SELMER - She locked up her small, downtown cafe under the sun, finished for the afternoon after another day of chatting with customers about the upcoming movie remake they believed would once again depict their legendary, stick-wielding sheriff.
Pat Knight had visions of the national spotlight again shining on McNairy County, but then she was told the reality of the movie. A "Walking Tall" remake whose lead character isn't Buford Pusser? Set in a casino town in Washington state? Knight's mouth dropped open, and she had to take a step back. She couldn't believe it. Her week was ruined. On Wednesday, no less.
"That's like writing about history and saying Abraham Lincoln was from California," Knight said.
Set to debut this spring and to be reviewed by Pusser's daughter on Tuesday, the remake of "Walking Tall" starring pro wrestling superstar The Rock is drawing criticism from some West Tennesseans upset that Hollywood has trashed the old script and shamelessly ignored their corner of the country.
The change in script hurts them most.
"I'm disappointed about that, too," said Pusser's 43-year-old daughter, Dwana Pusser Garrison of Adamsville.
It's certainly a delicate subject for her. The original contract her father signed in 1969, Garrison said, left the story line vulnerable to tweaking, and she has yet to throw her full support behind the remake. If she withholds an endorsement of the film, it could hamstring Garrison's latest move as she shops for a book deal. At that, the movie comes as Garrison finds herself in the sixth year of a battle with multiple sclerosis, a disease associated with partial or full paralysis or muscle tremors.
"I've been up a lot of nights upset, crying," Garrison said. "But I'm just going to suck it up because there is nothing I can do. I'm going to think about what Daddy would want me to do, and I'll decide what will be best for my family."
The original 1973 version based its story line directly on her father, the McNairy County sheriff from 1964 to 1970 who imposed his will and 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame on illegal moonshine runners and the gambling and prostitution rings along the Tennessee-Mississippi state line.
Pusser died at age 36 in a 1974 car accident, but his legend grew because the movie spawned two sequels and a short-lived, 1981 television series. In fact, the original movie was filmed in Chester and Madison counties.
'That's disappointing'
These days, Garrison and her husband, Jamie, have a daughter in middle school, and the couple also have children from previous marriages. The family keeps the late sheriff's story alive in Adamsville, where Garrison runs Buford Pusser's Home and Museum as well as a restaurant.
Yet the latest version of "Walking Tall" has changed the story line and scene, although the studio quickly points out that the remake is "inspired by a true story."
Dwayne Johnson, who rose to fame in the late 1990s on the pro wrestling circuit as The Rock, stars as lead character Chris Vaughn. The plot is that of a former member of the U.S. special forces who returns to his hometown, only to find a corrupt casino calling the shots, drugs taking a toll on the town and his ex-girlfriend working as a dancer above the slot machines and Russian roulette tables. The movie was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"That's disappointing," said Knight, the cafe owner. "(The original movie), that's one thing McNairy has and is special about it."
Knight had grown excited about the remake in recent weeks as she and her regular customers envisioned Pusser's story landing in the laps of a new generation of movie-goers and, hopefully, sparking new interest in West Tennessee. For Knight, it was especially meaningful because she was just coming out of high school when Pusser began to feed his reputation in the late 1960s by laying down the law, 2-by-4s usually in hand.
Bing Crosby Productions dove into the story after the 1967 ambush murder of Pusser's wife made a mention in national television news.
So when Knight heard The Rock would play the lead role, she and her customers became enamored with the remake, especially last year when they wondered if the movie might film on location in McNairy County.
"We talked that I'd get to be his accent coach," Knight said.
But now that the new movie doesn't mention Pusser by name?
"Now that it's not about him ... boy," Knight said. "It seems like it's going to take away from the story."
She isn't alone. Carolyn Bowers of Selmer offered, "To me, if you don't put his name in this movie, it won't do nearly as well. A lot of people don't read the small print and the blips. It doesn't make sense to me."
