WE ‘KNOCKED THEM OUT’
Parton thrilled by musical collaboration with Perry for Netflix project
Dolly Parton planned to write only the theme song for the new Netflix film Dumplin’ — about a plus-sized, Parton-loving Texas teenager (Danielle Macdonald), who enters a beauty pageant for her mother (Jennifer Aniston).
But then Parton, 72, got inspired working with producer Linda Perry, 53, formerly of alt-rock act 4 Non Blondes, who’s written hits for Christina Aguilera (Beautiful) and Pink (Get This Party Started).
The country music queen and Perry have been nominated for a Golden Globe for best song for Girl in the Movies from Dumplin’ ( based on the 2015 young adult novel of the same name).
Q Why did this musical collaboration with Perry work?
A I think we both have a similar attitude toward music — we like it to be real, we like it to be honest. And she had been a fan of mine. I didn’t know that. I didn’t even know who she was ’cause that was a different world than I lived in. When you meet someone, it doesn’t matter where they’re from if you’re are like-minded and in our case, with the music — in the way we approached it and the way we see it — it was just very compatible. And we just really knocked them (songs) out. I think through the years we’ll probably write more songs together.
Q Whose idea was it to pair you up with other female singers — like Sia, Mavis Staples, Miranda Lambert, among others — on some of the new songs or reworked older tunes of yours?
A Some of that was the director of the movie (Anne Fletcher) and also I think some of the people in Jennifer Aniston’s production company. And I think Linda got on board and brought a few people in. I didn’t ask for anyone except (soul legend) Mavis Staples and ( bluegrass artists and friends) Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent, but I was happy to be singing with all of them. I was touched that they liked my music and they wanted to sing with me.
Q Was singing with Mavis a particular thrill?
A I always loved the Staples Singers. So Mavis I just loved. And I wrote this song (Why) that reminded me a lot of the types of songs they used to do. So I asked if I could bring her on and so it’s one of my favourite pieces on the whole album
— the one that Mavis sang on.
Q How did the film’s two stars — Aniston and Macdonald — end up on the soundtrack?
A I wrote the song, the lyrics to Push and Pull, based on the relationship that (Aniston’s character) had with Willadean, the character in the movie. And I said, ‘Well, the two of you have to come over and sing on it.’ And they did. They were real nervous. They did good. It sounds good on the record. They didn’t claim to be singers, but I thought they did a good job.
Q Are you still surprised at your big fan base after all this time?
A You never know when you start out if you’re going to touch people’s lives or what your legacy is going to be. But as I’m older now, looking back, it really makes me sort of proud that a lot of the younger people seemed to have been inspired, especially young women. It gives them somebody to kind of look up to.
Q What did you like about the subject matter of Dumplin’?
A It’s a real good story for young girls, just for girls in general, that you don’t have to be a supermodel to be special and to be beautiful and that you can be yourself and that’s OK.
Q And did you also sign a new Netflix deal?
A Yes. It’s a series of movies based on songs that I’ve written like Jolene. We have a movie that’s going to be coming out with Julianne Hough playing Jolene. So we’re having eight of them now and hopefully they’re continue and we’ll see. I’m acting in some of them and I’m producing all of them and I’ll be singing in all of the movies.
Q Is the long-awaited sequel to 9 to 5 going to be made with you, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin revisiting your original roles?
A That’s actually happening. We’re going to be getting the first script any day now and, of course, they’ll be some rewrites I’m sure. But we’re hoping to get filming with us sometime next year.
Q Can you say anything about the plot?
A It’s kind of based on the #MeToo movement and all of the problems that women are still having. The harassment and the equal pay and that sort of thing. And the three new girls, they wonder what happened to those three women that made so many changes so many years ago and they look us up, Lily, Jane and I, and we’ve got different businesses in different parts of the country. We’re successful women and we advise them so there’s a lot of fun, a lot of good stuff that comes from that.
Q Who plays the new girls?
A I do not know that yet. It’s being written by Pat Resnick, who wrote the original, and Rashida Jones.