‘TRADED’ REVIEWED, WRITER INTERVIEWED, PLUS TARANTINO TURMOIL, ‘DJANGO LIVES!’ SETS SAYLES, AND MORE!

TRADED – A Film Review

In 1880s Kansas, the Travis’, subsistence farmers, are hard-working but happy, until tragedy strikes: their young son Jake (Hunter Fischer) is killed by a rattlesnake.  Overcome with grief and guilt, his mother Amelia (Constance Brenneman), fearful of anything happening to their 17 year-old daughter Lily (Brittany Elizabeth Williams), makes the girl’s life unbearable.  Lily runs away, hoping to become a Harvey Girl at one of the famous restaurants at railroad stops across the country; but she never makes it to her interview.   Her father Clay Travis (Michael Pare) hurriedly traces her movements, and fears she’s been sold into prostitution.  He’s ready to do whatever it takes to bring her back.

Many will compare it to the TAKEN franchise, but I say think of it like THE SEARCHERS on speed!  As Clay races to rescue his daughter, time is not measured with the fluttering pages of a calendar but with a railroad-man’s precise pocket-watch.  En route, his farmer demeanor vanishes, and we learn that he has the sort of past that leaves him well-equipped to go against a string of villains, from those who will only provide information for a price, to those who will gladly kill to protect their income.  Pare, who became a star with films like EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS (1983) and STREETS OF FIRE (1984) has kept his good looks while developing the maturity and gravitas this role demands: you do not want to get in his way. 

Seen this girl?

And among the folks he meets along the way are Trace Adkins, Pare’s co-star in THE LINCOLN LAWYER (2011), who is chilling as a Dodge City saloon-keeper and procurer; and Tom Sizemore as Adkins’ unsavory competition.   Martin Kove has played many a Western villain before, memorably in WYATT EARP (1994), but I don’t think he’s ever portrayed as revolting a character as Cavendish; his daughter in the story, simply named Girl (Marie Oldenbourg) could not be less like him.

Kris Kristofferson, still a commanding presence at eighty, is striking as a barkeep who is at first reluctantly helpful, and has the most quotable speeches from Mark Esslinger’s screenplay.  

Kris is running out of patience

Esslinger’s script is smart without being smug, full of sudden, imaginative, and often brutal action.  And while the story is peopled by many cynical characters, it is not cynical itself; all of the action grows from a sincere love of family, and the knowledge that a strong person will do anything they can to protect it. 

Brittany Elizabeth Williams is missing...

Timothy Woodward Jr., directing his 10^th feature since 2013, tells the story with unrushed assurance, drawing mostly strong performances during a remarkably short shooting schedule.   It’s his third collaboration in two years with cinematographer Pablo Diez, who lights and composes with elegance.  Production Designer Christian Ramirez and costume designer Nikki  Pelly are Western specialists and have again done their work with style and historical accuracy.  Of course, no film is without errors.  One character is a young woman who is supposed to be hideously ugly.  Mistake one: a very attractive actress plays the part.  Mistake two: what was supposed to look like scars actually looks like she has oatmeal all over her face.

Constance Brenneman is the mother.

TRADED, from Cinedigm and Status Media opens theatrically today, Friday, June 10^th, in ten cities across the country, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and Nashville.   That same day it will also be available On Demand and Digital HD. 

Last November I had the good fortune of being invited by consulting producer Peter Sherayko to visit the set, when they were shooting at Big Sky Ranch.  You can read that article, and my interviews with Michael Pare, Timothy Woodward Jr., and Peter Sherayko, HERE.

AN INTERVIEW WITH ‘TRADED’ SCREENWRITER MARK ESSLINGER

At the premiere, Mark Esslinger with daughter Lana

TRADED author Mark Esslinger is the first screenwriter I’ve met in a long time who did not go to film school.  “I grew up in the northern part of New Jersey, in Bergen County.  I trained racehorses throughout New Jersey and New York while I was in high school.  I wrote from the time I was maybe ten; I was always interested in film and television.  When I was eighteen or nineteen I just decided to drive out to California and see what I could do.” 