Ronald Webb, a former Henderson County resident who now lives in the East Tennessee community of Loudon, recently fired off a letter to the editor of this newspaper and encouraged all Southerners to boycott the movie.
"I believe this is just further evidence that Hollywood is anti-South. They don't want to portray a real American hero as a 'backwoods Southerner,'" Webb wrote.
Pockets of optimism
However, family friends of Pusser's daughter are encouraged by the movie after they recently viewed the two-minute preview that shows The Rock, much like Joe Don Baker did in the original movie, toting around a 2-by-4.
"There are people in this movie taking a stand against crystal meth and drugs in general. I feel like it's going to have a positive effect," Steve Sweat of Selmer said. "MGM is the biggest in the business, and The Rock being big now, it has to be big. If it suits her, she'll go right along with MGM to promote it."
He is confident that "Walking Tall" fans will understand the story line when they see it is inspired by a true story and not Pusser's actual story.
"To me, that takes care of all the other things that aren't historically accurate," Sweat said. "I saw the two-minute trailer. I was really impressed."
A former close friend of the late sheriff, Jack Coffman, also is for the movie.
"Most people will know what it's about," Coffman said. "It won't hurt anything."
Garrison likely will make a decision Tuesday to endorse the movie and make suggestions, but realistically her influence will be over only minor editing. Such is the result of the original contract that her father signed in 1969, for the deal that was struck did not prevent the story line from departing from Pusser and his rule over McNairy County, she said.
The movie's director, Kevin Bray, did not return messages seeking comment.
Still, Garrison is optimistic The Rock will do the film justice after she met the actor in September in Vancouver.
"He said it was his favorite movie growing up," Garrison said. "But when he decided to do the movie, he said with his (olive skin tone), he didn't feel like he should call himself Buford Pusser, and that's why he chose the name (Chris Vaughn)."
For Garrison, The Rock's kindness has helped to ease frustrations over the original contract, a sore subject beyond the story line. She said she receives 7 percent of profits from the original movie, but 25 cents of every dollar go to attorneys who worked the first contract, and royalties from subsequent films have had to be arranged.
What could help, especially if Garrison supports the remake, is her recent decision to employ a New York agent to shop a book deal that would allow her to tell more of her father's story. The restaurant and museum she runs help provide for her family.
The next few days will test Garrison's strength. Having multiple sclerosis, Garrison said she tires more quickly if she falls into a busy schedule and her speech sometimes becomes slurred. She is able to drive and walk on her own, but she has had MS for six years and takes medication.
"It's a vicious disease," she said. "With the movie coming up, the MS will hurt me to promote it if that's what I decide to do. It's hard. I'm not worried about me. It's my community, and it's what's going to be best for my children and grandchilden 30 years down the road."
Still, Knight wonders what residents will say now. She is sure of her customers' reactions.
"I think they'll be like us," Knight said. "They'll be disappointed. When I talk to my relatives up north, they say that's where Buford Pusser is from."
- Kary Booher, (731) 425-9680
Tidbits
The 1973 original 'Walking Tall' starred Joe Don Baker, who also played police chief roles in 'Fletch' and the 'Cape Fear' remake of 1991.
The sequels of 'Walking Tall' and the 1981 television series starred Bo Svenson, who went on to land roles in more than 40 films. He was most recently in the Quentin Tarantino film 'Kill Bill' last year.
The Rock's real name is Dwayne Johnson, a former football player for the Miami Hurricanes in the early 1990s. He rose to stardom as The Rock on the WWF circuit.
Pusser became McNairy County sheriff in 1964 and served through 1970. Previously, he had wrestled professionally in Chicago and returned to his home county.
He died in a car wreck on Aug. 21, 1974, after he had returned from a press conference in Memphis earlier that day announcing a 'Walking Tall' sequel.
"There are people in this movie taking a stand against crystal meth and drugs in general. I feel like it's going to have a positive effect." Steve Sweat, of Selmer
For some, 'Walking Tall' remake comes up short