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Ulee’s Gold movie storyline. Ulee (short for Ulysses) Jackson is a Vietnam veteran, widower and grandfather. He is a beekeeper by profession, who raises two granddaughters (Biel and Zima) because his son (Wood) is in prison and his daughter-in-law Helen (Dunford), a drug addict, has run away. The son implores him to look for his wife and bring her home.
Upon returning home with Helen, Ulee’s granddaughters see their mother going through withdrawal, and the youngest pleads with their neighbor Connie (Richardson) to help her. Connie is a twice-divorced nurse who assists Ulee in getting his daughter-in-law through detox. The film shows Ulee holding the family together and attempting to protect them from two young criminals, former associates of his son, who come looking for a hidden stash of cash.
Ulee’s Gold is a 1997 American independent drama film written and directed by Victor Nuñez and starring Peter Fonda in the title role. Co-stars include Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood, Jessica Biel, J. Kenneth Campbell and Vanessa Zima. It was released by Orion Pictures, with Jonathan Demme receiving presenter credits for his role in the film’s financing.
The film was the “Centerpiece Premiere” at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Fonda won a Golden Globe for his performance and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and a Screen Actors Guild Award. The film’s title refers most concretely to the honey Ulee produces as a beekeeper, particularly that made from the nectar of the tupelo tree. Van Morrison sings “Tupelo Honey” (the title song of his 1971 album) over the end credits.
Nuñez used the Lanier family, a third-generation beekeeping family in Wewahitchka, Florida as “bee consultants” for the film; the Lanier family swamp lands and bee yards served as filming locations, with some members of the family appearing as extras in the film. Other filming locations were Orlando, Carrabelle, Apalachicola and Port St. Joe, Florida.
During a 1997 interview held in Melbourne, Fonda commented on the character he portrayed: “Ulee is the best character I’ve ever read. It’s the kind of role you pay money to do — a complex character full of possibilities and the script was full of moments that were very deep, very pure and very simple. I also found a lot of Ulee in my father. He kept a couple of hives and I can see him hop-footing it across the lawn, thinking he had a bee up his pant leg. As I began to develop Ulee, I used a lot of the way my father was to us as kids, the way he was to us as a family and the way he was to himself.
Ulee’s Gold (1997)
Directed by: Victor Nuñez
Starring: Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Jessica Biel, Christine Dunford, J. Kenneth Campbell, Steven Flynn, Dewey Weber, Tom Wood, Vanessa Zima, Ryan Marshall
Screenplay by: Victor Nuñez
Production Design by: Pat Garner
Cinematography by: Virgil Mirano
Film Editing by: Victor Nunez
Costume Design by: Marilyn Wall-Asse
Set Decoration by: Charles Kulsziski
Art Direction by: Debbie DeVilla
Music by: Charles Engstrom
MPAA Rating: R for language.
Distributed by: Orion Pictures
Release Date: June 13, 1997
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