HALLMARK GREENLIGHTS ‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’ - A NEW WESTERN SERIES!

 

The Hallmark TV movie WHEN CALLS THE HEART is in post production, and will serve as an introduction to a series of ten one-hour episodes of the same title.  Based on the best-selling CANADIAN WEST book series by Janette Oke, the movie stars Maggie Grace, Jean Smart, Lori Laughlin, Poppy Drayton and Stephen Amell.  The cast for the TV-series has not yet been announced. 

 

 

Set in 1910, it’s the story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a cultured teacher who, with misgivings, gives up her comfortable city life to become a teacher in a prairie town on the western frontier.  She’s determined to prove her independence to her doubting family, and her doubting self.  She’s helped in part by drawing inspiration from a late Aunt’s secret diary.  It seems the Aunt had a similar adventure, and similarly had a romance with a Royal Canadian Mountie. 

 

Author Janette Oke and the Hallmark Channel have had a long and successful partnership since 2003, when they first adapted her book LOVE COMES SOFTLY.  It’s led to a dozen titles from the series since then, most or all of them westerns, many with LOVE’S (ADJECTIVE) (NOUN) titles.  The WHEN CALLS THE HEART movie was written and directed by Michael Landon, Jr.      

 

MUSICAL CHAIRS CONTINUE ON ‘JANE GOT A GUN’

 

Natalie Portman in COLD MOUNTAIN

 

But the good news is, when the music stops, it looks like they’ve still got a cast, plus a director.  It had been announced recently that Michael Fassbinder, of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, JONAH HEX, and Magneto of the X-MEN movies, was exiting due to schedule conflicts with another X-MEN movie.  He had been replaced by Australian Joel Edgerton, who plays the Squadron Team Leader in ZERO DARK THIRTY, and will soon be seen as Tom Buchanan in THE GREAT GATSBY. Edgerton had initially been cast as the villain of the piece, but when Fassbinder left, Edgerton was switched to hero, and Jude Law came on board to play the villain.  But no one, least of all star and producer Natalie Portman, was prepared when they reached the set on Monday, March 18^th, for the commencement of principal photography, and learned that director Lynne Ramsay had quit.    

 

The project had begun with an original screenplay by first-timer Brian Duffield, and was a highly touted ‘Black List’ script. (Note: this ‘Black List’ has nothing to do with politics. It is a list of highly respected scripts that haven’t been sold. Stupid name, considering the ‘Black List’ connotation, isn’t it?)  The story concerns Portman’s character, who is married to the head of an outlaw band.  When he comes home, badly wounded, pursued by former underlings who want to finish him off, she turns for help to a former lover, (once Fassbinder, now Edgerton).  Lynne Ramsay, who has garnered great respect as the director of WE’VE GOT TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, had been actively involved with the project from day one, and her abrupt exit has left the town stunned.

 

Portman’s producing partner, Scott Steindorff of Scott Pictures, was livid, and told DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD: “I have millions of dollars invested, we’re ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast.  I’m shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project, and then have the director not show up. It is insane somebody would do this to other people. I feel more for the crew and their families, but we are keeping the show going on, directors are flying in, and a replacement is imminent.”

 

Next to leave, it was revealed Wednesday, is Jude Law, whose interest in the project was based on his wish to work with Lynne Ramsay.  Among those being considered to replace him, according to the Los Angeles Times, are Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, and Jake Gyllenhal.  Maguire starred in the rarely seen but excellent Ang Lee-directed western RIDE WITH THE DEVIL; Bridges has starred in a slew of westerns, most recently TRUE GRIT; Gyllenhal was nominated for an Oscar for Ang Lee’s BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (if you consider sheep-movies to be westerns), and also played Billy Crystal’s son in CITY SLICKERS. 

 

Now it’s been announced that WARRIOR director and co-writer Gavin O’Connor will be sitting in the canvas chair.  He directed Edgerton in WARRIOR, which garnered Nick Nolte a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.  He also directed TUMBLEWEEDS (1999), which earned a Best Actress nomination for Janet McTeer, and directed the hugely popular hockey film MIRACLE (2004).  With so much money and so many jobs on the line, this highly talented group should be able to pull it off. 

 

MIKE GAGLIO REPORTS FROM ‘QUICK DRAW’ SET

 

Mike Gaglio (left) in AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES

 

When I learned that the folks at Hulu, the downloading site, were making their own western series, I was excited.  They were shooting eight episodes over four weeks at the Paramount Ranch.  But all the people involved were a little…gun shy... when I contacted them.  They weren’t having any press on the set.  Then I learned they were casting dress extras, and I thought I might sneak on-board that way.  But it turned out to be a S.A.G. shoot, so I couldn’t get on that way either.

 

Then I learned that actor, musician and all-around good-guy Mike Gaglio had a part in the show.  Mike has more than forty film and TV credits, including AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES, and I thought I might learn a little about it from him.   

 

“I was told I have a part in this movie.  I met up with some friends, and as soon as we got there, this guy goes, ‘So you’re our dead body extras, right?’  And half the cowboys are going, ‘Hell no, I’m not an extra; I’m an actor, and I was guaranteed lines in this movie.’  (Laughs)  They’re all pissed off.  And the kid who’s wrangling us goes, ‘We don’t have any use for that.  What we need is a bunch of dead bodies laying around, that the good guys have shot up.’  They put us across the stream from the big stars, the stream that runs right through Paramount Ranch.

 

“There’s six of us extras; he gave us each a number, and he said, ‘When I call out your number, you fall down dead.’  I was crouched down behind a tree.  They called out my number, I flipped over, dead.  And that was it.  And I laid there, and it rained on me for a little while, and I fell asleep for about an hour.  When I did wake up they had gone on to the dialog part.  But we still had to lie there.”

