INTERVIEW (HollyShorts) | Fallon Goodson and Sky Hardison on Filming ‘RUBY’: Embracing Acceptance and Diversity

Following her captivating success with Tell That to The Winter Sea, director Jaclyn Bethany returns with yet another compelling story that promises to leave a lasting impression. In the short film Ruby, Bethany stitches a heartwarming story that explores the transformative power of friendship in the face of societal resistance. The film, which is set within the walls of a traditional Catholic school, primarily focuses on the bond between a quirky nun named Sister Natalie (played by Fallon Goodson) and a spirited schoolgirl (played by Sarah Schuler). Although things were not going as smoothly as Sister Natalie would have wanted them to, the introduction of the schoolgirl’s mother, Marie (played by Sky Hardison), made things even worse. Her conversation with Marie re-ignites something inside her and she is prompted to suppress her feelings because of the societal norms.

The film not only talks about stereotypes. It also talks about how people suppress their feelings so that they won’t get hurt. Apart from great direction and writing from Bethany, the film features splendid performances from Fallon Goodson and Sky Hardison. Both stars now live in Louisiana and are making great efforts to build an industry in the state. I sat down with them (virtually) to talk about the short film ‘Ruby’ and how they are creating an ecosystem for the cinema/TV industry in Louisiana.

Official poster of ‘RUBY’ (Photo Credit: @jaclyn_bethany/Instagram)

Aayush Sharma: Congratulations on the short film ‘Ruby,’ but before we talk about the movie. I would love to hear from both of you about your journey in Hollywood.

Fallon Goodson: We both were in LA for a while. I started in LA. I was in LA for twelve years, and I’m originally from Louisiana. So I moved back to Louisiana during the pandemic and then moved to New Orleans. But while I was in LA, I produced, acted, and did the same thing here in New Orleans. I love it here. It’s a smaller community, and everyone’s really supportive. That’s everything in a nutshell, yeah.

Sky Hardison: I am originally from San Diego, born and raised there. Then I migrated to LA and studied acting. So I started out as an actor and then went into writing, which was another passion of mine. So I’ve started doing more writing stuff. Then during the pandemic, I got some opportunities out here in Louisiana. So I migrated here before knowing Fallon, and we met here and decided to form a film production company called In-Ceremony Productions. Our mission is to build the industry here in New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana, the southeast, so that it can be its own thing, kind of like how Atlanta has created its industry. We want to do the same here for Louisiana.

Aayush Sharma: How did you approach portraying the complex and evolving relationship between your characters, a spirited Catholic schoolgirl and a quirky nun?

Fallon Goodson: I think it comes a lot from going to catholic school, growing up in that system, and very much feeling kind of like there were a ton of rules and there was a certain way to act and speak, and it felt very confining at times. So I completely related to that confinement and then moving to Los Angeles and being on a whole different culture, it felt a lot more free. So I kind of came back with experiences in both worlds and was able to see how when someone has more of an open mind and they can’t speak it, how suffocating that can be and how it can trigger them to want to change things.

Aayush Sharma: What challenges did you face in conveying the themes of life and sexuality within the framework of a Catholic school setting?

Sky Hardison: You know, with the character development and also with rehearsal between Fallon and me, we found a really good synergy of just how to create this dynamic between the two of us and also bringing in the situation, because now, in this day and age, sexuality is so open and fluid that it shouldn’t be so confined. So I think my character, Marie, kind of brought that free-spirited kind of energy. You can love whoever you want. Love is love, right? So when you love somebody, it doesn’t matter what gender they identify as, and what sexual preference they’re into. As long as that connection is there between the two of you, nothing else matters. So I think it was kind of refreshing. Like, Marie’s character was this refreshing thing of just, like, okay, you can love whoever you want. You can be both. You can love a woman, you can love a man. You can love whatever you identify as, and just be open to that possibility. So. Yeah.

Fallon Goodson: And to continue with what Sky said, I think that’s why sister Natalie got so overwhelmed by even her (Marie’s) presence that she passed out. It was just so overwhelming to meet someone like that and, not know what to do with that energy. You know what I mean? So it’s kind of symbolic of just being overwhelmed like there’s a whole other world out there.

