Katrina Elam makes acting debut in “Pure Country 2”
A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma native makes acting debut in ‘Pure Country 2′
Singer-songwriter and Bray native Katrina Elam used her experiences in the music business to inform her character in the drama “Pure Country 2: The Gift.”
DALLAS — Back in 1992, George Strait made his movie debut with the hit musical drama “Pure Country.”
That same year, Bray native Katrina Elam made her singing debut at a 4-H talent show, bringing her mother to tears with her confident, big-voiced performance.
Now 26, Elam is making her first foray into acting and sharing the screen with the King of Country Music in the spinoff “Pure Country 2: The Gift,” opening today in theaters.
“I just really wanted to meet George Strait,” Elam said with a laugh during a press conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas. “I certainly have never thought about being an actress; it still kind of even cracks me up. But you know, it was fun. I thought, ‘Why not? I’m an adventurous person so I’ll try it.’ I’m glad I did it.”
Elam stars as Bobbie Thomas, who as a baby receives the gift of a divine voice from a trio of angels. But the angels (Cheech Marin, Michael McKean and Bronson Pinchot) also require her to follow three rules — never lie, always be fair and never break a promise — in order to keep her heavenly talent. When Bobbie leaves her tiny Kentucky hometown to seek her fortune in Nashville, the aspiring country singer learns the path to stardom is riddled with obstacles, including the temptation to compromise her values for wealth and fame.
The Oklahoma-born and bred singer-songwriter was able to channel the ups and downs she has faced in her own country music career for the movie role.
“What I learned was maybe what you don’t want is fame and like all the craziness; maybe what you want to do is just make music. And that’s kind of where I come from and that’s kind of how I relate to the character. I just want to do what I do and I want to do it well enough hopefully to get paid enough to live,” Elam said with a laugh. “But I’m not gonna sell my soul and I’m not gonna make my personal life sacrifice too much for that.”
After that 4-H talent show, Elam became an in-demand performer at weddings, parties and events around the state. She caught the attention of country superstars and fellow Oklahoma natives Reba McEntire and Vince Gill, who took her name back to Nashville. She signed her first publishing deal at age 16.
In 2004, she released her self-titled debut album, produced by Tony Brown and Jimmie Lee Sloas, on Universal South. She scored a Top 40 hit with “No End in Sight” and toured with Keith Urban. Around that time, Brown, Strait’s go-to producer, also recommended Elam to “Pure Country” director Christopher Cain, who was working on the follow-up.
“The problem with getting this movie made is if you’re doing a movie about a girl with a gift, she’d better have one. Or you’re dead. And she came along,” Cain said.
Cain and his stepson, actor/writer Dean Cain (who makes a cameo), actually penned the script for “Pure Country 2” 15 years ago. The project was quickly green-lit, and LeAnn Rimes was sought for the lead role. When she turned it down, the project was shelved. Over the years, the Cains tried at various times to get the film on track.
“We didn’t wait six years for her to grow up, it just took that long to get the movie made, for the obvious reasons that you don’t see these movies on the big screen much anymore,” said Christopher Cain, adding that the film was independently financed.
“When I saw her the first time after the six-year period, I said, ‘What do you want to do? Do you want to sing? Do you want to act?’ She says, ‘I like my life, I just don’t want to screw it up.’ That tells you so much about a person that doesn’t say, ‘I want to be a big star.’”
In the intervening years, Elam took some hard knocks from the music business. She lost her recording contact during a shakeup at Universal South (which recently merged with Toby Keith’s Show Dog Nashville label), and her second album, “Turn Me Up,” was never released. She said one of the challenges of playing Bobbie was the scene in which her character rejoices at scoring a record contract.
“I think maybe I know too much, and so like getting the record deal and being excited about it was kind of hard,” she said with a laugh. “For anyone in any business there are plenty of hard knocks. … It’s a struggle for anyone; nothing comes easy.
Elam has turned her focus to songwriting, co-penning “I Want a Cowboy” on McEntire’s album “Keep on Loving You,” “Change” for Carrie Underwood’s “Play On” and a pair of tracks for Rascal Flatts’ upcoming “Nothing Like This.”
“It’s so much better for me. Touring wasn’t necessarily my thing I guess. I was miserable out on the road, so this is good. I get to be creative and go home at night,” she said.
Along with her natural acting acumen — the director forbade her from hiring an acting coach — Elam was able to showcase her singing and songwriting skills once production finally started on “Pure Country 2.” She co-wrote two songs on the soundtrack, and the filmmakers used four tracks from her unreleased album.
“The little snotty part of me is like ‘Ha ha, told you they were good,’” Elam said with a laugh. “I loved that project so much, and I know Tony Brown was really proud of that project, too, so it’s nice to see ‘em coming to life again.”
While Elam isn’t sure if she will take on any more acting roles, she knows she will cherish memories of working with Strait, who appears as himself in “Pure Country 2.” Those memories include pretending to seduce the music legend during the scene in which he knocks on her character’s dressing room door; the director put her up to the prank and gleefully recalled Strait’s shocked reaction while Elam chuckled.
“I grew up watching the first ‘Pure Country’ and obviously love George Strait. Just to meet him for the first time was incredible,” Elam said. “And to get to do scenes with him and see what a sweetheart he is was incredible.”
-BAM
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What a wonderful movie!!!! Pure Country is one of our all time favorites and this is every bit as good. We wish there were more movies like this instead of the garbage that folks think Americans will like. Call me sappy, call me stupid, call me whatever you like but this is what America was all about when I was growing up.
Congrats,
Jack McEncroe
Marine Fighter Pilot and his wonderful wife, Anita