So she stopped in to chat with her. Dale and I, as well as half of the film crew, volunteered to go out and pound tires to help her build an Earthship, but it's just a huge undertaking, and after the past few years, Linda may be ready to chill out just a little bit. I wanted a place for the end of the road, she said. By Annabel Gutterman. At this point, I feel like Ive been on a wild ride with the people I was reporting on. Bob Wells is a real-life nomad and van dweller who stars as himself in "Nomadland." Wells moved into a van after a divorce and now runs a popular how-to blog called CheapRVLiving. So Im developing the well, and Im going to put in a greenhouse and finish my little cabin here. Charlene Swankie of Chloe Zhao's 2021 Academy Award-winning movie "Nomadland," talks about her role, her van and her time in Quartzsite, Arizona. She's doing sustainable building planning, and she's good. tv campaign graphics Was it difficult to tell stories like these in front of the camera?They made it so easy. Linda May. She dreams of building an Earthship -- a sustainable house -- and the book ends with her having bought the land inDouglas. ESQ: What makes Linda such a compelling subject in your bookit completely came across in the film. It was a less fraught time, but I didn't see a ton of politicking online either. I think the arbitrary cruelty and monstrosity of what happened to George Floyd definitely put that to the forefront of the conversation, even though it was a pretty big deal before. At the conclusion of Nomadland, Linda had purchased acreage in Douglas, Arizona, where she intended to build an Earthship and live a homesteading lifestyle. IloveJosh, and I flirted with him like crazy the whole time we made the movie. . Streaming Library with tons of TV episodes and movies. That 1% was acting. When the fires were inOregonlast summer, my daughters house was threatened. Silvianne, who's in the book, told me that she had COVID and convalesced in her van. Will she go back to the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous and be welcomed as a hero? The Golden Globes-nominated film follows a middle-aged woman named Fern (played by McDormand) who, like Hardwick, faces extreme financial challenges. She donated it to the Homes on Wheels Alliance, which is a nonprofit Bob started to help nomads in need. We get all the reports from California, where an interesting and very sad thing is happening. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us. So many of them are used to ageism in the workforce, and because they're a little older, it's a different generational attitude. And Swankies a very interesting person, May said. No one felt that more than McDormand, who optioned journalist Jessica Bruders 2017 nonfiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, and produced the film. Urban nomads are definitely on the rise. She told me that at one point, she was stranded in the desert, and everybody back home was worried about her. And that meant a lot. She's remarkably unselfconscious, and from a writers perspective, shes a quote machine. It was definitely weird the first time that I didn't attend the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. Then she happened upon Wells' blog and his running budgets instructing prospective nomads on how to live on $500 and $1,000 a month. I would have had a little 13-foot trailer, and I dont know how you can squeeze a family of six in there. that led NBC to pull the Golden Globe Awards off the air while the organization underwent major reforms. We just really hit it off together and had such a good time. And at that time, I had like seven other RTR friends women that were in the area. Linda May and being cast in Nomadland. The two nonprofessional actors are the plus-ones of Chlo Zhao (nominated for four Academy . A woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. People are getting social security and other government benefits, of course; if that stopped, they would be screwed. Right now, everybody has their favorite spots, and people want to be able to do stealth parking in cities sometimes, which is staying overnight and remaining undetected. But Oscar viewers will see thats shes alive and well. Linda May, who befriends the lonely, widowed Fern in the film and shows her the ropes of workamping, has seen the nomadic community expand dramatically since she first found herself living on the road as a grandmother in her 10-foot trailer, which she calls the Squeeze Inn. So yeah, that changed my life, she continued. Terms of Service apply. However, my ex-husband died of brain cancer, so that made me emotional during filming. I think what I was most intimidated by and impressed with was the commitment that people like them made to the life they live, and the joy that they find in gathering together and sharing their experiences and how much they enjoy being on their own. It would take two to three years to build an Earthship, and I have decided a little cabin will be good enough. Oh, is that what its like? Yeah. In her wildest dreams, Charlene Swankie never imagined that Hollywood