'YELLOW ROCK' CAST MINING FOR GOLD

YELLOW ROCK – PART ONE -- THE CAST

A week ago Friday I headed out, late morning, for the Veluzat Ranch in Saugus, location for YELLOW ROCK, a new Western film directed by Nick Vallelonga from a screenplay by Lenore Andriel and Steve Doucette. I was driving first on freeways, then on busy streets, until my directions told me to take a left onto a dirt road, and to follow whichever dirt paths – and there were many – paralleled the high tension wires overhead. Within two minutes the city dropped from sight, and those high tension towers were the ONLY sign of civilization.

Just as the wires were branching off I pulled through the gates of Veluzat Motion Picture Ranch, parked, was picked up in a truck by production manager T.A. Williams, and ferried away. We passed several interesting locations on the way to the set – a western street, an old Mexican village, a rural road and gas station that could be any period from the 1940s to the 1960s, before arriving at a log cabin that was the center for the day’s filming. Movies are usually shot out of sequence, so that all the scenes throughout the film that take place at a given location are all done together, before moving onto the next. Today, all of the cabin exteriors would be shot.

The log cabin is the home of Dr. Sara Taylor, the female lead of the story, and portrayed by producer and co-author Lenore Andriel, a beautiful woman with waist-length flaming red hair. Dr. Sara ministers to Indians, a decision that has led to her being ostracized by the whites, and driven her closer to the Blackpaw tribe. As the day progressed, we would see Dr. Sara sneak around one side of the cabin with a rifle, Broken Wing (Michael Spears), sneak around the other side with a knife, see a cowboy ride up and get shot at before he’s recognized as a friend, and various groups of cowboys and Indians ride up, ride off, rest on the porch, and give advice or orders to people coming into and out of the cabin.

The themes of YELLOW ROCK are trust and betrayal, and what you have to do to make things right. And at the core of the story is a missing man, the nephew of Max Detreich (James Russo) and the search that takes him and his outfit onto Indian land, with the help of Dr. Sara, and the story’s hero, played by Michael Biehn. And as you might guess from the title, YELLOW ROCK is also about gold.

(Photos, top to bottom: James Russo, Michael Biehn, Clay Wilcox, Brian Gleason, Peter Sherayko, Lenore Andriel, Michael Spears, Zahn McClarnon)

Audiences first started noticing James Russo when he played the manic hold-up man in 1982’s FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, and everyone became aware of his unique brand of villainy after he took Farrah Fawcett and her friends hostage in EXTREMITIES (’86). But I’ve been watching him a lot longer than that. We first met in a film workshop at the Metropolitan Museum in New York when we were sixteen, then went to NYU together. But I hadn’t seen James in person since he was doing EXTREMITIES off-Broadway, prior to doing the movie.

After some personal catching up, James laughed in wonder. “Can you believe this – a kid from Queens in Westerns? Well, I’m a big fan of Westerns. And they’re not making as many as they should, so when one comes up I usually jump at the chance.” Right at the start of his career, James worked for one of the greatest of western directors, Sergio Leone, not in a western, but in the gangster saga, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. “That was fantastic! That’s one of the high points, there. He was a remarkable guy.” Much more recently he was in a Western for Walter Hill, with Robert Duvall. “BROKEN TRAIL – another great director. And a really nice man. And Bob’s a great guy, no bullshit – what you see is what you get with Bob.” He’s been directed by Kevin Costner twice, in THE POSTMAN and OPEN RANGE. “Another – all these people you’ve mentioned have been really great – you haven’t asked me about anyone yet where I could say anything negative! Kevin’s great, and easy to work with. Again, someone who’s very talented, and a nice guy.”

When I asked him what he looks for in a script, he laughed. “How much they’re paying me. How many days I have off. Where they’re shooting it. All those things add up to whether I want to shoot it or not.”
“You just did a film noir called ONE IN THE GUN.”
“Yeah, I just did a day on that. That’s a case in point, with little cameos like that, I don’t even read the script. If I like the character, you know, I just do it.”
I asked him what he liked about his current character, Max Detreich. “I’d rather not give it away, but there’s a lot of surprises with Max, let’s put it that way. And I love just doing this genre. Unless the script is really horrible, I’m gonna try and see if it can work out.”

YELLOW ROCK star Michael Biehn first made a splash in SciFi films like THE TERMINATOR series, ALIENS and THE ABYSS, but sagebrush fans will always remember him as Johnny Ringo in TOMBSTONE. When it comes to Westerns, Michael Biehn can’t say ‘no’. “I didn’t know when I was gonna get a chance to do another Western. And Nick Vallelonga, the director, is a good friend of mine, he suggested it, so I signed on. I like doing Westerns, but they don’t do very many of them any more. We did MAGNIFICENT SEVEN -- we couldn’t keep that on the air. But I like doing ‘em. They’re fun – shooting and riding is always fun. I guess they’re starting to do them big-budget again, because they’re doing TRUE GRIT, BIG VALLEY and COWBOYS AND ALIENS. But for a long time I’d heard that nobody really wanted to see them. Because the kids weren’t interested, and nobody overseas was interested. But they’re making something of a comeback now.”

I asked him what his favorite westerns were. “UNFORGIVEN, flat out. UNFORGIVEN is a great Western. I like Clint Eastwood’s stuff. I liked JOSIE WALES --.” Just then they were calling for him on the set (one of the reasons I didn’t get a better picture of him). “Now I’ve got to go.” As he hurried off, he turned and called over his shoulder, “And I like SHANE!”

Clay Wilcox, who plays a member of Max Detreich’s outfit, is a young man with a long list of feature and television guest credits. He can currently be seen as one of the leads in the popular crime web-series “CENTRAL DIVISION” (CLICK HERE to see the first episode). DEADWOOD fans will recall him as the frequently seen and heard-from character known as ‘Loudmouth Drunk in the Gem Saloon.’ I asked him how many Westerns he’s done. “This is my third. I worked with James (Russo) before in a movie called SHOOT FIRST AND PRAY YOU LIVE (BECAUSE LUCK HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT)(2008), and then I worked in DEADWOOD, so this is the third, and they’re a lot of fun.” But his description of his role doesn’t sound like a million laughs. “I’m playing Roscoe Parsley. He’s a survivor. He gets kind of beat up in this film, along the way. A gradual decline into misery.” I asked him if Westerns were his favorite genre. “Well, you get to play cowboy, you get to play with guns and hop on horses, and I like the outdoors, so yes, I would say, yes it is -- not as a film watcher but as an actor. I sure do have fun with it.”

