The film stars Alex Roe (also one of the film’s producers) as Will, an underemployed miner estranged, by varying degrees, from the rest of his family – chief among them his ex-wife Sara (Sosie Bacon) and their young daughter. With opioid addiction and its effects suffused through every part of their lives and environment, Will struggles to rebuild a life for himself and work towards a more meaningful and sustained redemption.
We recently spoke with Mensore – who is a Film Independent Directing Lab Fellow, among other accolades and recognition – about the difficulties of mounting a second feature, working with his actors and the local community, Appalachia, starting over, and more.
EDDIE MENSORE
Matt Warren (Louisville Film Society): The last time we spoke was when Mine 9 was brand new. A lot of my questions this time are about the process of going from your first film to your second film. What were you determined to repeat from the experience of making Mine 9? And what if anything were you determined to avoid?
Mensore: With Mine 9 we originally had proper producers and larger name actors attached, and after three years of it almost getting a green light and then not, I decided to go to Atlanta and make it independently. It was originally a 112-page script, but we only had the budget to make 74 pages of it. So I had to make the decision that our bread and butter was the underground action stuff. I had to leave out all the drama, everything that happened above the mine. So [with that film] I didn’t get to do any of the drama or emotional connection or realism. With Hazard, I really wanted to do the drama and the dialogue and just see what I could do, not relying on action stuff.
Right, they’re like two sides of the same coin.
If I’d had a bigger budget I would’ve already made both of these movies in one, but that’s not what happened. So this one [Hazard] is just drama, you know? There’s no real bad guy in either of my movies. In Mine 9 the bad guy is the coal mine, and in this one it’s the pharmaceutical company, who you never meet.
You know, a lot of ink is spilled on the challenges of making a first film, but what are some of the challenges, as you see it, for filmmakers trying to get their second feature made?
Sadly, you’re just starting over again. There was nobody who came at me with a big bag of money after Mine 9. It’s not like anybody said to me, “Here, let me make your dreams come true.” So you know right away going into making another film that it’s not going to have any distribution, other than what you can do on your own.
Let’s flip it from a negative to a positive. What were some of the benefits of having Mine 9 under your belt when it came time to approach people for Hazard?
The actors wanted to work with me this time! You know what I mean? Like, all of the actors could watch Mine 9 and see that there’s something there and want to work with me.
The performances in this film are all really strong. You’re tracking these characters through various peaks and valleys of their addiction. Did you have a system of charting with your actors? Like: “Okay, this is where he is in his addiction at this point in the story…” That sort of thing?
So Alex Roe, our lead, we filmed in Harlan County, Kentucky, and he came in a month in advance. I connected him with people who helped us make the movie who were all recovering [from addiction]. They took him to NA meetings and really befriended him. Like, they would hang out together at night when we wrapped. So Alex really handled himself. He charted his addiction and knew exactly where he was with each scene. We would just have a conversation about how sick he was supposed to be. You know, this is what would be going on at this point – like when you get the chills and it’s almost like there’s needles in your body and you can’t even walk up the stairs.
And for the other characters?
With Carl, the dad, it was easier. He’s only in two or three different scenes, so his progression is his progression. And with Sara, she [Sosie Bacon] grasped it extremely quickly. With addiction it’s like you’re trying as hard as you can, and then the wind blows a certain direction, and all of a sudden you find yourself using again. That’s how people described addiction to us. So her arc was sort of cut and dry – you’re struggling, you’re sober, and then you’re off a cliff.
I’m thinking about the interviews with real-life people recovering from addiction over the end credits, which is its own great little documentary piece. Are those some of the folks Alex was in contact with to build his character?
If you remember Mine 9, we had the real coal miners during the end credits. Those were the real miners who helped us make the movie and took us underground. So yeah, these were the people in recovery who did the same thing for us on this film. I’m from West Virginia, and the stories that I want to tell are these stories about real people in Appalachia. So if I’m going to tell a story and honor these people, I want to show the real people that we’re honoring, you know?
How has the response to Hazard been so far?
It’s been really incredible. People at health clinics and recovery clinics would come out to these screenings. We’d do the Q&As and you’re hearing, like, “My brother went through exactly what Will went through.” So that response has been amazing. My big goal is to honor them and make them happy. And I think people who work in recovery and those who have been through recovery, those people all really love the movie.
That’s great. And where are you going with the film from here?
We’re still in theaters throughout Appalachia. We opened on probably 40 screens, probably 50 screens total. And then I’m going to do a college tour with it.
Is there anything you’re looking at as your next project? I think the last time we spoke you were working on some kind of historical epic.
That historical one’s called Rednecks. It’s about the Battle of Blair Mountain, when, like, 40 different ethnicities of coal miners from all over the country and overseas came in and worked on the coal mines in America. And it’s about the unionization of coal mines in America. So Mine 9 has the action aspect, Hazard has the dramatic aspect, and the next project will have both. The script’s ready. It’ll be a much larger budget. That’s the only thing I’m focused on right now.
For more information about Hazard and where to watch the film, check out the official website.
