Writing Playwright Horton Foote reportedly considered giving up on film writing, due to what he regarded as a poor adaptation of his 1952 play
The Chase into a
1966 film of the same name, in which Robert Duvall had a supporting role. Following what Foote saw as a far more successful adaptation of his 1968 play
Tomorrow in the
1972 feature film of the same name starring Duvall (who had his movie debut as
Boo Radley in the 1962 film
To Kill a Mockingbird that was scripted by Foote), his interest in filmmaking was rekindled, with the condition that he maintain some degree of control over the final product. Foote said of this stage in his career, "I learned that film really should be like theatre in the sense that, in theatre, the writer is, of course, very dominant ... If we don't like something, we can speak our minds. ... It is always a collaborative effort. ... But in Hollywood it wasn't so. A writer there has in his contract that you are a writer for hire, which means that you write a script, then it belongs to them." This renewed interest in cinema prompted Foote to write
Tender Mercies, his first work written specifically for the screen. In the view of biographer George Terry Barr, the script reflected "Foote's determination to battle a Hollywood system that generally refuses to make such personal films." Foote said, "This older man had been through it all. As I thought about a storyline, I got very interested in that type of character." Foote based Sledge's victory over alcoholism on his observations of theatre people struggling with the problem. He sought to avoid a melodramatic slant in telling that aspect of the story. He chose the title
Tender Mercies, from the Book of
Psalms, for its relation to the Rosa Lee character, who he said seeks only "certain moments of gentleness or respite, [not] grandness or largeness".
Development Duvall, who had appeared in
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), which Foote adapted from the
Harper Lee novel, was involved in
Tender Mercies as an actor and co-producer from its earliest stages. He said the script appealed to him because of the basic values it underlined and because the themes were universal even though the story was local. Duvall felt it portrayed people from the central region of the
United States without parodying them, as he said many Hollywood films tend to do. Duvall's early involvement led to rumors that he had requested Foote write the script for him, something that both men denied. The script was rejected by many American directors, creating concerns for Foote and the producers that the film would never be made. Foote later said, "This film was turned down by every American director on the face of the globe." Beresford was attracted to the idea of making a Hollywood film with a big budget and powerful distribution. Following his success with
Breaker Morant, Beresford received about 150 Hollywood scripts as potential projects; although he went weeks before reading many of them, Beresford read
Tender Mercies right away. It immediately appealed to him, in part because it dealt with aspects of American rural life he had seldom encountered in film scripts. He contacted EMI Films and asked for one month to visit Texas and familiarize himself with the state before committing to direct, to which the company agreed. Beresford said of the trip, "I want to come over and see if this is all true, because if it's not really a true picture of what it's all like, it wouldn't be right to make it." highway. Mary Ann Hobel said the owner, when approached about its availability, immediately handed over the keys: "We said, 'Don't you want a contract, something in writing?' And he said, 'We don't do things that way here. Beresford, known for carefully planning every shot in his films, drew his own
storyboards as well as detailed drawings of how he envisioned the sets. Beresford chose Australian
Russell Boyd as
cinematographer and Irishman
William Anderson, who had worked on all of the director's previous features, as
editor. He selected
Elizabeth McBride as
costume designer. It was her first time in the position on a feature film, and she went on to build a reputation for costuming Texan and other Southern characters.
Casting Duvall had always wanted to play a country singer, and Foote was rumored to have written the role of Mac Sledge specifically for him. Foote denied the claim, claiming he found it too constraining to write roles for specific actors, although he did hope Duvall would be cast in the part.
Tender Mercies became a very important personal project for Duvall, who contributed a significant number of ideas for his character. Reportedly, Duvall dropped out of the movie when Altman would not let him sing his own compositions. In preparing for the role, he spent weeks roaming around Texas, speaking to strangers to find the right accent and mannerisms. He also joined a small country band and continued singing with them every free weekend while the film was being shot. In total, Duvall drove about to research the part, often asking people to speak into his tape recorder so he could practice their inflections and other vocal habits. Tess Harper was performing on stage in Texas when she attended a casting call for a minor role in the film. Beresford was so impressed with her that he cast her in the lead. He later said that the actresses he had seen before her demonstrated a sophistication and worldliness inappropriate for the part, while she brought a kind of rural quality without coming across as simple or foolish. Beresford said of Harper, "She walked into the room and even before she spoke, I thought, 'That's the girl to play the lead.
Tender Mercies was Harper's feature film debut, and she was so excited about the role she bit her script to make sure it was real. Beresford visited several schools and auditioned many children for the role of Sonny before he came across Allan Hubbard in
Paris, Texas. Beresford said Hubbard, like Harper, was chosen based on a simple, rural quality he possessed. None of the filmmakers knew Hubbard's father had died until after filming began. Duvall said of Barkin, "She brings a real credibility for that part, plus she was young and attractive and had a certain sense of edge, a danger for her that was good for that part." Wilford Brimley was cast at the urging of his good friend Duvall, who was not getting along well with Beresford and wanted "somebody down here that's on my side, somebody that I can relate to". Beresford largely avoided the
Victorian architecture and other picturesque elements of Waxahachie and instead focused on relatively barren locations more characteristic of
West Texas. The town portrayed in the film is never identified by name. Foote said when he wrote the script he did not have the same isolated and lonely vision for the setting Beresford did, but he felt the atmosphere the director captured served the story well. Due to the tight schedule, the cast and crew worked seven days a week with very long hours each day. Although the Australian filmmakers and the crew, who were mostly from
Dallas, got along very well both on and off the set, Beresford also clashed on set with Brimley. On the very first day of filming, he asked the actor to "pick up the pace", prompting Brimley to reply, "Hey, I didn't know anybody dropped it." Beresford, Foote and Duvall considered the climactic scene to be the one in which Mac, tending the family garden, discusses with Rosa Lee his pain over his daughter's death. Beresford and Boyd filmed the scene in a
long take and
long shot so it could flow uninterrupted, with the lonely Texas landscape captured in the background. When studio executives received the footage, they contacted Beresford and requested
close-up shots be intercut, but he insisted on keeping the long take intact. Duvall said he felt the scene underscored Mac's stoicism in the face of tragedy and loss. Several leading country singers, including
Willie Nelson,
George Jones and
Merle Haggard, were believed to have inspired Mac and Duvall's portrayal of him, but Duvall insisted the character was not based on anyone in particular. Another country star,
Waylon Jennings, complimented his performance, saying he had "done the impossible." Betty Buckley also sang her own songs, one of which, "Over You", written by
Austin Roberts and
Bobby Hart, was nominated for an
Academy Award. and
Mac Davis later sang it at the 1984 Academy Awards ceremony. Other songs in the film include "It Hurts to Face Reality" by
Lefty Frizzell, "If You'll Hold the Ladder (I'll Climb to the Top)" by Buzz Rabin and Sara Busby, "The Best Bedroom in Town" and "Champagne Ladies & Barroom Babies" by Charlie Craig, "I'm Drinkin' Canada Dry" by
Johnny Cymbal and Austin Roberts, and "You Are What Love Means To Me" by
Craig Bickhardt. ==Themes and interpretations==