Another member of the Detreich outfit is Billy-Boy, played by Brian Gleason, most recently seen in the multi-Oscar-winning CRAZY HEART (2009). What kind of a guy is Billy-Boy? “Kind of like me. A cowboy. I’m not trying to create anything more than trying to be myself. A younger guy, not too complicated.” I asked if it’s his first Western. “Yes it is – and it’s a lot of fun. I grew up around horses in Ocala, Florida. It’s a lot of fun. I love Westerns.” Which Westerns in particular? “Well, DANCES WITH WOLVES is one of my favorites. LONESOME DOVE, that mini-series is really beautiful. UNFORGIVEN, OPEN RANGE – wonderful. Some of the older ones as well -- I’ve been watching quite a few recently. Walter Hill’s LONG RIDERS, that’s quite an interesting film.”

Peter Sherayko has two important roles in YELLOW ROCK, one in front of the camera, and one behind it. Behind the scenes he runs Caravan West, the company whose vast collection of historical weapons, props and costumes, and whose core of wranglers, riders, property men, make-up artists and costumers have lent authenticity to dozens of movies and TV shows, ever since he organized them to make TOMBSTONE (1993). (To read my in-depth interview with Peter, CLICK HERE.) In TOMBSTONE he played Texas Jack Vermilion. In YELLOW ROCK he’s Farley, another member of Detreich’s outfit.

And what kind of a character is Farley? “Farley is the comic relief. I’m the wise old guy. We have a young stud-puppy who is always on the make (Christopher Backus), we have two other young guys, and we have James Russo as Max, leader of the gang. And I’m a guy who can ride, handle guns and handle horses, so I have a lot of fun with that. And of course we’re doing all the guns and all the horses and the props and the costumes, all with Caravan West.” And what sort of guns are characters sporting? “Dr. Sara is carrying a ’66 Winchester that’s been engraved with Indian tack, because it’s supposed to be a gift from the Indians. For Broken Wing I have a knife, and I had a rubber knife made exactly like that, in case he has to slit anyone’s throat. For Michael Biehn, playing Tom, the hero, I gave him a Remington Rolling Block, designed in 1867. You see very few Remington Rolling Blocks in the movies, but there’s a very famous picture of Buffalo Bill holding one.”

Just then Michael Biehn and Christopher Backus rode by. Peter pointed after them. “Michael Biehn’s got an 1860-style Texas Hope saddle, with fur saddle-bags, and for the lady’s man, we have the Santa Fe-style silver saddle, which has 480 pieces of tooled silver on it. That’s what we try to do: select every little item to reflect the character.”

Ever since Sylvester Stallone wrote ROCKY, but wouldn’t sell it until someone wanted to make it with him in the title role, we’ve heard about actors who’ve achieved stardom by writing themselves a great part. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck did it with GOOD WILL HUNTING, Billy Bob Thornton did it with SLING-BLADE. Lenore Andriel, who stars in YELLOW ROCK, co-wrote the screenplay with Steve Doucette, who is also her producing partner. Initially, it wasn’t going to be a western. “Originally Steve and I were talking about doing something that would be outdoors, in the mountains. Steve wanted something where we could use what I knew as an actor, some of the abilities that I had. We had the nucleus of a story, a modern-day story. And we did have an Indian in it, a deputy that was an Indian.

“And Steve came up with the idea of doing this as a period piece, and we took that nucleus, put it back in the 1880s, then it became all about gold, and – my goodness – it spun the whole thing into a whole other level. The Indian story started to develop, and now it had a deeper, more intense meaning. Ironically, when we started researching the Native American story, we realized, even though we were making up this story, how many times this had actually, really happened. And we decided that maybe we could make a message movie, besides just a fun, entertaining movie, within a traditional cowboys and Indians kind of story.

“I love westerns – I love strong women characters in this kind of a story -- who can be a sort of a centerpiece, on an emotional and natural one-with-nature level, who can help ground all the men in it. It’s still very much the men’s story, and the Indian tribal story, and I think having the feminine voice in it, while still being strong, is important. I’m a doctor, and because the Indians would come to her, now she has come to live in their territory. So the conflict for her is what happens after she decides to take the white cowboys to the tribe, and vouches for them. We had a hard time finding the right location, and then we came to Valuzet Ranch, and said, oh my God, this is exactly it. It had absolutely everything we needed. You felt like you were really back in 1880, being here.”

Michael Spears is one of the most in-demand, and most recognizable, Native American actors working today – ever since his screen debut in DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990). “Played Otter. And I’ve been doing it (acting) ever since.” In YELLOW ROCK, he plays Broken Wing. “Broken Wing is a man between the worlds. He’s still connected to his people, his tribe. But he befriended Dr. Sara, acts as something of a translator between her and the tribe. She speaks the language a little bit, and she’s teaching him English. He’s basically the guide up the mountain.” I asked him what were his favorites among his own Westerns. “DANCES WITH WOLVES would have to be at the top. INTO THE WEST. And I just recently completed a film called SHADOWHEART.” Other people’s Westerns? “I love TOMBSTONE. I love YOUNG GUNS, a lot of the older westerns. Some of the new ones – OPEN RANGE. You know, a Western comes out, I’m going to watch it. Because I probably know someone in it, and I can relate.”

Zahn McClarnon, an actor of both Lakota and Irish descent, looks unquestionably Native American, especially in costume, but greets me with, “Top o’ the mornin’ to you, lad! I am Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon. I play Looks First, the right hand man of Angry Wolf.” What’s his best-known work? “The biggest one I’ve done is probably INTO THE WEST. Michael (Spear) and I were the leads in that, we play brothers. I did a pilot called LAKOTA MOON – a lot of television. Majority of work I do is Native American, but I do Latino as well. A lot of guest star TV work. BAYWATCH, LAPD BLUE, IN LIVING COLOR, CHICAGO HOPE.”

What’s his favorite role? “Favorite ever role? I played a gay hairdresser in an Alex Cox film, the director of SID AND NANCY and REPO MAN. It’s called REPO CHICK, a sequel to REPO MAN.”
“I didn’t know there was a sequel.”
“Nobody does – he hasn’t got distribution yet. He’s a very interesting guy, what a character. I had a lot of fun doing it. Honestly, Alex turned me onto a lot of the John Ford films – he loves John Ford.” Alex Cox also directed Zahn in SEARCHERS 2.0.

What Westerns are his favorites? “DANCES WITH WOLVES, JEREMIAH JOHNSON (1972) is one of my all-time favorites. There’s a movie called WINTERHAWK (1975). When I was a baby, I grew up in Montana. And I went onto the set. They were looking for extra women, my mom is this gorgeous Lakota woman, Sioux woman, and she went onto the set to be an extra. And I met Woody Strode. I was like six or seven, I wouldn’t go ask for his autograph. But I finally got the nerve to. He was sitting in one of these (director’s) chairs, and I met Woody Strode – I’ll never forget that. I actually met him again, like thirty years later, in Hollywood, when I first moved out to Los Angeles in ’93. I met him at some kind of a function, and he remembered me, he remembered meeting me. I liked the old spaghetti westerns. There was a rock and roll western called ZACHARIAH, back in the ‘70s. I’ll never forget that movie – it was a big inspiration for me. I saw that at a drive-in in Montana – my dad used to take me to the drive-ins. Saw ZACHARIAH and NEVER GIVE AN INCH (1970), which was a Ken Kesey novel. WHITE LINE FEVER (1975). Not a western, obviously – kind of a western with cars. TWO LANE BLACKTOP (1971).

