Lacey Chabert, Warren Christie, Gina & Michael Spehn and Dan Paulson – The Color of Rain

By starrymag | May 28, 2014

Q) Mr. and Mrs. Spehn,  I was wondering if you could tell us about the creative process?  Your story is so beautiful, can you tell us about the process of what it was like to write your book together?

Michael: Writing the book really started out as just an exercise of writing down our memories of the experiences for the sakes of our children, who were very young when all of this occurred.  And it kind of grew into something significantly more.  The more we wrote the stories and we realized that our two families had intersected many more times before Gina and I ever met.  In terms of the process itself, we had kind of a unique process.  We wrote primarily in our home, although Gina liked to write out at ‑‑ she was a big fan of Panera Bread.  But we would each kind of go away from each other and write a chapter or two, and then sort of exchange the pages.  And so before it ever got out into the world, we had already gone through a kind of a series (ph) round of editing just of each other’s work.  And we were both very candid with one another.  We both really, I think, just wanted to produce a really compelling story that was accurate to our experiences.  And so we would go at it that way.  Isn’t that pretty much what we did?

Gina: Yeah.  I think that it was a very therapeutic process for both of us to pour out such a personal and profound story of our losses and of love and of all that.  But it was sort of a greater purpose behind it as well, and I think that many people were able to sort of find themselves within our story.  We heard that over and over again.  And the point was, you know what, write this down and share what happened to us and hopefully other people will be able to apply our ‑‑ some of the lessons of our journey to their own lives. And it was a lot of fun truthfully, and a lot of times just the editing process was fun, working together.  But it was also very therapeutic at the same time.

Michael: Yes.  And I’ll throw in once last comment, because I realize that there was a lot of discovery for the two of us I think we learned things about each other’s lives that we didn’t know.  I think Gina learned a lot about my childhood and my origins.  And one thing that was a genuine blessing to me was to literally get to know Matt Kell in a way, intimately, through the eyes of his wife, in a way that I would never have been able to.  So that was a genuine privilege.

Q) Lacey and Warren, what was it about this movie, this story, the characters that spoke to you, made you want to do this movie?

Lacey: I saw a piece that Gina and Michael had done on the Today Show, and I was really moved just by their story and the fact that they were able to find each other after suffering through such loss.  And I read the book actually before I read the script, and I was just so moved by it.  And whenever you have the opportunity to play someone that is a real live person, and to be a part of telling their story, it’s an exciting chance. And I also think it came with a great responsibility because I wanted to make them proud of what we were doing.  But I just thought this story was so special in how inspiring it was.  And I thought it would be something that people could relate to and hopefully also learn from.  And I was really honored to be a part of it.

Warren: I’ll echo that a little bit.  Mine happened a little differently when I was sent the script.  I didn’t realize that it was a true story until the very last page, and at that moment my stomach dropped a little bit and I went back to figure it out.  You know there’s obviously an added responsibility, like Lacey said, that comes and you want to make sure you put the heart and soul into the story that it deserves and that it warrants. And I just thought it was a really beautiful story about love and loss and healing, and an important one, and one that was going to resonate with a lot of people.  So once I think I got over my initial fear of playing a real live person and that responsibility, we just tried to go at it with that, you know to make sure that the essence of the story was there, and then the family was going to be happy with it in the end.

Q) For the Spehns, do you have a favorite moment that happened in the film where you thought, “This is going to take this to whole other level of people understanding our story and getting something from it?”

Gina: there were a couple of moments.  One in particular, I really loved when ‑‑ and it’s kind of weird to talk about your husband in the third person like this ‑‑ but when the character of Michael, played by Warren, kind of reached this point where he kind of was at the end of his rope and he realized that complete brokenness that he needed something, maybe even just more than himself, his own strength, his own ‑‑ he actually turned to the pastor in the story and kind of reached out, and even kind of cried out to him in a way, and was trying to make sense of everything.  And to me that was a very pivotal moment in the story. I also loved the way they told some of the back story.  And there was this very tender moment that I shared with my husband in real life, that was captured right in the beginning of the movie where ‑‑ like Lacey was playing my character and she was with Matt, and she was actually shaving his face, which is something that I did for Matt before he went to church one night.  And it was a really tender, sweet moment that happened in real life and it was a moment where he was thanking me for taking care of him.  And I don’t think what he realized was that to take care of him was such a privilege and I wanted to return that to him.  So those were the two moments in the movie that I really loved.

