JOHN FORD’S LAST PROJECT, ‘COMANCHE STALLION’ FINALLY TO ROLL!

This weekend, director Vic Armstrong and producer Clyde Lucas headed to Monument Valley to scout locations for one of John Ford’s pet projects which never reached the screen.  COMANCHE STALLION.  Based on the novel by Tom Milstead, it’s the story of the Comanche’s search for a mystical horse, while suffering the wrath of General Lathrop.  Ford wanted Burl Ives for the role of the general, but Ives’ health was not up to the task, and Ford’s own health also failed. 

Now famed stuntman and stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, who just directed Nicholas Cage in LEFT BEHIND, is preparing to finish Ford’s last planned project.   To outline even a fraction of Armstrong’s credits would take hours, so I’ll just mention that he doubled for Richard Harris in RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE, doubled for Harrison Ford in the INDIANA JONES movies, and was just supervising stunt coordinator on THOR.  Clyde Lucas has produced several documentaries, some involving the late Harry Carey Jr.  Sadly, Carey was set to star in what had been the Burl Ives role, but passed away this year.  I’ve not heard many details of casting, but at the moment Tyrone Power Jr. and Robert Carradine are said to be involved.  I hope to have much more to tell you following the location scouting.

Shortly before his death, James Arness, who appeared in HONDO and WAGON MASTER for Ford, recorded the narration for the film.  Below is a sample.

(Note: this clip was playing just fine last night, but isn't running now, here or on Youtube.  Maybe it will come back up.)

SHADOW ON THE MESA – a Movie Review

Back in March of this year, when SHADOW ON THE MESA originally aired on the Hallmark Movie Channel, I interviewed star Kevin Sorbo (HERE is the link if you missed it  ), and I intended to review the movie as well.  But they were still editing it up to the last minute, so I didn’t get to see it prior to the airing.

 

I don’t know if I would have pursued the film afterwards, but when I heard that the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum had presented it with their 2013 Wrangler Award for best Television Movie, I figured I’d better make an effort to track it down, and I’m very glad I did; it’s a fine piece of work.  And the good news is that it will be released on DVD one month from today, on December 17^th – right on-time for Christmas.

One of the immediate appeals of SHADOW ON THE MESA is that, rather than trying to endlessly draw parallels between the Old West and the modern world (to make it more ‘relevant’ to an unsophisticated audience), its story grows out of a situation you would not have today.  Wes Rawlins (Wes Brown), a sometime bounty hunter who’d been raised by his recently murdered widowed mother, learns that she was not widowed at all.  Just prior to his birth, his parents were in a group of settlers who were attacked by Indians, and his father (Kevin Sorbo) was taken prisoner, though he later escaped.  Without the easy communication of the 21^st century, each spouse wrongly concluded that the other was dead, and started new lives.  Now, more than twenty years later, Wes finds that his mother had only recently learned that his father was still living, and had written him a letter.  Had that letter led to her death?

Meredith Baxter, Barry Corbin

Leaving the older couple who took care of him and his mother (Barry Corbin and Meredith Baxter), he heads off to find his long-missing father; and kill him if necessary.  And when he arrives, he finds himself in the middle of a range war between his father and family, and the Dowdy family, led by patriarch Peter Dowdy (Greg Evigan). 

While the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel have long shown a greater commitment to the Western form than any other networks, there has also long been the complaint among oater enthusiasts that Hallmark Westerns were ‘soft’, and lacked action.  Happily, as demonstrated by the recent HANNAH’S LAW, GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE – QUEEN OF HEARTS, and now with SHADOW ON THE MESA, Hallmark has upped their game considerably. 

Shannon Lucio, Wes Brown

With forty features under his belt, director David Cass Sr., has a long career in Westerns that goes back to stunting on MCCLINTOCK! and HERE COME THE BRIDES.  He knows his business, and deftly handles the drama, the humor, and the action.  And there is a good deal of action, starting with Wes Rawlins’ work as a bounty hunter, and after a half-hour break, continuing with growing ferocity as  the range war grows uglier.   As a stuntman, Cass worked on eight features and episodes with the quintessential director of fun Westerns of the 1960s, Burt Kennedy, and some of that may have rubbed off, giving the occasional lighter moments a professional glow so often missing in today’s Western fare.  In particular, an exciting and amusing jail-break sequence harkens back to that style of filmmaking. 

Based on a soon-to-be published book by Western novelist Lee Martin, who also scripted, SHADOW is well-plotted, and populated with characters whose depth and range of emotions have attracted a strong and hardy cast of quality actors, both famous and new on the scene.  As Rawlins’ adoptive grandmother, Meredith Baxter brings a mature beauty, and a pioneer’s grace and strength to the role.  As adoptive grandfather, Barry Corbin tells Wes the story of his parents, and what would be dry exposition in other actors’ hands is deeply felt and deeply moving, without getting sappy.  It seems to me that over the last few years Corbin, in Westerns big (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) and small (REDEMPTION – FOR ROBBING THE DEAD) has earned himself the sort of sagebrush elder statesman position long held by Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr.  He’ll soon be seen in the Western THE HOMESMAN, directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones, and costarring Hillary Swank and Meryl Streep.