 

It turned out to be a comedy, and the actors were from Comedy Central.  “There was no script.  It’s all improv.  I was first told I had a week of work; but because I was killed off in the very first scene, they didn’t want me back.  Then I got a call that I had one more day on the show.  This time we were street people, just walking back and forth in front of the saloon.  They were really nice; they fed us extremely well. The costume lady was great.  She did some of the costuming for DEADWOOD.  The costumes were really ratty; they were rentals from Western Costume, but they looked very ‘DEADWOODY’.  A very accurate look to them.”   I guess I shouldn’t be too jealous about not getting to be a dress extra.       

That'll be it for this week's Round-up.  I apologize for the several changes of type in this posting -- the software is giving me a hard time for unknown reasons.  Have a great week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright March 2013 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

 

INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER BARRY BARNHOLTZ

Today there are quite a few working producers who have made a Western, a very few who have made two, but none have shown the commitment to the genre that Barry Barnholtz has in the past few years.  After producing TRIGGER FAST and GUNS OF HONOR back-to-back in 1994, he came back to the form with a vengeance: since 2009 he’s produced ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE, A COLD DAY IN HELL, AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES, COLE YOUNGER & THE BLACK TRAIN, and just this year two more back-to-back releases, WYATT EARP’S REVENGE, and BAD BLOOD: HATFIELDS AND MCCOYS.  We talked about his start in the entertainment business, his personal feelings about Westerns, and his five-year-plan for the future.  

Barry Barnholtz at BAD BLOOD: HATFIELDS AND MCCOYS preview

H: Let me tell you first off, how much I enjoyed BAD BLOOD: HATFIELDS AND MCCOYS.  It was really solid storytelling and entertainment.  I also watched the Kevin Costner mini-series, and they did a very nice job, but I’ve got to say, I liked yours better.  I think your decision to compress the historical events into a shorter time period, rather than drawing it out, was crucial.

BARRY:  Thank you so much. I haven’t seen the other one, but I’ve been told that it had very limited action.  You know, LIONSGATE released ours, it was very well received, and I think everyone on the crew gave it 1,500%, not 100%.  I thought that the talent went over and beyond, and gave it their very very very best.  The writer-director, Fred Olen Ray, this was close to his heart, this was a passion.  He’s from that part of our nation.  He had a personal involvement in it, and really wanted to provide more than 1500%, and I think that he certainly delivered that.

H: I think his personal involvement comes through in that, and in AMERICAN BANDITS.

B: Right; exactly.  He delivered on HATFIELDS.  And the locations were outstanding; we couldn’t have shot this on the west coast.  This had to be shot showing Kentucky locations, where it happened, you know?  To be as real to the story as possible.  It was very cold when we were shooting there.  And they put up with the cold, with the rain.   This not the most pleasant thing to shoot, so you can see how over and beyond everyone went.  The director’s like the captain of the ship.  And when it’s rainy and cold outside, and the director’s willing to stand outside, in the rain, and be a part of that scenario, the talent will follow.  And Fred really proved himself to be the great director that he is.  A lot of research was done on the story.  Fred put a lot of detail into it.  The opening scene, the (Civil War) battle scenes with almost a hundred extras, really added to the production value.  And the film really delivers.

H: Let me back up a bit.  I hear a trace of a not-California accent.  Where were you born?

B: I was actually born in the Midwest, but I spent a lot of time in Europe.  Had an apartment in Cannes, France.  Spent some time in England.  I travelled a lot.

H: When did you decide you wanted to make movies?

B: I came out of the music industry.  Been there ever since I was in high school.  I knew I wanted to be involved in the entertainment industry.  I began actually, booking fraternity parties.  And then moving up to promoting occasional dance concerts, to then promoting larger concerts, like the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara, Old Spanish Days up there, Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino and larger venues.  Then I went on to producing records.  I guess I was semi- responsible for three platinum and fifteen or sixteen gold records.  What I did, when disco was hot, was I located all of these African-American tracks down at Muscle Shoals (note: the legendary Alabama recording studio).  Put Japanese lyrics to them, French lyrics, Italian lyrics, distributed worldwide.  I had a nightclub on Sunset Boulevard that became world-renowned, called Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco.  And it was responsible for breaking MOTT THE HOOPLE and SLADE.  We were responsible for that whole glitter sensation.  David Bowie was the chairman of the board.  We made the centerfold of PEOPLE.  We were in NEWSWEEK twice in a month; about 320 different publications.  Then I went on to booking films on TV; SPOTLIGHT, HBO, SHOWTIME.  TV in greater Washington, and handling independent films.  Then I started a (video) company called VIDMARK in ‘83.  And turned it into TRIMARK in 1985, so I was co-cofounder of TRIMARK.  We took it public, and it was a real success story.  And I was there for 14 ½ years.  The company was sold to LIONSGATE, and currently I’ve had almost a sixteen year relationship with LIONSGATE, in releasing films.  They have over 200 films that I’ve been involved with.  I teamed up with a fellow named Jeff Schenck almost four years ago, and with him started a company called HYBRID.  Jeff and I have made almost twenty films in that short period of time.  Mostly things for television; LIFETIME, SYFY, HALLMARK, ABC FAMILY.

MOTT THE HOOPLE

H: As you know, my focus with the Round-up is Westerns.  Were you a western fan as a kid?

B: I think everyone is a western fan as a kid.  With the lack of Westerns in the market place, if you ask any director, or any talent, if they’d like to be involved with a western, they all jump in immediately, and are very excited about the project.  If the script is very good, it really isn’t a problem attracting talent, because it’s something they grew up with as well. 

H: I was just watching what I think is one of your first westerns, TRIGGER FAST, this afternoon.  You made that and GUNS OF HONOR in ’94.  Were they your first westerns?

