CYNTHIA ROTHROCK STARS, CO-WRITES, CO-PRODUCES, AND SEWS THE COSTUMES FOR HER FIRST WESTERN, 'BLACK CREEK'!
When Cynthia Rothrock first appeared on the action-movie scene in 1985, she was exactly what the industry needed: a striking blonde actress who just happened to be a record-holding martial arts master in several disciplines. The undisputed Queen of Martial Arts films has since starred in 70 more action films, and a few comedies, but she never made a Western until 2024. Black Creek will be released early in the summer of 2025. It is a somewhat whacky, wonderfully entertaining revenge Western, and Cynthia has loaded the cast with faces that may not be that familiar to most Western moviegoers, but will be a thrill to action movie fans, as it includes many of the best on-screen fighters in the business, including R. Marcus Taylor, Keith Crooke, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, and Cynthia’s most frequent costar, Richard Norton. Before our interview, which was punctuated with her disarmingly girlish laughter, she’d sent me a link to the then nearly-finished film, and when I emailed back that I’d enjoyed it very much, she replied, “Glad you liked my film. A lot of love and hard work went into it.” I told her that was obvious.
Cynthia Rothrock: Oh, thank you. We did this movie
in 14 days, if you could believe it, and I was just so excited because
everybody just gave their all, and it was such a hard shoot. We had freezing
nights because I wanted the look to be eerie, you know: candlelight and
lanterns. We had to light up everything, so everything took longer, but it was
worth it. But it was so cold -- like 4:00 A.M. doing a fight scene, your
muscles would freeze up. I had all these guys standing around the corral, and
they were like, “We're doing this for Cynthia.” They were such troopers. It was
such an amazing thing. I created this Facebook page for Black Creek, and
we have so many people from different countries that came over, and were
working on this film. They became this really tight-knit close family, where
they hadn't met before. It's just beautiful to see how everybody is so involved
in this project. It's so cool.
Henry Parke: You have a very impressive list of movie credits, but I believe 2024’s Taken from Rio Bravo, starring Alexander Nevsky, directed by Joe Cornet, is your first Western.
Cynthia Rothrock: Right. That was just a cameo I did as a favor 'cause Alexander as a friend of mine.
Henry Parke: You do a very nice job in it. I was wondering if you sort of looked at it as a dry run for Black Creek?
Cynthia Rothrock: Well, I learned what I didn't want to do, because of it. I liked their Western town, I liked the setting, but we went with Mescal Movie Set instead, because it had a better feel. It was actually more difficult, because Mescal didn't have electricity, so we had to bring in generators, which was another big expense. Some of the people that worked on Taken from Rio Bravo, because they were from Arizona, worked on mine too. So it was a really good connection for my film. What really gave me this idea is, I love Westerns, and if you Google “woman gunslinger,” you get Annie Oakley or Selma Hayek. And I go, gosh, I wanna be known as a gunslinger that can really fight, you know? My inspiration came from Yellowstone because I just loved Yellowstone. I liked the gritty darkness of it. So when we decided to do my own film, because I've done 70 films – but this is the first time I've decided to take the helm and do my own film. Robert (Clancy) and I were coming up with stories, and he’s like, “What do you wanna do?” And I said, “A Western.” He looked at me like I was crazy. “A Western?” “Yeah.” And he's like, “Okay…”
Henry Parke: I was surprised that you designed and made many of the costumes yourself.
Cynthia Rothrock: Costuming was so expensive. We're like, oh my gosh, that's not in our budget. So (Robert Clancy) and I both did the costumes for the whole entire movie. We researched everything: you can't have this on your boot, you can't have an emblem, no rubber soles, you can't have zippers -- every little detail. We started two years ago with the Kickstarter program. It's funny because, when I did the Kickstarter, all my male peers -- you know, I grew up in this male dominant world?
Henry Parke: Clearly.
Cynthia Rothrock: Being, in the early days, the only female competing against men, I just kind of looked at them as my peers. And a lot of them were saying, don't do a Kickstarter. You're not going to make it. It's going to be embarrassing. There's one actor that has done some big movies, and he failed at (crowd-funding), and they're like, if he failed, why do you think you could do it? And I went, I'm going for it. And we became like the second highest funded action picture in the history of Kickstarter.