would come calling or even know how to find her. Essentially, real nomads that were included in Jessica's work were subsequently cast in the 2020 film. Chloe Zhao's tale of a widow (played by Frances McDormand) who is reduced to living in her van after the Great Recession, is regarded as a front-runner for this year's Academy Awards. She told a wonderful story about the nomads, May said about Nomadland.. Watch on 2 different screens at the same time. Access to award-winning Hulu Originals. But his drive and dish make it possible. We were all crammed in that little bitty space. Nomadland heads into the Oscars as a favorite in several major categories, including picture and director. "Nomadland," based on a nonfiction book by Jessica Bruder, would offer her the same opportunity: Real nomads from Bruder's book, like Linda May and Swankie, were enticed to play pivotal . Despite the hardships of living off the grid from mechanical problems with her van to health issues Swankie, a loner by nature, found the freedom of the nomadic lifestyle suited her. Its extracting the most photogenic and aspirational aspects of this lifestyle, thereby making everybody feels like they should be living this way, when it's really just a few people. There are a lot more vehicles than I've seen before. It was really a blast, being out there working with herworking for her. Have you followed this movement? They told me that I needed to join SAG, and they assisted me with that, May said. Linda is so used to doing stuff on her own that I think being attended to in that way was hilarious at first, and then enjoyable. Its a little late in the day for me to start a project like that, she said. Did you get lines to memorize? ESQ: How do you anticipate that this might change her life? Just because it never happened doesnt mean they cant get back together. Bob Wells. Linda May: I wouldn't say (I was) happy to share my lowest point, but it was honest. But it's funnya lot of people I talked to fared better than I expected, because so many of them are staying in remote places and are introverts to begin with. My trailer is like nine feet by six feet inside. Talk about a mindfuck. She hasnt built an Earthship; what shes really focused on now are some interesting greenhouse ideas. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. 1 Benet in a sectional final. She tried to explain to them, "Its just like on the block. A lot of people who have stationary, reliable jobs are unable to afford housing. And so she came there, and we talked. Linda May Linda . A lot of people feel that they should be grateful to have the job. We hardly ever reshot anything. There was really no distinction made. Look what happened! Can Anyone Predict Whos Going to Win Best Supporting Actress? I remember talking to her when she was heading to the set at Wall Drug. What do you know about how that came to be? How is the community going to receive this film, and the involvement of people like Linda? But evidently, she saw a story there that reflected what was happening since 2008 to a lot of people. Nomadland, now streaming on Hulu, is based on a book and tells the true story of real-life nomads like Linda May, Bob Wells, and Swankie. Nomadland is a surprisingly balanced look at the van living, nomadic life within America. And they said they got the same thing. Chloe listened to the stories, and she retold the stories as she heard them, as she understood them. My friends are taking care of it for me, but I'm really eager to get back to the van when the world allows that. W.W. Norton & Co. . 'Nomadland' is the Oscars frontrunner. I'm sure people were impacted in that way, because a lot of national parks and campsites were closed too. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Frances McDormand's net worth in 2021 is an estimated $30 million. The nomads didn't get hurt only at Amazon. I wish she would go away! Was it nerve-wracking?Well, I never had any intentions of being in a movie. Nomadland, now playing in select theaters and streaming on Hulu, earned four Golden Globe nominations and is considered a leading Oscar contender. A graduate of Harvard University, he has also written about the entertainment industry for the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Fast Company and other publications. For Mays part, she said Bruder introduced her to Zhao at the beginning of her screenwriting process, and Zhao visited her on the land May had bought inDouglas, Ariz., thinking she might settle down there. production visual effects consultant Lucas De La Torre . You have that pressure going both ways. Read Next: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Composer Explains the Importance of the Cello and Piano, Linda May arrives at premiere of Searchlights Nomadland at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Greys Anatomy Adds William Martinez to Cast (EXCLUSIVE), Meredith Grey, Force of Nature: How Ellen Pompeos Iconic Greys Anatomy Character Changed Television, Harry Potter Star Evanna Lynch: I Wish People Would Give J.K. 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