“I’m doing a play, starting next month, in Williamsburg, Virginia. It’s called SO FAR FROM SCIOTO. It’s the first time they’ve ever brought natives into Williamsburg to do one of their plays. The Scioto River, in southern Ohio, is where the Shawnee came from. It’s about when Shawnee Indians came to negotiate with Lord Dunsmore in 1774, then the Revolution started. It’s a piece about what these three guys end up doing.”

Coming in two weeks: YELLOW ROCK – THE CREW

CINECON 46 – CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL SEPT. 2ND-6TH

This 46th annual presentation of hard-to-nearly-impossible-to-see movies will be held Thursday through Monday, with screenings in Grauman’s Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard. The dealer room for memorabilia collectors will be on the 3rd floor of the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, adjacent to the Hollywood-Highland Entertainment complex. There will be lots of screenings, celebrity events, a banquet, and of particular interest are a number of Western screenings. Tennessee's Pardner (1916), a rare 50 minute feature from the Bret Harte story [Friday Sept 3 at 10:55 AM], The Thrill Hunter (1932) starring Buck Jones [Saturday September 4, 10:20 AM], The Testing Block (1920) starring William S. Hart [Saturday evening at 9:45 PM], and From Hell to Texas (1958) starring Don Murray--who will be in attendance [Sunday September 5, 1:55 PM]. Also on Saturday they’ll be showing THE THIEF CATCHER, a recently rediscovered Keystone Charlie Chaplin comedy from 1914! There are nearly forty films screenings and all different packages available. For more information, CLICK HERE.

3D FESTIVAL AT FILM FORUM, NEW YORK CITY

During the Film Forum William Castle retrospective, a 3D Western and a 3D Eastern: Friday & Saturday, 9/3 and 9/4 JESSE JAMES VS. THE DALTONS
(1954) Brett King believes he’s the son of the notorious bandit, and hooks up with the Daltons to try and learn the truth. But 3-D’d sexpot Barbara Lawrence is raison d’être enough for this Castle oater. Color; Approx. 65 minutes. 6:30 ONLY

Sunday & Monday 9/5 and 9/6 FORT TI (1953) Rare French and Indian War Eastern, with colonial George Montgomery teaming up with the Redcoats as they go toe-to-toe against those Frenchies at Fort Ticonderoga. Color; Approx. 75 minutes. 6:30 ONLY

SCREENINGS

WESTERN DOUBLE BILL AT THE NEW BEVERLY CINEMA

Sunday and Monday, September 5th and 6th, The New Beverly will present ULZANA’S RAID (1972) directed by ROBERT ADRICH from ALAN SHARP’S script, and starring BURT LANCASTER, and TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE (1969), directed and scripted by ABRAHAM POLONSKY from HARRY LAWTON’S book, and starring ROBERT BLAKE as Willie Boy and ROBERT REDFORD as the lawman trying to track him down – and KATHERINE ROSS as Lola. For more info, CLICK HERE.

GENE AND ROY AT THE EGYPTIAN SEPT 15TH

On Wednesday, September 15th, at 7:30 p.m., The Egyptian Theatre will mark the 75th Anniversary of Republic Studios with a special program: "Meet the Stars #7: Meet Roy Rogers," 1941, Republic Pictures, 10 min. Dir. Harriet Parsons. "It’s a Grand Old Nag," 1947, Republic Pictures, 8 min. Dir. Robert Clampett, probably the only cartoon Republic ever made, UNDER WESTERN STARS, 1938, Republic Pictures, 54 min. Dir. Joseph Kane. This is the one that started it all for Roy Rogers – Gene Autry was on strike, and Republic re-tailored the script, about a cowboy elected to Congress, fighting for his constituents’ water rights, to fit Roy. There are tons of parallels with MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, which came out a year later! The listing says 54 minutes, but I’m betting they’ll show the version shown recently at the Autry, with the missing scenes back in place. SOUTH OF THE BORDER, 1939, Republic Pictures, 70 min. Dir. George Sherman. It is the eve of World War II, and Federal agents Gene Autry and Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnett) head to Mexico to foil the schemes of a fleet of foreign spies at a submarine base.

LIVE EVENTS

STAGECOACH DAYS – BANNING Sept. 9-12

Parade, carnival, ranch rodeo, historical encampments, Wild West gunfighter competition, blacksmithing contest, food, entertainment, carnival, kids’ zone. A.C. Dysart Park (951)922-3241, banningstagecoachdays.com

OLD WEST DAYS – RANDSBURG Sept. 18

Western and bluegrass music, pancake breakfast, antiques and collectibles, food vendors and reenactments in this “Living Ghost Town” of the high desert. Downtown (760)371-0965, randdesertmueum.com

CIVIL WAR REENACTMENTS – LEBEC Sept. 19

Union and Confederate Army encampments, battle demonstrations and living history presentations. Fort Tejon State Historic Park (661) 248-6692 forttejon.org

GRAND WESTERN GRUB FEST – SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO Sept. 26

Chili cook-off, vendors, country music, Old West shootout, food, beer and wine, carnival booths, dunk tank, pie-eating contest, kids’ activities. Proceeds benefit U.S. military troops and their families. St. Margaret’s Episcopal School at Gateway Field. 949) 248-9468 gwgf.org


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

A staggering number of western TV episodes and movies are available, entirely free, for viewing on your computer at HULU. You do have to sit through the commercials, but that seems like a small price to pay. The series available -- often several entire seasons to choose from -- include THE RIFLEMAN, THE CISCO KID, THE LONE RANGER, BAT MASTERSON, THE BIG VALLEY, ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, and one I missed from 2003 called PEACEMAKERS starring Tom Berenger. Because they are linked up with the TV LAND website, you can also see BONANZA and GUNSMOKE episodes, but only the ones that are running on the network that week.

The features include a dozen Zane Grey adaptations, and many or most of the others are public domain features. To visit HULU on their western page, CLICK HERE.

AROUND LOS ANGELES

THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepeneur Gene Autry, and designed by the Disney Imagineering team, the Autry is a world-class museum housing a fascinating collection of items related to the fact, fiction, film, history and art of the American West. In addition to their permenant galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. Currently they have THE ART OF NATIVE AMERICAN BASKETRY: A LIVING TRADITION, through November 7th. I've seen the show three times, and am continually astonished at the beauty and variety of the work of the various tribes. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywood western, The Squaw Man. They have a permanent display of movie props, documents and other items related to early, especially silent, film production. They also have occasional special programs. 2100 Highland Ave., L.A. CA 323-874-2276. Thursday – Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for senior, $1 for children.