Q) Coming from this as a TV fan, of course when I first heard this I thought real life Brady Bunch a little bit.  Has anyone ever made that comparison to you?

Michael: Yes.  Yeah, people have done that for quite a while.  We kind of say we’re the real live Brady Bunch but we don’t have Alice around here to clean up after everybody.

Gina: Actually we refer to it as Love Story meets the Brady Bunch.

Michael: I am named Mike but I’m not an architect.

Q) Obviously, your real life story inspired you to do the things you’ve done, but what gave you the idea to start the foundation?

Michael: Well that was really born out of Matt Kell’s friends, they wanted to do something immediately after he passed away, and they did a golf tournament.  Here in the Midwest we just refer to it as a golf outing.  And they said let’s not just play golf, let’s try to raise some money, and they raised over $70,000.  Matt had such a wide circle of friends, and generous people of faith out here in Michigan that they raised all this money.  And so we looked around and said to each other, there’s a passionate servant heart in all of these people and we need to capture it formally.  And so in the aftermath of that, we formalized the New Day Foundation. Both Matt Kell and Cathy Spehn were people of incredible faith and of incredible generosity toward others.  And I’m not just talking monetarily, I’m talking in their love and their fellowship.  And so to be able to carry their legacies forward in a practical application, like the work of the Foundation, is a privilege that we get to have every day.

Q) I want to know how the book turned into a movie.  Did you want to do this?  Did Hallmark come to you?  How did you get to that point?

Dan: I got a call actually from my co-executive producer, David Permut, who had seen Michael and Gina on the Today Show, and said this is a tremendous story.  I mean it’s something that should be told.  And I went and I read the book and agreed with him. And we then actually ‑‑ it was a long process in getting this started, but I went directly to Bill Abbott, who is the President of Hallmark.  And Michael and Gina did a little sizzle reel for us.  Actually, their son had shot it.  It was like seven or eight minutes, and they kind of told their story.  And I sat with Bill, we sat in a room and looked at it.  And I’ll never forget, the lights went up and Bill said, give me one good reason why we shouldn’t make this film, it’s great.  So the network got behind it and the rest is history.

Q) Was it a hard decision for you, Gina, when they came to you?  Did you have to think about it or were just like yes, this is what I want to do?

Gina: No, I mean it wasn’t an immediate “yes” because it’s our story and we’re handing it over to someone to kind of care for it.  And I guess, you know in the beginning it was not an immediate yes reaction, but I will tell you that when we first talked with David Permut and Dan Paulson, we could tell immediately how genuine they were and what care they had intended to take with our story.  And they really earned our trust right away and so it became very easy after talking with them to definitely put our story in their hands.  They really created confidence in us and as it turns out, it was a great decision and they did it so beautifully and we’re truly pleased with the outcome.

Q) Lacey, with regards to your portrayal and of course with the story, are you learning anything or did you learn anything from working and being a part of the movie that you’ve kind of translated now into your own married life?

Lacey: Yeah, you know it is interesting that as we were filming I was actually getting prepared to get married, so I think that there was a much more personal depth that I was able to bring to it, thinking about you know the family that I hope to have one day in the future. I think on the Spehns in general, after reading their book and the script and then portraying Gina and more than that, getting to know them and spending time with them, I think I’ve learned that ‑‑ first of all, they have such a great sense of humor about everything, and I think it’s always important to find the levity in life and situations. But I’ve been personally so inspired by how they truly live their faith, and the hope and peace that that brings to their life.  Like they’re just really a shining example of that for me.  And they’re just very, very beautiful people, and the fact that they found each other and now have become this one big beautiful family.  They’re just really, I hate to use the word inspiring, but they’re just a family of incredible strength.

Q) Dan, what kind of challenges, if any, did you face bringing this story to the small screen?