Luckily, one thing he could do was be funny.  “I got a bunch of part-time jobs.  I hung out at the Comedy Stores.  I wrote comedy for stand-up guys like Garry Shandling and Howie Mandel when they were just getting started. I met a girl at a party, and she asked me if I wanted to write a couple of spec shows with her.  We wrote a spec TAXI.  She gave it to her father, and her father’d just got a green light for a show an NBC show at Paramount called THE BRADY BRIDES, a continuation of THE BRADY BUNCH.  Her father was (BRADY BUNCH and GILLIGAN’S ISLAND creator) Sherwood Schwartz!  So she showed it to him, and he loved it, and he asked us to be on staff, so we jumped at the chance.  I think I was 23 at the time.  And that’s basically how I got in.” 

But then, in 1981, the Writers Guild went on strike for Pay-TV and home video residuals.  “The strike hit for three or four months.  And then when it ended, THE BRADY BRIDES got cancelled because there was a shift of regime at NBC.  Brandon Tartikoff was going out, and Grant Tinker was coming in, and he didn’t like the show.  Then (my partner) went off and got married.”    Mark wrote without his partner, but didn’t get anywhere.  He went back to raising horses, while continuing to write.  “And then in ’96 I produced a film called DELIVERY, which is based on my food delivery company, which I opened in 1989.  I have a food delivery company where we deliver food from the high-end restaurants in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills to homes.”

Mark Esslinger, daughter Lana, Michael Pare

We talked about his breakthrough script, TRADED, and what led to his writing it.

HENRY: I notice you’ve written a few films about Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth.  I take it you’re a fan of American history.

MARK:  Yes, I am.  We made a short called GRACE BEDELL, maybe five, six years ago, that won festivals in Burbank, Buffalo and Vancouver.  It’s about a little girl who wrote to Lincoln when he was running for President in 1860, and she suggested that he grow whiskers to help him win the election.  And he took her up on it.  It’s based on a true story.  

HENRY: Was TRADED a story you developed on spec, or were you hired to write it? 

MARK:  I wrote it on spec.  I submitted it to The Black List (note: an annual list by studio development pros of highly regarded but unsold script), and it got two really excellent reviews, and it got me a lot of intros; a lot of interest.  But since they considered the (Western) genre basically dead, they didn’t want to do anything with it.  I kept pitching it here and there, and I ended up putting it on this website called InkTip.  It was on there maybe two or three months, and then I get a call that someone is interested in it, and is it still available.

HENRY: And that was Status Media, the folks who made it?

MARK: They outright purchased it – there was no option involved.  We just went back and forth, and negotiated the contract for two or three weeks; actually, while we were negotiating they were lining up locations and casting.  By the time I signed the contract, they were shooting.  They started shooting it immediately, or even before immediately, if there is such a thing

HENRY: Where did the original idea come from?

MARK: I wanted to do a Western, and I started breaking down what kind of a Western I wanted to do.  Maybe something that was a little more contemporary, that hadn’t been seen in a Western.  I know there’s THE SEARCHERS, where they’re hunting the niece, and I wanted to use the daughter; I wanted to do something in that realm, and TAKEN was a big hit a few years earlier.  From all the research I’ve done, they’ve never done a western where a father has to track down and rescue his daughter.  I just broke in an outline, and it came out kind of easy.

HENRY: I’m glad you brought up THE SEARCHERS, because while the parallels are obvious, THE SEARCHERS story takes place over a long period of time, while TRADED’s story is compressed to just one or two days.  Why?

MARK: I don’t really know; I think that’s just the way I write.  It helps with the time clock and the thriller elements. If it was prolonged, it would end up like THE SEARCHERS.  Just for the urgency factor I just had to make it quick.  I think the lead (character) has a sense that he has to get her back as soon as he can, before she becomes too much of a whore in Dodge City.