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

This small but entertaining museum gives a detailed history of Wells Fargo when the name suggested stage-coaches rather than ATMS. There’s a historically accurate reproduction of an agent’s office, an original Concord Coach, and other historical displays. Open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Admission is free. 213-253-7166. 333 S. Grand Street, L.A. CA.

ON TV

TV LAND - BONANZA and GUNSMOKE

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They run a GUNSMOKE Monday through Thursday at 10:00 a.m., and on Friday they show two, from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m.. They're not currently running either series on weekends, but that could change at any time.

NEED YOUR BLACK & WHITE TV FIX?

Check out your cable system for WHT, which stands for World Harvest Television. It's a religious network that runs a lot of good western programming. Your times may vary, depending on where you live, but weekdays in Los Angeles they run THE LONE RANGER at 1:30 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic.

That's about it for now! Next week I'll have details on the 75th Anniversary Celebration for Republic Pictures, and in two weeks I'll have part two of my visit to the set of YELLOW ROCK.

Adios!

Henry

All Contents Copyright September 2010 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

WESTERN PRODUCTION PULSE STRONG

With the disappointing grosses for COWBOYS & ALIENS, and the abrupt halt on production of Disney’s THE LONE RANGER, there’s been, understandably, a great deal of hand-wringing over whether we’re hearing the death-knell for the current western revival. I don’t think so. When a New York Magazine blog posed the question, based on the public response to COWBOYS & ALIENS, whether the western was dead, a frequent response was, “Huh? Was that supposed to be a western?” Just to keep things in perspective, C&A, as of Thursday, has grossed a very respectable $92,000,000. This is only a disappointment if you’re dumb enough to spend $230,000,000 making the movie.

Having learned that the plot of THE LONE RANGER involved the masked rider of the plains doing battle with werewolves, I can’t be too upset that Disney has decided to rethink their approach, and try to bring the budget down from a high of $285,000,000. Maybe the industry is learning the lesson they should have gotten from JONAH HEX, that scifi and horror elements rarely mix well with western stories.

Granted, no one lost any money on the very good CURSE OF THE UNDEAD, or the very bad BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA and JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN’S DAUGHTER -- because no one spent any money on them. We’ll have to wait and see how ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER does with its $70,000,000 outlay. As a Paramount Pictures insider put it to me, it’s a movie that should be made. But it should be made by The Asylum for $250,000. (Incidentally, last year The Asylum made the very watchable western 6 GUNS, and I’ve been bugging them ever since to do 7 GUNS.)

But the good news is that there are a lot of good projects in the pipeline, for big-screen and small!

FEATURES:

‘YELLOW ROCK’ EDITING LOCKED

Lenore Andriel, who co-wrote, co-produced and stars with Michael Biehn and James Russo in this tale of greed and deceit, tells me, “The picture is now ‘locked’. It’s in sound editing, sound design, sound fx at Monkeyland Audio. The score is being composed by Randy Miller, an incredible award winning composer.” You can hear an impressive example of his music when you visit the YELLOW ROCK site.

“We've added pickup shots that Daniel Veluzat was our 2nd Unit Director for, which really add to the levels of tension, production value, and clarity to the film. He did an amazing job, as did the actors, James Russo and Peter Sherayko, and our wonderful crew in the 110 degree heat!” To learn more, visit the YELLOW ROCK website HERE. For Round-up articles on the filming of YELLOW ROCK, read part one HERE, part two HERE.

‘COWBOYS & INDIANS’ READY TO GO TO MARKET




The third feature, and first Western by brother co-writers and co-directors Aaron Burk and Tyler Burk, was shot at the Whitehorse Movie Ranch in the Mojave Desert, and as you can see by the trailer, there’s plenty of action. Aaron tells me, “Our sales agent is currently shopping it around for domestic sales. And we’ll probably be going to AFM (the American Film Market) to sell it internationally.”

I’ll soon have an extensive interview with the Burk brothers in the Round-up, but in the meantime, you can learn more about COWBOYS & INDIANS at their website HERE.



‘THE FIRST RIDE OF WYATT EARP’ NEARS COMPLETION

Toplining Val Kilmer as Earp, THE FIRST RIDE is based on the true story of the murder that brought together the Earp brothers along with Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Charlie Bassett and Bill Tilghman. From ARO ENTERTAINMENT, the cast also includes Trace Adkins, Diana DeGarmo, Shawn Roberts as a young Wyatt, Levi Fiehler, Matt Dallas, Scott Whyte, Wilson Bethel and Daniel Booko. It’s directed by Michael Feifer from a screenplay by Darren Benjamin Shepherd. When I asked producer Jeffrey Schenck how post-production was going, he told me, “We’re almost there. Check with me next month.”

To read the Round-up’s two-part coverage on the shooting on FIRST RIDE, go HERE and HERE.



‘MORGAN KANE: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS’, BEGINS




The folks at WR Films continue to keep development of the Morgan Kane franchise, based on the best-selling Norwegian western series, shrouded in mystery. What I can tell you is that they’ve acquired the right to all 83 of Louis Masterson’s novels, and are planning to start with a trilogy of films, the first, MORGAN KANE: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS, based on two of the books, EL GRINGO and EL GRINGO’S REVENGE. I understand that a first draft was delivered the first week in August, but they’re playing it so cagey that I still haven’t found out the screenwriter’s name. I’ll tell you more when I know more, but in the meantime, you can read about my visit to their set, for the shooting of e-book covers, HERE.

http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2011/07/who-is-morgan-kane.html

TARANTINO’S ‘DJANGO UNCHAINED’ TO ROLL IN AUTUMN

Aiming for a Christmas 2012 release, the long-rumored Quentin Tarantino ‘spaghetti southern’ is set to roll shortly in Louisiana. With Jamie Foxx as the title character, a freed slave turned bounty-hunter under the tutelage of dentist Christoph Waltz, the film boasts a striking supporting cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and most recently Kevin Costner, as the sadistic trainer of ‘Mandingo’ fighters at a plantation/brothel known as Candyland. Also rumored to be involved are Treat Williams and Franco Nero, cinema’s original Django.

TONY SCOTT IN TALKS WITH WARNERS TO REMAKE ‘THE WILD BUNCH’

Why?

‘AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES’ TO STARZ



Producer Jeffrey Schenck tells me AMERICAN BANDITS will premiere on the STARZ network on September 11th. Written and directed by Fred Olen Ray, it’s the story of what happens when the brothers must split up until the wounded Jesse heals. It stars Peter Fonda, Tim Abel and Jeffrey Combs. At the recent B-MOVIE CELEBRATION, Fred won two Golden Cobs, for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and Jeffrey Combs won for Best Lead Actor. To read my review, go HERE. To read my interview with Fred Olen Ray, go HERE.

And that's not all! On Wednesday I hope to be on the set of a new Western, GANG OF ROSES II!