Kevin Sorbo is strong and effective, and I rather regret the story-choice of having him on crutches for most of the movie, as it limits his involvement in the action. However, Sorbo brings that seemingly-effortless James Arness-like gravitas that grounds the film just by his presence.     

Blonde, beautiful and twice Emmy nominated Gail O’Grady plays Sorbo’s second wife, who has an agenda all her own.  Shannon Lucio is their lovely and striving-to-be-independent daughter, who fancies Wes (don’t be cross; she doesn’t know they might be related).  As her brother, Micah Alberti plays a lad who lacks confidence until Wes teaches him the way of the shooting-iron.

One of the true pleasures of MESA is Greg Evigan, who plays the suave, sinister and oddly likeable cattle-baron rival to Sorbo; it’s the sort of role Brian Donlevy and Zachary Scott excelled at, and it reveals the style and sophistication that Evigan has developed.  He was also effective in a very different role in 2010’s 6 GUNS.  Dave Florek, whose Western credits go back to GUNSMOKE: THE LAST APACHE, is solid in a small but memorable role as a ranch-hand named Baldy.

Greg Evigan

Of course, such a movie rises and falls on its cowboy lead, and Wes Brown, as Wes Rawlins carries the picture well on his broad shoulders.  He’s handsome without being a pretty-boy, and has the saddest visage of any cowboy actor since William S. Hart.  He plays his part credibly, as a young man with serious problems. 

I had a chance to do an email Q&A with author Lee Martin, who told me, “I thought the cast was wonderful and just right.  Since I named the hero for my brother Wesley, who died when he was ten, I was delighted that the actor was Wes Brown.  Everyone did a great job, as did David Cass, the director.”

It’s her first screenplay sale, and she had a great time visiting the set.  “We were treated like royalty.  It was great fun.  And a real education.  (Producer) Larry Levinson’s outfit is a well-oiled machine with not a moment’s hesitation.” 

Gail O'Grady

I asked her if there were many changes from book to movie, and if we’d likely see more of Wes Rawlins.  “From novel to script to screen brought a lot of changes, some influence by Hallmark.  I had no hand in changes, but am still happy with the end result.  The novel, reflected in my first screenplay, had Wes as a half breed, but that was also changed along the way.  I can see a sequel, and I have ideas for it.”

SHADOW ON THE MESA can be pre-ordered from Amazon  for under $14 .  

CASTING DIRECTOR MARVIN PAIGE DIES

Marvin Paige with Anne Jeffreys

One of Hollywood’s premiere casting directors has died at the age of 86 after a car crash on Laurel Canyon.  Known for casting STAR TREK and many other TV series and movies, of chief interest to Western fans, he cast the series BRANDED, and movies like RIDE BEYOND VENGEANCE, THE REVENGERS, THE HONKERS, MAN IN THE WILDERNESS, and many others.  He was particularly beloved by actors who gained their fame in the 1930s and 1940s.  The late Marcia Mae Jones told me that she and many of her friends had Marvin to thank for their later roles on TV and in film.  In recent years he was best known for squiring the great ladies of cinema’s golden age to events at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, UCLA screenings, and autograph shows.  Word that he was at an event was quickly followed by the question, “Who is he with?”  The answer was likely to be Jane Russell, Anne Jeffreys, June Lockhart, or another star of that ilk.

THAT’S A WRAP!

Next week I’ll have, among other things, a review of TREASURES 5 – THE WEST, a wonderful collection of films from the National Film Preservation Archives!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright November 2013 by Parke – All Rights Reserved

WESTERN SERIES ANNOUNCE RETURN DATES!

While AMC remains cagey as to their actual season 3 premiere date for the excellent HELL ON WHEELS, only saying ‘2013’, other shows and networks are being more forthcoming. 

(Update 4/16/2013 – On Monday, the day after I chided AMC for being cagey as to when HELL ON WHEELS would return, they announced Season Three would begin on August 3^rd, the series moving to Saturday nights at 9 p.m.)

Below, to whet your appetite, is a link to a behind-the-scenes HELL ON WHEELS documetary)

http://www.amctv.com/hell-on-wheels/videos/inside-episode-206-hell-on-wheels-purged-away-with-blood

LONGMIRE will begin its 2^nd season on Monday, May 27^th on A&E.  If you haven’t caught this modern-day Western lawman series, you should.  Starring Robert Taylor and based on Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mysteries, they tackle troubling and thought-provoking cowboy and ‘res’ issues head on, including disenrollment.   Below is a clip from the show.

