Donnie Emerson and Nancy Sophia Emerson / Casey Affleck and Zooey Deschanel in “Dreamin' Wild”.Photo:Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock; Courtesy of River Road Entertainment
Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock; Courtesy of River Road Entertainment
Donnie Emerson, who found success as a musician 30 years later than expected, is proof that dreaming big pays off.
As teenagers working on their Washington state family farm in 1979, Donnie and his brother Joe Emerson crafted dozens of songs in the state-of-the-art recording studio their father, Don Sr., built for the musical duo. But it wasn’t until around 2008, whenbloggerJack Fleischer unearthed and championed their self-released albumDreamin’ Wild, that Donnie’s angsty lyrics and soulful rock melodies found their audience.
The latest unexpected twist in the Emersons’ story is writer-director Bill Pohlad’s Venice Film Festival premiereDreamin’ Wild(in theaters Friday, Aug. 4), starringCasey Affleckand Noah Jupe as Donnie, Walton Goggins and Jack Dylan Grazer as Joe,Beau Bridgesas Don Sr., Barbara Deering as Salina andZooey Deschanelas Nancy.
Dreamin’ Wild— the film — is “grounded in family values,” says Donnie, who adds “it’s an out of body experience watching yourself being portrayed.”
Affleck, he adds, “was a true gentleman. And he nailed me in the part.” The actor’s preparation reportedly included over a year of conversations with Donnie and his family, as well as visits at their Fruitland, Washington home.
“He came a few times and started to really turn himself into Donnie,” recalls Nancy. “I could see Casey was starting to act like Donnie, starting to look like Donnie. He was opening our refrigerator and making the salad in our kitchen and saying, ‘Nancy, where are the tomatoes, the cucumbers?’ He started washing dishes one day.”
She adds, “He stayed the night in a tent that’s on the side of our house, like a glamping tent. It’s amazing.”
Donnie and Nancy say they were just as invested in an authentic screen portrayal of their lives as Affleck, Deschanel and Pohlad were. “If Donnie and I just paint everything like, everything’s so sweet and so nice, what are people going to learn?” asks Nancy. “We get really hard on each other at times, but we’re very soft with each other.
Donnie Emerson, Bill Pohlad and Casey Affleck.Courtesy of River Road Entertainment
Courtesy of River Road Entertainment
“That’s what I love about this movie. It’s different than what people might expect, but I’ve heard such good feedback of how they could relate to it — the relationship with their family, their friends, their brothers, sisters, mom and dad. And everybody, I think everybody can relate to music.”
“Music is the soul of it all,” agrees Donnie. Writing with Nancy or playing with Joe and his other collaborators, he says, is about “not even just being that proficient on your instrument; I think it’s being completely connected to your soul. Because if you can just completely surrender yourself, that’s probably the way it’s supposed to go anyhow.”
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When asked what he tells musicians — especially those with limited resources and wild dreams, like 17-year-old Donnie had — his advice is simple. “Relax,” he says. “You don’t have to worry about that big golden ring over there. You’re going to grab that ring. Don’t worry about it.”
Noah Jupe in “Dreamin' Wild”.Courtesy of River Road Entertainment
And what would he tell young Donnie, if he could go back in time? “The times you wrote with your brother in that studio were precious,” he says. “Theyareprecious. Hold on to those moments.”
source: people.com