Dan: Well I think the main challenge is, you know when you’re doing a true story, and a story like this, you want to be sensitive to the principles, and make sure that it’s done right.  So yeah, I mean we had to take extra special care to get it right, and again be sensitive to Michael and Gina so it’s something that they’ll be happy with at the end of the day.

Q) Lacey, can you tell me about some of the obstacles and adversity that this couple faces as they attempt to blend their families?

Lacey: This may be best for Michael and Gina to answer.

Gina: It’s never easy, right, because you have two completely different sets of ideas and you know kids have lost someone and try to blend them.  For Michael and I, obstacle wise, Lacey pointed out a really good one, the kids questioning what to call us.  But I will tell you that our experience maybe is a little unusual because our kids were really good friends right from the get go, and really hit it off. And when the time ‑‑ enough time had passed and we all kind of realized this is getting serious, the kids were really excited and onboard.  And maybe one of the biggest questions that came up was this idea of does it betray my late parent to call you mom or dad.  Does it change that?  And Michael especially helped to teach the kids that concept that Lacey touched on about growing new heart and about that you don’t have to take love from one person in order to give it to another.  And that love is not a zero sum gained (ph), that you can actually love two people as equally and it doesn’t mean that you love your late partner any less.  So it’s one of those moments where I thought they did it beautifully in the movie, but it was in real life as well.

Michael: In terms of obstacles of blending our family, probably the biggest one was we didn’t have a big enough refrigerator.  There’s a lot of mouths to feed in our house

Gina: I mean the laundry was a little much.

Q) I was wondering Lacey, and also Gina, how much time did you guys spend together preparing?

Lacey: Not very much.  It would have been nice to actually have spent a little more time together.  But when I got the role I immediately, or shortly after I called Gina and we spoke on the phone.  And it was really nice to introduce ourselves and she was incredibly supportive from the get go, which was really comforting for me. And then the family actually came out while we were filming and they were there for a couple of weeks and it was so nice to have them on set.  A very unusual experience though to have someone that you’re playing sitting right off camera as you’re doing a scene that they lived in real life.  But they were very supportive and them being there really elevated the atmosphere on set.

Q) I love what you guys said about the parts in the movie that moved you, and therefore obviously were on target.  Just overall, what are your feeling on both sides about the movie that we’re all about to see at the end of May, is it a family oriented thing that all of us as a family should sit and watch?

Michael: It’s certainly available to all ages.  I think there are some emotional points that ‑‑ it doesn’t dwell in them, but there are certainly some cheerful moments in the film.  All of our children have seen it.  There were a number of children at the Detroit premiere last week.  So I think it’s certainly a family film, like all Hallmark productions.  You’re about to see I think a beautiful film, truly a Hallmark love story that is beautifully written and acted.  And for our sake, we’re really proud of it selfishly because it gives another place for our story to live in a new way, and hopefully turns some focus back to the work of our nonprofit foundation so that we can serve more families than ever.

Q) I was hoping to ask a little bit about your children.  Are they all teenagers now?  And maybe if you could just talk a little bit about their journey and their role in writing the book and also the movie.

Gina: Well, there’s five of them and they are 18, 16, 15, 13 and 12.  The 12-year-old will be a teenager in September.  So we’re almost a full house of teenagers right now.  So yes, you may all begin praying now because that’s for real.  The process of writing the book, the kids really weren’t involved in that process.  It was something that, to be honest with you, I don’t think Michael or I even knew that it would become a book.  We had never attempted to get into publishing or looking into that. The way that our story happened was we poured out what was on our hearts, and when we shared it with a friend, it ended up in the hands of a literary agent, not by design but just sort of almost accidentally.  And when that happened, that literary agent, his name is Curtis Yates, he decided to take the story and kind of give it wings, and it became a published book just a couple of years after that. And so the children didn’t have much to do with the writing process, but when it came time for the book to be turned into a movie, that was a little different because now your story’s going to be on television and it’s very accessible to a lot of people that way, and what do you think.  And we had a lot of conversations and really truly our kids were excited about it and I think understand it beyond just wow, how cool that someone’s making a movie about us. I think that they understand sort of the bigger picture of it and we’ve been able to kind of teach them about the value of this process and that it does definitely extend beyond sort of the glitz and glamour side of being associated with a movie, that there’s really some practical blessings I guess that come through it.  And so they’ve been very supportive.  In fact had such a great time at the premiere party the other night, they had a blast with their friends and getting all dressed up and getting to see Lacey and Warren again and just having fun with it and really enjoying the time.