ON TELEVISION:

HIGH HOPES FOR ‘SHADOW HILLS’

The pilot for the series about a former buffalo soldier-turned horse breeder in an ethnically mixed town in the Oklahoma Territory is taking shape in the cutting room. Executive Producer Scott Steel tells me, “Things are great! We are in Post and editing. After seeing some of the footage, we really feel we have something special, and know that your readers are really going to love SHADOW HILLS when they see it!”

Lamont Clayton, who wrote, produced, and stars in the show, agrees. “It looks amazing. John Amos (who plays the town’s blacksmith) said he had the same feeling he had about ROOTS that he has for SHADOW HILLS. He and I really think we have something here!” To read my article about the shoot, go HERE.



AMC’S ‘HELL ON WHEEL’S GETS PLAYDATE!



AMC’s long-anticipated Western series, centered on the building of the trans-continental railroad, will premiere on Sunday, November 6th, following an episode of their highly successful THE WALKING DEAD.

Starring Anson Mount, Colm Meany, Wes Studi, and Common, it follows Mount’s character, a former Confederate soldier out to avenge his wife’s death. The title refers to the traveling saloons, brothels and gambling dens that moved on wheels to follow the track-layers -- Historian Stephen Ambrose wrote a wonderful book on the subject by the same title.

HISTORY CHANNEL’S ‘HATFIELDS AND McCOYS – AN AMERICAN VENDETTA

The History Channel will produce it’s first dramatic, non-documentary miniseries, telling the true story of America’s most deadly blood-feud. Kevin Costner will star as Devil Anse Hatfield, and Bill Paxton will star as Randall McCoy. Kevin Reynolds, who directed RED DAWN, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, and previously directed Costner in ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, will be at the helm. Writers are Rod Mann (DEADWOOD) and Ron Parker (BROKEN TRAIL).

TNT ORDERS ‘GATEWAY’ PILOT

TNT has given a cast-contingent order for a westerns series, GATEWAY, about a Colorado town in the 1880s. A lawman has been killed, and his three sons must step in. The script is by Exec Producer Bruce McKenna (BAND OF BROTHERS, THE PACIFIC), and Danny Cannon (CSI) will direct.

‘RECONSTRUCTION’ GOES FROM FX TO NBC

Developed for FX, RECONSTRUCTION has been shot as a pilot at NBC, directed by Peter Horton and written by three-time Emmy winner Joshua Brand (NORTHERN EXPOSURE, A YEAR IN THE LIFE). Set in Missouri after the Civil War, it’s the story of a war vet who settles in a town where he is greeted as its savior. It stars Martin Henderson (OFF THE MAP), Emma Bell and Rachel Lefevre.

AND IN PRINT:

THE TRADITIONAL WEST

Western fictioneers


A brand new anthology of traditional western stories from The Western Fictioneers, the only writers’ organization devoted solely to traditional Western fiction, has been published in both e-book and print version. The authors include Matthew P. Mayo, Robert J. Randisi, Dusty Richards, James Reasoner, Larry D. Sweazy, L.J. Washburn, Jackson Lowry, Larry Jay Martin, Kerry Newcomb, and C. Courtney Joyner, who has lectured on how to break into Western print (see HERE).
http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2011/04/winnetou-palooza.html


THE NOT SO TRADITIONAL WEST




Michael Druxman, screenwriter of the excellent CHEYENNE WARRIOR (see my review and interview HERE;), has published a new book of short stories entitled DRACULA MEETS JACK THE RIPPER & Other Revisionist Histories. The story entitled THE OLD COOT is about Jesse James.
http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/search?q=cheyenne+warrior

EXCELLENT ‘GATHERING REMNANTS’ ON THE DOC CHANNEL

Though you might not know by the title, GATHERING REMNANTS is a documentary about cattle-driving cowboys. What they have to say about their way of life is, by turns, fascinating and heartbreaking. Much of it is startlingly beautiful. It’s showing twice on Thursday, August 25th on the Documentary Channel, locally at 6:30 p.m., and again at 9:30 p.m., but systems vary, so check your listings.

CELEBRATE ROY ROGERS’ 100TH BIRTHDAY AT THE DOUBLE R BAR RANCH!

Head to Victorville on Saturday, August 27th, for a celebration of the King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West! Among those taking part in the festivities will be Roy’s daughter Mimi Rogers and grand-daughter Julie Ashley Pemilla, actors Dick Jones, Ty Hardin, Hugh O’Brien, Andrew Prine, Bo Hopkins, Dan Haggerty, Donna Martell, Darby Hinton and Beverly Washburn, and authors Julia Ann Ream and Charlie LeSueur. For all the particulars, go HERE.



http://cowboyjerryandthepioneers.com/

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

And speaking of TCM, have I mentioned that the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here?




THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepeneur Gene Autry, and designed by the Disney Imagineering team, the Autry is a world-class museum housing a fascinating collection of items related to the fact, fiction, film, history and art of the American West. In addition to their permenant galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywood western, The Squaw Man. They have a permanent display of movie props, documents and other items related to early, especially silent, film production. They also have occasional special programs. 2100 Highland Ave., L.A. CA 323-874-2276. Thursday – Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for senior, $1 for children.

WELLS FARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

This small but entertaining museum gives a detailed history of Wells Fargo when the name suggested stage-coaches rather than ATMS. There’s a historically accurate reproduction of an agent’s office, an original Concord Coach, and other historical displays. Open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Admission is free. 213-253-7166. 333 S. Grand Street, L.A. CA.


FREE WESTERNS ON YOUR COMPUTER AT HULU

A staggering number of western TV episodes and movies are available, entirely free, for viewing on your computer at HULU. You do have to sit through the commercials, but that seems like a small price to pay. The series available -- often several entire seasons to choose from -- include THE RIFLEMAN, THE CISCO KID, THE LONE RANGER, BAT MASTERSON, THE BIG VALLEY, ALIAS SMITH AND JONES, and one I missed from 2003 called PEACEMAKERS starring Tom Berenger. Because they are linked up with the TV LAND website, you can also see BONANZA and GUNSMOKE episodes, but only the ones that are running on the network that week.

The features include a dozen Zane Grey adaptations, and many or most of the others are public domain features. To visit HULU on their western page, CLICK HERE.

TV LAND - BONANZA and GUNSMOKE

Every weekday, TV LAND airs a three-hour block of BONANZA episodes from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They run a GUNSMOKE Monday through Thursday at 10:00 a.m., and on Friday they show two, from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m.. They're not currently running either series on weekends, but that could change at any time.

NEED YOUR BLACK & WHITE TV FIX?

Check out your cable system for WHT, which stands for World Harvest Television. It's a religious network that runs a lot of good western programming. Your times may vary, depending on where you live, but weekdays in Los Angeles they run DANIEL BOONE at 1:00 p.m., and two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.. On Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. it's THE RIFLEMAN again, followed at 2:30 by BAT MASTERSON. And unlike many stations in the re-run business, they run the shows in the original airing order. There's an afternoon movie on weekdays at noon, often a western, and they show western films on the weekend, but the schedule is sporadic.

