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Award-winning author Judy Blume, right, talks with Tatanka Means, who plays Wolf in “Tiger Eyes.”
Sometimes patience pays off – just ask Judy Blume. More than 30 years after writing “Tiger Eyes,” Blume has overseen the book becoming a feature film – the first for the award-winning author.
So what took so long for Blume to make a movie?
“Maybe I was waiting for the right director, someone who knew and loved New Mexico, who understood the story and the characters. Someone who had a real passion for this project,” she explains. “(My son) Larry says from the day he first read the book, he knew some day he would make it into a movie. I’m so glad we were able to work together to make it happen.”
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If you go WHAT: “Tiger Eyes” WHEN: 4 p.m. Oct. 21 WHERE: Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco, Santa Fe HOW MUCH: $10 general, $8 students/SFIFF members at www.ticketssantafe.org or 505-988-1234 |
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For 23 days in 2011, Blume and company filmed throughout Los Alamos and Santa Fe.
“(Larry’s) passion for the project shines through,” she explains. “I’m amazed at how much he was able to do on our small budget. I can’t thank him enough for giving this project his all.”
The story follows Davey Wexler, played by “Gossip Girl’s” Willa Holland, as she and her mother move from Atlantic City, N.J., to Los Alamos after her father’s death. After lying in bed for days on end and not eating, Davey starts her sophomore year of high school in Los Alamos.
Davey explores the town on her Aunt Bitsy’s bicycle. She goes to a canyon and after climbing down she runs into an older boy who calls himself Wolf, played by New Mexico resident Tatanka Means, and the two begin to develop a friendship/relationship.
The movie will have its New Mexico premiere at 4 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe. The film is closing the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival.
When it came to writing “Tiger Eyes,” Blume believes in writing what she knows.
“We lived in New Mexico for seven years, two of them in Los Alamos,” she explains. “I could never write a book in such an ‘exotic’ setting without having lived there myself. My daughter went to LAHS (Los Alamos High School) and my son went to Cumbres Junior High, then they both attended Santa Fe Prep. They fell in love with New Mexico. The New Mexico landscape is as important as any character in ‘Tiger Eyes.’ ”
Since Blume took her time in getting her first feature film made, she was sure to have a hand in casting the movie.
She and her son had less than four days to cast the entire movie – two in New Mexico and a day and a half in Los Angeles.
“We were incredibly lucky, thanks to Jo Edna Boldin, our New Mexico casting director, to find our Wolf (Tatanka Means) and Mr. Ortiz (Russell Means),” she explains. “And what a thrill for this mother/son team to work with that father/son team. Jo Edna also found Lucien Dale (Davey’s little brother, Jason). Lucien is that rare, unaffected child actor. And Elise Eberle (Jane), who was then a senior at Albuquerque Academy – talk about a talented young actor. But I could go on and on.”
And it was in Los Angeles where Blume found Holland for the role of Davey.
“She is in every scene in the film. I can’t imagine ‘Tiger Eyes’ without her,” she explains. “She embodies Davey. Every time I see her on screen I’m thankful for her expressive face, her luminosity.”
Blume says it’s been “a thrill” to see the characters go from page to big screen.
She also is looking forward to continuing work on a novel that she pushed aside in 2009. The story takes place in the early 1950s, and she doesn’t have to worry about details like electronics or current events.
“I want to finish the novel I put aside to work on the filming of ‘Tiger Eyes,’ ” she says. “I’d like to see ‘Summer Sisters’ as a feature. And I know Larry would like to direct it.”
After the premiere, Blume will have a book signing and is looking forward to coming back to the Land of Enchantment.
“While we were there I ate more red enchiladas than in all my previous years living in New Mexico,” she explains. “It’s good I’m coming back for the film festival because I’m ready for more.”
More than 40 years after writing her first novel, Blume is still amazed at her place in popular culture. She’s sold more than 80 million books. Her novels for teenagers were among the first to tackle racism, menstruation, divorce, bullying, masturbation and teen sex. Blume is also facing an obstacle of her own, undergoing treatment for breast cancer, which she announced in August.
“My dream was to be published,” she explains. “Then, to be read. Then, to connect to my readers. How lucky I am that these dreams have come true.”
SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter at @agomezART.
