By: Amelia Wigton, associate editor ameliaw@ccheadliner.com
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Nixa residents Cody Brown and Casey MacLaren dream of the day they pack their bags, tell their friends and family they’ll call when they get there and gaze out on the Pacific Ocean.
While they each have separate dreams, each hinges on a move to Hollywood—and they hope “Winter’s Bone” will be the ticket.
“It’s possible to make it in this business,” said Brown, a 2003 Nixa High School graduate, “but you have to add something to your career every day.”
Brown and MacLaren, a 2005 Nixa graduate, were cast in the independent feature film “Winter’s Bone,” a critically-acclaimed fiction novel by Ozarks author Daniel Woodrell. Certain scenes of the movie were filmed in eastern Christian County near Oldfield and Chadwick in February.
“This is the first feature-length film I’ve ever done,” said MacLaren. “It was almost surreal. The first day I was on (the) set I just realized this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Brown and MacLaren said the experience they gained while filming was amazing.
“I gained the experience of working with true professionals, people who do this for a living,” Brown said of his two days of principal shooting. “Everyone was very cooperative and just working to make their portion as perfect as they can. It was really not what I expected from the business-types from New York and LA.”
“Winter’s Bone” is Brown’s and MacLaren’s first paid gig. A gig that not only cemented their passion for acting, but one they hope will further their acting careers and fulfill their dreams.
“It was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life because I took so many things from that entire thing that I can use in every aspect of my life and in my acting career,” MacLaren said.
“It’s like an artist selling their first painting,” Brown said of getting paid to act. “It was exhilarating working with people from the business. There’s not a lot of film opportunity in this area. It was amazing that something like this came here—an unbelievable opportunity.”
Bill Townsend, Nixa High School drama teacher, had MacLaren and Brown in class and said he is very proud of his past students.
“I’m a big fan of all my students, whether they continue in the field or use their performance skills in the business world,” Townsend said. “I am looking forward to seeing the movie. It is being produced by an award-winning team.”
Cody Brown
Brown discovered his love for acting when he was in junior high—a love that has grown through the years.
“In junior high I was involved with a performance in theater for the first time—it was like a speech and debate tournament. That was what got me interested,” he said. “I’ve been a people person for a long time before that.”
Brown, who graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and performance theater, was involved in every play possible in high school. Townsend said he is not surprised that he will soon get to see Brown on the big screen.
“He was used extensively as a character actor. He was able to handle the more mature roles. He had a real honest approach to all his roles,” Townsend said. “If anyone can make a career out of acting, Cody is smart about the choices he makes. He will do well.”
Brown said he loves acting because of the freedom it gives him.
“I have a general empathy for people in certain situations. It’s easy for me to pick up on certain human qualities,” he said. “I found acting as a vent.”
Although he doesn’t have a timeline in place, Brown, who attends the Creative Actors Workshop in Springfield, says his future plans lie west.
“I’m definitely going out to California. It’s just a matter of doing it at the right time,” he said. “I’ve been through the whole acting experience that Missouri has to offer, which is mostly stage at this time. But I’m looking to change that and a place like LA is a hub where there’s the most exposure.”
Casey MacLaren
MacLaren said she remembers watching her older brothers perform in a Nixa High School play when she first caught the acting bug.
“It’s so weird that I remember this, but I was 7 years old. When I saw them on stage, I said ‘This is what I want to do,’” she said.
MacLaren never strayed from her dream. She was involved in the Nixa High School theater department throughout high school and is now in the Creative Actors Workshop in Springfield.
“Casey was a pleasure to have in the Nixa Theater Department because she was always willing to do whatever role to make the show a success,” Townsend said. “As she gained confidence we were able to use her in the more worldly adult roles.”
MacLaren said she loves acting because it allows her to be anyone, do anything.
“I think the most appealing thing about acting is that I can be anything that I want to be,” she said. “This is the only career that I can be anything—I can be a doctor, a firefighter or a police officer. I just go be that character and play pretend. I can portray somebody else’s life but it can still be my life at the same time.”
MacLaren hopes to spend her summer saving money and move to LA in August. And she’s glad that “Winter’s Bone” will be on her resume.
“It’s very rewarding because I’m just doing what I love to do and people are paying me to do it,” she said. “I’ve wanted this forever. I just know that as long as I believe in myself and I work at it, I know I’ll succeed.”
Ryan Bowling, Nixa XPress editor, contributed to this story.
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“Winter’s Bone”
The film follows Ree, who’s forced to raise her two younger brothers in the absence of her parents. Ree’s father is arrested for running a meth lab and has skipped his bail. In the process, the family home is given up as bail collateral.
To avoid becoming homeless at the onset of winter, Ree sets out to find her father. Her own estranged family, as well as families who’ve feuded with the Dollys for generations, make the journey rough, but finding her father stands between her and her Army enlistment, which is her last hope to escape the rural dregs.
“Floyd is a good ole boy,” Cody Brown said of his character, who’s married to Ree’s best friend Gayle. “He loves NASCAR and hunting and fishing.”
Floyd and Gayle are an intriguing subplot, he said. Pregnant at an early age, Gayle and Floyd married not for love, but because it seemed like they should.
“The love is gone,” Brown said, “but the kid is there.”
Nixa resident Casey MacLaren’s character, Megan Milton, is Ree’s cousin.
Kentucky native Jennifer Lawrence is Ree Dolly, a 16-year-old poverty-stricken Ozarkian. Lawrence already boasts an impressive resume, with several movies to the 18-year-old’s credit as well as appearances on “The Bill Engvall Show” and “Monk.”
“Winter’s Bone” is directed by Debra Granik, who last directed “Down to the Bone” in 2004. That film captured seven awards, including the Dramatic Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival that year.
The film is set for release in 2010 with plans to enter most major film festivals.
how is it going folks,i acted in the film,and i am very happy to have worked with wonderful people!!!!