Interview (Part 2): Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann

An in-depth conversation with the co-writers and co-directors of the movie Sister Aimee which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

The very first movie I saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Sister Aimee. It was a 9:30AM screening on a Monday morning. I am not a morning person, so the fact I was so taken by this film should tell you something about how entertaining it is.

In watching the post-screening Q&A with the film’s co-writers and co-directors Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann, I was so struck by the story behind the story of how this project came to be, I decided I needed to interview the pair. I got in touch with their manager Lee Stobby which led to a 45-minute conversation which I am happy to share over the course of this week.

Today in Part 2, Sam and Marie discuss how they became interested in the story of Aimee Semple McPherson and in particular her mysterious disappearance at the height of her fame which sparked the inspiration for their film.

Scott: I read the script, too. It’s terrific, such an entertaining and fun read. Let’s talk about your movie Sister Aimee which debuted the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. It’s also going to be playing at South by Southwest, nominated for their Gamechanger Award. Here’s a plot summary.

“In 1926, America’s most famous evangelist is a woman and she’s looking for her way out. Fed up with her own success, she gets swept up in her lover’s daydreams about Mexico and finds herself on a wild road trip towards the border, based on true events, mostly made up.”

I actually have a theological background. I’m familiar with Aimee Semple McPherson, how popular she was in Los Angeles. She was almost a cult figure there, involvement as a Pentecostal faith healer in that church, Angelus Temple, which is still around near Echo Park in East Los Angeles.

How did you discover this character, which sends you into this journey of writing and directing Sister Aimee?

Samantha: We have Anna Margaret Hollyman, actually, to blame and credit for so much of this. We had made a short film with Anna Margaret a few years ago. We just had such a wonderful time with her. She’s an incredible collaborator.

After that short film, she said, “There’s this woman, Sister Aimee Semple McPherson. She’s the kind of character you two would really be into, the kind of character you guys like to write. You should look her up.”

We went into a Google black hole. She was right. Aimee is totally fascinating. By the time we got around to thinking about writing the screenplay, what interested us was that span of time of when she went missing and when she came back.

That is the truth in the film, that in 1926, Sister Aimee Semple McPherson did vanish for a chunk of time. We were interested in this question of, what would make a woman, mostly from that time at the height of her popularity, her power, what would make her run away from all of that and what would make her come back?

It was just very convenient that nobody really knows what happened. That gave us an opportunity to make stuff up and…

Marie: I think that what we wanted to do and what we hoped we’ve done is, take some truth about the character, about what kind of powerful performer and witty personality she was and say something about women’s ambitions and how easy it is to usurp female narratives but do it in a way that is not factual, that is more existential truth than factual truth.

Scott: I think you said it was five and a half percent true…

Marie: Yes.

[laughter]

Scott: Stepping back and looking at this as a storyteller, that’s just great because it’s a pre‑branded content, if you will, because she’s a personality. Historical stories seem to be quite popular right now. You got that gap, five weeks, of when she disappears, in which you could just tell whatever story it is you want.

Let’s talk about the tone of this film because it’s this really vibrant mashing of genres. You’ve got a mystery, drama, comedy, fantasy. A Western feel to it. Road picture. There’s even a musical component. Did you know the tone of the story you were going for upfront or did this wonderful meshing of styles emerge over time?

Marie: It did emerge over time. We were pretty clear from the get‑go that we wanted it to be kind of a wild ride because we felt that was appropriate for her character. We knew very early on that that would be some genre mash‑up in this story.

Also, she was a pioneer of radio, of media. We also wanted to add that feel of the 1920s radio, play to it. The idea of something that was very unorthodox in terms of genre and genre boundaries. That was pretty clear from the get‑go.

I think that developing it and then also working with actors, working with Anna Margaret very early on, during the writing process, the specificity of the tone revealed itself.

Scott: By the way, her performance is terrific, Anna Margaret Hollyman.

Samantha: Isn’t she wonderful?

Scott: She really is. There’s a great scene where she first meets Kenny and they get rather delicately close to each other. That’s a long scene, to be sitting like that in a slip on his lap. I’m just thinking, as an actor, “That’s interesting. How would you handle that?” She did such a great job.

Marie: A little behind the scenes tidbit about that scene. That is a very long scene, a very long dialogue scene. She is basically straddling him the entire time. We shot that on a day that was 110 degrees in Texas. We blasted air conditioner into this room, but it wasn’t really doing anything. Real kudos to those two actors…

Samantha: Michael and Anna Margaret.

Marie: For sticking with us.

Here is a clip from an interview with Marie and Sam at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival which includes footage from the movie Sister Aimee:

Tomorrow in Part 3, Sam and Marie delve into the three main characters in Sister Aimee and how they influence each other in their journey to Mexico.

Here is another video clip of the real life Aimee Semple McPherson at the church she founded, Angelus Temple in Los Angeles:

For Part 1 of my interview with Marie and Samantha, go here.

For more exclusive Go Into The Story interviews with screenwriters and filmmakers, go here.