B: I believe so.  They were shot in South Africa. 

H: They’re both based on ‘The Floating Outfit’ stories by English western writer J.T. Edson, and I notice they both have the same very strong cast; Martin Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Christopher Atkins.  Are they different ‘cuts’ of the same story?

B: Each one is a stand-alone.  (One is a continuation of the other) but each can stand alone. 

H: How did they come about?

B: I was at TRIMARK when I was approached by someone that I thought was very capable of producing films, in London.  And their vision was to go to South Africa, and to make these films. 

H: TRIGGER FAST is a beautiful looking picture; South Africa works very well as the west.

B: It’s amazing, because of all the horses – it was less expensive to buy the horses and then resell them than to lease the horses. 

H: For the next several years you produced a wide range of movies: thrillers, horror films, Christmas pictures, family pictures.  But it wasn’t until 2009 that you made another Western.

B: I’m always looking at opportunities; and the opportunity didn’t come about until then.  Sure, a lot of scripts are introduced to me; I read a lot of scripts every week.  But I just didn’t feel that any were well-enough written, or they could not be negotiated, or I didn’t think the idea was strong enough to turn into a film. 

H: Well, in 2009 you returned to the western with ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE, which I understand is one of the last films of David Carradine. 

B: It was his last western anyway. 

H: Was that a project someone brought to you?

B: Yes; the project was brought to us, but we were instrumental in casting.  And I thought that David Carradine was a good choice. 

H: I’ve never seen when David Carradine was not a good choice.  I notice your company’s logo features a horse’s face. 

B: Yuh; I’ve had horses in my life now for twenty-five years.  That’s actually my first horse that I had.  I’ve retired him; he lives up in Ojai.  He was a cutting horse; grandson of Peppy San, a very famous cutting horse. (Note: Peppy San is the first National Cutting Horse Association World Champion to sire an NCHA World Champion.)   Sure made me a better rider, to get such a unique, spirited horse as my first horse.  I’ve always ridden in the past, even as a teenager.  Always had a passion to ride horses, and now I have four, right in my backyard.

H: In 2010 you and Jeffrey Schenck produced AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES.  Since then, among the thrillers and Christmas movies and comedies, you’ve produced two more westerns back to-back: WYATT EARP’S REVENGE and BAD BLOOD: HATFIELDS & MCCOYS.  And that’s not even counting your other two westerns of the same period, COLD DAY IN HELL and COLE YOUNGER AND THE BLACK TRAIN.  Why have you decided that this is the right time for westerns?

B: Well, I think that there is a real lack of westerns in the marketplace.  In my library of films, I have HIGH NOON; I have STAGECOACH, THE LAST DAYS OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES with Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash.  I had an opportunity to meet the ‘Highwaymen’ when they were around.  I also have ANOTHER PAIR OF ACES with Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.  And a movie with Travis Tritt, THE LONG KILL, that we shot in Spain.  I’ve released nearly 900 films.

H: Most of your westerns of the past few years are based on historical figures: the James Brothers, Wyatt Earp, Hatfields & McCoys, Cole Younger.  Does this reflect your personal interest in Western history?

B: You know, if you make a film about an icon, people can identify it easier.  If you make a film about Billy the Kid, if you make a film about Wyatt Earp, they’re iconic, and people can relate to them.  So it’s easier to get that into the marketplace, than if you just make a western with a created character.  If you have Wyatt Earp or Billy the Kid in the title, it’s almost like having ‘A Stephen King Film,’ above the title.  It makes it a lot more desirable in the marketplace. 

H: Speaking of the marketplace, what is the worldwide market for westerns like?  What countries want to see them?

B: There’s a little bit in Canada, because of Calgary.  There’s Australia; there’s a little bit in the U.K., couple other territories.  Italy, because of the spaghetti westerns.  In Spain, somewhat.  But it’s really limited outside North America.

H: How about Germany?  I know they used to be huge,

B: It’s limited; it’s hit and miss.  And DVD has certainly changed the marketplace.  Video’s disappearing in the international marketplace.  So you have to have it in some form that people are willing and able to see. VOD and SVOD -- video on demand and subscription video on demand -- and things of that nature; it hasn’t taken off in the States yet.  It’s starting to take hold in the UK and France; slowly it’s expanding.  There’s a lot of piracy in a lot of the territories, international distribution.  Once it’s out there, it’s pretty difficult to stop it, because downloading entities are sprouting up on a daily basis.

H: I don’t think the audience has a very clear understanding of the executive producer’s role in filmmaking.  How would you explain your role?

B: I’m involved with raising or putting up the financing.   I’m involved with hiring the director, the producer, and a big part of the crew.  I make the decisions on the casting, because I have a distribution background, and that really helps in figuring out what names really mean something for all the different ancillaries, whether it be theatrical, video, VOD, television.  And of course I depend upon Jeff, who has a high degree of knowledge in the TV marketplace as well.  What we don’t know we have no shame in asking.  International sales companies, how they feel about certain talent, in order to be able to make intelligent decisions.  We’re not interested in making an art house film.  We’re not interested in making a film that has to go on a film festival circuit to find distribution.  With the contacts that we have, we’re making it with distribution in mind. 

H: How involved are you with script development?

B: Jeff has more of a handle on that than I do.  He has a better idea of what makes a good script than I do.  I’m better with the timing of the script.

H: I had an email from a woman who said she didn’t consider a movie to be a western if it didn’t have a barroom fight.  What things do you think a western must have?