 

BBC AMERICA’s Eastern-Western COPPER returns on Sunday night, June 23^rd, with some new cast members, and thirteen episodes instead of last year’s ten.  Alfre Woodard will join the denizens of Victorian New York’s crime world, along with Andrew Howard of HATFIELDS & MCCOYS, Donal Logue of SONS OFANARCHY, Eamonn Walker of CHICAGO FIRE and Lee Tergesen of THE BIG C.  Below is the teaser trailer for season two

 

SANTA CLARITA COWBOY FEST NEXT WEEKEND!

On Saturday and Sunday, April 20^th and 21^st, the 20th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival will be held at historic Melody Ranch, owned and operated by the Veluzat family, and once the galloping grounds of Gene Autry.  (For a history of Melody Ranch, and the Cowboy Festival, go HERE )  This is a delightful event, and it’s the only once-a-year chance for visitors to visit the historic locale.  The streets are full of full-costume folks and street performers amazing visitors with their skill twirling rope and gun.  In addition to strolling the mean streets you’ve seen countless times on film and TV, recently in DJANGO UNCHAINED and DEADWOOD, you can shop for western clothes and a variety of foods.  There is entertainment and activities for children, and book talks and book signings by a wide range of Western fiction and fact writers.  And then there’s the poetry, and the music: four stages of varying sizes bring you a wide range of Western music acts including Riders in the Sky, Baxter Black, Sons of the San Joaquin, Don Edwards, Band of the California Battalion, Sourdough Slim, and a dozen more.  Bring your kids – it’s a not-to-be-missed event!  It’s $20 a day for adults, $10 for kids under 12.  Get the details HERE .

 

‘HOME OF RAMONA’ - RANCHO CAMULOS EVENT FRIDAY APRIL 19^TH STARRING SOURDOUGH SLIM

Speaking of the Cowboy Festival, on Friday, April 19^th, from 11 a.m. until 3p.m., in conjunction with the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, Rancho Camulos in Piru will be holding a fund-raising event, Californio Fiesta de Camulos Rancho!  This beautiful and fascinating rancho is known as the ‘Home of Ramona’ because it was here that author Helen Hunt Jackson, during a brief stay between trains, was inspired to write her novel, and set it there.  D.W. Griffith, when he filmed RAMONA a century ago, used Rancho Camulos as his studio.  You can read my story about Rancho Camulos HERE    And on Friday, April 19^th you can enjoy a Southwest Vaquero buffet, music, and costumed docent-led tours as you step back in time. Entertainer extraordinaire and the last of the vaudeville cowboys, Sourdough Slim performs in the Will Roger's tradition.  All proceeds benefit the nonprofit museum's mission of historical preservation and education.  The price is $55 per ticket, and you can buy tickets HERE.  And below is a short movie about the Rancho and the event:
 

NAT’L COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE HONORS, APRIL 19-20

In a two-day event, this Friday and Saturday, The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will induct into their Hall of Great Western Performers actors Wes Studi, Robert Mitchum, Duncan Renaldo, and Leo Carillo.  John Lacey and Kenneth Eade will be inducted into their Hall of Great Westerners.  Films and television shows will also be honored: Outstanding Theatrical Motion Picture, DJANGO UNCHAINED; Outstanding Documentary, THE DUST BOWL; Outstanding Television Feature Film, SHADOW ON THE MESA; Outstanding Fictional Drama, LONGMIRE; and Outstanding Television Docudrama, HATFIELDS & MCCOYS.  There are literary and music honorees as well.  To learn more, and to purchase tickets, go here: http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/default.aspx

‘LAST SUNSET’ MATINEE TUESDAY AT LACMA

Kirk Douglas and Rock Hudson spar over Dorothy Malone on a cattle drive, in this rarely seen Western directed by Robert Aldrich from Dalton Trumbo’s screenplay, based on the novel by Howard Rigsby.  I’ve heard great things about this film, which also stars Joseph Cotton, Neville Brand, Jack Elam and Carol Lynley.  It shows at 1pm at the L.A. County  Museum of Art.  You can learn more HERE.

HOPALONG CASSIDY FESTIVAL MAY 3-4

The original ‘man in black,’ Hopalong Cassidy, as portrayed by William Boyd, will be celebrated at a two-day festival in Cambridge, Ohio at the Pritchard Laughlin Civic Auditorium, with a dinner and entertainment at the Hoppy Museum.  Those stars scheduled to attend include Darby Hinton from DANIEL BOONE, Johnny Crawford from THE RIFLEMAN, and Roberta Shore and Don Quine from THE VIRGINIAN.  To learn more, go HERE.   

