Gonzaga alum Bill Pohlad is the reason ‘Dreamin’ Wild’ became a reality

When writer-director Bill Pohlad attended Gonzaga University in 1977, Donnie and Joe Emerson were working on their debut album, “Dreamin’ Wild” 72 miles away in their home studio in Fruitland.

“It was a strange coincidence,” Pohlad said.

It’s indeed odd that the two would ever meet since the Gonzaga class of ’78 alum studied liberal arts with a focus on accounting and economics. Who would ever guess that Pohlad would become a filmmaker?

And then there are the Emersons, who appeared to be footnotes in history when “Dreamin’ Wild,” stiffed. The Emersons, like many fledgling recording artists, seemed to be on its way to obscurity. However, a music blogger stumbled onto “Dreamin’ Wild” years later in a Montana thrift shop. The album was then resuscitated thanks to a New York Times article focusing on the incredibly unlikely story of a record that finally gained traction 31 years after its debut.

Pohlad, 67, was pitched the story but didn’t bite until he met the Emerson family in Fruitland in 2019. “To be honest when I first heard the story, I wasn’t interested but I changed my mind,” Pohlad said. “The reason I made the film was due to how great the music Donnie created is but what really put it over the top for me was how the Emerson family relates to each other,” Pohlad said. “There is this authenticity.”

Pohlad almost passed since the Emerson story reminded him of the 2012 documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” which is about artist Sixto Rodriguez.

“I initially felt the story was told but once I met the family, they were just so genuine,” Pohlad said. What they have is what we call ‘Midwest.’ But you can have that wonderful quality anywhere in America.”

Pohlad met the Emersons in 2019 and shot “Dreamin’ Wild,” in Fruitland, Hunter and Spokane in 2021. Pohlad returned Thursday for a preview with the Emerson family and film crew for an advanced screening of “Dreamin’ Wild,” which will premiere Aug. 4 in Spokane and nationally.

“It’s always great to be back in Spokane,” Pohlad said. “I love it there. That’s the way it’s been since I was going to Gonzaga during the ‘70s.

However, much has changed for Pohlad since he attended his alma mater. During the last decade Pohlad has made two similar but different films on musicians. “Love & Mercy” from 2014 is a biographical drama about Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson and his struggles with mental illness.

The Beach Boys are arguably the greatest American band of all time. Wilson was not only critically acclaimed but the Beach Boys sold more than 100 million albums.

Singer-songwriter Donnie Emerson and drummer Joe Emerson’s pop-funk debut release appeared to slip through the cracks of history. By the time the album was reappraised during the late 2000s and re-released courtesy of Light in the Attic Records, Donnie Emerson had moved on as a musician writing country and rock and focused on his Spokane recording studio. Joe Emerson stayed on the farm working with his father. The dichotomy of the films is fascinating.

“The movies certainly are different,” Pohlad said. “It’s really interesting since if I was going to do a musical film again, the follow-up to ‘Love & Mercy’ had to be different.”

However, both films effectively use flashback scenes. “Dreamin’ Wild,” like the New York Times article by Steven Kurutz, starts in the middle of Donnie Emerson’s story, which is when “Dreamin’ Wild” is dusted off and finally appreciated.

Pohlad goes back to the Emersons early days and moves to their adult lives while telling their compelling story.

“I didn’t intentionally go with flashbacks with the films,” Pohlad said. “It was what happened in the article and it seemed to work best for the movies.”

Casey Affleck portrays the adult version of Donnie Emerson and Noah Jupe plays teenage Donnie. Walton Goggins portrays the older Joe Emerson.

Affleck nails Emerson’s cadence and serious manner. The interplay between Affleck’s Emerson, who is so complicated and Goggins’ Joe, who is the polar opposite, makes for some fascinating scenes.

“Those two are so very different,” Pohlad said. “It helps with the story.”

Affleck, who pitched a tent in Donnie Emerson’s South Hill backyard and studied the musician for a few days in 2021, was required to sing and play guitar. Affleck isn’t a musician.

“Casey said ‘I can’t sing’ but he was game and he pulled it off,” Pohlad said. “He isn’t great at singing but he is great at acting and he looks like he knows what he’s doing up there.”

Zooey Deschanel, who plays Emerson’s wife Nancy Sophia Emerson, a vital part of Emerson’s current band, happens to be a musician playing a musician. Deschanel is half of She & Him with singer-songwriter M. Ward.

“But Zooey had to play Nancy, who is different from Zooey the musician,” Pohlad said. “It all worked out in a wonderful way.”

Emotions flowed when the films were previewed in Spokane. When the Emerson family and Pohlad witnessed the movie at the Magic Lantern in September, tears flowed. Donnie Emerson and Pohlad embraced after the credits rolled and wept.

“We both held onto to each other and cried a lot,” Donnie Emerson said. “We all love the film. It was really good and well done.”

Pohlad appreciates the positive feedback and recalls his moment at the Lantern with Emerson. “It happened organically,” Pohlad said. “It’s difficult to comprehend watching yourself on the screen. It was difficult for Donnie, just like it was difficult for Brian Wilson. It’s quite an experience and it takes time to take it all in. It took Brian awhile to consume it. Brian said that he and his wife, Melinda, drove around and just sat around quietly thinking about what they just saw. Not everyone has a movie made about their lives.”

“Dreamin’ Wild” has the potential to become a feel-good holiday film about the bond between family members. The scene between Don Emerson Sr., played by Beau Bridges, and Donnie Emerson, is a jarring father-son moment. Donnie feels guilty for making an album that initially failed since his father mortgaged off a healthy percentage of his farm in order for his talented son to potentially realize his dream. Don Sr. notes that it’s not a risk but an investment and notes that he would do it again just to see his son play.

“It’s another reason I made the film,” Pohlad said. “The Emerson family is special to me.”

So is Spokane. Pohlad’s roots at Gonzaga are deep, as his father Carl Pohlad played football for the Zags during the late ‘20s/early ‘30s. His father, who became the owner of the Minnesota Twins, left school but his son was happy to stay.

“I loved my time at Gonzaga,” Pohlad said. “What I did when I made the movie was go back to campus and walk around and reminisce when I had some down time. I had an extraordinary experience there.”

Pohlad, who served on the Gonzaga Board of Directors during the early ‘90s, stays in contact with the school. “It was such a pleasure to spend some time there when we were in town making “Dreamin’ Wild,” Pohlad said “I had fun reliving my youth. … I got to make the movie I wanted to make in a city that is special for me. It was such a wonderful and unforgettable time for me making ‘Dreamin’ Wild’ in Spokane.” It’s such a beautiful place to shoot a film with the waterfalls and the (Monroe Street) bridge.”

Pohlad was struck by how much Spokane has changed. “It’s a different town,” Pohlad said. “It’s become such an incredible city. But cities change and so do people. I’m not the same person I was when I was a liberal arts major at Gonzaga. I’m making movies. Sometimes things change for the good, like Spokane.”