Did you bring the book to your grandchildren or did they bring it to you?
No, I knew about it. And I think last year, we finished this a year ago and that Christmas, I gave out about 20 copies. Not advertising the film, but I just think it’s a book that [everyone enjoys].
We saw this at the Santa Barbara Film Festival last weekend, they showed it. So I was with my husband and with our grandson who goes to UCSB and his roommate. They’re both 19 and they loved it. And I asked if it was a chick flick date movie. “Maybe not, grandma.” But I don’t agree. I think the younger women will bring their dates maybe to see it, even if they just love dogs. But it doesn’t have all the special effects. It was wonderful being in Napoleonville. Our work takes us all over the world. When would I ever be in Napoleonville and Thibodeaux in Louisiana?
That’s Cajun country?
Cajun country, I know. And I met a Cajun lady. She took me on a tour on a day off, and she took me down this street with the mother and the father, the aunt, the uncle, the nephew, the grandparents. They’re all living together and I thought… I come from a small family. I had one sister. They’re all gone now. And I thought that would be nice. But then by the time I left I thought I don't know. Everybody living that closely, you know?. Everybody knowing everything about your family. But that’s their way. It’s generation after generation after generation. And all that fried food. I didn’t have any of it until the last night, and then I had a plate of it and I couldn’t eat it. I mean, half a crabcake and all those weeks I was looking at people eating all that stuff. We’re not used to it, especially in California.
Does shooting on location make a palpable difference?
Well, when I was younger and my children were small, I hated locations and I didn’t go to a lot because I had the children. But very often I would take them with me. When I did “Exodus,” they were with me and my husband. “Grand Prix,” they were with me. “Russians Are Coming,” they were with me part of the time, so I always took them with me. Now, they have their lives so I don’t mind going as much.
It does make a difference because Napoleonville had 1,000 people. They watched us shoot every day. They were so careful about not getting in the way. I still write to some of those people. And just for Miss Franny to be in the middle of it - and I did have the prettiest house. That house is the best house in Napoleonville. They added the picket fence, but it makes a difference. And you eat in the restaurant there and stay at the Ramada Inn in Thibodeaux. I’ve never seen a Wal Mart and I didn’t go in it, but my God, everybody… That’s another story. You see all these empty businesses because Wal Mart took over the pharmacy. Those are shut down. The clothing stores, shut down. The hardware store, everything. It’s just unbelievable.
But to answer your question, yes. I was just in Elko, Nevada. I just did a film with Sam Shepard [and] played his mother. Wim Wenders directed. Interesting. And it’s written by Wim Wenders and Sam Shepard and that was in Elko. Now, that helped my character there. That little house overlooking the casino and just being in that little town.
That’s “Don’t Come Knocking?”
Yeah. I guess the original of that is, “If the trailer’s rocking, don’t come knocking.” Very different from “Winn-Dixie.” But that’s an interesting role.
How was working with Wim Wenders?
Terrific. What an interesting, interesting director. And since he and Sam Shepard have done things before, they did “Paris, Texas” I believe. And a very quiet man but on the set, very supportive. See, that’s what’s the fun of continuing work. I worked with Hitchcock, these wonderful directors, Kazan. You keep working, get a chance to work with these younger men whose movies you respect and suddenly there you were, making a movie with him.
What are the biggest changes in the industry since you started?
I think in the stories. I’m an Academy member and there are about three wonderful films, I feel. I can’t talk too much about it because we’re now in the process of selecting, but I think in years back, there were many more movies that I really loved. But I think there are some that are just so big.
I loved “Sideways.” That was a simple story, not so simple, but a beautiful story. And “Vera Drake,” if you’ve seen that. And “The Sea Inside”… That was beautiful. I tend to love stories about people and not cop shows and violence, special effects. And some of the things I see, I’m not prudish, I’m not Pollyanna, but I thought “North by Northwest” was as sexy as you can get and we had all our clothes on. And, you know, the imagination. When I see the real thing, I’m just so… Well, they’re not really doing it. They’re not allowed to do it on the set, so why do they go that far?
