{"id":30848,"date":"2023-11-03T22:43:47","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T04:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/justin-hunt-returns-to-hometown-for-qa-about-the-post-film\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T01:27:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:27:21","slug":"justin-hunt-returns-to-hometown-for-qa-about-the-post-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/justin-hunt-returns-to-hometown-for-qa-about-the-post-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Hunt returns to hometown for Q&A about \u2018The Post\u2019 film"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Justin
Justin Hunt, center, joined by Morgan Estill (left) and William Sterchi, said, \u201che likes holding up a mirror to society. (David Edward Albright\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Justin Hunt, writer, director and producer of \u201cThe Post,\u201d visited his hometown last Saturday for a Q&A after a showing at the Allen 10 Theatre at the Animas Valley Mall in Farmington.<\/p>\n

Hunt\u2019s sixth film was filmed largely in San Juan County, including locations such as Berg Park in Farmington, San Juan Regional Medical Center, San Juan County Detention Center, a private residence and football scenes at Fred Cook Memorial Stadium in Aztec.<\/p>\n

A sold-out theater of friends and supporters attended the showing of Hunt\u2019s revenge-thriller, which featured all New Mexico talent, including Hunt\u2019s daughter, Abbey, and son, Lantz.<\/p>\n

Veteran actor William Sterchi and longtime Hunt partner Morgan Estill, director of photography, joined Hunt for the Q&A.<\/p>\n

Sterchi was featured in \u201cHell or High Water\u201d (2016), with Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine, \u201cCrazy Heart\u201d and \u201cBreaking Bad.\u201d He has appeared in more that 45 productions in New Mexico, his home state, where he studied at University of New Mexico on a theater scholarship.<\/p>\n

Estill is known for his camera and electrical work on \u201cHell or High Water, \u201c500 mph Storm, \u201cThe Amateur\u201d and \u201cA Lonely Place for Dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Hunt was introduced and received an enthusiastic round of applause, he began the Q&A by asking the audience if they had a couple of favorite shots in the movie.<\/p>\n

A woman asked about where the hunting scene was shot, saying it was powerful. Another woman mentioned the ghastly scene of a corpse.<\/p>\n

A Tri-City Record <\/em>reporter noted the final scene, when Angus Benfield held up two phones, contemplating what to do about the moral dilemma faced by the main character, Jett Sanders.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Hunt introduced Estill, who received a strong round of applause.<\/p>\n

Hunt\u2019s next introduction began by jokingly asking if anyone had seen \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d or \u201cHell or High Water\u201c or \u201cOut of Range.\u201c Then he asked if anyone had heard of Jeff Bridges or an \u201cupcoming actor named Matthew McConaughey.\u201c<\/p>\n

He then introduced William Sterchi, saying that he had acted with both actors and been in many major productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything you want to ask, we\u2019re here to answer, technical, story, surprise or local \u2013 we\u2019ve got a lot of neat stuff here \u2013 so have at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He received positive responses from the audience about the movie and his time in Farmington, growing up here and working as a Bloomfield High School graduate on the local news station, KOBF, covering sports and weekend news.<\/p>\n

Sterchi commented about the \u201ccollaborative\u201d process of filmmaking, saying, \u201cIt starts with the writer \u2013 this guy also wrote all this.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said there are \u201cso many departments and locations, photography, actors, sound \u2013 I love the soundtrack on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much involved, and this guy\u2019s at the helm of it, and I\u2019m just thrilled to be a part of it, and consider it an honor and a privilege,\u201d Sterchi said.<\/p>\n

Audience questions range broadly<\/div>\n

A woman from Albuquerque asked Hunt how he decided what and where to shoot the scenes, some of which she recognized as being in Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

Hunt responded that \u201ca lot of that is financially dependent, so that\u2019s one of the things I really need to thank this community for.\u201d He said Aztec High School allowed them to shoot two regular-season football games with the \u201cteam wearing alternative uniforms so it would fit the script in a real game.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said they put the word out on social media asking the crowd to wear black, and the crowd was \u201cabout five times larger than normal.\u201d He said about 30 people showed up with \u201cGo Rayford Tigers\u201d signs, which probably \u201cfreaked the hell out of Durango.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt said they shot the scripted scenes with the Bloomfield football team. He said it was probably a \u201cquarter-million dollars worth of production value that we got just by people wanting to help us out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audience responded that the football scenes were \u201creally good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt related the story of his good friend, Darryl Priddy, known as \u201cDoc,\u201d who died in October while the movie was under production. He had known Priddy since the seventh grade and named the stadium after him as a joke. However, it now became a memorial in remembrance of his close friend.<\/p>\n