Henry Parke: That's great.
Cynthia Rothrock: You know, this was a fan-based production: if it wasn't for the fans supporting us, we wouldn't have been able to do this movie. One of our top incentives for Kickstarter was they could be in a fight scene, or they could have a line in the movie. And we had a lot of people do that. We had people from Greece, England, Australia, a lot of different countries coming just to do this. They did a phenomenal job. We had some working with acting coaches, we would do readings every month and go through the script with everybody. And even if they only had one line, we'd still involve 'em. That's a really good memory for me.
Henry Parke: How many people took part in the Kickstarter program?
Cynthia Rothrock: We had over 500 people. People were saying it was a fluke, right? You'll never do it again. Well, we have the graphic novel for Black Creek coming out as well. We did an Indiegogo campaign for that, and we came in 220% above what we asked for. I just can't wait for everybody to see this because I'm just so proud of it. I'm so proud of everybody – with 14 days and the limited budget -- what we pulled off.
Henry Parke: May I ask what your budget was?
Cynthia Rothrock: It was about $425,000.
Henry Parke: Oh my goodness! I work on a lot of low budget films, so I’m very aware that that is a small amount of money to have something that looks so elegant, and your art direction, your production design, is so impressive.
Cynthia Rothrock: We were drawing how we wanted it
to look, and the stunts; we were so, so much involved in this. But I've had a
lot of people do favors for me. Our music team is sensational. Doing our main
song, and then the ending song, is Jim Peterik, who won a Grammy, and was
nominated for an Oscar, for Eye of the Tiger that he co-wrote for Rocky
III.
And Benjy Gaither, and he currently has a number-one hit song he wrote for George Strait, Three Drinks Behind. And Mark Shearer -- I've never met him, but he’s been a fan of mine. And these three people teamed up and did all our music. And what we would have to pay for that is crazy! We've just been so blessed! And I'm hoping that someone will say, wow, look what she did for two weeks of shooting and this money! If we give her a million or a million and a half and 20 days of shooting, what can you pull off?
Henry Parke: Is this your first screenwriting credit?
Cynthia Rothrock: Yes, it is. First time as a co-writer; first time as a producer. And it was a whole different experience for me, because usually I'm sitting in my trailer and just studying my lines, but now I have no time to sit in my trailer. I knew the script inside out because I was one of the writers, so thank God for that. But I had to be on set all the time to make sure everybody was happy doing their parts, dealing with any issues. It was an eye-opening experience for me, being there way early every morning and then being the last person to leave.
Henry Parke: You said that you were a big Western fan and that Yellowstone inspired you. Do you have any other favorites that inspired you?
Cynthia Rothrock: Tombstone, Outlaw Josey Wales. I remember when Sharon Stone did The Quick and the Dead, I was like, wow, that's really cool that she was doing that role. I liked a lot of the old Westerns that you would see on TV. When I was a kid I’d read about Annie Oakley, that she was this tough woman back in that era, tough with the guys. And it's funny because I grew up in that same kind of situation, you know?
Henry Parke: Tell me a bit about your character, Rose Jennings.
Cynthia Rothrock: She's a little rough; she likes to drink, she's got a little bit of a potty mouth, and isn't afraid of anybody. She’s very close with her family, but it's hard for her to settle down in one place. She takes off for a while, and when she comes back, she finds out that her family was killed. And then all hell is loose. She's getting these people (who killed them), and saving the rest of her family.
Henry Parke: I was kind of overwhelmed by the physical demands this movie places on you. Wearing so many hats, did you have to do a lot of training while making the movie?
Cynthia Rothrock: No, because I was on-set every day, and if it wasn't me rehearsing my scene, I'm with the other actors because none of these actors got to practice. My stunt coordinator knows how I like to move. And everybody is different; they all had their own fight styles, and he was familiar with them. So we put together a composite so they can watch it and study it and say, Hey, is there anything in here you don't like? And then of course, when you get to the set, we would just be rehearsing while cameras were setting up. And if there was something that wasn't good for someone, we would change it on the spot. It was almost like the old Hong Kong fighting: learn it, shoot it. That's how I got my start. I did seven movies in Hong Kong before I came to the United States and then started doing films. My first movie was in 1985, with Michelle Yeoh, we did Yes, Madam.