B: It has to have a barroom fight.  People want to see gunshots, and they want pacing.  They don’t want to see too much before there’s a certain amount of action, to be able to keep their level of interest.  I certainly believe in starting out films with a ‘bang,’ whether it’s a western or a thriller; in most genres, except for a comedy or a romantic comedy.   It’s got to have a shootout; multiple shootouts.  They want to hear loud gunshots, they want to hear ricochets; they want to hear the guns sound real, not cap guns.  They want to see that the acting is good.  They want to see that the wardrobe is pretty authentic.  And the locations as well mean a tremendous amount.  They want to see talent that knows how to ride horses.  We had trouble with some of the people riding in a couple of the westerns, even though the actors said they were experienced riders.  We saw them bouncing on the saddle.  So we had to dress them in longer jackets so you didn’t see them bouncing.  You need people who know how to ride; audiences know the difference. 

H: It seems to me, just looking at your westerns, that there is a steady progression from AMERICAN BANDITS to WYATT EARP to THE HATFIELDS.

B: The movies have been increasing in size.  And they’re going to continue to.   And we’re stepping up, and trying to go for bigger and better talent all the time.    That’s our five-year plan.  It’s within our future, yes.

H: I had the pleasure of being on your WYATT EARP set, so I know how efficiently your sets run.  I was fascinated to see director Michael Feiffer finish a shot and, without cutting, literally pick up the camera and change the setup.  I thought, that could only be with digital; you couldn’t do that with film.  How has the move from film to digital affected your movies? 

B: Well, all the broadcasters now want HD.  And listen, it’s so much easier to shoot on HD now, where, if you made a mistake, you can see right away, instead of having to print dailies.  The future is right now, it’s here.  And the cameras are changing all the time.  You buy a new camera now, and in two years it’s outdated, because the progression of new cameras are coming out more than just yearly.

H: I know that Michael Feiffer has directed more than twenty projects for you.  What keeps you coming back to him? 

B: I started out with Michael doing the serial killer films.  And he has a long history of producing and directing.  He’s someone that I have faith with.  But we are diversifying, and at this point constantly seeking new directors to work with.  And new producers as well. 

H: Do you have a group of people in front of and behind the camera, a kind of stock company that you like to use again and again? 

B: We use some of the same crew on different projects – obviously it depends upon availability.  But having the luxury of shooting many of our films in and around Southern California, there’s a huge pool to be able to pull from.

H: Are you looking to get into theatrical releases, as opposed to home video?

B: We’ve been releasing things theatrically at BARNHOLTZ ENTERTAINMENT now for a long time.  Jeff and I, through HYBRID, we’re very secure in making TV-type of movies.   But our direction, within our five year plan, and with the type of elements that we’re bringing in, will certainly command theatrical opening and theatrical success, for the amount of money that we’re spending on them.  And the talent that we’re working with.

H: Where are you within your five year plan?

B: We just made a decision within the last year to make this five year plan.  And that’s why you see the natural progression of making bigger and bigger films. 

H: Have you chosen what your next Western project is?

B: No.  Not as yet. 

H: Have you considered doing sequels or follow-ups to any of the westerns you’ve done before?

B: I haven’t really thought about it.  We’re in negotiations on one; I can’t divulge the title yet. 

H: What are your favorite western movies?

B: I love STAGECOACH; I love HIGH NOON.  I like the movies I’ve been involved with in the past.  It was such a pleasure to be able to work with the elements on FRANK AND JESSE JAMES, and very exciting to be able to work with talented actors.  I’m noticing that there are a lot of country and western singers who would love to be given the opportunity to be in westerns as well. 

WYATT EARP’S REVENGE – a film review

WYATT EARP’S REVENGE, the new Western directed by Michael Feifer from Darren Benjamin Shepherd’s script, rewinds history to the very beginning of the Wyatt Earp legend and in addition to entertaining, to a surprising degree, it gives an accurate history lesson.  In 1878, a rich, spoiled, sociopathic thug named Spike Kenedy (Daniel Booko), angry at the Dodge City mayor, Dog Kelly, fires several shots through Kelly’s door, then rides away, thinking he’s killed the mayor.  In fact, Kelly is not home, and has let a couple of actresses sleep in his house.  One of them, Dora Hand (AMERICAN IDOL finalist Diana DeGarmo), takes a bullet meant for Dog Kelly, and dies.   

To see the cast of famous lawman characters that populate the tale, you might think screenwriter Shepherd was fantasizing – everyone but Wild Bill Hickock and Hopalong Cassidy are in the posse --  but that’s the honest truth.  When Wyatt Earp (Shawn Roberts) takes off after Spike, he’s accompanied by Bat Masterson (Matt Dallas), Charlie Bassett (Scott Whyte), and they’re soon joined by expert tracker Bill Tilghman (Levi Fiehler).  Granted, they do toss in Doc Holliday (HART OF DIXIE star Wilson Bethel), but it’s an amusing cameo that doesn’t really re-write history, and brings some much-appreciated levity to a very grim story.

Earp and his men are in a race against time to catch Spike and his brother Sam Kenedy (Steven Grayhm) before they can reach the property of their influential politico-father Mifflin Kenedy (singer Trace Adkins), at which point Spike will be all but untouchable.

Shawn Roberts as Wyatt Earp - 1878

There is a second, parallel story as well, where Wyatt Earp, in a San Francisco hotel in 1907, is being interviewed by a reporter about the events of 1878.  Here, Earp is Val Kilmer, old and dignified, and his thoughtful, introspective narration, heard at intervals throughout the story, adds a welcome gravitas to the proceedings.  Kilmer’s performance as a man haunted by his life-choices is quietly powerful. His dignity is all the more effective when faced with the arrogant questions of the callow reporter (David O’Donnell). 

Val Kilmer as Wyatt Earp - 1907

Shawn Roberts as Earp gives a sincere but understated performance, understated by necessity since Kilmer is frequently voicing his thoughts, and one can easily see the younger man growing into the older one.  Dora Hand is dead before we meet her, but in a series of flashbacks we learn that she was Earp’s woman, and on the way to being his wife, and while this is all invention, it gives important impetus to Earp’s hunt for Spike. 

