North Texas Daily

Preston Barta // Film Critic

Driven by the exceptional performances from its two stars, “Kelly & Cal” follows the unlikely friendship of Kelly (Juliette Lewis) and Cal (Jonny Weston), two down-on-luck people from different walks of life whose camaraderie sparks them both back to spirit.

The North Texas Daily sat down with Lewis (“August: Osage County,” 2013), Weston (“Chasing Mavericks,” 2012) and first-time feature director Jen McGowan at the Driskell Hotel in Austin. We talked about the origin of the story, the most difficult scenes to shoot and what classes they would teach at UNT.

Jen, this is your first feature length movie. I am curious where the story came from?

And Jonny, Cal represents a teenager who throws a great deal of depth and perceptiveness. He’s so different from how 17-year-olds are normally portrayed, as they tend to be rebellious. Jen, how important was that for you to make him seem more real and relatable compared to your typical teenage boy?

Juliette and Jonny, what kind of things did you guys do together before production to kind of spark that chemistry between you guys?

Jonny, could you talk a little bit about the physicality you had to go through in order to play a character who is in a wheelchair?

I feel as though your characters hit a great deal of hard decisions throughout the course of the film. What action was the hardest for you to wrap your head around and justify doing on camera?

Lastly, if you could teach a college course, what class would you teach?

Feature Photo: Juliette Lewis and Jonny Weston star in “Kelly & Cal.” Photo courtesy of MPRM Communications.
Bottom Photo: Jonny Weston, Juliette Lewis and director Jen McGowan at the Driskell Hotel in Austin. Photo by Preston Barta.