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Hi, Linda May.Well, hello.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you over the phone.
Youre in, is it New Mexico?Yes.
Are you on the road, or are you settled somewhere?Im settled.
I bought bare land, and Im developing it now.
You talk about that in the movie, right?
The house that youre going to build is something you bring up.Right.
So I bought land in Taos, New Mexico, and there was a well casement here.
Thats work that I would not know where to begin to do.
Its exciting.Oh, well I was a general contractor.
Were you really?Yes.
Can you tell me a little bit about how you were approached?
I know you were a major subject of the book.I met Jessica Bruder at my first Rubber Tramp Rendezvous.
I had a King Charles Cavalier spaniel, and so did Jessica.
And will you do an interview forHarpers Magazine?
I immediately said yes.
We just really hit it off together and had such a good time.
You should write a book.
So she followed me around for like three years.
I kept wondering, Why is this woman following me around?
I just thought my life was pretty normal.
And then the book was optioned by Frances McDormands company.
When did you get approached about it as a movie?Oh, I guess Jessica had been approached.
Shes always calling me up and said, Oh, this has happened.
She said, Theres talk of Hollywood here, Linda.
And Im like, No way, no way.
But a lot of incredible things had happened since the book.
I know she spoke in front of a congressional dinner.
I thought that was pretty incredible.
So it wasnt really surprising to me that she would get [a movie].
Nothing was surprising me anymore.
It was all incredible.
It was all like magic and miracles just kept happening.
So when did they raise the prospect of you being in the movie?
And this is when I had land in Douglas, Arizona.
And so she came there, and we talked.
And at that time, I had like seven other RTR friends women that were in the area.
So I got them together, by the time Chloe was there.
And we all sat around, and Chloe listened to stories and took us to dinner.
I dont remember exactly when they said, Do you want to be in the movie?
But I think it was sort of assumed right from that meeting that I would have some small part.
How did you feel about that?
Was it nerve-wracking?Well, I never had any intentions of being in a movie.
That was just not on my radar at all.
I thought maybe Id walk through a scene or something, but it ended up being more than that.
It just kept evolving for me.
And I just said, Okay, Im just going to go along with all of this.
You think its quiet, but theres all this wildlife around you, making all this noise.
The birds singing and coyotes singing.
You just feel such a connection.
You feel more alive there … well, I did.
To not have any of those interruptions in your space is such a feeling of freedom.
I know my girlfriend, when we went to the premiere, she had her son attend with us.
And of course, it was at a drive-in [movie theater].
And my children were there too.
And they said they got the same thing.
Oh, is that what its like?
What was acting like for you?
Did you get lines to memorize?
Or was it more improvised work?Oh, I just felt so appreciated and spoiled.
By everybody, the crew.
If I needed water, somebody would hand me water.
They would ask me, Do it’s crucial that you eat?
Stand in the shade, get a blanket.
And Chloe would come and say, Tell me the story about working at Amazon.
So we would do that.
Id tell the story.
We hardly ever reshot anything.
It was like, Okay, thats good.
I was expecting maybe when I first started that wed be doing things like 25 times.
I was hoping that wasnt going to happen, and it didnt.
Was it difficult to tell stories like these in front of the camera?They made it so easy.
I was doing that scene with Frances McDormand inside my little squeeze-in.
I dont know if you noticed where that was shot.
Your trailer, right?Yeah.
My trailer is like nine feet by six feet inside.
And Frances and I are so close together.
I didnt know how they were going to get the sound and the shots, but they worked miracles.
And just telling Frances that it was a true story.
So it was just, Tell Frances the story.
It was a story about how low you could sink with no hope.
And about finding Bob and our community.
He called us a tribe.
And with my Indian ancestry, I felt like, Yes, I need a tribe.
They welcomed me with open arms.
When I went to my first RTR, I was having a problem with the refrigerator.
I had a C-class before I had my trailer.
And the C-class didnt really work out for me.
I met Swankie there.
She said, Well, hold on, let me go get somebody for you.
And expected no payment just pay it forward, help who you could.
They were just glad to be able to help another member of the tribe.
We just had that immediate bond with each other because like were all sailing in the same boat.
And I met this little tiny Chinese girl, and she talked with such confidence and friendship with me.
She really made me feel like she was getting it.
She showed up in her van.
Ive seen your name among the contenders for Best Supporting Actress.
What is it like to be part of awards season?Oh, that I have bragging rights here.
But Im not too hopeful, really.
With all the other real actresses.
Who else is on the … well Swankie, I know is on the list.
And I think, Oh, I hope she gets it.