AND ACROSS THE POND…

Just heard from a couple of our British correspondents, Nilton Hargrave and Davy Turner, that Hallmark’s SHADOW ON THE MESA will air on Channel 5 on Friday, April 19^th.  Nilton adds that they still haven’t gotten numbers two and three of the GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE film series.  And a new channel called Movie Mix is running the original DJANGO with Franco Nero.

 

‘DAY OF THE GUN’ TO GO-GO THE INDIEGOGO ROUTE

As reported back in December, Maryland-based Western filmmaker Wayne Shipley is making his newest, DAY OF THE GUN.  You can read my story about his outfit, see a trailer, and link to the company, HERE.  I’ve just gotten word that he is using the increasingly popular ‘crowd-funding’ method to raise money through Indiegogo.  You can read the offering HERE.  The perks for contributing run the gamut from DVDs of previous ONE-EYED HORSE productions to tie-in playing cards, poker chips, wardrobe and on-screen associate producer credits. 

 
DR. QUINN AND JESSE JAMES SEPARATE

Married since 1999, stunning actress Jane Seymour and actor/director/writer James Keach have confirmed that they have separated.  Although she has played many roles in her career, Seymour is most identified with the title character in DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN, from 1993-1998.  Her real father was a doctor in England, and her character was named Michaela, after him.  James Keach played Jesse James opposite real brother Stacy Keach as Frank James for Walter Hill in 1980’s THE LONG RIDERS.  His father, Stacy Keach Sr., produced first the radio, then television series TALES OF THE TEXAS RANGERS.  Incidentally, in 1982 James Keach, unbilled, provided the voice of the masked man in LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER, dubbing ‘actor’ Klinton Spilsbury.  It’s a shame: they have teenaged twins.

‘GUNS OF PARADISE’ ON DVD?  GOOD QUESTION

I received an email from Dan Searles asking a very interesting question: “Is there a legal site to buy Lee Horsley’s GUNS OF PARADISE?”  I don’t know how many people remember that CBS series, which ran for three seasons, starting in 1988, and produced 56 episodes.  Originally called simply PARADISE, starring Lee Horsley as a gunman who suddenly has responsibility for his dead sister’s four children, Aussie beauty Sigrid Thornton as lady banker, and Dehl Berti as Lee’s Indian confidante, I consider it the best Western series to come along since the 1960s, and always thought it shameful how little CBS did to promote it.  Ironically when CBS brought out DR. QUINN two years later, it striking how many elements were so blatantly imitative of PARADISE, down to the casting of look-alike children.

As to Dan’s question, the short answer is, ‘no’; PARADISE was never released on tape, nor has CBS announced any plans to bring it out on DVD.  But if you skip the word ‘legally,’ you get another answer entirely.  An on-line search of GUNS OF PARADISE reveals about a dozen different sources willing to sell the entire series on DVD, with prices ranging from as high as $90 to as low as $39.  Are these copies legal?  I don’t know how they can be.  These are disks made from collector copies, recorded right off of television.  I’m astonished at how openly they’re sold.  While I would never encourage anyone to buy illegal copies of copyrighted material, I must admit that I’ve bought a few such sets, of varying quality, from series I was told were in the public domain – only to be told by the producer of one show in no uncertain terms that it was not in public domain.  Anyone else bought any of these collector-to-collector copies?

 

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

And speaking of TCM (okay, nobody was), 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 entrepreneur 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 permanent 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 Hollywoodwestern, 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.



WELLSFARGO 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.


WESTERN ALL OVER THE DIAL


INSP’s SADDLE-UP SATURDAY features a block of rarely-seen classics THE VIRGINIAN and HIGH CHAPARRAL, along with BONANZA and THE BIG VALLEY. On weekdays they’re showing LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, BIG VALLEY, HIGH CHAPARRAL and DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN.


ME-TV’s Saturday line-up includes THE REBEL and WAGON TRAIN. On weekdays it’s DANIEL BOONE, GUNSMOKE, BONANZA, BIG VALLEY, WILD WILD WEST, and THE RIFLEMAN.


RFD-TV, the channel whose president bought Trigger and Bullet at auction, have a special love for Roy Rogers. They show an episode of The Roy Rogers Show on Sunday mornings, a Roy Rogers movie on Tuesday mornings, and repeat them during the week.


WHT-TV has a weekday afternoon line-up that’s perfect for kids, featuring LASSIE, THE ROY ROGERS SHOW and THE LONE RANGER.


TV-LAND angered viewers by dropping GUNSMOKE, but now it’s back every weekday, along with BONANZA.


THE WRAP-UP -- That's it for this weekend!  Lookin' forward to the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival this weekend, and the TCM Festival next week.  Hope to see you there!

