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    Actor Gone Too Soon

    Before his tragic death, Paul Walker gave the performance of his career

    Joe Leydon
    Dec 1, 2013 | 10:10 am
    Before his tragic death, Paul Walker gave the performance of his career
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    At the time he was killed November 30 in a Los Angeles auto mishap at the ridiculously young age of 40, Paul Walker was less than two weeks away from seeing how movie audiences and VOD viewers would respond to what arguably was the finest performance of his career up to that point, as a desperate father who triumphs over death.

    In Hours, writer-director Eric Heisserer’s suspenseful indie drama, Walker plays Nolan Hayes, a loving husband who rushes his pregnant wife to a New Orleans hospital right before sunrise on August 29, 2005 — just as Hurricane Katrina begins its brutal assault on the Crescent City. Unfortunately, Nolan’s wife dies during childbirth, and his prematurely born daughter must remain inside a ventilator for at least 48 hours.

    The New Orleans levees break, the city streets are flooded, the hospital is evacuated — but Nolan must remain behind, alone with his infant offspring, because the ventilator cannot be moved. And when the power goes out, the increasingly anxious father must maintain constant vigilance, because the hand-cranked back-up battery for the ventilator works for, at best, three minutes between crankings.

    As I wrote in Variety after the drama’s SXSW Film Festival premiere last March:

    Hours is practically a one-man show, with Walker alone on camera for lengthy stretches as Nolan passes time talking to his baby, or himself, and dashing hither and yon between battery-cranks while on beat-the-clock explorations and supply runs. Walker capably and compellingly rises to the demands of the role and gracefully balances the drama on his shoulders.

    Please don’t misunderstand: I’m not one of those snobs who dismiss the guilty-pleasure appeal of Walker’s full-throttle action-heroics in the Fast & Furious franchise. (Although I must admit I enjoyed his work just as much, if not more, in a genre movie of a scarier kind, John Dahl’s Joy Ride.) It’s just that, in Hours, I saw him doing things — and expressing emotions – that indicated he also was fully capable of more challenging roles in more complex movies.

    When I spoke to him at SXSW last March, I got the distinct impression that he, too, knew he’d taken full advantage of a showcase for his heretofore underutilized talents.

    You can judge for yourself when Hours is available in limited theatrical runs and as VOD fare starting December 13. In the meantime, here is some of what Paul Walker had to say about the movie — and his work in it — during our conversation.

    Joe Leydon: How much responsibility did you feel toward the people of New Orleans — the people who had endured the devastation of Hurricane Katrina — while making Hours in their city?

    Paul Walker: Prior to getting to New Orleans, [Eric Heisserer] told me that our ace in the hole was the fact that a lot of the people on the crew, because we were filming in New Orleans, had a very personal connection to this. So we had built-in accountability — like, the accountability police.

    There had been some other Katrina projects that had come up. But this one, when they read it, the locals felt a real connection. And when I got there, I saw this consistently. Everybody was there because they really wanted to be there. They felt like they had a connection to the story.

    JL: Were you at all intimidated by the challenge of doing a movie in which, for long periods, you’re the only person the audience sees or hears?

    PW: Well, I read [the script], and it felt very truthful, very pure to me. And I liked the idea of just telling the truth. But it was intimidating, because I knew that it was completely on me. Because the story itself, it was there. And now it’s my responsibility to show up and deliver every moment of it.

    I mean, I felt it when I read it. But does that mean that I can actually do it? I’d never really taken on a challenge like that before.

    JL: So how did Eric Heisserer convince you that you could trust him — and trust yourself — if you accepted that challenge?

    PW: Part of it was — and you’re not going to hear this from Eric — his due diligence. We had our first pow-wow, and then I found out, “Okay, cool, he actually wants me to do the film with him.” And I was excited.

    Then we had meetings at his house once a week, for about four or five weeks there, just to rap and have a better sense about what’s going on. He really wanted to establish a shorthand, seeing as we were up against [an 18-day shooting schedule]. He wanted to know what triggers would work.

    [Laughs] If it’s possible for someone to be over-prepared, Eric was over-prepared on this one. I was like, “Holy shit! Has this guy done his homework, or what?”

    But I’ve got to tell you, going into it, I felt like I had that in my pocket. I was like, “The guy that’s captaining this ship has done his homework. He’s really done his homework.” And that allows you to just step in and say, “Okay, I’ve just got to worry about what I do.”

    JL: In a way, you caught a break by being able to shoot in an actual New Orleans hospital that had been closed since it was damaged during the Katrina flooding. Not to sound crass, but it’s almost like you got an extra $1 million for your production budget.

    PW: Yeah, but we probably had to spend something like a million and a half on the clean-up of the rust and the funk and the mold. On the ground floors, where basically the water sat and stagnated for periods of time — we had crews that had to go in and remove sheetrock, drywall, wood.

    There was a lot of work, just to make it sanitary. But it definitely played into what we were doing because — I don’t know, it just felt like death there. It really did.