Henry Parke: I just watched it on Prime, under the title In the Line of Duty II: The Super Cops. It was hysterical.
Cynthia Rothrock: That was my first, and I thought I'd just do one movie, you know? I'm kind of an out of the box person. I never really want to do something that's the same, the same, the same. I always want to try to put some unique flare into it. There was something so unique going to Hong Kong. I didn't think it was going to turn into a career. I thought, oh, I'll just go there and I'll do one movie. And it's funny, in my mind, I was thinking, well, maybe I'll be on the poster and I could show my kids someday, saying, “Hey, look, your mom was in a movie.” It really wasn't my intention that I was going to become an action film star.
Henry Parke: Was Black Creek your first time riding a horse in a film?
Cynthia Rothrock: It was my first time riding a horse on my own. I've gone on trails where you follow the leader. I didn't want to look like I didn't know what I was doing, so the horse wrangler told me, don't put your two hands here, do this here. And actually I got really comfortable with the horse. There's one scene where there were two horses on the side, and me, and they shot some rounds off down below, and it freaked the horses out -- the two horses on the side started bucking. And I just turned my horse around nice and calm and went down the hill. It was funny because someone said to Robert, “Wow, how long has she been riding?” And Robert said, “About two hours.”
Henry Parke: With so many of the smaller westerns, they have no time with the horses, and they have inexperienced riders, and everyone's shouting, “We have to put together a posse and get after those guys!” And they jump on their horses, and walk slowly out of town.
Cynthia Rothrock: I know! I did have an incident on-set with the horse wrangler. The horse was so big, and I'm five foot three, and no matter what, I could not get my foot into the stirrup and get it up over the horse. And so he lifts me up, and I'm like five, five and a half feet off the ground. And he dropped me, and I fell on my right, on my back and on my head. We were off to the side, so nobody saw it. And my hat saved my head, because my hat was kind of like a little helmet, and my belt saved my hip, so I didn't get hurt, but it took the air out of me. And the wrangler goes, “You're a karate girl. You should be used to this kind of stuff.” I said, “When I get on the horse, can I get an apple box to stand on?” He says, “Oh yeah.” And I'm like “Why didn't you think of that in first place?”
Henry Parke: This is the first feature directing credit for Shannon Lanier. Where'd you find him?
Cynthia Rothrock: We had two directors. Shannon was directing the acting scenes. I met him, we talked, and he seemed to have my vision, and he worked in low budget film. I said, “Look, I’m bringing this guy in from Germany for the fights; when it comes fighting, I want him at the helm. I want him with the camera, to direct that,” and he said, “Okay.” So all our acting scenes, Shannon directed, and all the fight scenes, Mike Moeller directed.
Henry Parke: Mike Moeller has quite a resume, doing stunts on the Hunger Games, Matrix, and John Wick films among others. Very impressive.
Cynthia Rothrock: He's so awesome. It's funny, because we brought his stunt team over, and I wanted him to fight me. And he's like, “No, I don't want to fight. I just want to do the choreography.” And I went, “Okay.” And when he saw the trailer, he’s like, “Oh, I should've been in it! I'm fighting in Part Two!”
Henry Parke: I guess you have to be very physically capable to be on a Cynthia Rothrock set. I notice even your cinematographer, Aaron Johnson Araza, is a former stunt man.
Cynthia Rothrock: Yeah. Well, they're moving pretty fast, getting down low with the camera -- it’s good because he understood the action, and that helped us. Aaron would be directing some of the scenes, and we’d go, wow, that's a great shot! It was a collaboration, with everybody pulling this film together.
Henry Parke: What was the most challenging part of making Black Creek?
Cynthia Rothrock: We had 150 people on-set on our
first day. So we did the hardest days right in the beginning. I think the most
challenging part during the whole movie was, are we going to get all these
scenes in? Some of the fight scenes, I wanted more to them, and we had to cut
them down because of time. I'm definitely planning that on Black Creek 2,
every fight scene has one whole day to shoot.