Q) Gina told me that Nancy Silvers consulted you about the script to see if it was authentic, and you contributed to some of the script.  Is that correct?  Can you elaborate?

Michael: Well I don’t ‑‑ it wasn’t really a consultation.  That sounds very formal.  And the entire team that Dan Paulson assembled, whether it be the on-screen talent or the crew, or certainly the screenwriter and so forth, everyone just simply had a collaborative, creative spirit throughout the entire process.  And as Dan has already articulated, a big priority for them and for Hallmark was to really convey the story as closely as possible on screen. And so we were just simply a part of the conversation all along the way.  The creative process was one that ‑‑ I mean we were very new to it.  We didn’t know how books became movies or even how movies became actual movies.  And so ‑‑ but all along the way we were included in the conversation by everyone.  And when we got on set, that continued through the generosity of Warren and of Lacey, and frankly all the on-screen talent.  I would have to look at the ‑‑ the accountants would have to verify this, but I think our family being on set really raised their craft services budget right through the roof. But other than that, we were just simply included.  There wasn’t any sort of formal consultation process or any other thing like that.  You know the kind of group that Dan Paulson and David Permut assembled to make movies just seemed to be a group that was focused on collaborative, creative accomplishment.

Q) You’ve touched on this a little bit, but can you talk a little bit about the challenges and the rewards of playing a real person versus playing a fictional character?  Does that change your process or how you approach the role and how you play the role?

Lacey: Sure.  I mean I think at the end of the day you do have to separate yourself and realize we are just actors in this piece.  So there definitely for me felt like a greater responsibility to be as honest with the story as possible and to portray Gina in a way that was as truthful as possible and in the light of who she really is.  So having her on set and having them there was really nice and comforting.  They were very trusting of us and very supportive, but I certainly wanted to make sure we captured the strength and the beauty of their story.

Warren: Well I mean I was terrified.  It’s a very beautiful story with a lot of obviously sensitive and personal material.  So when you are portraying someone like that, you want to make sure that at the very least you’re grabbing the essence and getting the story across.  Once the family showed up, and we were able to spend a little time together, you know there’s little things you try and pick up and little things you try and grab. And we have to also understand at the end of the day with what we’re doing, you have much less creative freedom as far as you want to get the specifics down but you are still telling a story, and so certain things get changed.  And I’m sure Michael and Gina will tell you also the story, it’s a movie and there’s things going on within it.  But that added responsibility really at first was very terrifying.  And then when we heard the family was coming to join us a week into shoot, it got even more terrifying. But I think that, not to speak for Lacey, but we kind of sat down and realized that as long as we put everything we could in this, our heart and our soul, and at the end of the day, as long as the family was happy with the end product, then that’s all that really mattered to us.  We hope it reaches a bigger audience, and I think it’s an important concept to get out there and an important idea, but for us it was about making sure the family felt that their story was told with all the heart that they were, you know, so forthcoming with putting in their book and then putting in the script.

Lacey: Yeah, and to echo what Warren said also, like we weren’t doing an impersonation of them.  So I think the challenge was just finding the essence of who they are and trying to portray that.

Q) Warren, what did you personally take away from working on this project?

Warren: I mean to be honest with you it’s going to be similar to what Lacey said.  I mean you know I told this story, but when I first read the script I remember thinking, oh this is a nice story and whatnot, but when you get to the final page and I realized it was about a real family and it was all true, it changes everything.  And you go back and you look at little details. But the family is truly inspirational, not just for who they are and how they live their lives and how they’ve gone through what they’ve gone through and come out in such a beautiful way, but how then they’ve worked so hard to pay it forward.  They are a million times better people than I will ever be you know with everything that they do.  It’s how they live their lives and how they’ve continued live their lives moving forward.  They are inspirational.  I mean Lacey said it earlier and I don’t think that that word is misused here in any way.