Happy Trails,

Henry

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

SORBO CASTS LONG 'SHADOW ON THE MESA'

Updated 3/19/2013

KEVIN SORBO INTERVIEW

 

On Saturday night, March 23^rd, a new Western movie, SHADOW ON THE MESA, will premiere on Hallmark Movie Channel.  Starring Kevin Sorbo, Wes Brown, Gail O’Grady, Shannon Lucio, Greg Evigan, Meredith Baxter and Barry Corbin, it’s written by Lee Martin, and directed by David H. Cass Sr.  I recently had a chance to talk with Kevin Sorbo about MESA, Westerns in general, and the role that made him an international star, HERCULES.

 

HENRY:  How did a Minnesota boy become an international star by way of New Zealand?

 

KEVIN:  (Laughs) It was written in the stars since I was eleven years old.  I told my parents I was going to be an actor.  I set that course at a very young age, came out to L. A. not knowing a soul, and I’m a thirteen year overnight success. 

 

Henry:  How did you get cast as Hercules?

 

KEVIN:  Typical audition, like anything else.  Your agent gets a breakdown, says we’re looking for these types of guys to do some movies in New Zealand.  I went to audition, then they called me back a second time, then a third time, a fourth time; over two months they called me back seven times.  They looked at over 2,800 people in North America.  I got the gig!  Originally it was going to be five two-hour movies down there, and I knew by the second movie that they were going to make it a series.  Just had a gut feeling that we had something that people were going to love.  Sure enough, they told us by the third movie that it was going to be a series.  I did seven years, and we ended up passing BAYWATCH as the most watched show in the world.

 

Kevin Sorbo as HERCULES

 

HENRY:  Outstanding.

 

KEVIN:  Pretty cool.  We shot from 1993 through 1999, and most of my crew went on to work on LORD OF THE RINGS when we finished shooting. 

 

HENRY:  I knew New Zealand was a great location for that kind of work, but I did not know that it was the same crew. 

 

KEVIN:  Yeah, Peter Jackson was coming to the set pretty much every year to see what was going on, kind of look at the progress of the crew.  Because initially we had a handful of people, heads of departments, who knew what they were doing, had done some things before, but things were pretty green down there at the time we started.  Peter Jackson said, if it wasn’t for HERCULES, we wouldn’t have the crews we have today.  We were a great training ground for them.  Great training ground for me. 

 

HENRY:  What did you like most about doing the series?

 

KEVIN:  I loved it – I loved the humor of the show, I loved doing the fight scenes – I’m an ex-jock, played football, basketball, baseball, all sports, and to me it was just all part of working out – doing all these fight-scenes and stuff was a blast.  I learned a lot about martial arts, and I’m the first to admit that if a real black-belt came up to me I’d get my butt kicked, but I got good at fakin’ it.  I had a great time doing it with my crew, and I still keep in touch with a lot of the guys in the stunt team.  And Michael Hurst, who played Iolaus, we get a hold of each other once a month to catch up on life.  It was just a blast; it was a wonderful chapter in my life, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

HENRY:  Was there any downside, anything you liked least about it?

 

KEVIN:  I guess sometimes the distance.  But you know, when I went down there, I was not an attached person, and I wanted a career and I loved the show.  I can’t really say I got home-sick.  I got bummed out once the show became a major success, and I started getting invited to every major party in Hollywood, and I could never go, so being 7,000 miles away in New Zealand was kind of a drag.  But I had a great time there.  Wonderful people.  I’m a very outdoorsy kind of guy, and it was a good lifestyle.  

 

HENRY:  There’s a lot of humor in your work, a tongue-in-cheek feel. 

 

KEVIN:  I threw that stuff in on HERCULES early.  I started ad-libbing little one-liners at the end of each scene.  It wasn’t to piss the writers off.  I didn’t want to take anything away; I left it where they could take it out of they wanted to.  But they loved it, and Sam Raimi, who was our executive producer, that’s his style from THE EVIL DEAD and that type of thing.  He started telling the writers to throw that stuff in.  You couldn’t take HERCULES seriously; you had to have people laughing with us, not at us.  And I think that was a part of the charm of the show.  When I do these autograph shows – I get invited all over the world, and I pick three or four to do a year – everybody at the Q&A says it looks like you guys had a lot of fun, and we did. 

 

HENRY:  When the 111 episodes and half-dozen movies were over, did you want it to go on, or were you happy to let the character go at that point?

 

KEVIN:  I was ready to move on to something else.  Universal Studios offered a three-year extension, but at the same time I got a phone call from Majel Roddenberry.  I was a big STAR TREK fan, so I was flattered that she called to tell me about a project her husband wrote after the original STAR TREK series finished in 1969.  She said, “I think Gene would want you to be Captain Dylan Hunt.”  And like I say, I’m kind of a geek Trekkie in that way.  They gave me a two-year guarantee, and shoot in Vancouver, which I love as well, and you know, I wanted to do something different.  I didn’t want to become the Gilligan of my series, and never get any work again (laughs), so I had a nice five-year run on ANDROMEDA, too.

