This fall, Alison really heads out on her own, directing her first feature film, Rails and Ties, starring Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden. In the film, the two excellent actors star as a couple going through a pair of horrible life-changing crises together. Harden’s character is dying from cancer and Bacon plays her husband, a train conductor who happens to be in the front car on the day a woman tries to commit suicide by rail. The theme of Rails and Ties is how intersecting tragedies and twists of fate can lead to recovery and hope. Alison Eastwood sat down recently with us in Chicago to talk about how the film came to be, what she’s learned from her career, and, of course, her famous father.

DEADBOLT: Have you been surprised by any of the reactions to the films at the festivals you’ve taken it to?

ALISON EASTWOOD: So far, it’s been well-received. I’m thrilled. It’s much different being a director than an actor. You take things so much more personally. Not everyone is going to like your film. There’s not a film ever that’s going to be completely liked by everyone. You have to know that going in, particularly with a film like this one that’s really emotional. It’s based around a lot of tragedies and some people don’t want to go there with it. You still hope for the best.

DB: But the nerves are a little stronger because it’s yours?

ALISON: They’re a LOT stronger. The funny thing is, as an actress you can kind of blame – the director, the editor, the Kraft Service was terrible, my hair was in bad shape, whatever silly thing comes along. But when you direct, you’re putting yourself out there. You know you’re going to get some scrutiny or people that don’t like it or don’t have nice things to say. I’ve learned to thicken up my skin a little bit.

DB: Have you spoken to anyone who had a strong emotional response to the film? Like cancer survivors? Or even train accidents? And did you speak with those kind of people before the film?

ALISON: I did research before the film. The writer did a lot of research with train accidents and spoke to engineers and I did as well before we started. There’s a scene in the film where we see that Marcia’s had a mastectomy. We originally were trying to actually find a woman to shoot so we had something to go with. Dealing with somebody like that and talking to them and asking them questions, for me and Marcia, we found that really helpful. We all have a certain amount that we go through, some more than others. A lot of people have had very emotional responses to it. I’ve had some people who just lost a family member. It’s hard, but, so far, people have been full of praise that you tackle a subject like that. You try and be truthful and real, but you have a dignity about it as well.

DB: Did you always want to direct or was this a script that made you want to direct? Were you seeking a project to direct?

ALISON: I wasn’t seeking a project to direct. I originally found the script with one of the producers and we were partners and I thought I’d attach myself as a producer. I thought maybe I could help with financing or casting. I tend to do things backwards anyway. I’m sure there are probably tons of young directors who are like “Screw you, I’ve wanted to be a director all my life.” Obviously, I’ve always wanted to be in the business. I’ve worked as an actor and a little bit as a producer. It was more the story and the script and having it and sitting with it, working with the writer on it. After a while, I kept seeing the film. I had a vision for it. I would dream about the story. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I can’t even say why. It’s not one of those stories that’s close to my own life. There’s not anything about it particularly. I just felt that I really liked these characters, like I had met or known them. They’re people that I might have met or known in my life. I thought their story was unique. It was really the script that inspired me into wanting to be a director and tell this story.

DB: How involved were you with the development of the screenplay? Did you change plot points? Characters?

ALISON: I worked on it very closely. That’s how I got so attached to the project. I worked on it for at least two years. Once the producing partner and I optioned the material, we had it for a couple years and were shopping it around. The main story has always been the same but we definitely refined things. There were some strange subplots. There were a couple of different things that we decided were too far-fetched and too strange. There’s already a certain suspension of disbelief. So, yeah, I worked on it quite a bit. I’m not a writer, but…

DB: Well, that’s the natural follow-up – Would you consider writing your own project?

ALISON: If I had something I wanted to write. I’ve tried adapting. One time I tried a novella and I found it very difficult. I had to create because it wasn’t a full novel, full story, and I find that to be difficult. It’s really easy when somebody’s already written something to come in and say “Let’s change this. Let’s change that.” I’m gonna take your project and completely cut it in half. But it’s difficult to actually sit down and come up with something original.

DB: While we’re on the theme of different roles, how does being an actor make you a better director?

ALISON: For me, it’s helpful because I know what you go through. A lot of directors go to film school or do shorts or videos and they’re all very great technically but they don’t know how to discuss the real human-ness or vulnerability. They don’t know what actors have to go through. A lot of times it’s important to be able to communicate as a real person. “I know how hard this is. I can relate.” As a director who has no experience as an actor, it’s easier to take the actors for granted. It’s a really difficult job. Directing has obviously been the most challenging because it encompassed so much, but I think to be a really good actor and make it look like you’re not acting, to really go there, is the hardest job on the set. All these people are standing behind, but if those people don’t perform at the top of their game, there’s no point for the rest of us to be standing there and filming it. The most pressure really lies on them.

DB: Not a lot of directors would say that.

ALISON: Well, yeah. Of course they won’t. They’ve never had to sit there and have a camera rolling and fifty or sixty people all staring at them going “Allright, let’s see what you’ve got. Let’s see you perform and touch us. Let’s see you evoke something out of us.” It’s a hard job. I have a tremendous respect for actors because it’s helpful.

DB: If you could only act or only direct, what would you do?

ALISON: I think that I want to continue directing. I kind of found my way to it in a back-door way. The first day on the set, I sat down on an apple box, maybe three hours into the first day. I’m sitting there and there’s Kevin and Marcia, and it was one of those moments where I felt like I was in the right place and what I should be doing. Everything I had done previous to that moment had led me to that moment. That feeling is very satisfying. Then you feel like all the crap and all the struggling and the bad jobs and bad directors has been worthwhile – the good and bad.

DB: What directors inspired your style and material, besides your father? Was there anything you were thinking of or watching while you were making this?

ALISON: I don’t know if I can look at a director and point to his whole body of work but I’m a huge fan of Hal Ashby. He’s somebody that tells stories the way that I like to see them. They’re usually very simple and I like the way he tells a story. He directs the movie and he doesn’t get in the way. To me, it’s important. My dad does that a lot, particularly with Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, and even Unforgiven. The way he shot it was just as if you were a fly on the wall. He didn’t get in the way and do all these fancy things and over-direct or have the actor over-act. It just feels like you’re based in reality. There’s nothing slick and fancy about it. It’s just real simple and straightforward. Life is a struggle and I like to connect with that. It’s great to see Pirates, Star Trek, Harry Potter, but I like to be reminded of the human struggle and watch stories that invoke that type of remembrance and feeling. It reminds you that you’re human and we all go through some crazy stuff.

DB: With your dad, do you seek his advice during the production or is it more big picture, general stuff?

ALISON: He’s not someone who really gives advice. Obviously, we talked quite a bit. His way of trying to be helpful was that he was shooting Letters From Iwo Jima right when this picture was in development and he said to me “Why don’t you come out and watch your old man work?” So, I got in the car and spent a week out there and just focused on him. Usually, as an actor, when you come to visit as a family member, you’re messing around and saying hi to people, but this time I really got to focus and watch him work and just be that fly on the wall. To me, going to film school and having education, but that right there, you can’t get much better than that. Again, he never said anything. He just said “Come and watch.” And that was the best experience I had as far as advice. He likes to show people. He’s not a big talker.

Rails and Ties opens in theaters in limited release on October 26th and expands to other cities in November.