RFD-TV has begun airing THE ROY ROGERS SHOW on Sundays at 9:00 a.m., with repeats the following Thursday and Saturday.

Also, AMC has started showing two episodes of THE RIFLEMAN on Saturday mornings.

Just as I was about to shut down, I spotted an interesting email from Nikke Finke's DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD. Disney's Rich Ross attended D23, a sort of Disney-only Comic-con this weekend, and in an interview said he was eager to try again with THE LONE RANGER. He said he was eager to work with everyone involved, and he named them all...except director Gore Verbinski.

Happy Trails!

Henry

All Contents Copyright August 2011 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

‘DELIVERANCE CREEK’ STAR CHRISTOPHER BACKUS INTERVIEWED

On Saturday, September 13^th, Lifetime will premiere ‘DELIVERANCE CREEK’, an original Western movie written by Melissa Carter, directed by Jon Amiel, produced by the tremendously successful novelist Nicholas Sparks (if you missed my review last week, go HERE )

Set in the South during the Civil War, it focuses on Belle Gatlin Barlow (Lauren Ambrose), a woman whose husband has gone off to war, leaving her to manage their farm and raise their three children.  Between an amorous lawman she encourages (after all, her husband might be dead), and amorous banker she discourages, Union soldiers and runaway slaves, who returns to complicate her life but her brother Jasper Gatlin, a Confederate guerilla soldier, portrayed by Christopher Backus.  Certainly by 21^st Century p.c. standards he may not be the most morally and ethically upright man in the tale, but guess what?  He’s the most interesting, both because he’s the most complexly written, and because Christopher Backus has a star’s innate ability to draw the eye, and make you care.

I first met Christopher back in 2011, on the set of the Western YELLOW ROCK, when he was the well-dressed member of James Russo’s gang, who were trying to enlist the help of Michael Biehn in finding a lost father and son.  In DELIVERANCE CREEK Backus has been promoted to running his own crew, trained by Bloody Bill Anderson and Quantrill.  He’s tal and handsome and charming and dangerous as a diamondback.  And if DELIVERANCE CREEK goes to series, which it should, his part will grow and grow.  On Friday afternoon I had the chance to talk with him about how his career began, Jasper Gatlin, and his hopes for the future.

 HENRY PARKE:  Hello Chris.  We actually met a few years ago, on the set of YELLOW ROCK.  And you were the only one I never really got to talk to.  Every time we started, you were needed on-set.   So I had to wait until your next Western.

CHRISTOPHER BACKUS:    I remember that.  Well at least it wasn’t too long, and I’ve got another Western on my résumé.  

HENRY: At what age did you know you wanted to become an actor?

CHRISTOPHER: I was late to becoming an actor.  I had graduated high school, and was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life.  I was 19 or 20, never in a high school play or things of that nature.  But as I got older, I was out of sports, and all the creative genes I’d been hiding kind of wanted to come out. 

HENRY:  Was there any incident that triggered it?  Any moment that you knew?

CHRISTOPHER:  It was just sort of chance.  I was struggling with what I was going to do, and casting director Christian Kaplan asked if I was interested in reading for a film, PEARL HARBOR or PANIC ROOM – I can’t remember which one was first.  He thought I had the right look and asked, want to come in and give it a shot?  Just through the process of preparing for it, I realized how I liked being lost in someone else, bringing this imaginary character to life.  Obviously I didn’t get either job, but it didn’t deter me from trying to figure out how to get to the next level; I was just winging it at that stage.

HENRY:  I understand you were born in Orange County.  Did you grow up ‘around the industry’?

BACKUS:  I was born in Long Beach, and spent my early years there.  But it seemed like a far-off 

planet – the differences between Orange County and Hollywood are pretty significant.  And ultimately I spent most of my youth in Kansas.  My father passed away, and we moved to the Midwest.  So then I was thousands of alien light-years away from Hollywood, living in Kansas. 

HENRY:  Was it pretty rural?

CHRISTOPHER:  No, I was in Overland Park, right on the border with Kansas and Missouri, south of the downtown area, where jazz was popular.  I remember being young and going and listening to jazz, and thinking that was the coolest thing that I had ever done.  I remember right before we moved to Kansas I had this image of moving into farmland.  And I had told my mom that if we moved to Kansas, my one deal was I got to build a FIELD OF DREAMS baseball field in our back yard.  But our backyard was not farmland.  So one day I plan to build a baseball field in my back yard, on my property.

HENRY: Your first credit on IMDB is a guest shot on WILL AND GRACE in 2004.  Was that really your first?

CHRISTOPHER:  It was; that was my first job, and it was a good first job to get.  At that time WILL AND GRACE was one of the most popular shows on television, and to work to with Eric McCormack and Debra Messing and Sean Hayes – it was just one of those experiences that you’ll never forget.  It’s your first gig, and you’re intimidated, and I never thought I was particularly funny.  So during the table read you kind of goose everything up.  And Eric McCormack came up to me after and said, “Kid, you’re really funny when you’re not doing it.  Relax and you’ll be fine.”  And he kind of put me at ease.   I’ll never forget, that changed my perception of what a table-read was.  That was a great introduction to the business, WILL AND GRACE. 

HENRY: What’s been your favorite role so far?

CHRISTOPHER:  Honestly, it’s the one I’m talking to you about right now, it’s Jasper Gatlin.  It’s one of those roles that you just cross your fingers and hope it comes across your desk.  I enjoyed playing Jasper so much; hopefully I’ll get to continue to play it.  

Christopher Backus in YELLOW ROCK

HENRY: Very few actors of your age have been in a Western, but you’ve been in two: YELLOW ROCK and now DELIVERANCE CREEK.  Is it just chance, or is there something special about the genre for you?

CHRISTOPHER:  There’s definitely something special about the genre.  They both came up by chance, but you know, I’ve always liked Westerns.  I grew up watching John Wayne with my father, and the great Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns, and to this day there’s no cooler man on the planet than Clint Eastwood.  So when you’re young and watch those movies, they just stick in your head.  When you decide to be an actor, you think you’d like to be in a western some day.  So you just cross your fingers, and hope that one of those comes across.  And I’ve been fortunate to get two, to rides horses; it’s one of those genres that speaks to you.

HENRY:  Speaking of horses, you certainly look competent on a horse.  Have you ridden much?

CHRISTOPHER:  I had never ridden before YELLOW ROCK.  It’s the old actor trick of, “Have you ever ridden a horse?” and you say, “Sure.”  And then you spend the next four days figuring out who can teach you to ride a horse.  And that worked out.  But with DELIVERANCE CREEK, we did two weeks of ‘cowboy camp’ in between rehearsals when we were in Texas, and those guys really taught me how to ride a horse.  And by the time that I left cowboy camp I walked away feeling like I was a cowboy.  They treated me so well, and quickly, and the horses are so amazing, and I wanted to do them proud, for how much effort they put into breaking me of my bad habits.  Because they sit in the back and watch Westerns, and they go, “Wow, he really doesn’t know how to ride; you can tell that he’s learning.  He’s not comfortable.”  So I really worked hard, and during our downtime on set, instead of going to my trailer, the other actor, Christopher Baker and I would go bother the trainer and say, “Could we borrow some horses and go riding around?”  One of them would saddle up next to us, and the three of us would take off for half an hour, come back, shoot our scene, and then get back on the horses and go back out.    

