Color of Rain is the best-selling book and true story of Michael and Gina Spehn. Each lost their spouse to cancer six weeks apart and out of their tragedy, they found each other. Color of Rain premieres May 31st at 9pmEST on the Hallmark Channel. The movie stars Lacey Chabert and Warren Christie.
Lacey was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to talk about Color of Rain, meeting the Spehns and what she personally took away from working on this project.
Pop Culture Principle – Where you aware of Michael & Gina’s story before you became involved with this project?
Lacey Chabert – Honestly, I wasn’t. They sent me the script and right away I went out and purchased the book because I wanted to read the book first. I watched a few of their appearances on television and I really fell in love with them as people. They are really funny and the fact that they were able to pick up their lives and find each other and navigate through this grief and find such hope, it was really inspiring. I was really honored to tell their story.
Pop Culture Principle – How did you prepare for the role and did you spend any time with Michael & Gina before filming?
Lacey Chabert – We did not get too unfortunately. They came up a few days into filming and it was really nice to meet them. I did get to talk to them on the phone before filming and asked Gina a few questions trying to inform myself about things that weren’t clear to me or that would help me with my performance. They are so funny and were so excited to be there. Michael has this great sense of humor and when I met Gina, we really discovered that we had so many similarities which was really interesting. They were excited that their story was being made into a movie and they were really supportive of who was cast for the project, which I really appreciated. You feel a lot more responsibility when you portray a character that isn’t just fictionalized. You want to portray them in a way that makes them proud.
Pop Culture Principle – Did you feel any added responsibility or pressure knowing that you were telling their story on film?
Lacey Chabert – Yes, absolutely. We are telling poignant scenes which to us are just scenes from a script, but to them were very momentous days in their lives. Whether it is the passing of their spouse or having to explain it to the kids or when the family meets and they decide to become one big family. These were huge events that happened to them and you definitely have to approach it with a lot of care.
Pop Culture Principle – How involved were the Spehns with the project? Where they on the set a lot?
Lacey Chabert – Yea, they were there for the better part of the entire film. We filmed in Vancouver so they sort of took a family vacation while they were there and toured around as well. They spent a great deal of time on the set and it was really nice to have their support.
Pop Culture Principle – What was it like working with Warren Christie?
Lacey Chabert – He is great! Warren is a million laughs a minute. He is so funny and I just adore him.
Pop Culture Principle – The film does a great job of not only seeing the positive outcome, but also showing that there were some problems. Do you think that was important for the story?
Lacey Chabert – Absolutely! I think obviously the story is very uplifting, but they definitely did go through some tragic days to get to that point. So, it was very important to tell the story as honest as possible. When they became one family, I think there was a lot of concern at first. The scene where Michael’s kids weren’t sure if they should call Gina mom because it didn’t necessarily feel right was important to cover and the way they worked that out within their family was really beautiful.
Pop Culture Principle – One constant that is in the film is that of faith. How important do you think their faith was in dealing not only with the tragedies in their lives, but also keeping their hopes alive?
Lacey Chabert – I think it’s a huge part of who they are. Whether you read their book or sit down and talk with them, it’s very evident that their faith is where they gather their strength. My faith is a very important part of my life as well, so I was really happy that faith was such a big part of their story.
Pop Culture Principle – Where there times during the filming of Color of Rain, where you had to take a step back after filming an emotional scene to gather yourself?
Lacey Chabert – Yes and no. I would say there was definitely a much more elevated level of respect on this set versus other sets because everyone involved was aware how important this story was- especially when the family was on set. You know, I am an actress and I’ve done a lot of emotional things and being on Party of Five for six years were there was always something tragic happening, it was a great place to learn how to access my emotional side. It was definitely a wonderful learning process. I enjoy doing drama; I find it very cathartic sometimes.
Pop Culture Principle – What do you personally take away from working on this project?
Lacey Chabert – For me, especially after getting to know the family, there is nothing that can happen in your life that is too tragic to let the despair destroy you. What they went through is something unimaginable and a terrible thing to think about, but the fact that they were still able to find humor in every situation is pretty much what I took away from it. The importance of finding humor and also not letting the despair control you.
Pop Culture Principle – What would you like the audience to take away from the film after watching it?
Lacey Chabert – Never lose hope. There is always hope in every situation.