This interview is really exciting for me because you're not in the karate world, you're in the Western world. And that's what we want to do as crossover, not only having Martial Art fans, but get Western fans loving this movie as well. And it's unique because you don't really see Westerns where everybody does Martial Arts
Henry Parke: You certainly don't.
Cynthia Rothrock: (Kickboxing legend) Don “The Dragon” Wilson said to me, “But Cynthia, how could everybody know martial arts? There weren't martial arts schools.” I said, “Don, because the Chinese were there. They came in for the gold rush; they all knew it. They taught it.” He goes, “Oh. Okay.”
Just as I was finishing my editing
of this interview, I learned that Cynthia Rothrock’s close friend and Black
Creek foe Richard Norton had just died. It would be their last of more than
a dozen films together. I asked her if she would like me to include a
remembrance of him.
“I am beyond words and deeply shocked by the sudden passing of my dear friend and fellow martial artist, Richard Norton. The martial arts world has lost a true legend. We shared an incredible journey—starring together in numerous action films, from China O’Brien, Millionaires Express, Rage and Honor to Lady Dragon. I was thrilled to have him join the cast of Black Creek as the formidable antagonist, Damien Sinclair. His performance was nothing short of extraordinary. Our final fight scene together will forever hold a special place in my heart—a moment I’ll always cherish as the last dance of the “Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers” of Martial Arts action. Richard’s talent, kindness, and dedication to Martial Arts will continue to inspire generations to come.”
WESTERN HIGHLIGHTS AT THE TCM
HOLLYWOOD CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL
From Thursday, April 24th
through Sunday, April 27th, The Turner Classic Movies Channel will
hold their wonderful annual Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. Screenings and
other events will be held at the Chinese IMAX Theatre, The Chinese Multiplex,
The Egyptian Theatre, The El Capitan Theatre, and around the pool of The Hollywood
Roosevelt Hotel. While the big packages for attendees can run in the thousands
of dollars, individual screenings are only $20 each, although there’s no
guarantee you’ll get in. This link will take you to the official Festival
website, with complete details: https://filmfestival.tcm.com/
Among screenings of particular interest to Western fans, on Friday they’re showing 1940’s The Mark of Zorro, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Hollywood’s greatest actor/swordsman (just ask him), Basil Rathbone.
On Saturday they will premiere a restoration of 1958’s Gunman’s Walk, directed by Phil Karlson, and starring Van Heflin and Tab Hunter, and introduced by Keith Carradine.
Also on Saturday, on the big Chinese Theatre IMAX screen, they’ll be showing a 35mm VistaVision print of 1957’s Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, directed by John Sturges, starring Burt Lancaster as Wyatt, Kirk Douglas as Doc, John Ireland as Johnny Ringo, Earl Holliman as Charles Bassett, and Dennis Hopper as Billy Clanton.
And on Sunday morning, 1955’s Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, will also be presented on The Chinese Theatre IMAX screen. Directed by Fred “High Noon” Zinnemann, this, the greatest of Western musicals stars Gordon Macrae as Curly, Shirley Jones as Laurey, Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie – who can’t say “no,” and perhaps the only singing film performance by Rod Steiger as Jud Fry! And the film will be discussed by Shirley Jones’ son, Shaun Cassidy.
ONE MORE THING
Until I have a chance to write at
length about the late Val Kilmer’s immense contributions to film in general,
and Westerns in particular, here’s a link to his first lead in a Western. In
1989 he played the title character in Billy the Kid, a Ted
Turner-produced TV Western that was scripted by Gore Vidal, based on his novel,
The Left-Handed Gun, which had first been the source for the 1958 Paul
Newman film.
AND THAT’S A WRAP!
Please check out the March/April
issue of True West Magazine, featuring my article/interview, Kris
Kristofferson: A Texan at Oxford.
And here’s the link to my newest
piece for the INSP blog, What Makes a Great Western Movie, wherein I try
to reverse-engineer some classics to figure out what makes them work.
https://www.insp.com/blog/what-makes-a-great-western-movie/
And if you haven’t snapped up a
copy of my book, The Greatest Westerns Ever Made, and The People Who Made
Them, wait no longer!
Here’s the link to the Amazon page,
but feel free to order it from your local independent bookseller – we have to
keep them in business too!
Happy Trails, Henry
All Original Content Copyright April 2025 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved
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