    JL: How much did you draw upon your real-life relationship with your own daughter while playing Nolan Hayes? Because speaking as a father myself, I have to say: The plot of this movie is every parent’s worst nightmare.

    PW: Well, I grew up in a military background, everyone in my family. My dad’s a soldier to the max. And my grandfathers before him, on both sides.

    So for me, while I was growing up, we were always posing these hypothetical situations. Something like, okay, you’re at an ATM late at night, and someone puts a gun to the back of your head. What do you do? Or there’s an earthquake, and you’re trapped inside. That was just the way I grew up.

    So it’s fun to go through it hypothetically and process it. You want to believe that you’re man enough, and you’re going to be able to realize whatever needs to be realized in order to save yourself and save the others around you that are near and dear to you.

    But the fact that I have a daughter now — I wouldn’t say that I was pulling from that consciously. But that’s just who I am now. That’s just my reality. It’s there.

    JL: And you think that allowed you go deeper inside yourself than maybe you might have before?

    PW: I think I’ve always had the capacity to go there. I don’t want to say that I’m a sensitive person. But maybe that’s what it is. And I think here it was amplified by the fact that, yeah, I do have a little girl.

    But what I really liked about it, and what I didn’t realize until the end of this movie, what I learned about myself, is that in living every bit of it and being truthful the whole time — in the end, Nolan’s victory was my victory. There’s no separation. That’s what was incredible.

    When the baby was put in my arms, that’s real emotion I’m showing. It’s like I’ve been through this whole rollercoaster ride. And you know what? I kicked its ass. And I didn’t know it could be like that, to be honest throughout.

    ---

    This interview originally appeared on MovingPictureBlog.

    Paul Walker's last movie, The Hours, will be released December 13.

    Paul Walker in The Hours
      
    Courtesy photo
    Paul Walker's last movie, The Hours, will be released December 13.
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    news/entertainment

    park news

    Dallas-area parks top the list for best Texas parks in 2025

    Amber Heckler
    May 21, 2025 | 10:51 am
    Frisco park
    Play Frisco - Parks & Recreation/Facebook
    Frisco made its debut in the 2025 Parkscore Index report.

    More bragging rights for Plano as a desirable place to live: The city has the No. 1 best park system in Texas this year, a new report says. Dallas and Frisco aren't far behind.

    So says the Trust for Public Land's 2025 ParkScore report, which annually rates park systems in 100 of the largest American cities based on accessibility, equity, acreage, investment, and amenities.

    Plano has maintained its place atop the rankings in Texas for several years. The city ranked 17th nationally after ranking 16th for the last two years, and earning No. 15 in 2021 and 2022.

    Most Plano residents (81 percent) live within a 10-minute walk of a park in the city, which is more than the national median (76 percent). Within the city limits, 10.4 percent of the area is dedicated to parkland. The city spends $198 per resident on its acclaimed park system, compared to the national median $133 per resident.

    Dallas' parks moved up four spots from last year to claim No. 34 nationally and No. 2 statewide. The report says this marks five years of improvement for Dallas, in part thanks to community efforts and organizations.

    "Dallas’ recent rise in park access is due largely to initiatives like the Cool School Community Parks program, which opens school playgrounds and other school-based facilities to community use after school hours, and programs like the Dallas Greening Initiative to transform vacant lots into neighborhood greenspaces across the city," the report said.

    The upcoming opening of the Judge Charles R. Rose Park on June 7 will also increase accessibility for other Dallas residents.

    Judge Charles R. Rose Community ParkThe Judge Charles R. Rose Community Park will span 40 acres of land.Photo courtesy of Trust For Public Land

    Frisco makes its Parkscore Index debut this year, coming in at No. 3 in Texas and No. 37 nationwide. A majority (70 percent) of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park in the city, the report says. About five percent of the entire Frisco area is reserved for parkland, and the city spends $258 per resident to maintain its park system.

    "We’re seeing inspiring momentum across the Dallas metroplex, and it reflects what we at Trust for Public Land believe at our core: everyone deserves access to the healing, unifying power of the outdoors," said Molly Morgan, Texas State Director of the Trust for Public Land. "When we invest in parks — especially in neighborhoods that have long gone without — we’re investing in healthier families, stronger communities, and a deeper sense of belonging."

    Elsewhere across the Metroplex, Fort Worth rose through the ranks to claim No. 72 nationally this year, previously landing in the No. 91 spot in 2024. The city has put a big focus on park investment, increasing funding by nearly 50 percent over the last five years, and the report says there are over 80 ongoing park construction projects.

    Arlington moved up one spot as No. 46 nationwide, and Garland moved up seven spots as No. 67. Irving maintained its rank as No. 99 for the second year in a row.

    Here's how other Texas parks ranked nationally in 2025 in comparison to 2024:

    • No. 54 – Austin, down from No. 44 last year
    • No. 57 – San Antonio, down from No. 53 last year
    • No. 66 – Houston, up from No. 68 last year
    dallasfriscoparksparkscore reportplanobestslists
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