Cook County (film)

{{COI|date=April 2013}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Cook County

| director = David Pomes

| producer = David Pomes

| writer = David Pomes

| cinematography = Brad Rushing

| editing = Branan Edgens

| runtime = 93 minutes

| released = {{Film date|2009|03|26|Buenos Aires}}

| country = United States

| language = English

}}

Cook County (alternate title: Pure White B*tch) is a 2009 American independent drama film written, directed, and produced by Houston-based filmmaker David Pomes. The film stars Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, and Ryan Donowho. It deals with the effects of methamphetamine addiction on a Texas family.

Cast

  • Anson Mount as "Bump"
  • Xander Berkeley as "Sonny"
  • Ryan Donowho as Abe
  • Polly Cole as Lucy
  • Rutherford Cravens as Earl "Fat Earl"
  • Makenna Fitzsimmons as Deandra
  • Brandon Smith as Wayne
  • John McClain as Uncle J.D.
  • Yankie Grant as Aunt Sally
  • J.D. Hawkins as "Peanut"
  • Gary Chason as Mr. Jimmy
  • Lisa Williams as Miss Debbie
  • Toby Lister as Bill Jenkins
  • Tommy Townsend as Pee Paw
  • Scott Nankivel as Luke
  • Anna Megan Raley as Cindy Simpson
  • Trappy as David Damien (credited as Omar Adam)
  • Deke Anderson as Officer Crumley
  • Allison Norman as Phoebe Tims
  • James Wiley Fowler as Officer Simmons (credited as James Fowler)

Production

In an interview appearing on indiewire.com, Pomes stated: "The story began about people who I have been around, living outside of civilization, out in the woods, down a dirt road with all the old stereotypes: the roof caving in and the tires in the front yard. The story is about that group of people, and the family trying to be a family in the backwoods environment. Crystal meth was always out there. I was never at any crystal meth parties or anything like that, but there were always people where I lived outside of Houston. Those are the characters in the film, but crystal meth really drives the story. It's the vehicle."Dale, Austin, [http://www.indiewire.com/article/futures-cook-county-director-david-pomes "FUTURES | Lawyer-Turned-"Cook County" Director David Pomes"], IndieWire, December 15, 2011

Not having direct contact with meth addicts, Pomes read widely on the subject of drug addiction. Pomes recounted in an interview for Filmmaker Magazine: "I did a ton of research. Mostly just through the Internet, through magazine articles and things of that nature. I did a lot. There is so much out there. People on meth like to talk about it. They like to take{{sic}} about the process of making it, the problems they have with it. There are tons of blogs out there, websites, people write songs and poetry about it [laughs]. Not in a good way necessarily, or a glorifying way, but just how it’s affected there{{sic}} lives. There’s recipes out there, you don’t just have to make it one way. There’s a bunch of different ways to do it. We found lots of pictures of people on meth and meth labs and used those to inspire us a bit for wardrobe, makeup, art direction, the general aesthetic of the movie."Harris, Brandon, [http://filmmakermagazine.com/36256-david-pomes-cook-county/ "David Pomes--Cook County"], Filmmaker Magazine, December 15, 2011

References

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