 

In ANDROMEDA

 

HENRY:  So the fact that it was created by Gene Roddenberry was a big attraction for you.

 

KEVIN:  Oh, no question.  I went to his house in Bel Air, that Majel had kept – she’s passed away too, five years ago.  They kept his office the same way it was when he passed away in the early nineties.  Saw his desk, saw his papers there, and it was pretty cool.  There are a lot of Trekkie out there who would pay a lot to do what I did.

 

HENRY:  While HERCULES was mostly outdoor action, ANDROMEDA was more soundstage-bound and often very intellectual ideas.  Did you prefer one over the other?

 

KEVIN:  I have to give HERCULES the nod because that’s where I got my break – that’s where it started for me.  Both series are still airing in about a hundred countries around the world.  It’s been interesting with HERCULES because it came out on Netflix a couple of years ago, and Hub TV, and all of sudden I’m getting these under-eighteen-year-olds coming up to me, who were too young when the series finished.  And now they’re watching it.  So this whole reprisal of the show’s going on.  And finally the Tribune Company came out of bankruptcy, so now ANDROMEDA’s going to be on Netflix soon as well, and that’s going to get another run going, too.     

 

HENRY:  You’ve worked a lot in Canada, and New Zealand, and the United States.  How do the countries compare?

 

KEVIN:  It’s funny, because I’ve been very fortunate to get the work that I’ve had.  But every time I work, I never work in California.  It’s very rare – I’ve done a lot of guest spots on sitcoms and they shoot here obviously, but for the most part I always shoot somewhere else.  Last year alone, I shot in Louisiana couple times, shot in Canada again. There would be just a little cultural differences.  But for the most part the crews, they all work hard, they’re all there to make something good, and have a good time.  And I like to have fun.  You’re working long days; let’s make something that people can enjoy, have a good time on the set, and not get all crazy with each other and cause tension.

 

HENRY:  As far as I know, 2007’s AVENGING ANGEL was your first western –

 

In AVENGING ANGEL

 

KEVIN:  Yup.

 

HENRY:  – where you’re playing a preacher-turned-bounty-hunter.  You followed a year later with PRAIRIE FEVER, with Lance Henriksen and Dominique Swain.  Now you’ve done your third western, SHADOW ON THE MESA.  What keeps bringing you back to the western form?

 

KEVIN:  I love ‘em.  I’ve got about six scripts that we’re trying to finance right now that are all westerns.  I think a lot of it had to do with my father, growing up as a kid watching the re-runs of GUNSMOKE, BONANZA, and all that stuff, so it’s sort of ingrained in me.  We romanticize about that, I guess.  There’s something amazing about the people that came out west, back in the 1800s.  I’m sure it was pretty brutal; (laughs) I’m sure they were all pretty stinky, but there’s just something about it that I think we all love.  I mean, after I shot AVENGING ANGEL I told Robert Duvall that I just shot my first western. He looked at me and said, “It’s the best thing, isn’t it?  Every actor wants to do a western.”    And I think there’s a lot of truth in it.  There’s something wonderful about them – like I said, I’ve got all these other scripts we’re trying to raise money for now.  I wish I could have done more.  Hallmark’s just the only one that keeps that genre alive.

 

HENRY:  I was just writing in the Round-up that there’s no one else you can point to and say they’ve made four westerns in the last year except Hallmark.

 

KEVIN:  There is the occasional feature that comes out, obviously, but they’re the ones who keep it going, and the biggest problem, they say, is it doesn’t translate well overseas for some reason, but I still love doing them; I hope we can keep on making them. 

 

HENRY:  The irony is that for years, overseas was the guaranteed box office for westerns, and that seems to have dried up.  Of course you did a lot of horseback riding as Hercules, before you became an official cowboy.  Were there any skills you had to learn, to do westerns convincingly?

 

KEVIN:  The whole gun action – which was fun.  Go to a range, shooting – I can see why people get hooked on it.  I wish I could have rode some more on this last one, SHADOW ON THE MESA.  I didn’t ride; the whole back-story on my character is that he broke his leg on a young horse he was trying to break.  The only time I didn’t get to ride a horse was on this one.

 

HENRY:  They’ll have to get you on two horses in the next one.  Now all three of your westerns have been directed by stuntman-turned-director David S. Cass, Sr.  Does he bring something special to the genre?

 

KEVIN:  David’s been around, you know.  All the stunts he did with Mitchum and Wayne; he’s got some great tales.  He knows what he wants; he’s very creative.  And obviously he’s learned his trade from other directors as a young buck, being on the set, throwing himself around, and getting beat up.  He’s used his training well.  I love Dave; we have a great camaraderie together.  He’s easy to work for, and he knows that I’m going to come prepared, that I’m willing to take chances as well. 