HENRY: You spoke about doing a lot of research among Western plots.  Did you do a lot of historical research?

MARK: I do a lot for everything I do.  I get as many books as I can on the time period.  And on the internet now you can get so much stuff.  I actually read the newspapers of the time period; it helps to give a sense of how people think and what they do during that time period, and how they react to certain things.  The government in each city at that time period – how it works. 

HENRY: What are the challenges of writing period stories for a modern audience?

MARK: Westerns that got produced weren’t very risky back then.  I mean, they wouldn’t have made a DEADWOOD thirty or forty years ago, and I think DEADWOOD is the ultimate, ‘what it was really like’ kind of thing; that’s what I strive for.  I’m trying to make it as realistic as possible to the time period. Back in the 50s or 60, most of the Westerns were pretty sanitized. 

HENRY: True; of course all films were when you go back far enough.

MARK: True; and especially television.

HENRY: How close is the finished film to your original vision?

MARK: It holds true maybe 80 to 85 percent.  There are some instances, because it is a low budget film, that they had to cut corners on.  As written, their son gets killed because of a bee attack.  Now they couldn’t do that because the bee wrangler would cost like $3,000, and that wasn’t in the budget.  So they changed it to a snake-bite.  But it loses my recurring theme of honey.  When I write something, I want to tie everything in, so everything has a reason; the foreshadowing.  When you have to cut some corners you’re going to lose a lot of that stuff. 

HENRY: You’ve done something with your script which many of us screenwriters find very difficult to do, which is to write a story that can be filmed for a reasonable amount of money.  How do you do that? 

MARK: I was conscious of that, mainly because I figured if I’m going to write a western, it’s going to be hard enough to sell it.  So I’d better make it that it can be shot for the minimum amount of money possible.  I tried to keep it low.  I’ve got the one train chase which they thankfully kept in the film.  And most of my stuff is character-driven anyhow, so the stories generate out of what they’re doing, as opposed to throwing in this big action sequence with a balloon or something that will cost a lot of money.   

HENRY: Quite a cast: Michael Pare, Kris Kristofferson, Trace Adkins, Tom Sizemore, Martin Kove. 

MARK: I think it worked out great.  When they told me Michael Pare was going to be the lead, I was really excited, because I was a big fan of EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS and STREETS OF FIRE.  I think he did a great job in the part.  And if you can get Kris Kristofferson and Tom Sizemore in the movie, you’re way way way ahead of the game.  And then they’ve got Trace Adkins in it, who is a country superstar along with Kris Kristofferson, so it’s going to appeal to all of his fans too.  And he does a great job.  He doesn’t have that much acting experience, but you’d absolutely not know it from the performance he puts in.

HENRY: Did you grow up with westerns? 

MARK: Yeah, I did.  I was born in the late ‘50s, so I grew up with the typical BONANZA, and probably my favorites were WANTED: DEAD OF ALIVE and THE RIFLEMAN, the two half-hour shows.  As far as films, I think my favorite Western film is Clint Eastwood’s UNFORGIVEN.  Growing up I was always a big fan of THE HORSE SOLDIERS.  I thought that film was really ahead of its time.  I read that John Wayne and William Holden didn’t get along.  But I think it helped the whole film.  Also Jimmy Stewart in SHENANDOAH.  I could go on and on – I also like all Randolph Scott Westerns.  RIDE LONESOME and BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE.  I thought Randolph Scott was just a great Western lead.

HENRY: Do you think there’s a real resurgence in Westerns?

MARK: I prefer writing period stuff, so I certainly hope so.  Like I said before, I think you can inject contemporary themes that were not available to use back when the majority of Westerns were made.  And that’s what I tried to do with TRADED; I tried to bring something new to the genre that wasn’t seen back then.  Even the taking of a daughter and basically trading her in to slavery, that wasn’t in a Western film back in the fifties or the sixties. I would love to see the whole genre make a comeback.  I’d like to see more on Television.  DEADWOOD is probably my favorite hour show – I think it was fantastic.  I wrote a pilot called SOILED DOVES that I’ve been trying to pitch for the last few years.  It’s DEADWOOD-ish, but it’s got a female lead, and it’s set in Alaska, during the Yukon gold rush. 

