Original-Cin Q&A: Director Clark Johnson on the GMO activist drama Percy, Christopher Walken anecdotes, and a chance to direct Lovecraft Country
Based on real life events from a 1998 lawsuit, Percy follows Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser, who challenges a major conglomerate when the company’s genetically modified (GMO) canola is discovered in the 70-year-old farmer’s crops.
As he speaks out against the company’s business practices, he realizes he is representing thousands of other disenfranchised farmers around the world fighting the same battle.
Suddenly, he becomes an unsuspecting folk hero in a desperate war to protect farmers’ rights and the world’s food supply against what they see as corporate greed.
Christopher Walken in Percy. It takes a guy from Queens to play a Saskatchewan farmer.
The film stars Christopher Walken in the lead role, (yes - THAT Chris Walken) surrounded by a stellar cast including Roberta Maxwell, Zach Braff, Luke Kirby, Adam Beach and Martin Donovan.
Percy is directed by veteran actor/director Clark Johnson who says he poured his heart and soul into getting this film made.
Our Bonnie Laufer talked with Clark from his home in New York via ZOOM to talk about the film and reuniting with Walken.
ORIGINAL-CIN: Congratulations on the film. What an important story to be told. I remember following this on the news in real time, cheering on Percy Schmeiser. Was this on your radar back then as well? How did making the movie come about?
CLARK JOHNSON: “No, not at all. I honestly didn’t follow the story when it was happening in the nineties.
“Let me put this into a little context if I might. My parents were activists, so we were engaged in Civil Rights activism and anti-war activities. We weren’t even allowed to have grape jelly or lettuce through most of my childhood as to support Cesar Chavez’s initiative in California for the farm work.
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“So it's been in my DNA and both my parents are first generation off farms. My mom was from South Dakota and my dad was from Maryland.
“I actually went to Whole Foods to learn the difference between canola and corn oil. So, it's been an interesting learning curve for me. And when the story came to me I was fascinated by the whole little-man-versus-the-big-conglomerate aspect. But I always like a new challenge, something different than the last thing I did so I took it on.”
OC: What kind of challenge was it for you? Not only is this a David and Goliath story but there's a lot going on here. And thank goodness for somebody like Percy, who just stuck to his guns, sacrificed a lot, and changed history.
JOHNSON: “Yeah, that became evident as we shot on a farm north of Winnipeg. It was a lovely family farm that went back six generations on that land.
“When we were about to start shooting the farmer who owned the land went to his desk drawer - which we actually used in the film - and he pulled out a canceled check that he'd written to Percy in the late ‘90s. It was an $85.00 check that he had contributed to Percy’s defense fund. So it really resonated in these farming communities.And that, to me, was what was really satisfying in terms of telling the story.”
OC: At the heart of this, there were a lot of people who supported Percy and stood by him, especially his wife and his family. What they went through is taxing on a family, especially since his bills were mounting and he was facing the possibility of having to pay over a million dollars. That's a lot of money.
JOHNSON: “He had everything at stake and there was some pushback from other farmers. He really had to stick to his guns and he did.”
Director Clark Johnson, onset in Manitoba.
OC: How did you foresee Christopher Walken playing Percy? He really was fantastic.
JOHNSON: “I’ll be honest with you, it’s really typecasting. Here’s a guy from Queens playing a Saskatchewan farmer. Who do you think of first? You think of Chris Walken! (laughs)
“His name kept coming up and I went, ‘Wow, that’s an interesting choice!’
“His agents were pushing hard for it. I've worked with him four times now, all in different capacities. I worked with him when I did special effects on The Dead Zone. I worked with him as an actor twice, and now as his director on Percy.
“He's a private person. We're not buddy-buddies, but once we engaged in the idea of him playing this guy, it made perfect sense to me. He actually learned how to drive that combine.”
OC: That must have been a sight to see!
JOHNSON: :It's not that hard to drive. The trick is keeping it straight, but it was pretty impressive. So we just locked the cameras on the rig and said, ‘All right, Chris, good luck!’ And off he went.”