On the press box it says, \u201cDoc Priddy Memorial Stadium,\u201d Hunt said, to honor his friend.<\/p>\n

Hunt said he\u2019d likely not want to direct something that he didn\u2019t write. He said they\u2019re already working on the next film, another thriller.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like holding a mirror up to society and making them think about things,\u201d adding that he likes to stimulate conversation on the way home from the movie, maybe \u201copen a dialogue with their child or have an internal dialogue with themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd thrillers are a great place to do that,\u201d Hunt said.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Q&A for \u201cThe Post\u201d brought friends and supporters to the Allen 10 theater Saturday evening. (David Edward Albright\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

He said he\u2019s proud when film inspires action about problems in society, not just complaints.<\/p>\n

The film was shot in only 23 days, Hunt said. He said he and Morgan put in \u201csix weeks of work every day, going over every scene, every shot so that when we got there \u2013 it was extremely efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt said the only major revision came when a couple of weeks before they started to shoot he decided to add the montage that came at the end. He wanted to add \u201cemotional insight\u201d into the character of Jett and to explain how difficult it can be sometimes to do \u201cwhat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, my job is to set you up to knock you down and set you back up again and take you on this emotional ride,\u201d Hunt said.<\/p>\n

Estill said the hunting scene was never supposed to be in the snow, but weather often dictates schedule and requires constant, creative adaptation.<\/p>\n

Hunt said they planned to shoot Wednesday through Saturday, so with snow hitting on Wednesday in Berg Park, a fair amount of schedule juggling was required. After all the changes, Hunt said, \u201cMorgan and I acted like that was the plan all along.\u201d<\/p>\n

His favorite thing, even more so than golf, is \u201cdirecting good actors.\u201d Inexperienced actors require more direction, while seasoned actors, like Sterchi, need only a suggestion of what they might be \u201cthinking or feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sterchi said it meant a lot to him that Hunt invited him over for coffee to discuss the character of school superintendent that he would play.<\/p>\n

The audience erupted with laughter when Estill pointed out how Kimberly Bigsby, playing Brooke Sanders, drove a toy car across the face of her fake baby in order to hold the attention of the young boy playing the part of young Jake Sanders.<\/p>\n

Hunt said the stories behind the making of a movie are often more \u201cfun and interesting\u201d than the movie itself. He shared that young boy was his great nephew, who was actually supposed to say a line, \u201cbut he wasn\u2019t having that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt said they had lizards, stuffed toys \u2013 you name it \u2013 to coax the boy and get the desired expressions and reactions.<\/p>\n

An audience member asked Hunt about directing his daughter, Abbey, whom he called a \u201cnatural actress.\u201d Hunt said there were about 30 girls that auditioned for her part as Penny Sanders, and the casting director chose Abbey.<\/p>\n

Hunt said \u201cthere\u2019s this mixed emotion\u201d of being nervous for his kids, while also being very proud of them for \u201chow well they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saying that he loved the casting process, Hunt explained how he chose Addison Bowman for the part as the vengeful Brandy. He said when she was working as a waitress in Phoenix there was a horrific bike race accident. A cyclist took a horrific fall, severing his femoral artery. Bowman applied direct pressure to the vital artery, but was unable to stop the bleeding. He died.<\/p>\n

Along with other personal loss she had experienced, Hunt said, \u201cshe knew what it was like to feel and watch death.\u201d These life experiences gave her the ability to play the part well because \u201cshe could relate to something that deep in her life,\u201d Hunt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there\u2019s the part of how long my kids have watched me try to get to this point and all of you as well, how hard I\u2019ve worked to get to an opportunity,\u201d Hunt said, adding, \u201cI feel like I\u2019m just now starting. I\u2019m just now getting to where I want to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt said the filmmaking world is \u201cbrutal,\u201d so that\u2019s why he enjoys returning to his hometown area. He said he can \u201cfeel the pride\u201d and greatly appreciates the love and support from the community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friends, supporters show up to fill the theater<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1240,1222,799,28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-30848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-aztec","tag-bloomfield","tag-farmington","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30848"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81224,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30848\/revisions\/81224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30848"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=30848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}