BEHIND THE SCENES

Director Debra Granik met Ron “Stray Dog” Hall while scouting in Southern Missouri on her previous film, Winter’s Bone.  After meeting Stray Dog by chance at a biker church, Granik asked him to read for the role of Thump Milton.  He was  game.  Although he did not have previous acting experience, he proved well-suited to the role.  After filming wrapped, Granik visited Stray Dog at his RV park for what might have been a final goodbye.  Instead, an unanticipated hours-long conversation ranging from Ron’s childhood growing up in the Bootheel of Missouri, his experiences as a young soldier in Vietnam, the evolution of his spirituality incorporating Buddhism, Christianity and paganism to his struggle to balance obligations to family, emerging symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and his veteran identity.  This conversation planted the seeds for what turned into three years of following Ron and his family.

RESEARCH FOOTAGE