Aayush Sharma: Fallon, how did you prepare for the emotional and personal journey that your character goes through in the film?

Fallon Goodson: I feel like talking to people who I went to school with was one way. Also, meeting people who I hadn’t seen in a long time and getting to know how their minds have changed. I’ve seen a lot of people who are Catholic down here and have ventured away from church. So talking to them and hearing that side was interesting. It brings about an empathy for the whole situation because it’s not that I’m anti-faith. You know, I’m religious, I go to church. It’s not that I’m anti any of that, but also, it’s like you have to walk a very thin line with it. I think it’s not hard to be empathetic for the situation in general, just like, as a human and seeing a young girl going through something like that. Even though it’s been a minute since I’ve been in high school, I think they’re still, you know, moving to a new city. I’m not from New Orleans, and I think Sky can relate to that. It’s like you have this weird, innate, you know, intuition to want to fit in, and that’s what you want to do. I think that probably was also very helpful in character development.

Aayush Sharma: What was the most rewarding part of playing a character who is both unconventional and deeply connected to another in such a unique environment?

Sky Hardison: I would say the most rewarding part was seeing the whole film on the big screen. It premiered at the Holly Sports Film Festival, and just seeing people’s reactions to it, was really rewarding for me. You know, my character was fun to play. Marie is not far off from who I am as a person in general. So the writer-director wrote, cast me fairly well with that because she knows my personality and how I am. So, Marie and I have a lot of similarities and personalities. But I would say watching that and the feedback and having people come up to us after the screening show, telling us how it impacted them was really rewarding for me.

Fallon Goodson: I would say just doing what we set out to do, which is film something here, employ local crew and cast, and really just keep to our mission of making sure that we are trying to build this film market down here.

Aayush Sharma: How was your experience working with the director Jaclyn Bethany and the rest of the cast to bring this story to life?

Sky Hardison: It was wonderful. Everyone was amazing. You know, sometimes you don’t get that privilege on set to work with a lot of wonderful people, but everyone that was cast, from cast to crew to director, you know, it just was so fluid and amazing. Everyone had great communication with each other. There weren’t any hiccups at all. Like, everything was so smooth, and that’s kind of the productions we want to create who were like, everything works out. And Jaclyn was great. She’s a phenomenal director, and really talented, and I look forward to seeing how her career just really skyrockets from here.

Fallon Goodson: Yeah, it was refreshing to be on a set, and things actually just kept moving forward. There were no shenanigans. Everyone was just there to work. We shot it in, like, what?

Sky Hardison: It was like two and a half days.

Fallon Goodson: Two and a half days, I think, total. Yeah, we were very limited on time, and it just really worked. Everyone, it was a team effort. Everyone was a leader, which was, I think, how that worked.

Aayush Sharma: What was it like working on a project that addresses societal norms and the resistance to change? How did you bring authenticity to those themes?

Sky Hardison: That’s a beautiful question. I’ll say what I’ve been saying about acceptance because I think the way we brought authenticity to that is just because I think in the human condition, we all want to feel accepted no matter who we are, what race we are, what sexuality we are, what country we’re from, anything. We all just want to feel accepted for who we are. I think the core message of this film is acceptance, and just allowing people to be proud of themselves without any sort of judgment of who they are or who they love, or how they love. So I think when you can see that kind of core element, you can bring it into a character, you can bring it into the message, and it’s relatable to everybody, even if you’re not in the LGBTQ community.

Fallon Goodson: I think knowing that film is a way that people can sort through their problems without having to say anything. It’s almost therapeutic sometimes if there’s a movie that’s relatable for them where they can have an emotional release and just knowing that this could potentially provide some comfort to people and, even young women, if they watch this and they’re struggling in the same situation, just knowing that and it being in a very non-confrontational way, in my opinion, in a sweet, coming of age way, I think knowing that is what made it very rewarding, amazing.

‘Ruby’ premiered at this year’s HollyShorts Film Festival.

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