DAY ONE  November 3, 2005
AFI Master Filmmaker-in-Residence Gill Dennis Walks the Line
by Rochelle L. Levy
Eight and a half years ago, AFI Conservatory alumnus/Master Filmmaker-in-Residence Gill Dennis began working on a script about Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, with producers James Keach--a close friend of the couple who had optioned their life story--and the late Edgar Scherick. WALK THE LINE premieres November 3, as part of AFI FEST 2005 presented by Audi's Opening Night Gala.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as Carter, Dennis and director/co-writer James Mangold based their script on Cash's two autobiographies. "I identified with the failure of love in Johnny Cash's life and its appalling consequences. And was grateful for the second chance he found with June to make things right," says Dennis, describing his initial impression of Cash as "an astonishingly generous man. And a haunted man."
Dennis' relationship with AFI began in 1969. A theatre director, he entered AFI as a member of its first class, along with 15 or so classmates, including future filmmakers Terrence Malick, David Lynch, Caleb Deschanel, Victor Nunez and Tom Rickman.
With writing credits including 1985's RETURN TO OZ (with Walter Murch), 1987's HOME FIRES (Showtime)), 1992's ON MY OWN (with Antonio Tibaldi) and 1996's RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE (TNT), Dennis returned to AFI in 1997 as a Master Filmmaker-in-Residence, mentoring Second Year thesis projects. From early drafts to shooting scripts, through casting and editing, Dennis is there to share his experiences--good and bad--with AFI Fellows.
"I don't believe teaching is a science," says Dennis. "It has more to do with encouragement and stimulation--and sometimes friendship. I try to help Fellows find their language, which doesn't mean that I necessarily in the end need to understand it. These are two different things." What's most important is respecting each writer's unique voice. "From teaching, you learn that words can be inhibiting," he says. "You must be careful not to paralyze someone's instincts."
So how did Dennis retain his own voice through the more than eight years it took for WALK THE LINE to make it to the big screen? "Well, I loved the people. They were good to be with. You tried to stand near them and see and hear them and get it on the page." While never losing sight of the writer's challenge--to uncover and explore the moments that best reveal the man behind the legend. "We always knew Johnny's life was a compelling story," says Dennis, "about small movements of the heart that make great noise and sometimes end in song."
As far as the impact of this filmmaking journey on his own life, Dennis is both honest and sanguine: "Working on WALK THE LINE has made me older and more patient," he says. "Probably good things for both a teacher and a writer."
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