HENRY: What’s your next project?

MARK: I just finished another Western, I’m about to start getting out now.  It’s called DASH; it’s about a Kansas farmer whose about to lose his wife and his farm, and he’s offered a bounty-hunting opportunity. 

HENRY: So, the release of TRADED is imminent.

MARK:  It’s getting a ten-city release on the 10^th.  It’s going to be released on iTunes the same day.  There’s going to be a couple of deleted scenes, and a ‘making of’ film.  I don’t know what the deleted scenes are – I’m kind of scared to find out!  As long as it all makes sense, I’m fine. 

QUENTIN, THE TERM YOU’RE LOOKING FOR IS ‘SALOON GIRLS’

Quentin Tarantino, the ever-controversial and ever-entertaining filmmaker, got his ears boxed by feminists once again, this time for a casting call placed on Facebook, for roles in a new Western he is producing (though not directing).  Here’s the text:  “Casting Whores for Quentin Tarantino project. Caucasian, non-union females, ages 18–35. Western film shoots June 21st-25th in Los Angeles. No highlights, natural eyebrows, natural breasts, natural hair color to be true to the period. Dress sizes 2–8. Please send photo, including sizes, and write ‘Whore’ in the subject line.” 

I was a little surprised at the word ‘whore’, especially in the subject line, but not as surprised as when I was old enough to figure out what Miss Kitty’s girls were doing upstairs.  The Women and Hollywood website was particularly appalled, saying in part, “Putting a casting call out for, or including women in your script with the description of ‘whores,’ is not OK. Nor is asking actresses to submit their photos and information for consideration with the subject line ‘Whore.’ …  It would’ve been just as easy to have said that the project was looking for actresses to play prostitutes, saloon girls, or brothel workers… Words carry weight, and the word ‘whore’ comes with a lot of baggage.”  Okay.  Actually, I would have guessed that what they’d be upset about is that the casting notice asked for ‘Caucasian non-union’ whores.  Wrong again!  By the way, the film is written and directed by a woman.

‘DJANGO LIVES!’ TO STAR FRANCO NERO, TO BE WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY JOHN SAYLES!

Franco Nero signed this box from 

his 2nd DJANGO film for me!

It’s been long rumored but now confirmed that LONE STAR writer/director John Sayles will do the same chores on DJANGO LIVES!, and that Franco Nero is still set to star.   A project that’s been discussed since DJANGO UNCHAINED re-invigorated the DJANGO franchise, the project has shifted through many hands, but the premise is still the same.  Django, Franco Nero’s character from Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 film, is now much older, living in Los Angeles and, as Wyatt Earp and other real lawmen actually did, is working as a technical adviser on silent Westerns, when something happens that necessitates his strapping on his guns again.  A new description says he’s a wrangler and extra on the set of D.W. Griffith’s BIRTH OF A NATION.  The film is set to roll camera in September. 

MY NEWEST COLUMN FOR INSP

My most recent guest column for the INSP blog, THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE GOOD-HEARTED BAD GUY, examines how the image of some hero and villain actors changed as their careers progressed.  You can read it HERE.  And please leave a comment if you like it!

THAT’S A WRAP!

Hunter Fischer (right), with a pal

Production Designer Christian Ramirez, with Mrs. Smith 

& wrangler Troy Andrew Smith

Here’re a few pictures I took on Wednesday night at the Beverly Hills premiere of TRADED.  I’ve got several more stories I wanted to include, but I didn’t want to make this Round-up more than one week late!  Happy summer!

Happy trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright June 2016 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

WITH MICHAEL PARE’ ON THE ‘TRADED’ SET, PLUS ‘SHOOTING SCRIPTS’ REVIEWED!