HENRY:  You mentioned Texas.  Is that where you shot?

CHRISTOPHER:  We did, we shot it in Austin, Texas.  So we lived in Austin and downtown.  All of the locations were like an hour outside in all different directions, trying to find places that had no power lines and cars and had open fields.  And it was pretty amazing how many unique locations were in Texas.  The house where we shot in DELIVERANCE CREEK was actually built in the 1850s.  And the center room was the only thing that actually existed; ten people lived in the house in just one room.  The art department built on in the same style the extra rooms to make it a little more cinematic, so we could space things out.  I’m tall, and so my hat would touch the top of the ceiling, which was sort of great for Jasper.  I know that our fantastic director, John Amiel, loved that when I came in I had to duck through doorways, and tried to capitalize on that element of Jasper being larger than life when he comes back to Deliverance Creek. 

Chris Baker

HENRY:  At Universal Studios, all the Western towns were built to ¾ height so all the cowboys would look bigger.

CHRISTOPHER:  I didn’t know that. 

HENRY:  Is there any western actor of the past you look at and say, ‘I wish I had his roles.’?

CHRISTOPHER:  Going back to the original 3:10 TO YUMA, the Glenn Ford part, you wish you’d get a part like that.  And all of those Clint Eastwood movies, if you could carve out a career like that.  My favorite western is THE LEFT HANDED GUN, with Paul Newman, where he played Billy the Kid.  Paul Newman is my all-time favorite actor, and I thought he was just marvelous in that.   I’ve seen it like fifteen times, and it was just so different from the Paul Newman we all know, just a brilliant acting thing. 

HENRY:  How did you get involved with DELIVERANCE CREEK?

CHRISTOPHER:  Well, I read for it; I went and saw the amazing casting director from Junie Libby.  I actually read for Cyril the first time I went in, who Christopher Baker plays.  I got a call from Melissa (Carter, the screenwriter) and Jon (Amiel, director) – Jon wasn’t in the room when I read.  And he said, “I’d like him to come back in and read for something else.”  So then I read for Duke, and was trying to push my way towards Jasper.  And the month of waiting, as the rest of the cast filled out, gave me time to prepare for Jasper, and it just worked out. 

HENRY: You play Jasper Gatlin, leader of a pack of Bloody Bill Anderson’s guerillas, and the brother of Belle, Lauren Ambrose’s character.  Jasper is charming, confident, and certainly a better man than some of those under him.  But in today’s terms, he’s a terrorist.  How do you try to make him sympathetic?  Or do you care?

CHRISTOPHER:  You do.  I never looked at him as a bad guy or an outlaw.  I felt that the Civil War had torn up the world, and if it wasn’t for the Civil War he might have been a farmer.  But once you get into that battle, you can’t go back and ride horses and work on your property.  That has been awoken inside of you, and he was a terrorist.  Jasper is sort of loosely based on Jesse James.  And history has been sort of rewritten to make him a Robin Hood, but he was a Southern vindicator of the Rebel cause; he was a terrorist to his dying day.  And what I think makes Jasper unique is that in that time period those guys all lived in grey – from one town to the next there was no black and white.  There was no good or bad.  For example, Wyatt Earp would come into these towns and take over saloon as the sheriff.  Couldn’t do that nowadays; a sheriff couldn’t come into a restaurant and say, “This is now my restaurant.”  The first time I read it, I was trying to wrap my mind around Jasper, whether he was good or bad.  And again with Paul Newman, in the movie HUD he says, “I’ve always viewed the law in a lenient manner.  Sometimes I lean to one side, and sometimes I lean to the other.”  And I thought that was what Jasper was.  He leaned on either side of the law for whatever was good for him or the cause.  And Jon and I talked about it.  Not the law, but his moral compass.  Jasper is a good man fighting for what he believes in.  And history makes him wrong, being on the Southern side, but I tried to treat him as if he was justified in his actions and what he believed in.  And hopefully you can see that he has both sides, good and bad.      

HENRY:  Did you do much historical research for your role?

CHRISTOPHER:  I did.  I’m a heavy researcher, especially when it comes to period stuff.  Because the times have changed so much.  And in DELIVERANCE CREEK we deal a lot with race and slavery, and in 2014, none of this makes sense.  But you have to go back in time, you have to figure some sort of historical element to ground you, so you’re not playing the mustache-twirling bad guy in terms of race.  Just because I am personally sympathetic to that cause, I can’t let that cross onto the screen.  So the historical research was a big part of that.  I’ve read THE GREY GHOSTS OF THE CONFEDERACY (by Richard S. Brownlee), INSIDE WAR (by Michael Fellman), which is still sitting on my desk, which is about the guerilla conflict in Missouri.  My big research book was JESSE JAMES, THE LAST REBEL OF THE CIVIL WAR by T.J. Stiles; that was my biggest reference point.  It also gave me a history of Jesse, in context with Bill Quantrill, because Jasper had ridden with Bill Quantrill before breaking off with Bloody Bill.  I try not to watch any (films about Jesse James), because I don’t want to be influenced by anyone.

HENRY:  You don’t want to be Tyrone Power’s version of Jesse.

CHRISTOPHER:  Exactly, so I try not to watch anything.  So to read those books, you can kind of create your own imagination around what these characters were.  And mostly for me it was less about who that character was but more about historically what they did, what their causes were.  And knowing that Melissa had sort of taken Jesse James’ trajectory for where the show would go, Jesse James became my lynchpin. 

HENRY:  I also got the feeling that Belle is based on Belle Starr

CHRISTOPHER:  That is true. 

HENRY: Jon Amiel has had a wide range of successes, from dark musicals, to comedies, to thrillers.  What was he like to work with?

