(upbeat soft drumming music) (soft guitar music) (film strip running) ♪ Callin' ♪ ♪ Callin' ♪ ♪ Callin' ♪ - Growing up was a, kind of, a circus.

I had three, I have three sisters, Holly, Rangeley, and and Barry.

I really felt, growing up, that I was part of this, like, Kennedy-esque sort of family.

'Cause I had a rich father, had a beautiful mother.

I had a pool out back in this incredible mountain brook is this, is this, is this eerie kind of golden ghetto, as we called it.

It wasn't the way that most people lived.

It was, it was kind of unreal to me.

(soft guitar music continues) ♪ Callin' ♪ ♪ Callin' ♪ (upbeat music) - Daniel Wallace is my dad.

He writes books.

- I was late coming to the realization that Daniel might become a writer.

- My mother was responsible for, to me, for a kind of flowering of my creative life, or an allowance to, to be who I wanted to be.

- He started off with short stories and then he started writing novels and rejection, after rejection, after rejection.

And I had no idea how long he was gonna keep at it and go out and get a "real job."

(chuckles) So, I was, I was surprised when they accepted ""Big Fish"."

I had read it.

I thought it was beautiful.

My sister is, who is much, much brighter than I am, but not half as pretty... We both read it and said, "This is it.

This is magnificent."

- I know, really, the, the moment when I thought that writing would be something that I would like to do.

And it was in my 11th grade English class.

♪ Where did you go?

♪ But we've always stayed in touch with each other, and I send her all my books.

And, um, I adore her.

And this is where she lives.

And there were lots of things that happened in that class that, that were, um, so inspiring and, and, in a way, like a revelation of a possibility that... And it wasn't as though we did a lot of creative writing, but we studied the creation of other people's writing and what it meant.

- He had all the makings of writer.

First of all, he's very perceptive, as you have to be if you're gonna be a successful writer, surely.

And, and he is.

I mean, he, he studies people.

Not deliberately, I don't think, but rather than a long analysis of the characters, he captures a character, who happens to be a realtor, just like that, by saying she was perky.

- [Daniel] Mm-hmm.

- And I had the feeling that if I were there, she would talk to the empty chair.

- Primarily that's because I made a vow a long time ago that I would not write a book that was any longer than the page that I stopped reading "Ulysses."

(Betty Caldwell laughing) - Yeah.

And so, so I stopped reading "Ulysses" around page two 286, 287.

- [Betty Caldwell] Yeah.

- So I felt like, "Well, that's about as long as any rational, reasonable person could be expected to stay... (Betty Caldwell Chuckling) - ...with a book.

Right.

Right.

- And I don't believe that for an instant, see.

He has no intention of going on and on 'cause it doesn't interest him.

- When Daniel was young, very young, I should have known that he was gonna be a famous, rich author because he started writing so young.

He used to write all these beautiful notes for his mother because...

Here's his, one of his poem, many poems.

It's entitled "My Son."

(Betty Caldwell laughing) "I had a little boy.

Oh yes I did.

When I was going to spank him, he ran under the table and then he hid.

One day, my boy got sick and wed. My son got sick as sick as sick can be.

He got so sick.

My, my, my, now, now my son is dead.

- [Betty Caldwell] (laughing) That's just unbelievable.

- Unbelievable.

- [Joan Wallace] Wonderful.

He's a little, here's the little grave.

- [Betty Caldwell] There's a comment on marriage.

- There's a comment on family love on there.

- My son's grave.

And it says by Daniel W. - My mother loved my writing.

But she loved everything that, that I did.

It didn't matter.

I could break a vase and she would say, "Oh, you, you broke that in the most wonderful way."

My father didn't.

Father was never really impressed with my writing.

He liked to say that, that one of my stories and 50 cents could buy a cup of coffee.

This was, of course, when 50 cents could get a cup of coffee, you know.

Now it would be my story and $2.50 could get me a double latte.

- In ""Big Fish"," it was just...

When I read it, it was just, totally autobiographical because his father, of course, his father traveled a lot, but when he was home, he was a performer.

- My father's business was import, export.

It was in Birmingham.

It was called Wallace International for a long time.

And it entailed going to foreign countries like Japan and Korea and China.

But my real relationship with my father was not unlike, in many ways, the relationship that the son and the father have in "Big Fish."

There was a, he was a charming man.

And yet, at the same time, there was this...

He seemed to use his charm to keep people at a distance.