ON THE SET OF ‘TRADED’ AT BIG SKY RANCH

Two Wednesdays ago I drove to Simi Valley and for the first time visited the glorious Big Sky Movie Ranch.   Originally 12,500 acres of land that were purchased in 1903 to be the Patterson Ranch Company, they raised livestock and grew grain.  Some critters still roam there today, each waiting for their close-up.  Its verdant flat valleys and strikingly barren hills have been seen on big screen and small for many years.  Much of the RAWHIDE cattle-drive footage was shot here.  It stood in as large parts of The Ponderosa on BONANZA, and turned up in GUNSMOKE episodes as well.  Michael ‘Little Joe’ Landon returned and built his little town for LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, and blew it up in the final episode.  WILD BILL (1995) and THE GAMBLER TV-movies were shot there.   More recently it was seen in the Walt Disney/Mary Poppins story SAVING MR. BANKS (2013) and DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012).

Currently it’s the location for several key sequences in TRADED, a new Western from Status Media, the third film in their current five-picture pact with distributor Cinedigm.  I knew nothing about the plot, and Producer Michael Long tantalized me, telling me one of the great strengths of the project is the screenplay by Mark Esslinger.  “It’s a great script.  We’ve had a lot of people interested in it. Agents have come and made offers to us based on the script.”  We both agreed that it’s prime time for sagebrush sagas.  “Everyone gets excited about Westerns.  There are like twelve Westerns being made over the next year.” 

Costumer Nikki Pelley was taking the leading lady away for a wardrobe change when I arrived.  I poked my head in the barn, saw a wooden coffin sitting on a pair of saw-horses.  It was too small for an adult.  Producer, prop-man, period advisor and actor Peter Sherayko caught up with me.  “Want to talk to Michael Pare’?”  I surely did.  The star of the film, Pare’ first made a splash in the title role of EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS (1983), and soon followed with STREETS OF FIRE (1984) for Walter Hill.  Among the other top directorial talent he’s worked with is John Carpenter, in the remake of VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1995), along with many crime and action films that make use of Pare’s strong presence and powerful physique.  His face was battered and bloody (stage-bloody), as he sat on a rocking chair, on the porch of a stagecoach stop you’ve seen a hundred times, and talked about TRADED.

Michael Pare and Dir. Timothy Woodward (n shades)

HENRY:  I just saw you on the big screen about a week ago in BONE TOMAHAWK.

MICHAEL:  That’s great!  You know, Kurt (Russell) and I met back in 1979;  we had the same manager.  He was one of the first Hollywood people I met.  A fine actor and a great guy.

HENRY:  I’ve been following your career for years, but I never thought of you as a Western guy until recently. But in two years isn’t this your third western?

MICHAEL:  Well, they say that STREETS OF FIRE (1984) was a Western.  Walter Hill is famous for his western – he has trains in every one of his movies.  We had the Iron Horse motorcycle.  But three other times I’ve ridden horses in movies.   I was in a vampire movie (BLOODRAYNE 2: DELIVERANCE - 2007). I play Pat Garrett; I kill Billy the Kid, who was a vampire in the story.  I did another one called TRIPPLECROSS (1995) with Billy Dee Williams and Patrick Bergin.  Three times I’ve ridden horses, but this is the first real Western I’ve done.  (Note: in BONE TOMAHAWK Michael doesn’t ride a horse). 

HENRY:  And how are you enjoying it?

MICHAEL:  It’s great.  You know, everyone who comes to Hollywood wants to make a western, a gangster movie, a sports story – these are the classic Hollywood genres.  And love stories.

HENRY:  Did you grow up with Westerns?

MICHAEL:  Yeah, you know, I’m a baby-boomer, so we spent a lot of time in front of the television watching all those great westerns – TRUE GRIT with John Wayne, STAGECOACH, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY – all the great Clint Eastwoods.  UNFORGIVEN is one of my favorites.   

HENRY:  What attracted you to this role?