Trace Adkins looks like he stepped right out of a Matthew Brady photograph, and although his role is brief, his fatherly quiet fury is moving and effective, complimented by Caia Coley as his wife, the too-indulgent mother of Spike and Sam. 

Trace Adkins as Mifflin Kenedy

While the members of Wyatt's posse are all familiar characters, the script doesn't give the actors  much chance to make an impression in their individual roles. Matt Dallas as Bat Masterson comes off the best, introduced with an elaborate fist-fight at the beginning of the story, before the chase is on, and later is effective as Wyatt’s best friend. 

Matt Dallas as Bat Masterson

Interestingly, the best role, and most memorable performance is by Daniel Booko as the villain of the piece, Spike Kenedy, whose treatment of people he meets along the way is the stuff of nightmares.  Spike may have a screw loose, or he may simply be a sadist, but Booko plays him with an smooth charm that chills, because you can easily see yourself making the mistake of trusting him. 

Daniel Booko as Spike Kenedy

There’s plenty of action, between the posse’s pursuit of Spike and company, the trigger-happy lowlifes Spike travels with, and Spike’s almost arbitrary homicidal tendencies.  An extended shootout between the posse and Spike’s gang, in a field with no cover except tall grass, is particularly exciting.

Michael Feifer’s direction is effective without distracting artifice.  Working with cinematographer Roberto Schein, the lighting and shot composition is always effective and frequently striking, as in the ‘forensic’ sequence at the crime scene.  Subtle use of a crane gives some scenes a considerable power-boost.  Christian Ramirez’s art direction gives a consistent sense of time and place, and Nikki Pelley’s costumes are correct, yet unusually varied, giving each character their own style.

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RIDE LONESOME: THE FILMS OF BUDD BOETTICHER – THE CURATOR’S PERSPECTIVE

Paul Malcolm, who has been a programmer at the UCLA Archive since 2007, has a wide range of film interests, and describes himself as a ‘generalist.’  But as he proved with last year’s TRACKING THE CAT: ROBERT MITCHUM IN THE WEST, he has a taste for cinema-sagebrush.  “I think Robert Mitchum’s western films had been overlooked, overwhelmed by his noir and urban personality.  And I love his westerns because there’s so much of that noir element in them.  The Mitchum series did really well for us; the audience was really responsive.  I’m a huge fan of westerns, and I just wanted to do another western series.

“I met Budd Boetticher back in 2000 or 2001, when I was getting my masters degree at UCLA, and Professor Janet Bergstrom arranged a meeting with Budd and Mary at his home down in San Diego, for herself and three teaching assistants.  She was teaching a noir class, and she had screened THE KILLER IS LOOSE in the class.  I just found him to be the most gracious and engaging and amazing guy.  And he was just an incredible host to give us an afternoon.  He showed us his horses, and the ring where he did the bullfighting recreations.  I’d just always loved his films, so when I got the job here in 2007, it was always in the back of my mind, doing a Budd Boetticher series.  Because his films, both the crime films like THE KILLER IS LOOSE and THE RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND, and the Ranown Westerns, I haven’t seen play around in Los Angeles, and I think they deserve to be shown.  THE TALL T, RIDE LONESOME, I think all of these films should be part of the regular classic circulating titles out there, in the way that the Howard Hawks, the John Ford films get circulated.  He’s had these peaks of attention, but he’s never really quite gotten into the regular pantheon, and I think he deserves to be there.  His films are pretty amazing.”   

The schedule, all double features, are as follows: July 21^st  Ride Lonesome (1959);
Comanche Station (1960), July 22^nd Bullfighter and the Lady (1951);
My Kingdom for... (1985), July 29^th Seminole (1953);
The Man from the Alamo (1953), August 6^th The Killer is Loose (1956);
The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), and August 12^th Escape in the Fog (1945);
Behind Locked Doors (1948).  Learn more, and order tickets, here: http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2012-07-13/ride-lonesome-films-budd-boetticher

On hand for the July 22^nd screening of BULLFIGHTER AND THE LADY will be Mary Boetticher, and Robert Gitt, UCLA Preservation Officer, who did the restoration on BULLFIGHTER.

Just a side note; on Friday evening, as SEVEN MEN FROM NOW began, with applause for various credits, a man in his late teens, and his father, sitting beside me, applauded vigorously for composer Henry Vars.  After the movie, I learned that they were the grandson and great-grandson of the prolific and talented composer, far better known in his homeland of Poland, and most famous here for his music for FLIPPER.  SEVEN MEN was produced by Andrew V. McLaglen, and they told me that McLaglen used Vars frequently.  In fact, Vars composed the scores for five films that McLaglen directed: FRECKLES, THE LITTLE SHERHERD OF KINGDON COME, MAN IN THE VAULT, GUN THE MAN DOWN, and Vars’ final score, FOOL’S PARADE.  (You never know who you’ll meet at a screening in L.A.)

ANYONE KNOW THE HUDKINS BROTHERS?

This week I received a message from Kristine Sader: “I am writing a book about my uncles, the Hudkins, and also my cousin Rich Brehm, who were stuntmen, and wranglers in many westerns.  If you know anyone who knew them, I would like to talk with them.  Thanks so much.”

John ‘Bear’ Hudkins, Ace Hudkins, Clyde Hudkins, and Dick Hudkins (I think they were all brothers) were legendary stuntmen, who owned a stable and Hudkins Brothers Movie Ranch in Burbank, across the road from Warner Brothers Studios – the movie ranch is now Forest Lawn Cemetery.  They’re said to have owned both Trigger and Hi-Yo Silver when they were rental horses. 