 

HENRY:  We touched a little on the fact that you grew up watching westerns with your dad.  Did you have particular favorites as a kid?

 

KEVIN:  You know, I’m a Clint Eastwood guy; I love Clint.  I’m very fortunate that over the last few years I’ve gotten to golf with him a few times, got to know him a little better; we’ve attended a few events together.  You look at HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER and all the Sergio Leone stuff.  He goes there (to Europe) and does those westerns that nobody said would do anything, and they became like the biggest westerns of all time.  And I like the Trinity guys, too, Terence Hill, Bud Spencer.  Love those things; totally crack me up. 

 

In SHADOW ON THE MESA

 

HENRY:  How about your favorite westerns as an adult; is it a new list, or is it the same group? 

 

KEVIN:  Probably the same group.  There are some good ones out there.  That one with Russell Crowe, 3:10 TO YUMA – I liked that one.  I enjoyed that one a lot.  But still, if I’m flipping channels and HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER is on or OUTLAW JOSEY WALES, I’ll stop and watch the rest of it, even though I’ve seen it twenty times.

 

HENRY:  And of course he’s so good not only as an actor, but as an actor-director. 

 

KEVIN:  I’ve told him, because we know each other now.  I’ve said, “Clint, if it’s one line, I don’t care.  I want to work with you one time.  Just want to be on the set, to say I’ve worked with Clint Eastwood.  So c’mon, throw me a bone!” 

 

Kevin with Shannon Lucio as his daughter

 

HENRY:  What western stars of the past do you connect with?  Do you see a Glenn Ford or a Randolph Scott role and say, I’d like to play that?

 

KEVIN:  I like Gary Cooper.   I think my acting style is similar to his in a way.  I just like the way he carries himself, and I’ve had other people tell me that in the past.  I grew up watching movies with my mom and dad, and Gary Cooper is one of the stars we watched a lot.  I’m a big fan of Cary Grant.  And Jimmy Stewart – I love his stuff.  BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID – I’m a huge fan of Robert Redford and Paul Newman; that’s really what kind of put it over the top for me to want to be an actor. 

 

HENRY:  Tell me a bit about SHADOW IN THE MESA, and your role in it.

 

KEVIN:  Well, my character is a solid man; typical of a lot of westerns, these strong, silent types.  He doesn’t mince words.  He finds out he’s got this son that he never knew he had, and the son is pretty much coming to assassinate him.  He’s played by Wes Brown, and we had a really good camaraderie – I really liked working with him.  He’s an up-and-coming kid; he’s a good actor.  And my character, he’s going through a lot of stuff – all the things country songs are written of, except the dog doesn’t die. 

 

Shannon Lucio and Wes Brown

 

HENRY:  I’ve read the synopsis, but not seen it yet.  But the plot is a lot more complex than westerns typically are.  There were turns in the story that I didn’t see coming.  It’s a nice piece of work – at least on paper.

 

KEVIN:  It is.  I think it turned out well. 

 

HENRY:  Now your in-laws are Meredith Baxter and Barry Corbin – a very talented pair.  Barry’s someone who always seems to fit perfectly in westerns. What’s he like?

 

Meredith Baxter and Barry Corbin

 

KEVIN:  Here’s the funny thing: I never got to work with either of them.  We never even saw each other on the set.  I worked with Gail O’Grady and Greg Evigan.

 

HENRY:  Well, tell me about Gail and Greg.

 

Gail O'Grady

 

KEVIN:  Well, Gail I’ve known for a long time, and it was great to work with her – we actually did a TWO AND A HALF MEN together years ago; she played my ex-wife in that one.  She’s a hoot, she’s funny.  She’s a beautiful girl with a trucker’s mouth on her.  And Greg was just a class act.  A nice guy, we’d never met before.  He played the guy who was my arch enemy.  And we didn’t get to work too much together either.  We were two days on the set together, but our scenes were pretty much at a distance, shooting at each other! (Laughs)

 

Greg Evigan

 

HENRY:  So you’d make more westerns if you had a chance to?

 

KEVIN:  In a heartbeat.  I’ve got a wonderful script called TRANQUILITY; we’ve got Dwight Yoakam and Ann Margaret attached.  So hopefully we can make this thing. 

 

HENRY:  Am I allowed to mention that?

 

KEVIN:  Sure; tell ‘em we’re looking for investors!  It may be a little too dark for Hallmark, which is may be why they passed on it.  They like a little more ‘blue sky’ type of stuff, which is fine, but this has a very interesting story to it. 

 

HENRY:  To switch to a much more serious topic, tell me about FDR: AMERICAN BADASS! 

 

Channeling Daniel Day-Lewis in

FDR: AMERICAN BADASS!  