MICHAEL:  Well, I’ve worked with Tim Woodward; he’s directed me in a few movies now (4GOT10, CHECKMATE, SWAT: UNIT 877 – all 2015).  He kept talking about a western, and I was just hoping to be in his western.  When he handed me this script, and he said, “This is my next movie,” it’s just a flawless script.  There are just no mistakes, no moments where you say, “Why would they do that?”  Or “How did this happen?”  Just a flawless, classic Western.  Then about a week ago he told me, “Mike, I want you for the lead.”  I almost dropped the phone.  It was like a dream come true.  I like working with Tim a lot.  I have complete trust and faith and confidence.  It just seems to go well  

HENRY:  What is TRADED about?

MICHAEL:  I don’t want to give away the whole story.  My wife, my daughter, my son and I are all living this peaceful existence.  Then things start to go wrong, and all Hell breaks loose.  The old demons rise up, and you know, you can use them to your purpose, if you have a strong enough will.  And we have a happy ending.

HENRY:  Tell me more about your character.  What does he do for a living?

MICHAEL:  I’m a dirt-farmer.  I plant, we have a subsistence farm.  Maybe we get lucky, and we can sell something that’s left over, or a sheep or something, but we’re just subsistence farmer’s living in God’s country.  

HENRY:  When you look at Westerns, are there any actor’s roles you look at and say, I wish I had his part?

MICHAEL:  Most of the hit movies, there’s a part in there for me.  (laughs)

HENRY:  Would you like to do another Western?

MICHAEL:  Absolutely.  I’d like to go away for a few months and shoot a movie.  Take three or four months, and just live on the ranch, in the bunkhouse, with the director, the d.p., all of the principal cast and crew, and really do something special.

HENRY:  We talked about Western movies.  Were there any Western TV shows you watched?

MICHAEL:  Like I said, I was a baby-boomer, so BONANZA, RAWHIDE, Marshal Dillon on GUNSMOKE.  These were all classics.  BONANZA was every Sunday night up until like 7^th grade. 

HENRY:  Which son did you identify with?

MICHAEL:  I guess Adam, because Hoss was kinda dopey, Little Joe was cute, and I wanted to be the one who won all the fights.  The smart one. 

Michael Long, Ardeshir Radpour

Michael Pare & Timothy Woodward

I was lucky to finish with Michael, because he was needed on set.  A climactic scene was being shot, with Michael riding up, against the sun sinking behind the hills, and a setting sun doesn’t permit too many retakes.  I watched director Timothy Woodward Jr., get his scene, and then we went back to that porch, and he gave me a run-down of the story.

TIMOTHY:  TRADED is a period-piece western, takes place in the 1800s.  Our lead character and his family start off very peaceful, a very happy family.  They lose a child, and then their daughter leaves to become a Harvey Girl.  The father goes out looking for her.  We find out that the father was an outlaw; he’s retired from it.  Now he’s on this mission to save her from a prostitution ring she’s been taken into.  He comes in to save the day, and has to battle some of his own demons.  I like to say it’s like TAKEN in the Wild West.  I did a movie before, my last one , 4GOT10, starring Dolph Lundgren and Danny Trejo, and it was shot a lot like a modern western – spaghetti style.  While we were doing it I really started falling in love with doing a Western.  I always loved Westerns growing up as a kid.  I started doing a lot of research to see if we can pull off doing a Western.  What will it take?  We were finding locations, and a script came in that was just written very, very well.  Our (studio) readers loved it, I loved it, And it fit.  It took a lot of convincing of a lot of people, a lot of begging, but there’s a lot of people in this town who are very supportive of doing a western, very excited about it, so we’ve got a good team.

HENRY:  There does seem to be a resurgence of interest in Westerns.

TIMOTHY:  You know, when you’re making a movie, you’re trying to tell a story, you’re trying to create a world that’s real.  A world where people can believe what they see is actually happening.  When you do a Western, you take away the technology, you bring people back to the simple life, you kind of transport them into this world. And it’s a lot easier to get their attention,  because it’s not something they’re seeing every day, like in modern films.  It’s almost like putting someone on another planet.  Because it is something that no one living has ever experienced, other than reading about it, or seeing great movies.    