CHRISTOPHER:  He was absolutely delightful –we’re still in constant contact.  He is generous and comforting and collaborative.  He just gives you this feeling that anything is safe and fair game.  That you can say, “Hey Jon, I don’t think Jasper would do this.”  It didn’t happen often, but a couple of times…  That scene with Rose, there was supposed to be some romantic tension, and I said I don’t think Jasper would do that.  I think he’s singularly focused on hitting the Union.  And Jon had my back all the way, and ultimately everyone agreed with that.  I think when you have a director who has your back, you feel like you can stand on the cliff and hang there, and know you’re not going to fall off.  From the very beginning, we did this thing; I hadn’t done it before, I don’t know if this would ever work again.  But Jon would send me and Chris Baker and Riley Smith to cowboy camp, and then we’d meet with him to do these rehearsals.  And we never once opened up the scripts.  But the first time he said, “Alright, Riley and Chris, you’re Jasper and Toby.  You’re twelve years old, and you meet for the first time.”  And we would act out these imaginary circumstances that he gave us.  And every day that we came back for two weeks, we’d be slightly older in the story.  We made up these ridiculous back-story things, to the point that at one of the rehearsals Lauren Ambrose, Riley and I are running across a busy street in Texas, carrying a barrel full of nothing, pretending that Riley had been shot with buckshot, we’re laughing and he’s screaming, and we’re running across the street, and it just bonded us in a way I don’t think we knew was possible. We went into day one of shooting as great, great friends, and I think that comes across on the screen.  Riley and I don’t actually say much to each other, but I think you can tell that there’s a closeness, that we’ve been through stuff together, and Jon just set that all up.  It was surprising, and so much fun despite the fact that we were nervous to do it on day one, that we couldn’t wait and see what Jon had in store for us next.   

HENRY:  A bloody Civil War revenge story is not the usual sort of project territory for Nicholas Sparks.  What was he like to work with? 

CHRISTOPHER:  I met Nick a couple of times while he came to visit on-set.  And he is just a supportive, fantastic man.  Obviously he‘s a genius creatively, and no one does those romance stories like Nick Sparks.  I think what’s great about this is he’s taken what he does really well and put it into a circumstance that no one expects, and said let’s go for this, let’s make it darker and gritty.  I think it’s a smart move by Nicholas to let it fly a little bit, and open up to this world that has outlaws and rebels and guns.  And I think Lifetime is a perfect match, because it’s unexpected, and I think it’s something that can really hit home for their audience, and bring in a large male audience, because it is a story told through a female perspective, but it still has all those male-driven western testosterone moments.  And of course Nicholas Sparks is so talented; I just hope we work together forever.

HENRY: About how long was the shoot?

CHRISTOPHER:  We were in Texas for forty-five days, and I think we had twenty-five shooting days.  We fit a lot in, in a very little amount of time, because when you add children and horses and animals and building towns and battle scenes, it was tight, but we made it. 

HENRY:  What was your biggest challenge in the making of this film?

CHRISTOPHER:  The biggest challenge for me was dealing with Yaani King’s character, who is a runaway slave.  Because it’s just not in my nature to judge anyone by the color of their skin.  And to wrap my mind around it, that it was okay.  She’s just amazingly talented, just this lovely person.  And I told her I’m going to look at you in the show like a piece of furniture, like you don’t even exist.  To wrap my mind around this idea that I was going to treat her like a piece of furniture was one of the most difficult things that I ever had to do.  And I would end scenes and go over and just hug her, just because I felt so bad about it.  That was the most challenging part for me, just mentally getting through that.

HENRY: What are your favorite memories of shooting DELIVERANCE CREEK?

CHRISTOPHER:  There were so many amazing memories, and it really it all had to do with the cast and crew, from executives on Lifetime to Skeet Ulrich, Nicholas Sparks.  We just bonded in a way that I think was really special.  We ate dinner together every night, we hung out together.  We had dinners every night with cameramen and sound-people.  And we’re still good friends.  On the 13^th we’re all going to get together and watch DELIVERANCE CREEK when it premieres.  As far as shooting it, every time I slid on that black hat, and put on the gun belt, and my gun was actually the gun, the dragoon, that Jeff Bridges used in TRUE GRIT.  Every time I put that gun onto my belt, and I was Jasper, and I walked out of my trailer, those were just fantastic days.  The moments of getting to be Jasper were just satisfying personally, career-wise, artistically – there was just something special about playing him. 

HENRY:  If it goes to series, what would you like to see happen with Jasper?

CHRISTOPHER:  (chuckles) Melissa Carter, who is our show-runner, and I have had multiple conversations about story ideas.  I’d like to see him hitting Union banks, seeing it as more of a targeted strike.   I want to see the human side of him as well.  Who does he open up to, who does he actually trust.  I have some specific story ideas, but I think Melissa would kill me if I gave them away. 

Wes Ramsey & Lauren Ambrose

HENRY:  What do you have planned for the future that we should be watching for?

CHRISTOPHER:  I’m in the final season of SONS OF ANARCHY, which premieres September 9^th.   DELIVERANCE CREEK and SONS OF ANARCHY do have these parallels if you just sub bikes for horses.  And I’m in the live-action SPONGE-BOB movie with Antonio Banderas.  I play Antonio Banderas’ father in flashbacks.  I’m a famous Spanish captain that sets Antonio Banderas’ life on this course.  And that was so much fun; to go from a bushwhacker to a pirate was pretty cool.  I didn’t do any work with the sponge.  And I do research, so I read the book, THE BLACK FLAG, an anthology of pirate stories, and then realized when I got there that I was in a SpongeBob movie.

HENRY:  You and your lovely wife Mira Sorvino have four school-aged kids.  Is it hard to juggle your careers and family?

CHRISTOPHER:  It is.  Like any other family when you have two working parents, it’s difficult.  But we’re very supportive of each other, and we’ve been lucky as well that our schedules haven’t overlapped that much.  She was in Vancouver shooting INTRUDERS.  So I would fly to L.A. and do SPONGE-BOB, and on the weekends fly back.  It’s difficult but workable, and we enjoy it.  And every time I find myself complaining about how hard it is, (I remember) we’ve taken our kids to some amazing places because of the jobs we do.  And the life experience that they get from being a part of that is pretty special when you look back on it.  We took them to Egypt literally a month before it collapsed when Mubarak was ousted.  And who knows when you’ll ever get back to Egypt to climb the pyramids.  And they’ve done those things.  In terms of DELIVERANCE CREEK, I have two little boys who ask me every day when we go to Texas and learn to be cowboys.  It’s fun that they relate to that sort of thing.  We love each other and we support each other and make it work.

HENRY: If you weren’t an actor, what would you be?

CHRISTOPHER: Wow – I’m not sure I’m good at anything else!  My wife likes to say that I’m black or white – I’m all in or I’m all out.  So for the last ten years it’s been all in on acting.  I wish I was a musician, but I just play around on it.  But if I could do anything else and be good at it, I’d be a musician. 

MARK OF ZORRO LACMA Sept 9 1pm

On Tuesday, September 9th, at 1 pm, for a paltry four dollars, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will present Rouben Mamoulian's brilliant film of Johnston MacCulley's delightful novel The Curse of Capistrano, THE MARK OF ZORRO!  It is a feast to watch, starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and as wonderful a pair of villains as could be desired, Basil Rathbone and Gale Sondegaard.

Basil Rathbone & Gale Sondegaard

THAT'S A WRAP!

Next Sunday, would have been Clayton Moore's 100th birthday, and I plan to feature my interview with his daughter, Dawn Moore!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright September 2014 by Henry C, Parke - All Rights Reserved