Thanks to Boyd Mager for this image

As Neil Summers writes, “When you watch classic action filled westerns and see a ferocious wagon wreck, or turnover as they are called in the business, chances are real good you’re seeing the expertise of Bear Hudkins, one of the best wagon men ever to perform in films.”

If you have knowledge of the Hudkins, or Rich Brehm, e-mail her at SADERWWJD@AOL.COM.  And please let the Round-up know, as well.

Well, that's it for tonight.  Have a great week!

Happy trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright July 2012 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved

'BANDITS' TALK WITH FRED OLEN RAY

UPDATED THURSDAY JULY 1ST -- SEE AMC 4TH OF JULY SALUTE BELOW

I recently interviewed writer-director Fred Olen Ray on the eve of the release of AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES. To read my review of BANDITS, CLICK HERE. I knew that Ray was a prolific director, but not how many times he’d sat in the director’s chair.
FRED: I don’t actually know. I stopped counting some time ago, but it’s close to 100.
HENRY: What year did you make your first?
F: The very first film I ever worked on was in 1975. The first one I directed was probably 1977.
H: You’re primarily known for crime and action, sci-fi and horror. Why did you decide to make a western this time?
F: Well, I don’t actually choose a lot of the projects that we do. We’re like anyone else, we get a job offered, and we take it or don’t take it. And we try to do the kind of films that other people are wanting to pay for. And I had made a western before that was very successful.
H: What was that called?
F: When we first did it, it was called THE SHOOTER (1997, starring Michael Dudikoff and Randy Travis). And then on the Western Channel they played it as DESERT SHOOTER. Plays pretty often on TV now. No one ever finances (westerns) any more, so you figure if you get a chance to do a western, that may be the only opportunity in your whole career, so we jumped at it. And it turned out pretty well. It had been nominated for a GOLDEN BOOT AWARD for best picture, but at the budget that it was made at, it wasn’t going to compete with the other films, and we lost out to LAST STAND AT SABRE RIVER (1997). That was a PBS or TNT thing.
H: Oh right, with Tom Selleck, from the Elmore Leonard novel.
F: Right now, the domestic market is actually looking for westerns again. There’s an upswing of westerns. Of course, when Buster Crabbe and those guys were making westerns in the 1940s, there were three or four western towns that you could film at for varying budget levels. Everyone had horses and everyone had wagons, and costumes and their stunt guys who did horse-work. Nowadays, because westerns have been pretty dead, these things don’t exist anymore. They don’t exist at the level that makes it easy to make a low-budget western, and everybody that comes to you wants it to be low-budget. You keep trying to tell them it’s very difficult to do a movie where every single item has to be a period piece. It means renting everything – a guy can’t even wear his own shoes to the set. Everything has to be rented – every prop, every gun. And you know they do a lot of CG (computer generated) gunfire now, but you can’t do that in a western, because there’s so much black-powder smoke that you feel obliged to use blanks. Then there are horses that have to be wrangled. You know, making a western now, if you don’t have a lot of money, that’s a tough way to go, but we did it. I don’t know if we’ll do it again. Everyone wants us to do another one, because the one we did was pretty well received, or at least it has been so far.
H: Talking about western towns, I just spent yesterday at Peetzburgh.
F: Well that’s where part of this was shot. I just spoke to Pete Shereyko two days ago, and that’s an interesting place. We managed to shoot a little bit outside of his buildings, but for the most part what was done there was done interior.
H: I was in the interiors, and they really looked very nice.
F: We actually cleared one half of the saloon area, and made it into the doctor’s office, and it worked pretty well. And Pete has a lot of clothes and he has a lot of guns and this and that, and it does make it a little more manageable, but you still need that all-important either country-side or exterior western town, and if Paramount Ranch doesn’t suit you, or Sable Ranch doesn’t suit you, the price starts going up dramatically. We shot at Melody Ranch for THE SHOOTER. And it was so expensive the producers wouldn’t let us shoot the interiors, because they didn’t want to pay for this big town and then be stuck inside a room. So all the sheriff’s (office) interiors and saloon interiors were all done at Sable Ranch on sets that were dilapidated and falling down, and then when they would walk out they’d be at Melody Ranch. (laughs) So as they came and went they were changing locations.
H: Now you wrote this one as well as directed it?
F: Yes, I wrote it because the budget was limited. I don’t consider myself a writer, I don’t actually like the act of writing. I do it sometimes because I know I can make the movie for the money the producers want to spend if I control that part. That’s the front line of defense, to write the script for the locations that you know, and in a way that you can make it for the money. I was interested in the Jesse James story because my family has a distant relationship to them. I studied up on that. And I am also a Civil War buff, I’m a member of Sons of Confederate Veterans. I was interested in the plight of people after the Civil War. It’s more of a post-Civil War film than a western. It’s pre-cowboy era. It addresses the tough times, the situations the people in the border states found themselves in after being on the wrong side of the war when it ended. We’re not too preachy, but I certainly portray that, and nobody’s busted me for that, so why not?
H: Why not indeed. Now Peter Fonda, coming off his recent success in 3:10 TO YUMA (2007) is top-billed. How did you like working with him?
F: Well, he may look like he’s top-billed on the box-cover, but he’s actually last-billed on the film. He was somebody we were really looking forward to having, because he’s very iconic. And for one moment in time it looked like it wasn’t going to happen. We had made the deal, and I had spoken to him in France, and coming back on the plane, he fell on the jet-way. He busted his jaw open, and he had to have stitches. And (his people) were saying, he can’t be there on this day, and he could probably be ready in a week.
And that’s a week after the movie shoot had ended. So we thought, let’s not get ourselves caught in a tough spot here. Let’s go ahead and film these scenes anyway with a different actor. And if Peter Fonda comes in, we’ll re-shoot them. But if he never shows up, we’re not sitting here with a movie that’s unfinished. So an actor named Greg Evigan came in filmed that role. It was really tough to let go of it because Greg gave it everything he had, everybody did it to the very best of their ability, we were very happy with it and a few days later, after the movie had wrapped, we heard, ‘Okay, Peter Fonda’s ready!’ So we shot the scenes over again with (Peter Fonda), and those are what we used in the movie.
H: I just saw Greg Evigan in the other recent western, 6 GUNS (2010).
F: Yuh, that was actually made some time after ours but came out before ours. The people who made it (The Asylum) are like a film machine – they just grind them out as quickly as possible, and they’ll wrap one week and two weeks later you see it on a shelf somewhere. (laughs) We don’t operate with that kind of speed or efficiency around here!
H: How about the casting of Frank and Jesse James?
F: Well, I brought in a guy named Tim Abell, who worked for me a lot. He was on SOLDIER OF FORTUNE, INC. (1997-1999), the TV series. I had been working with Tim since the very beginning of his career. I knew he was good with horses, I knew he was good with guns, and he had that look that I thought was the way to go. And when everybody saw and met Tim, everybody agreed: this guy is Frank James. And this isn’t really a movie about Jesse James, it’s a movie about Frank James that Jesse James happens to be in. If you watch the film, you may agree.
H: I noticed that Frank gets top billing in the title, which I thought was a nice change.
