Heart, Baby! Podcast:
the true story behind the film The Hammer
Episode 1 - Crystal
Writer/director Angela Shelton and prison reform advocate, Andy “Doc” Dixon, share how they met at the 140 Conference in NYC in 2010 and now 10 years later their movie about Doc’s life in prison with his best friend, boxer George “The Hammer” Martin, is coming out May 5th.
*SPOILER ALERT* They share the FULL STORY about how George turned down an offer for freedom to fight in the 1984 Olympics to protect the woman he loved - Crystal.
Doc openly shares how he did not like Crystal when he met her and could not wrap his Catholic country boy mind around the fact that she was a born-again Christian AND transgender.
As Crystal would say, we can “Grow where we are planted.”
Find out what ruined the heavyweight champion John Tate’s career and how he became a prisoner in the same prison where George knocked him out. Hear how Doc visited Crystal and James Earl Ray when they were both in the Special Needs Prison and how Crystal had a profound effect on Doc and changed his view of her and others.
We did a nationwide search with casting director John Jackson for a transgender actor to play Crystal. After coming up short and having to remain faithful to the true story, director Angela Shelton insisted Shawn-Caulin Young play her.
Shawn-Caulin wrote a powerful essay about how playing her transformed life forever.
Read his essay HERE.
Music by composer Jay Weigel
Movie clips in this episode with:
Versions of our title song HEART BABY written by Angela Shelton and Andy Dixon, performed by Jackson Rathbone and Andy Dixon the podcast.
AVAILABLE NOW on our SOUNDTRACK ->
