Sons & Daughters of Thunder

And... Action!

Actors Michael Kennedy as Judge Wright and Lane Seminary Trustees David Shropshire, David Juehring and Don Hazen in Sons & Daughters of Thunder.

The lights were lit, sound and camera rolling as principal photography for the new docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder began on Saturday, December 14 at Augustana College's House on the Hill in Rock Island, Illinois.

Director of photography Kevin Railsback lit the scene and captured beautiful images for the film.  Augustana's Scott Cason supervised the shoot in the historic dining room of the site and enjoyed watching the cast and crew at work.

"It was an exciting first day for all of us after years of preparing, writing, planning and casting," said director Kelly Rundle.  "We have an exceptional cast (thanks to casting director Kim Furness) and crew committed to making a great film, and that is what will make it special."

Chris Ryder, who is in charge of video production at WQPT-PBS, is doing sound for the production, which will include challenging moments during large scenes in the field and at historic sites in Illinois, Iowa, Cincinnati and Connecticut.

Emily Busha is the costume designer for the project and in charge of dressing over 30 cast members in period costume.  She is already doing marvelous work.

"It is a challenging project for all of us, but we have passionate people involved in front of the camera and behind the camera," said producer Tammy Rundle. "It all began with Earlene Hawley's wonderful play.  It is an honor for us to be telling this fantastic story and having Earlene and co-producer Kent Hawley watching the progress of the project and cheering all of us on."

Sons & Daughters of Thunder is slated for release in 2018.  For more information of Fourth Wall Films, visit www.FourthWallFilms.com.  To purchase the Rundles' award-winning documentaries, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm!

Film and Stage Actress Jess Denney will Portray Harriet Beecher in "Thunder"

 

  

Actress Jessica Denney has caught the Harriet Beecher Stowe bug and immersed herself in books, articles, short stories, poems, journals and letters written by the remarkable woman she is portraying in Sons & Daughters of Thunder.  The talented Denney has been cast in the lead as the young 23-year-old Harriet Beecher during her formative years at Lane Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio.  

Harriet Beecher Stowe would go on to publish more than 30 books, among them her anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which, according to the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, "catapulted her to international celebrity and secured her a place in history."

The docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder is being produced by the Emmy® nominated documentary filmmaking husband-and-wife-team Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, and Kent Hawley (Lane Rebels, Ltd.).  The feature film is based on the award-winning play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter, and tells the unforgettable true story of the beginning of the end of slavery in America.

"Jess Denney brings a fresh, captivating and enthusiastic approach to young Harriet," director Kelly Rundle said. 

"Because of her research and in-depth understanding of this significant American writer and abolitionist, Jess captures Harriet's charm and determination to make a difference in her time," said producer Tammy Rundle.

Film and stage actress Jessica Denney graduated from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa with Bachelor's degrees in Radio/TV Production and Journalism with a minor in Theater.  She appeared in the premiere of Crème de Coco directed by Broadway director Philip William McKinley, and theatrical productions of Mr. Marmalade and Time Stands Still.   She is a founding member of the QC Theatre Workshop where she performed in the plays Private Eyes, boom, the world premiere of the acclaimed A Green River, and most recently a stellar portrayal as Li’l Bit in the Pulitzer Prize winning play How I Learned To Drive.  Jessica has also appeared in a number of independent films including the award-winning A Cadaver Christmas which showed on Showtime, and Call Me Crazy.

Harriet Elisabeth Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut in 1811 to Presbyterian minister Lyman Beecher and Roxana (Foote), who died when Harriet was five.  Among her 11 siblings were her notable sister, Catharine Beecher, who was an educator and author, and her brothers Henry Ward Beecher, who became a famous abolitionist, and ministers Charles Beecher, and Edward Beecher.

While in her early 20s, Harriet moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to join her father, who had become the president of Lane Theological Seminary.  It was there she encountered the passionate abolitionist Theodore Weld, and her future husband Calvin Ellis Stowe, a widower and professor at the seminary.

Eighteen years later, in 1852, Harriet's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was published as a two volume book and was a best seller in the United States, Britain, Europe, Asia, and was translated into over 60 languages.

"I wrote what I did because as a woman, as a mother, I was oppressed and broken-hearted with the sorrows and injustice I saw, because as a Christian I felt the dishonor to Christianity - because as a lover of my country, I trembled at the coming day of wrath," wrote Harriet.

Principal photography for Sons & Daughters of Thunder begins December 14, 2013 and will continue through July of 2014  in Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Connecticut.   The film is slated for release in 2018.

For more information of Fourth Wall Films, visit www.FourthWallFilms.com.  To purchase the Rundles' award-winning documentaries, visit http://www.fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm!