by Jessica Chastain spoke of changing a “deeply disturbing” scene. George and Tammy.
Chastain and Michael Shannon play country music power couple Tammy Wynette and George Jones in the recently released series.
In the first episode of the series, Wynette is still married to her future ex-husband Don Chapel.
Chastain, who is also a producer on the show, said Marie-Claire that the script initially had Jones attempting to bring Wynette in alone by distracting Chapel with an escort.
The scene, however, “disturbed” Chastain to the point that he wanted it edited out.
“I read it and was deeply disturbed,” Chastain said. “[Tammy] it was just kind of sitting there. People were creating things so she could be captured rather than making decisions.
The actor went on to explain how important it was to her that her character be given more leeway.
“The song is not about being a goalkeeper. And the reality is, Tammy Wynette has been married five times,” Chastain said of Wynette’s 1968 hit single “Stand By Your Man.”
Ultimately, the subplot was cut. During filming, Shannon also made a dialogue change to her character that originally implied that Jones did not acknowledge Wynette’s agency in their physical relationship.
“[Michael] he changed the line from ‘Yeah, I’m going to fuck her’ – pardon the language – to ‘I would love to,’” Chastain recalled. “The moment he said, ‘I’d really like to,’ it was like, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s happening.’
“Because he sees her as someone who can make a decision. And that’s working with an actor who is very aware that he doesn’t own me.
Shannon said that changing the line of dialogue was a result of him and Chastain being “so in tune with each other”.
She said: “The idea of sitting across from another man and looking at a woman and proclaiming that you are going to fuck her seems a bit Neanderthal to me. I mean, if I were the woman in question, I wouldn’t be having so much fun.
Chastain spoke about the importance of “honoring women as human beings” in storytelling.
“Being a producer and having a production company means you can control it in writing,” he said. “You have to say, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. We must honor women as human beings. And they make their own choices, just like men do.
you can read The independentthe two star review by George and Tammy here.