And in fact, you know, I think that is generally what, you know, charm does for everybody.

- Of course, he adored his father and wanted, wanted to be close, but it never happened.

Never, ever happened.

Not even the last two or three weeks.

It didn't happen.

- My mom was, you know, sort of always that, that person.

That light that I was able to write to before I was able to write.

♪ A one, two, three... ♪ (upbeat music) - Since the movie has become an actual production in Alabama, "Big Fish" and, and Daniel Wallace as the, the writer of that, has, has become much more popular than he was before.

♪ Here all by myself, ♪ ♪ Waitin' for you to pass by.

♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah!

♪ (upbeat music) - I'm Laura Wallace.

I'm Daniel's wife.

And, um, I'm in this outfit because I was just debuting my Hollywood scene with Daniel's "Big Fish" movie, and I've been having a fantastic time.

Watching Daniel's book come to life has been amazing.

- I mean, the fact that my wife likes my work, I think... And once I get past her, everybody else is, is, is a knock over, pushover.

Um, she's a wonderful, you know, critic.

A wonderful second pair of eyes to have around.

And having somebody like Tim Burton see in material that I've had, you know, anything to do with, as being worthy of, of his vision is, is a huge compliment.

- Well, we look for movies that we can get very passionate about.

What we try and do is make movies that are unique, that are unlike things that you've seen before.

A lot of films these days, people go to see them, and they're like, "Oh, I, you know that reminded me of this movie."

Or, "That was exactly like this movie."

What draws us to a project is when you don't know on page 15 of the script what's gonna happen in the film.

And the hope is that when the audience sees the movie, they really feel like they've been taken on a journey that they've, they've never gone on before.

And we certainly felt that was the case with "Big Fish."

- Many things led me to want to be involved in this.

One was Tim Burton.

I love Tim.

We're friends, and I love working with him.

And I think he's a wonderful director.

But primarily, the, the story moved me in many respects.

It's a wonderful father and son discovery story.

A son on a quest to discover who his father really is.

I, I always feel that the first part of your life, you discover who you are.

And then, when you put those pieces together, you get around to discovering who your parents are.

- My parents have this past.

This, this history.

The mystery of that life, the mystery of what happened before I was born, before I was conscious, to me, has always been really, really attractive as a, as a story idea.

That's what I I'm drawn to, you know, in my, all my stories, is what happened before I was born.

- Now I was instructed, very carefully, how to roll my hair for my schoolmarm part.

♪ Does Satan wear a suit and tie ♪ ♪ Or does he work at the Dairy Queen ♪ ♪ Does he listen to rock and roll ♪ ♪ Does he feed the mean ♪ ♪ Singing hallelujah ♪ - I'm Joe Regal, and I am Daniel's literary agent, which means I'm the person who comes between him and the publishing house.

(Joe laughing) We've been working together 12 years, but getting Daniel published took a good portion of those 12 years.

His first novel, "Big Fish," came out in 1998, and he's on his third novel now, "The Watermelon King", which is coming out as we speak.

♪ And mama said there would be angel ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Mama said there would be sun ♪ - D Wallace.

(woman laughing) (indistinct) - Hey!

♪ Man, if I can find a shield like that ♪ ♪ I'd run 'round naked In my glass home.

♪ ♪ Sippin' hallelujah ♪ ♪ I think my angels gone to Vegas.

♪ ♪ Sippin' hallelujah ♪ - So, I've been trying to, you know, convince myself that, that I actually do have something to do with the whole, this whole production.

It's hard to believe, in a way, because, you know, "Big Fish," it didn't take a long time to write, really.

I mean, in the scheme of things, and some of the scenes that you see in this movie cost lots and lots of money.

Didn't cost me anything.

So it's mind-boggling, really, to see this, things that were in my imagination rising out of the dust.

There are myths in the book, which are drawn from Greek mythology, and also from folktales.

There's a giant in "Big Fish" and there are giants all over Greek mythology.

There's a glass eye.

There's an old lady with a glass eye in the, in the book, which is based on a Greek myth as well.

The three old ladies share one glass eye.

The, the eye was a big part of the book.

Not as big as the movie, and he really makes it a, um, a big, bigger part of the movie.

But I'm glad, you know, I love, I mean I have glass eyes.

I have this thing for glass eyes.

I have 'em in all my books.

You know, the friend of mine when I was in sixth grade who had the glass eye, he lived in this house.