Lacey: And can I also just add that I think that I really hope that from this there’s a lot of attention brought to their foundation, the New Day Foundation for Families.  We were able to see on set, and also last week firsthand how many people they actually touch and help and truly impact.  So if I could say anything, it would be to add that, that I hope it brings attention to their foundation.

Q) Michael and Gina,  I know that you’ve already told your story and this is what got you to where you are today, but can your fans expect more books from you in the future?  Are you going to let them in on how things are going or is this the end for you in that creative way?

Michael: Our fans?  Oh dear.  Around here that’s just the thing on the ceiling that spins around.  We don’t really see ourselves as people who have fans, that’s why that really kind of took me aback, so pardon my hesitation.  There’s certainly lots more story to tell.  And when we go around the country and speak about some of our experiences and tie in the book and the Foundation together. And the privilege of that is we get to connect with so many people who, as Gina spoke before, have seen themselves reflected back in the text of our book and of our story.  And so there’s certainly a thirst out there for these kinds of experiences.  And I guess it’s turned out that Gina and I know how to construct a declarative sentence, and so we would love to continue to write.  And what shape that manifests, I don’t know.  I mean whether that’s in book form or in some other medium, I guess time will tell.

Q) Lacey, Warren and Dan, you  went to the premiere in Detroit.  Can you talk about that experience last week on the red carpet, all three of you please?

Dan: I thought it was first rate.  It was like a Hollywood premiere.  Michael and Gina and the New Day Foundation did a great job, very, very professional.  And it was exciting.  It was exciting when we got in the theater to watch the crowd.  We hadn’t seen it played before a big audience and it just went of real well.

Lacey: Yeah, it was really nice for us all to be together again.  We hadn’t seen each other as a group in nearly a year, since we filmed the movie.  And yeah, the event was so elegant and well done and put together so well.  And I thought it was really nice to be around the family and meet their friends and family.  And every single person I spoke to really spoke about Gina and Michael just how what incredible friends they are and how supportive they are in their community.  And it just speaks to the type of people they are, which we knew already, which is people of great integrity.  And the service that they do to the Foundation is really inspiring and worthwhile and something that I hope the movie brings a lot of attention to.

Warren: Yeah, I thought it was great.  It was a beautiful room full of a lot of love.  And I think just to echo also what Lacey had said earlier, to see on a bigger scale the New Day Foundation and what they do, to really get a more clear insight into just how many lives they touch and what they do and how much they pay it forward was an amazing thing to see.  To see their friends all come out and see the support that they have, but I had a blast.

Lacey: And there was free popcorn and candy so it was just awesome.

Gina: And I have a story to tell about that night because we had a family that was in attendance that evening who was one of the families that our Foundation had helped recently.  And the mom of the family actually passed away the day of our event, and it was her intention to come to the event because she had a cameo role in the movie.  And it was this beautiful moment happened when her entire family showed up to honor her and to be there to fulfill this dream.  She had intended to be there.  She had a dress.  She had her heart set on it. And I will tell you, this is the part of the story that I just love.  So we took a minute and pulled the family back into the green room.  And Lacey and Warren went and spoke with the family members and hugged everyone and just thanked them for being there, and it was this beautiful moment.  And then at one point Lacey had been talking to the kids and she comes to me and she said, “Hey come with me. We got to go get some stuff for these kids.”  So okay, where are we going? We head down to the concession stand in the lobby of the movie theater, completely separate from the party.  And she must have bought 20 bags of candy, popcorn, cotton candy.  She took care of these kids and ran back upstairs with all these goodies for them and just spoiled them all.  And it was such a sweet gesture and it really made them all smile.  And I just love that moment and I was so grateful to both Warren and Lacey for taking the time to connect with these families.  It’s not an easy thing to do on literally the day that they lost their mother, their sister, their friend.  They had about 15 people there in attendance.  So it was a really beautiful moment.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*