What’s special about this little indie is the character development teamed with the film’s positive theme. Its heartwarming message is provided without the saccharine sweetness that weighs down so many feel-good movies. The characters don’t spout dialogue at each other, they actually engage in conversations. The actors, headlined by Teri Hatcher, take the high-quality material they were given and make it their own.
I had the pleasure of speaking with “The Chester Story’s” writer/director/producer Rebecca Cook. A woman of many talents, her enthusiasm for this film is downright contagious.
Are any of these characters in “The Chester Story” based on real people in your life?
You know, I’ve been asked this before and I have to say that they’re not directly based on anybody. I wasn’t inspired for any character to be developed through the knowledge of someone in my own life. I think subconsciously they are each combinations of people I’ve known, or sense of humors of people in my life. So while it isn’t a direct map of someone I know, I think it’s inevitable that I apply people in my life to the various parts of the characters.
A lot of the sense of humor stuff – particularly between the brothers in the film – I would say was influenced by my husband, who I’ve been with since I was 17. We dated 11 years and then got married. I got to know his college friends and I got to spend a lot of time with his friends, and when you're able to spend that many years with the same group of people with the same sense of humor, I felt like it was a good education for sort of how men joke with each other or how they respond emotionally. I really do have to give those guys, and my husband, credit for learning a lot about how men communicate and joke with each other.
Do you see yourself in any of these characters?
I think they’re like my alter ego. I think that Megan and Jessie are probably the two sides of my personality that I like. I like the nurturing side that I believe is there. That’s probably how people identify with me. Then there's the side of Megan where, for me she has her own issues in this film, she's sort of this kickass New York woman who has a quick tongue and a strong demeanor. I think that's who I want to aspire to be. I'm the kind of person who will walk away and think of that line a minute too late. I looked at Megan as more the kind of person who could accomplish that. I tend to write, even in my other scripts, strong woman characters who reflect that, so I’m guessing it's because I’d like to have more of that in my own personality. If I could only write a script for my day-to-day life (laughing).
I think they are all combinations [of people I know], but they've got to be extensions of myself. I don’t look at any of these characters and go, "Oh, that's so funny. I see my best friend in that." I don't do that at all, so it's got to just be different levels of myself. Also I think they are just glimpses of people I’ve met over time. I tend to when I get interested in a subject or a particular genre of life - let it be blue collar, working class town or the project I’m working on now that's more in the music scene - I get very obsessed with sort of soaking in the atmosphere. I think that as a result, that comes out in these characters, too.
NEXT PAGE: Casting Teri Hatcher and Rehearsal Time
