Jessica Chastain isn’t the only connection between “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and the upcoming Paramount+ “George and Tammy” limited series. Abe Sylvia, a co-executive producer on “The Affair” and “Dead to Me,” is the screenwriter. And Chastain is how he got the opportunity to help bring Tammy Faye Bakker’s story to the big screen.
“It started with a spec script that I wrote for Jessica Chastain she was attached to about George Jones and Tammy Wynette,” Sylvia recalls. “And she was a fan of my writing and when she optioned the documentary [“The Eyes of Tammy Faye“], she huddled up with Rachel Shane, the producer, and they talked about who’d be good to write it, and separately, they both brought my name up. And then Rachel called me. Said, ‘Is this something you want to do?’ And it was an easy sell because I’ve been obsessed with the documentary. I saw it five times at the Laemmle Sunset Five [Now an AMC Theater, but known for Art House films for decades] when it first came out. So, I was well aware of and a big fan of the original documentary, and also having grown up in the Bible Belt in the ’80s as a gay boy, I was well aware of Tammy Faye Bakker and the scandal and really intrigued by her as a public figure from a very young age.”
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In a conversation last month, Sylvia, who is also known for his debut feature “Dirty Girl” with Juno Temple and contributions to “Nurse Jackie,” reflected on the additional research he did for”Tammy Faye,” what to expect from his walk down country music history and his hopes for Jim Bakker’s thoughts on the movie.
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The documentary is a starting point, but there’s much to the story that clearly isn’t there. What other sources helped you flush out the story?
Well, I read everything I could get my hands on from religious writings to the history of evangelicalism and the prosperity doctorate, really getting under the hood of the history of their particular type of evangelicalism, which I didn’t fully understand going in. And then I read every autobiography and every biography that I could get my hands on.
What was the biggest surprise about Tammy or her story to you that ended up putting in the final script?
I think there was an inflection point with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and their scandal, as it pertains to the battle over that satellite dish and how you can draw a direct line between the moment they went down to what the Republican Party looks like today and how the Moral Majority took that moment and by casting Jim and Tammy Faye aside, they were able to bring everybody into one tent and how that played out over the next 30 years in American politics. And how pivotal they were to American history, just beyond their own scandal.
Was there any opportunity to talk to her now-grown kids or was it one of those things that because of life rights and not wanting legal ramifications you just couldn’t go there?
There weren’t any legal ramifications that I know of. I know that both Jamie Charles and Tammy Sue have seen the movie and love it. Tammy Sue sings the end roll credit song and I know that Jamie Charles saw it and tweeted out his support and that means a lot to us.
Do you ever think, even in his secret moments, that Jim Bakker will see this movie?
Well, I don’t know. I certainly hope so. And I hope he likes it. I hope he thinks that we were fair to him.
I remember that there were rumors that Jim was potentially gay or had, I think in the movie someone says “homosexual tendencies.” In the script, it clearly insinuates that he potentially had a relationship with his number two at the PTL. Where did you find that source for that? And what made you decide to put it in the film?
Well, Jim Bakker’s autobiography.
Oh. I didn’t even realize that.
Yeah. He talks about how he had struggled with his sexual identity throughout his life and without declaring one way or another. I’m not here to out someone who’s not comfortable talking in a forthright way about their sexuality, but what we tried to honor was the fact that he has acknowledged that he has struggled with it.
What impressed you the most about Jessica’s performance?
Her transformation is staggering and I’m certainly wasn’t surprised by it. I knew she could do it, but the conviction and empathy that she brought to it, it sort of speaks for itself through every frame. That’s her absolute conviction to treat this woman with love and treat her as a human being and not as an object of scorn and humiliation. That doesn’t mean she can’t be funny and witty and have those down moments, but this was not a movie that set out to make fun of Tammy Faye Bakker.
Clearly, you must have known since you you’re also working with her on the Tammy and George limited series, but she can actually sing.
Fantastic. She is doing a spot on Tammy Faye Bakker. I heard the pre-records for it. I fell out of my chair. I couldn’t believe it. It was just unreal.
You’re also writing and producing, that Tammy Wynette and I think George limited series. How close is that to production and moving forward?
We are going into production in November.
So you are a busy man right now.
I just got back from Nashville yesterday and we were doing pre-records with T Bone Burnett, down in his studio. We’re chugging on right to the next one.
Are you directing any of the episodes as well? Or are you just producing and writing?
I’m producing and writing.
Can you give a hint about what the series will focus on?
Well, it’s a love story between two American icons. It really is focused. It’s not going to be a cradle-to-grave biopic. It’s going to be a six-hour love story about the two greatest singers in country music.
Knowing your background, what is your fascination with these two stories?
I think for gay men of my generation and generations before, there is a fascination with idiosyncratic women who faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles and make a place for themselves in the world. And I think for many gay men, they were the only examples in media that were doing that, we didn’t have other gay men to look to for all of my growing up. And so I think that’s where my fascination is rooted.
Going back to “Tammy Faye,” is there one scene that when you saw the footage or maybe you were on set or saw it in the context of that film that you were most excited about?
Oh gosh. There are two. Jim and Tammy Faye’s final confrontation before Jerry Falwell shows up. We’ve got two cinematic titans between Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield, as you know, battling it out as their marriage is falling apart. For a writer that’s just grilling. And then the second was with, honestly, when the trailer came out and I heard the voice of Cherry Jones say a line that I had written and I have loved her and been a fan of hers for 30 years, ever since I saw her in “The Heiress” on Broadway, which was just a seminal theatrical experience. So for me personally to hear that iconic voice saying my words was heaven.
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is in theaters now
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