 

KEVIN:  Well, I did a movie with these guys (director Garrett Brawith and writer Ross Patterson) the year before that.  It was called POOL BOY: DROWNING OUT THE FURY, which I starred in.  They called me up and said, look, we have this cameo role with you as Abe Lincoln, do you want to do this?  I read this script and laughed and said yes.  Barry Bostwick plays FDR, and I get him stoned. 

 

HENRY:  All this stuff that Daniel Day-Lewis left out!

 

KEVIN:  I love doing it – I’m a big David Zucker fan as well, and I got to do a cameo in one of his films, AMERICAN CAROL.  I love AIRPLANE, NAKED GUN, all of that.  That sophomoric, stupid humor, it’s just fun to do.  We’ve got another one coming with the same group, where I’m going to have second lead, to a woman.  We don’t know who the actress is going to be, but it’s going to be Helen Keller’s life story, and she was really a spy, and a kick-ass spy at that, and I’m her sidekick. 

 

HENRY:  What else are you up to?

 

KEVIN:  I’d love to throw a nod to a movie of mine that’s out right now, called ABEL’S FIELD.  It’s from New Sony Studios, they’re the same division that I did SOUL SURFER with.  It’s a modern-day Cain and Abel-meets-FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.  We shot it in Austin, Texas.  It’s a wonderful family movie.   You go to  http://www.abelsfield.com/ for a trailer on that.  And my book just came out in paperback.  It’s called TRUE STRENGTH, you can go to http://truestrengthbook.com/ .  It’s a little bit of my life story. When going through the HERCULES years, between season five and six, I had an aneurism that caused three strokes.  Universal kept it very quiet because HERCULES was doing quite well for them.  But I went through four months of re-hab; learned to walk again.  Two strokes went to my balance; one stroke went to my vision.  The last two years on HERCULES were pretty tough for me.  I went from fourteen-hour work-days to one hour, then worked it up to two hours a month later, then three hours, and slowly worked my way back.  They did a lot of stunt casting and a lot of clip shows to keep the show alive.  It wasn’t fun; and I’ve been doing a lot of speaking at neurological institutions, hospitals and bookstores.  It’s been pretty amazing to see people’s response, because it’s about triumph over tragedy, and how you get through things that throw that curve-ball at you in life.  And GOD’S NOT DEAD comes out in theatres this fall.  Same people I did a movie called WHAT IF… with.  So you should mark that down – WHAT IF…  is a good movie.  Very proud of that movie; shot that with Kristy Swanson, John Ratzenberger.  And Debby Ryan plays my daughter – she’s on the Disney Channel.       

ENNIO MORRICONE ON QUENTIN TARANTINO: 'NEVER AGAIN!'

Ennio Morricone, composer of more than 500 film scores, startled students in a music, film and television class at Rome’s LUISS University by announcing that he would never work with DJANGO UNCHAINED director again.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, the composer elaborated.  “I wouldn’t like to work with him again, on anything.  He said last year he wanted to work with me again ever since Inglourious Basterds, but I told him I couldn't, because he didn’t give me enough time. So he just used a song I had written previously.” 

Morricone complained that Tarantino “…places music in his films without coherence.  You can't do anything with someone like that."  While four pieces of Morricone music are used in DJANGO UNCHAINED, all were composed for previous films. 

SUNDAY AND MONDAY ONLY -- NEW WESTERN E-BOOK SERIES –‘COLBY JACKSON’ – INTRODUCED WITH FREE KINDLE DOWNLOAD!

 

As I told you in last week's Round-up, Authors Bill Crider, James Reasoner and Mel Odom are collaborating under the name Colby Jackson to create a new series of Western novels, and to spread the word, they're giving the Kindle book away on Sunday and Monday March 17 & 18 -- just follow the link: http://www.amazon.com/Shooters-Cross-Rancho-Diablo-ebook/dp/B00472O7NS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362852772&sr=8-2&k...eywords=Shooter%27s+Cross

CAMPO GUNFIGHT REENACTMENT SATURDAY! 

 

 

The smell of black powder will fill the air at 3 pm Saturday, March 23rd, when the deadly CAMPO GUNFIGHT of 1875 is reenacted at the Golden Acorn Casino in Campo, the bordertown near San Diego where it actually happened.  The event is free, and it should be a lot of fun.  The man behind the event is Bryon Harrington, author of CAMPO: THE FORGOTTEN GUNFIGHT, and he is a stickler for historical accuracy.  To learn more about the event, go HERE.  To learn more about Bryon's book, go HERE.  

 

HEY ROUNDERS, that's gonna have to be all for tonight's Round-up!  I know I told you that I'd also have an on-set report on  QUICK DRAW, but I didn't expect for my computer to be down for three days this week, so that'll have to wait until next week.  Hope you're having a great St. Patrick's Day!

 

Happy Trails,

 

Henry

 

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