OC: Is it true that the two of you went to the Genie Awards together?
JOHNSON: “Yes! It was the year we were on The Dead Zone. I was doing effects with Chris and I was putting bullet hits on him and I was lighting his bed on fire every day. You know, the fun stuff!
“I was the eighth guy on the eight-man team. I was the lowest man on the totem pole, but I also got nominated for a Genie Award that year as a Best Supporting Actor. So I went to Chris and said, ‘I understand you are giving out an award tonight and I'm up for one. Would you want to ride the Award show together?'’ He said, ‘Sure.’ So I got my rented tuxedo, picked him up at his hotel in my pick-up truck and we went to the award show together.”
OC: Did he remember that?
JOHNSON: “He didn't remember it at all, but that was our connection. It was my gateway to engage him in this film.”
OC: You have also assembled a great cast. It was so nice to see veteran actress Roberta Maxwell as Percy’s wife. I understand that she and Christopher Walken were at Stratford together back in the day.
JOHNSON: “Casting her in the film was interesting too, because she did a series with my sister Tabby, and our friend Ingrid Veninger in Toronto.
“I didn't really know Roberta too well and I called my sister and Ingrid up and asked them what they thought about me casting her in the film. Tthe reason why she came up in the zeitgeist was because Chris Walken had worked with her at Stratford. So it was all making perfect sense. She brought so much honesty and realness to the part.”
OC: Plus you have Zach Braff playing Percy’s lawyer.
JOHNSON: “Getting Zach on board was a fluke. We originally had Michael J. Fox pegged for the role, but before we were about to shoot he broke his arm.
“I went to see him in his house and we talked about the movie and he was completely on board, but then he broke his arm. So Zach's name came up, and we talked on the phone and he was in.”
OC: Did you get down and dirty and learn a lot about farming?
JOHNSON: “I'm going to tell you that I didn't know anything about farming at all. Even though I'm one generation removed from both sides of my family of farmers, I can't grow a houseplant.
“It was really great to learn all the stuff that I learned on this film. Any story that I tell, I want to make sure that I’m getting the real story told and that people are relating to it in some way.
“Looking back to when I worked on the show, Night Heat for instance. When a real cop stopped me on the street and said, ‘I saw you in that 90’s show and you really nailed the cop life down. One time I was eating a meatball sub at two in the morning and I got heartburn just like your character on TV.’
“I mean truthfully, that's the root of it. So with Percy, I wanted to make sure that we will tell the story accurately and as truthfully as possible.”
OC: Part of the film takes place in India and you were able to shoot on location. That must have been an interesting experience.
JOHNSON: “A very important part of the story takes place in India. And I have to tell you that in the farming community, Percy is well known over there as was Christopher Walken. We had tremendous support in India and the crew we used was fantastic.”
OC: You of course are not only a seasoned director, but have spent many years in front of the camera as well. With the pandemic, people are watching a lot of TV and revisiting older shows. And The Wire is one of them, which in my opinion is top level viewing. How did working on something like that series change your life?
JOHNSON: “It started before that, it started with Homicide.. Sonny Grosso gave me my first break on Night Heat. I was originally a driver on that show and he threw me on the show and I ended up shooting 16 episodes. That led me to come back to the States where I landed a job on Homicide, which was written by David Simon. He created The Wire and the rest is history.”
OC: There are so many phenomenal TV series out right now, if you could direct an episode of your choice, what show would you want to work on?
JOHNSON: “To tell you the honest truth, I don’t watch a lot of television. I’ll tell you a secret - I have never even seen The Sopranos, so I guess I should get on that! I did love that Netflix miniseries, Unorthodox. But when it comes to television, I really enjoy watching older series and revisiting movies I haven't seen for years.”
OC: Have you been watching Lovecraft Country? Because I could really see you directing an episode of that show. It is off the charts!
JOHNSON: “My daughter has been raving about that show. I think I got a call about it, but I couldn’t do it and now I am kind of kicking myself. Maybe if it gets a second season, I’ll look into that.”