- [Henry Wallace] What glass eye?

- He had, um, the friend of mine had a glass eye lived right there.

- He had a glass eye?

A real one?

- Yep.

In class, he would have to go take it out and wash it.

And he would ask me to go to the bathroom with him to, to help him.

- To help you.

I mean, help him.

- Mm-hmm.

- Really?

He needed... - He didn't need help.

He just wanted company.

- Oh.

Had he lost it in a accident?

- I think what'd, yeah.

I think what had happened is he had gotten, like, a, a miniature helicopter that somehow had rotary blades on it that... - Oh.

- ...and one of the blades swung off and, and stuck in his eye.

(trimmer buzzing) - Are we doing a tape timeline, or do I need to... - We have about, have about 10 minutes.

- Okay.

- [Male Movie Assistant] Are you learning your lines?

- Well, here's my part.

"The tweedy economics professor continues his explanation."

(upbeat acoustic music) - [Joe Regal] Hey tweedy.

- [Daniel] How are you?

- [Joe Regal] Doing fine.

Nice to see you.

- [Joe Regal] What's the square root of pi?

- Ah.

(Joe and Daniel laughing) - The secret here is that the idea of Daniel Wallace playing an economics professors is...

It's fantasy.

(upbeat music) - [Cameraman] Camera set.

- [Director] And, action.

- So, as we can see, supply and demand plays a big part in our everyday life.

Sandra isn't paying a lot of attention.

He switches on the overhead projector without looking at it.

There's a titter from the students, but he doesn't notice.

The classmate nudges Sandra, who looks up.

Written on the projector is "I love Sandra Templeton."

She's horrified and excited at the same time.

And then I, then I... "We'll be able to tell..." ... hear the tittering and I... "... in greater detail."

What could that possibly be?

- [Male Movie Assistant] Well, you're a Tweetie.

- [Daniel] I'm tweedy.

- [Male Movie Assistant] Yeah.

(laughing) - [Daniel] I see their expressions... - [Male Movie Assistant] Oh, tweedy.

... and I look back... - [Male Movie Assistant] Not Tweetie.

... and I see it.

And, and I look back at Sandra Templeton, and I, I think I'm gonna expel her.

- Just watching him have fun.

Um.

(chuckles) It just makes...

It's very moving to me to see him, to watch this all come to life.

His book is amazing.

And this movie version of it is just such a wonderful complement.

- "Big Fish" is entirely due to his ramblings.

(chuckles) - That's right.

Never thought of it like that.

- And every, every, every scene, every actor, every, everything that's happening, you know, that we've seen the last few days.

I mean, it's basically because he sat down and let himself be free and, and let his imagination create a world.

- And watching Daniel see that, it's been fantastic.

- Well, you know, the movie has, has brought me back to Alabama a lot more than I have been in a long time.

I've gone to... Well, today I went to, to Cullman, which was surpr, which has surprised me as being such a, such a big reference, a point of reference for me.

It's been 20 years since I've been to Cullman.

And I saw this church fire, which is the highest thing in town.

Well, I talk about that in ""The Watermelon King"," is coming into town, the first thing that you see is the church.

Man, a lot of this is, is, is unchanged.

And I remember the siding of the, the big plaza as you come and, right in downtown Cullman.

It's the exact...

The lettering, I remember, is the same.

And the, even the "a" is askew.

You know, it's like an upside-down "a" at the end of "PLAZA."

And that, that "a" has been that way, you know, since I remember.

♪ No, I would not give you false hope ♪ ♪ On this strange and mournful day ♪ ♪ But the mother and child reunion... ♪ - Friend!

- Oh, you!

- Friend!

Long time, no see!

- You haven't changed at all.

- I'm related to him through my husband.

He was my husband's great nephew.

I've known Danny since he was born.

- I'm a cousin.

I'm Benton, Henry.

Nice to meet you.

- Hi, Henry, I'm Ray.

- Hi, Ray.

- It's good to see you guys.

- I'm Benton Buchmann.

I'm Daniel's father Danny's first cousin.

And this is my husband, Ray Buchmann.

I've known Daniel since he was born.

- When Danny was a young man, very young, he came and stayed one whole summer in a cottage that his father had bought out at Smith Lake.

And he said, then, he wanted to write.

His father wanted him to go in business with him.

He didn't want to.

And he did.

He, he was in business with him for a while, or at least worked for him, but he was never happy at that.

And he said, "I want to write."

