with Jake Lloyd plays the film's starring role of unlimited hydroplane driver Jim McCormick.
Caviezel, a Mount Vernon, Wash., native and star of several recent motion pictures, including "Frequency," "The Thin Red Line" and the soon-to-be-released "The Count of Monte Cristo," spent nearly six weeks on location in Madison in summer 1999 during filming. He rejected a salary (in lieu of a percent of any proceeds) to make the film after first accepting the role, then withdrawing to do a Robert Redford project, then losing out on that project and re-accepting the "Madison" role.
Caviezel's wife, Kerry, a school teacher in Washington state, accompanied the actor to Indianapolis. Immediately following the premiere, Caviezel and Lloyd were surrounded by autograph seekers and obliged everyone with signatures and photos. The two also attended the reception.
In an interview following the premiere, Caviezel said he had to push hard to get away from his current film project to come to Indianapolis for the screening, but felt it was important to be there.
"I felt if we had a great reaction here with this crowd, it could do well anywhere in America. Some say the story might only appeal to a Midwest audience and is not very marketable nationwide, but I believe the story resonates with anyone – if (the distributors in Hollywood) will just give it a chance."
Caviezel described the movie in larger terms than a simple boat race or a father-and-son relationship. "It's about a whole community coming together, and what can be more compelling than that? Like Sept. 11, it gets to the heart of what America is, much in the same tune as 'Chariots of Fire.' "
Caviezel said he wants moviegoers who see the film "Madison" to "come away and feel that we all have dreams." He added that seeing the real Bonnie McCormick and her son, Mike, at the premiere made the night "real emotional. To see the real footage at the end of the film and to see that those people really lived really hits home."

Bonnie McCormick

Caviezel said he asked Bonnie McCormick, who drove from her home in Owensboro, Ky., to be there, how she felt. He said that she replied, "Like it was a different person up there on the screen."
Mike McCormick, meanwhile, said he relived the experience all over by watching the actors portray him and his family. Lloyd, the star of "Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace who played McCormick as a 9-year-old in "Madison," said
"It's been a long time since I've seen the film, and I thought it was good. I still laughed at the jokes and felt the emotion of the story in the audience," said Lloyd, a native of Fort Collins, Colo.
Lloyd, now 12, has not acted in any projects since filming "Madison." His parents divorced and he and his younger sister, Madison, moved to Indianapolis with their mother Lisa Lloyd, a co-producer of the film. He is in the seventh grade at a private school and said he spends much of his time "trying to deal with other seventh-graders."
Lloyd said he enjoyed making the film, especially the scenes with veteran actor Bruce Dern. "He taught me that you can say a lot on screen without talking – through your physicial gestures and facial expressions."
"Madison" director Bill Bindley and script writer Scott Bindley soaked up the night by receiving awards and accolades from the crowd and Heartland Film Festival officials. Afterward, Bindley praised the promotional efforts of his actors, especially Caviezel.
"No one has worked harder to promote this film than Jim Caviezel," said director Bill Bindley. "He has done everything we have asked of him and more. He is a true believer in this project."
Caveizel said the movie "should have come out last summer," but added that he hoped the publicity from his upcoming "Count of Monte Cristo" film will boost "Madison" when it is released in the spring.
"We still need to get a score and need the studios to believe in this film, and right now they don't, but we'll persevere," he said.

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