F: Well you know, it always has to be ‘Frank and Jesse James’ because if you were to reverse it, then the name ‘Jesse James’ would not appear in the title of the film. It would be ‘Jesse and Frank James.’ And it was always Frank and Jesse, because Frank was older. People were asking me if it was possible that a lawman wouldn’t know which one was Frank and which one was Jesse. And I said, absolutely. They were only four years apart, and with most wanted posters being drawings of people, and people growing beards and mustaches all the time, unless somebody was extremely distinctive, there’s a good chance that you’d have to ask which one they were. Now some of the Confederate history guys commented on a few things that were probably not (historically) correct. I said, look, I can’t be the art department, the wardrobe department, and the gun department. I’m the director, I’ll drop back and blame everybody else for every little technical imperfection. I was trying to tell a story.
H: What projects are you working on now?
F: Well, you know, we have another western in the hopper, and we were all set to make it. We’d raised the money and everything. And then we started having cold feet about the foreign territory not returning the money that would justify the risk. And we may yet make that if somebody else wants to put up the money for it. So we’re going back to what we usually do, which is a sort of sci-fi/monster movie. We’re making a movie about a giant shark next.
H: I saw something online about a Sasquatch meeting a Chupacabra (the perhaps mythical ‘goat–blood sucker’).
F: That’s something we had been developing in secret, and we got wind that someone else might be jumping on that bandwagon, so we decided to go ahead and promote the Hell out of it. I’m not planning to make it for a few months. But I wanted to let other people know that we did have this project and we were planning to make it, as a way of sort of warding off copycats. Once we announced that we got contacted by all kinds of people who either wanted to provide a musical score, or wanted to be the writer, or whatever. We actually did hire one of the guys who contacted us to write the shark movie, so I guess it worked out for him.
H: I guess so. What are your favorites of your own films?
F: You know, THE SHOOTER is probably at the top of my very short list. It was well-acted, it was staged properly, I really enjoyed that film. Most of the films we make, it’s like a contractor – which are the favorite houses that you built? Most of the films, we do because someone’s paying us to do it. It’s a job, this isn’t a hobby. Any film that I do that is successful, I’m happy about. I did a film called ACCIDENTAL CHRISTMAS (2007), and Lifetime Channel picked it up as a world premiere, and it plays five or six times a year. So, I’m really fond of that film just because it was successful. And I just did a movie the SyFy Channel has run a couple of times in just the last week called SEA SNAKES (aka SILENT VENOM 2009), with Luke Perry and Tom Berenger. I’m happy with that because it validated itself and people liked it. And if Paramount or Warner Brothers or 20th Century Fox buys one of my films, I’m happy with those films, because it’s hard to get a bigger, better. I’m still waiting for Universal to buy one of my films, but I’ve got all the other top labels.
H: What are your favorite westerns? What westerns have influenced you?
F: I enjoyed FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965). Of those Italian-type westerns, that’s probably my favorite. I worked with Lee Van Cleef in ARMED RESPONSE (1986), another of my very short list of films that are my top favorites. I like the Leone westerns. I liked DJANGO (1966), I liked a movie called KEOMA (1976) which was another Franco Nero film. In THE SHOOTER there are nods to KEOMA. In that film, I believe the guy looks up at one point, there’s a lightning flash, and an old woman looks like a young girl from his past. And I did that when Michael Dudikoff is crucified, he looked down at this prostitute holding an axe. And the lightning flashed, and he saw a woman who you’d only seen in a photograph in his Bible, which was he dead wife. You see her for one brief moment looking up, and then it flashes back, and it’s the prostitute. That came right from KEOMA. There’s probably some other things.
H: How about American westerns?
F: I watched STALKING MOON (1968) recently, I enjoyed that. John Wayne films from the late fifties to the late sixties are my favorite. I liked RIO LOBO, I liked RIO BRAVO, I liked CHISUM, BIG JAKE is one of my all-time favorites. Not a fan of THE WAR WAGON. I kind of like the one with Rock Hudson, where he’s the Confederate, UNDEFEATED. THE SHOOTIST is a great picture. I was lucky enough to connect up and direct John Carradine in some films as well, toward the end of his life, so we had a chance to talk about all of that. I’m doing Billy the Kid next – that’ll be the next one.
H: Can I announce that?
F: Well, that’s what everybody wants. It’s not what Fred wants, but you know what? People say, you’ve got to have a famous character name, and they want Billy the Kid. It’s going to bend all the rules, and we’re not going to follow the real history. I’m going to follow Billy the Kid as if Buster Crabbe was playing the role again. I’ll just make a story about him.
H: I love those old Buster Crabbe, PRC things.
F: You know it’s very funny because I directed Buster Crabbe in a movie.
H: Really, what was it?
F: It was called THE ALIEN DEAD (1980), and it was one of the last things he did. At one point his career sort of stopped. I said, Buster, why did you choose to stop acting? He said, “Well, I’ll tell you, kid. The budgets on these westerns had gotten so low. It was the end of the day, the sun was going down. The producer took me aside, he whispered in my ear. I got on my horse, I raised my hand to all the guys in my posse, I said, ‘Guys, we’re gonna ride to the bottom of the hill, we’ll dismount, and take ‘em by foot.’ And they all rode to the bottom of the hill, jumped off their horses and ran up the hill on foot because at five o’clock the horses went into overtime, and they didn’t want to pay for it.” Buster said, “That was it. When I went home that night I said, that’s it, I’ve had it!” And he retired from films for a while until he did CAPTAIN GALLANT in the fifties. But he sure did make a lot of films.
H: What more can you tell me about BANDITS?
F: We all very much enjoyed making AMERICAN BANDITS. It was originally called SCOFIELD .45, named after the gun, and nobody wanted to call it that but me, so I said, great, I’ll put that title in my back pocket, you’ll be sorry. They wanted to call it AMERICAN BANDITS, I said, dude, there’s a movie called AMERICAN OUTLAWS (2001) about Jesse James already. I don’t really care what you call it. But when you see the film, it’s not a shoot ‘em up. I said, we can afford to do some action at the beginning, some action at the end, and maybe something in the middle, but it has to be about something. And I think that is why people like it, because it’s about something, about these people, and you give a shit. And I felt like it plotted itself out really well. I thought Jeffrey Combs made a very good villain. You don’t think of him as a western star, but, you know, everybody wants to be in a western.
H: Certainly every guy.
F: Yeah, when you say you’re making a western, people come out of the woodwork. I don’t know if it’s because everyone wants to dress up like they were a kid again. They want to ride up, and they’ve got to have that hat and that gun – a lot of people will buy their own gun! They want that gun when the movie’s over, they want to take that gun home. They want to get on those horses, and people will tell you they can ride horses who haven’t a clue how to ride a horse. They get on and you can see they’re terrified. These horses – I don’t even like to stand next to them – they’re gigantic beasts that weigh a ton, and they’re not as controllable as people think. But I felt like the film succeeded because it had a good story between the people, it was sort of a bittersweet thing, and it’s not a rousing western, you know? It’s not cookie-cutter. But we’ll see, won’t we?
H: We sure will. (Photos, from the top, Fred Olen Ray, Tim Abell as Frank James, Tim Abell ans Siri Baruc, Michael Gaglio and Anthony Tyler Quinn, Ray directing Peter Fonda)