- I was about 24 or 25 when I really decided that becoming a writer was what I needed to learn how to do.

And after being fired from my father's business, I moved back to Chapel Hill and rented a small duplex and, and sat down and started learning how to write.

I was out at the lake that summer, trying to write and failing miserably about 22 years ago, it had to... - He and his sisters would come up in the summer and spend some time at the All Steak with his grandparents.

And they were just cute as buttons, all, all four.

Cute kids.

- In the novel "Watermelon King," I certainly did see, um, Cullman because it was a small town.

- I can recognize Cullman in it, a Cullman of a long time ago.

I really can, like I could recognize it in "Big Fish."

- And, of course, I had all these preconceived notions when I opened it.

You know, this whole thing's gonna be autobiographical, and this is Cullman.

We lived with them, see.

We lived with them for three months and we both worked in their restaurant.

When my father walked in the All Steak for the time he burst into tears and went back in the car because his, his baby was a cashier.

- And I recognized his mother in the, central figure In "The Watermelon King."

She was, she is, she still is...

I haven't seen her in a long time, but the last time I saw her, she was full of life.

Always could make everybody happy.

And I recognize her in that.

And if he says that's not her... (chuckles) It's just unconscious because it is her.

- Okay, well, you've not read "The Watermelon King" yet, but let me tell you, he's talking about outside Ashland.

There's the, the sign that says...

I think in the book, it says, "Nigger, don't let the sun set on you back in Ashland."

But I can remember, now you've...

I've never seen the sign, but in Cullman was said to had, have had a sign at both entrances that said, "Nigger, don't let the sun set on you here."

Is that correct?

- That's true.

Of course, I'm like she is.

I don't remember seeing that.

- On the level of it just being all white?

Well, of course I hated it, but, I mean, (chuckles) certainly was nothing I could do about it.

- And we do have blacks in our school system now, and they're very well received.

It's a good community that we live in.

- [Interviewer] So things have changed a lot?

- Yes, they have.

- Oh yeah.

- Yes, they have.

A lot.

- [Interviewer] Yeah.

- For the better.

- [Interviewer] And you all have been here for a long time, so... - Mm-hmm.

And we've seen the change.

- I'm sure it has changed.

It's just that, um...

I really don't ever plan on going back.

- And I can see it, and I can see where Daniel would have those impressions from the time he spent in Cullman.

- Well, today I went to, to Cullman, which is surpr, which has surprised me as being such a, a, such a big reference, a point of reference for me.

And I realized that everything that I write about, I knew by the time I was about 10 years old.

Everything that happened to me by that time, it's... That's what I'm using.

That's my material.

I mean, they're obviously, they're, they're more adult references, and, and that they're, they're more, they're adult relationships.

Things that I couldn't know had I not been older, but the, really the, the, the meat of, of what I do is, is, happened when I was very young.

- This is after my sister read "The Watermelon King."

She is a huge fan of Daniel's, and not because he is kin.

"Joan dearest, Daniel's imagination is as potent as the sperm that activates the vines in "The Watermelon King."

- Oh my god.

- What a great book!

And then the last- - [Daniel] (chuckles) Oh my god.

- ...the last sentence is, "Recognize anyone?"

And I haven't gotten back to it to ask her who she thinks- - [Betty Caldwell] Obviously- - ...everybody is.

And I'm sure it's all family members.

- It's really a relief to know that, that I haven't forgotten everything.

That, that, that some part of me remembers.

That's, I think that's the, probably the biggest thing.

- No, I mean, you know, it's...

I think it's one thing if you read a book, and you don't get it, you don't like it.

And, I mean, there are people who will read "Big Fish," even after the movie happens, who won't really like it, and that's fine.

I mean, that's what art is about.

It's a very personal thing.

- And it wasn't, as my father said, completely.

He said, "You're in for a rude awakening."

(chuckles) You know, that was something he was very fond of saying.

And I don't think it's really happened yet.

I think I've been able to, to sort of, to maintain this, this, this idea that life is even better than it is, you know?

I think that's, that's sort of naive.

And if I'm gonna have to get up or wake up, I hope it happens soon.

♪ Callin' ♪ ♪ Callin' ♪ (soft guitar music) (upbeat easygoing music) ♪ Does Satan wear a suit and tie ♪ ♪ Or does he work at the Dairy Queen ♪ ♪ Does he listen to rock and roll ♪ ♪ Does he feed the mean ♪ ♪ Singing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