Exclusive: Alisha Wainwright On Working With Director Fisher Stevens And Justin Timberlake In ‘Palmer’
Currently playing on Apple TV+ is “Palmer,” starring Justin Timberlake, Juno Temple, Alisha Wainwright, June Squibb and Ryder Allen. Directed by Fisher Stevens from a screenplay written by Cheryl Guerriero, “Palmer” will premiere globally on Apple TV+ January 29, 2021.
Former high-school football star Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) went from hometown hero to convicted felon, earning himself twelve years in a state penitentiary. He returns home to Louisiana, where he moves back in with Vivian (June Squibb), the grandmother who raised him. While trying to keep his head down and rebuild a quiet life for himself, Palmer is haunted by memories of his glory days and the suspicious eyes of his small town community.
Things become more complicated when Vivian’s hard-living neighbor Shelly (Juno Temple) disappears on a prolonged bender, leaving her precocious and unique 7-year-old son Sam (Ryder Allen), often the target of bullying, in Palmer’s reluctant care. In time, Palmer is drawn into a more hopeful world as he forges a connection with Sam through their shared experience of being made to feel different by those around them. Life improves for Palmer, and a romance develops between him and Sam’s teacher Maggie (Alisha Wainwright). An inspiring and unexpected journey unfolds for the three of them, but soon Palmer’s past threatens to tear apart this new life.
For Wainwright, this is her second project where her character has to deal with a child who needs special attention. She previously starred alongside Michael B Jordan in the Netflix series Raising Dion, which is currently shooting its second season. In speaking with BlackFilmandTV.com, Wainwright talks about her experience on Palmer, from working with Fisher Stevens and Justin Timberlake to enjoying the places in New Orleans.
How did this world come about for you?
Alisha Wainwright: I actually met with Fisher Stevens, the day before I started my press tour for Raising Dion so it was one of those things where it just happened to be like, "Oh, you're in LA. Come in and meet Fisher." I read the script in one sitting. I was so taken by Fisher's perspective, his point of view on the movie, I saw the way he saw it, and I wanted to be a part of it. So I wrapped up the press tour for reasons beyond and and found out that he wanted me to be a part of the project as well. It was a crazy weekend. Then I think maybe like two weeks later, we went and made the movie. So it felt it felt like a very busy month.
You're playing the role of a teacher, who has great care for a kid who needs attention. This is nothing new for you, because you're coming off a series doing something similar. How else would you describe your role?
Alisha Wainwright Well, first of all, Maggie is Sam's school teacher, and you're right, she does take a special interest in him because she knows that his home life is a difficult situation. And in general, Maggie is fun, she's imaginative with her kids, and she just wants them to be happy, because I think in shadowing teachers for the role, the main takeaway I got was that happy and joyful kids make better sponges for information. I really tried to bring that element into her character traits. Beyond that, she's very grounded and loving, and I appreciate how she handled conflict within the story. Even more so, if you think about all the characters that are in the movie, she's the only person who tells the truth the whole way through. That’s something Fisher pointed out. She’s the only person in the movie that doesn't lie. She's this like grounding person and also she's non judgmental. So that makes her a great person to facilitate and guide Palmer's rehabilitation process.
As you read the script, is there any part of Maggie that you could relate with?
Alisha Wainwright She's a straight shooter and I like to consider myself a straight shooter. She's a lot of what I want to be. The Halloween scene for example, instead of chastising the children about making fun of Sam for wearing a princess costume, she just decides to wear a costume as well to be able to show the kids, "look, I can do it too." It can be fun. It can be just the normal thing. You can do whatever you want and have a good time and use that as a way to help the lesson. Stick with the kids more. Sometimes I wish I could find innovative ways to get my point across like she does.
How was working with Justin and establishing a chemistry so that audience can believe in their connection?
Alisha Wainwright: Firstly, Justin is very invested in this character in this movie, and in telling this beautiful story about Sam. He's a team player in how he creates a two hander process with Ryder Allen, who plays Sam. I also really appreciated that he led Fisher shepherd the whole process. Fisher was the captain and we were all really invested in our own characters. Because the movie is so character driven, that's how you're able to really tell the story effectively and touch people's hearts. Yeah, I think his dedication and his vulnerability were so valuable to the project, because when you can be vulnerable, that's how you get the chemistry with Sam and with all the other characters in the movie to be able to tell the story. Because at the end of the day, that story is how do we make this little boy feel like he is absolutely normal and perfect, because he is.
How was shooting in New Orleans? That’s no so far from your hometown in Florida.
Alisha Wainwright: I've been in New Orleans a few times through the years. You're right, it's not far from Florida. The food is worth the visit. I had the best meals in New Orleans. It's such a fun city. I went once for a Saints game. I had never seen just the crowds of people. At that time, I'm a suburban girl. At that point, I'd never been to like a major city before I was really taken by how crazy a town can get.
What did you pick up from working with Fisher that you an take along to your next project?
Alisha Wainwright: Fisher has been in the business for a long time and with that, he comes with a lot of knowledge. I also really appreciate his background and documentary films, because through the initial process of getting on board and the film, he explained that's how he wanted to shoot this movie with the DP Tobias A. Schliessler. He wanted it to feel like a documentary vibe. I really appreciated that. He had such a clear vision to explain that to me. Fisher is also an actor too. So he valued rehearsal. I found rehearsals to be really key in helping me develop my character. Fisher was not afraid to work with the screenwriter Cheryl Guerriero to make adjustments to the script, and collaborate with me also. Moving forward on my next project, that level of communication and collaboration is something I want to include in every film project that I coming up.
Where are we with Raising Dion?
Alisha Wainwright: We just started shooting season two this week, so it's not been canceled. With COVID, we, we would have already wrapped season two, but naturally we wanted to make sure everybody was safe. We ended up pushing production to start this past Monday. So we'll be shooting that and hopefully people who appreciated season one, and if they haven't, go watch it on Netflix. There’s a season two that's slowly getting put in the can. So before they watch that watch Palmer on Apple TV plus