SCREENINGS

ANTHONY MANN FESTIVAL AT NEW YORK’S FILM FORUM

What a treat for all of you that live East but love West! From June 25th through July 15th, the Forum will be presenting 26 movies – most in double features and a few in triple bills! -- directed by the great Anthony Mann, whose post-war westerns brought a new-found maturity to the form, and gave James Stewart a chance to stretch as an actor as never before. In addition to the westerns being shown, Mann's fine crime and war stories will also be on view. Among the westerns: BORDER INCIDENT (1949) and DEVIL'S DOORWAY (1950) on Wednesday, June 30th; THE LAST FRONTIER (1956) and GOD'S LITTLE ACRE (1958) on Thursday July 1st; MAN OF THE WEST (1958) and a new 35MM print of THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955) on Friday and Saturday July 2nd and 3rd; BEND OF THE RIVER (1952) and a new 35mm print of THUNDER BAY (1953) on Sunday and Monday, July 4th and 5th; CIMARRON (1960) on Monday July 5th, THE FURIES (1950) and THE TIN STAR (1957) on Tuesday July 6th; THE FAR COUNTRY (1955) and THE TALL TARGET (1951) on Friday and Saturday, July 9th and 10th. To whet your appetite -- and this is for everyone, not just New Yorkers - CLICK HERE to see trailers of several of the Anthony Mann westerns.


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 HOMELANDS: HOW WOMEN MADE THE WEST through August 22nd, and THE ART OF NATIVE AMERICAN BASKETRY: A LIVING TRADITION, through November 7th. I've seen the basketry 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

4TH OF JULY WEEKEND JOHN WAYNE SALUTE ON AMC!

Starting Thursday night, July 1st, AMC will run a marathon of John Wayne pictures which, with the exception of a few infomercials and Three Stooges Shorts, will run through Sunday night, Independence Day. The films will be hosted by the husband and wife team of Ty Murray and Jewel. He is the champion bull-rider who did so well on DANCING WITH THE STARS this season. She's the very attractive and talented singer/songwriter whose impressive acting debut was in the excellent Civil War film RIDE WITH THE DEVIL (1999). The movies, most of which will be seen more than once, and begin at 12:30 Friday morning with THE WAR WAGON, include THE COMANCHEROS, HONDO, RIO BRAVO, THE HORSE SOLDIERS, THE WINGS OF EAGLES, OPERATION PACIFIC, THE SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS, MCLINTOCK!, CAHILL, U.S. MARSHAL, NORTH TO ALASKA, CHISUM, THE COWBOYS and THE SHOOTIST. Check your cable of satellite system for the proper times -- and have a great 4th!

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.

I've got a few other items I'll try to get listed today or tomorrow.

Adios,

Henry

Copyright June 2010 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved