Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1433736
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is based on the 2000 documentary of the same name. It is the true rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. A fall from grace which gripped the news cycle with stories of their greed, infidelity and scandal, made all the more dramatic as the Bakkers were beloved televangelists. They were in fact, pioneers in the world of Christian broadcasting, televangelism and megachurches in the late '80s and '90s. I had seen the documentary in theaters because I also was fascinated with Tammy Faye, so when the script came in, I jumped at the chance to do it. The story starts with Tammy's childhood years in International Falls, Minnesota. She grew up in a large, poor, very religious family. Working out of Charlotte in the rebate state of North Carolina, the production began our scout looking for the perfect church to open the film, a scene where the audience first witnesses Tammy's religious fervor as a young child. It looked like it would be an easy task as there are so many churches in and around Charlotte. It turned into quite a tricky hunt as we encountered remodel after remodel after remodel. Finally, we scouted a small one-room, 100-year- old church. From a distance, it looked perfect. On closer inspection, we realized the wood siding was not wood, but plastic. We were leery as we entered the church, only to find a beautiful, rundown, authentic interior with faded paint, old pews and broken-down windows. This would be our church. The construction team, under coordinator Brian Hudson, removed the modern storm windows, replaced the plastic framing with old wood and had the scenic team, headed by Sean Bernard, age the exterior. Then we waited and hoped the scenic work would hold up through the rains. It did. In postproduction, they would fix the newly asphalted road and add snow. nto finding her childhood home. There were images of Tammy's original house from the documentary, which was a standalone two-story. Tammy's family didn't have much money but it was a large family with eight kids. After days of either finding places that were perfect but too small to film in or just too modern, locations found an amazing 100-year-old house (were all the great old places around Charlotte one hundred years old? hmmm). Fortunately, this house had been slightly remodeled by a previous film crew A. TAMMY'S CHILDHOOD CHURCH. SET PHOTO. B. TAMMY'S HOUSE PARTY DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS. B