'I Couldn't Sleep I Was So Excited': DIRECTOR EMMA SUMLIN SAYS REFLECTING ON TIMELESS'S PROMO SHOOT

During an unforgettable weekend, the directors and lead actors of Timeless made exciting progress in the promotion of their short film

The last weekend of January marked an important milestone for the creators of Timeless, the short film written and directed by Emma Sumlin, and co-directed by Jonathan Collins. During Sumlin and Jordan Pope's (Pearce Lauder) interview session back in November, Sumlin mentioned she'd like to do a promo shoot for the film and Pope eagerly suggested January as a time he could come out and be apart of it.

"I was very surprised," Sumlin said. "Jordan lives in Tennessee! He's already coming out here in July to film and I didn't think in a thousand years he'd want to come here by his own means to do a photoshoot outside of our film week. However, I wasn't complaining! Doing it in January meant we'd get to meet him early. I wanted to establish that connection and become friends as soon as possible. We all hit it off on Zoom, but there's something special about hugging someone who is making your dreams come true. We all felt that way that weekend."

The days leading up to the shoot were very exciting. Sumlin, Collins, and Grace Adams (Marjorie Kent) had been counting down the days for months and finally, the weekend was upon them. Lots of preparation went into it, and Sumlin reached out to Ashlyn Cox, the photographer on Sumlin and Collins's last film, We Were Happy. Having done an incredible job on the promos for WWH, Sumlin knew Cox was the one for the job. She did not disappoint.

Pope let the world know he was coming Friday morning at 2AM when he sent Sumlin a video of him at a gas station, claiming he was "Crazy," for traveling twelve hours, but saying he knew this was, "Something he wanted to do." The team went to bed that night, Sumlin saying, "I couldn't sleep I was so excited. I woke up at 4:45AM, wide awake, and went in and out of sleep until 7AM came and then I started my day." They went about their day on Friday, and around 6pm after Pope had gone to his hotel to sleep for a couple of hours, called Sumlin saying he was finally there.

Due to DBU's Rush events, Collins and Adams were not able to meet Pope on Friday night but promised they would see him in the morning. However, the night was still enjoyable, as Sumlin and Pope had dinner and tea, talking of not just the excitement of Timeless, but the very purpose for why they do what they do. It was splendid.

Saturday came at last, and Sumlin, Collins, Pope, and Adams had breakfast at Chick-fil-A, excitedly chatting and getting to know one another. After breakfast, they came back to Sumlin's house and Alex Uceda, the brilliant makeup artist for not just Timeless, but WWH, came to do her wonders. Adams was in the makeup chair for a couple of hours, and the other three watched La La Land to pass the time. When the film was over, Pope sat in the makeup chair and had his hair done. The time was approaching to leave for the shoot in Dallas, and Sumlin gave the two their costumes to put on.

"I went back into my room to help Grace with her costume," Sumlin said, "and when we came out, I saw Jordan fully in his costume, and suddenly there they were: Pearce and Marjorie, the figments of my dreams and imagination, come to life. I had them stand together to take a picture and squealed with excitement. They looked perfect. After that, we got in the car and left."

The team headed towards Downtown Dallas to shoot at the Adolphus Hotel on Commerce Street, perfect for the New York-themed cityscape vision. Cox joined them, and Sumlin showed photos for the inspiration of what she wanted. Pope and Adams's poses were inspired by old 1940s photos, with ideas sparked from films like It's A Wonderful Life and The Notebook. After the professional shots were done, the four of them posed together for some fun shots that would remind others that they were more than just partners in the industry, but friends for life.

After they thanked Cox and got in the car, Pope said that he wanted to have a chill evening before he had to make the twelve hour drive back to Tennessee. They came back to Sumlin's house, made spaghetti, and Pope suggested they watch The Notebook and drink tea. As they did so, many tears were shed and because Adams and Collins hadn't seen the movie, they were beyond affected.

To recover from such a heartbreaking film, they made the decision to go to a dormitory and listen to Pope play the piano. The evening was calm and beautiful. The four wished it would never end. When all came to an end and Sumlin dropped Pope off at his car, a somber feeling came over them as it all hit that friendships had been made, and it was many states that separated them. However, excitement continues to build as they are only months away from being reunited, and the other cast and crew are prepared to join them! July is a beacon in the night, and that weekend told them something valuable: Timeless is something special.

In response to the weekend, Collins says, "I would have to say the best thing about last weekend was being able to see these individuals come together and just be friends--like they've known each other forever, even though this was the first time that Jordan really had met everybody in person. It just felt very homey. It also felt like you were hanging out with another friend group. I also liked how the shoot went very well. We didn't run into any technical issues or anything else whatsoever. We were able to get in, get the photos, and get out. It was also a fun little adventure when we were able to go on afterwards and get the chance to hang out with Jordan and Grace at the house and watch a fun movie. It was very enjoyable. Again, just going back to that whole homey, friend group type of feel."

Timeless will shoot the second week of July 2024. A fundraiser has been set up on GoFundMe if you would like to give. Go follow @timelesstheshortfilm on Instragram and click the link in our bio for the fundraiser! Photos soon to be posted by the end of the week! Special thanks to Ashlyn Cox (@ashlynphotoco) and Alex Uceda (@alexvbeauty) for making this possible!

BEHIND THE SCENES of the PROMO SHOOT: