Jeff Nichols on Filmmaking in Arkansas, Southern Storytelling & the Folklore Behind Kingsnake
Jeff Nichols has made three of his seven films in Arkansas, and he’s not done yet. The Little Rock native behind Mud , Take Shelter , Shotgun Stories , and Loving joins Eli Cranor on ARKANSAWYERS to talk about why home keeps pulling him back.
Episode notes
Jeff Nichols has made three of his seven films in Arkansas, and he’s not done yet. The Little Rock native behind Mud , Take Shelter , Shotgun Stories , and Loving joins Eli Cranor on ARKANSAWYERS to talk about why home keeps pulling him back. They trace the story from Wednesday movie nights with his dad at a dome theater in Little Rock to a tiny film school in North Carolina, and from the drive between Little Rock and Almyra that shaped his first film to Larry Brown’s influence on his writing. Jeff also gives a preview of Kingsnake , his new film shot in Arkansas that leans into horror and Southern folklore, and shares a story about the grandmother he calls the most Arkansas person he knows. If you love Southern storytelling, movies, or just great Arkansas stories, this one’s for you. In this conversation:
- Why Jeff keeps shooting in Arkansas
- How Larry Brown shaped his writing
- Writing the South without affectation
- What to expect from Kingsnake
- Mama Betty and the lemon that never runs dry