HENRY: Why do you think there is such a resurgence of interest on Westerns at this time? 

TIMOTHY:  Again, people are looking for an escape.  And there’s always this fascination about gunslingers, outlaws, the country when it wasn’t yet developed, and the Wild West.   There came a time period when (film) was about CGI and things like that, and I think now we’re getting back to a place where it’s about story-telling and connecting with characters.  And in a world where everybody sends a text-message or an email, let’s get introduced to some simple people who believed in love and compassion and communication.

HENRY:  Is this your first period picture?

TIMOTHY:  This is my first true period picture.  I did a futuristic movie last, but as far as one that takes place in the past, this is my first. 

HENRY:  What are the biggest challenges going from doing a present day story to a period picture?

TIMOTHY: Everything has to be created from the ground up.  Anywhere you look now, there’s going to be high-rise buildings.  Every single thing about the characters and what they do has to be period.  Clothing.  Horses.  There’s no cars, no cell phones.  There’s no outlets in the walls.  When you’re location scouting, you’re trying to find a house where there’s nothing in the walls.  Where can I find furniture that’s hand-crafted?  Everything to keep it authentic.  Lucky for us, we were able to connect with Pete (Peter Sherayko), who had a large supply of things.  And we were able to land really good locations like BIG SKY, PARAMOUNT RANCH and WHITE HORSE MOVIE RANCH, and we’re huge about shooting in Southern California.  We’re excited, being a smaller movie, to be shooting here.  We’ve got a big train sequence – one of our guys is going to jump from a horse to a train, they’re going to fight on top of a train.  We’re pushing the boundaries, and having a good time doing it.

HENRY:  You said you were a fan of westerns.  Did you grow up with them?

TIMOTHY:  Of course.  TOMBSTONE is one of my favorite movies of all time, hands down.  I like WYATT EARP a lot, too.  3:10 TO YUMA is one of my recent favorites.  I like TRUE GRIT, the remake.  I have seen the John Wayne classic, and I like it, but I do like the remake a bit better.  I love all of Clint Eastwood’s movies.  THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY; great film.  I used to watch THE LONE RANGER as a kid, from five to ten, every Saturday morning.  What kid doesn’t grow up playing cowboys and Indians? 

HENRY:  How many pictures have you directed before this?

TIMOTHY:  Seven before this, so this is number eight for me.  Things have been moving very fast for me.  But we use a lot of the same actors; we use a lot of the same crew.  We’ve got a unit, we’ve got a team, and it works.  So we keep creating.  I love being on-set.  I love being able to create, to make things happen.  I love seeing the crew and everybody — it’s like a big family, and I love doing this.

HENRY:  How long a shooting schedule do you have?

TIMOTHY:  Eighteen regular days, plus five second-unit days, for horse-riding stuff, so twenty-three total.

HENRY:  Who else is in your cast?

TIMOTHY:  Trace Adkins and Kris Kristofferson are signed on, and we may have someone else, but I can’t say right now for sure.

HENRY:  Do you know what your next project is?

TIMOTHY:  I’ve got one scheduled that’s a modern movie, about a death row inmate, and the last interview he’s going to give.  But I would love to do another Western. Aand I’m even looking at the possibility of doing a TV series. 

HENRY:  I’m not going to ask how this one ends, but is there the possibility of doing a sequel? 

TIMOTHY:  There’s always a possibility.  We have a distributor that stands behind us, and they do a really good job of marketing our product and getting it out.  So if TRADED does really well, and people want it, it could happen. 

HENRY: Speaking internationally, where is the audience for Westerns?

TIMOTHY:  I honestly think  everywhere.  I think everybody is fascinated by it.  It’s funny, because a lot of the international sales guys go, “Oh, Westerns are a tough sell sometimes.”  But our guys are really excited about the project and excited about the prospects.  I think any time you can transport someone’s mind and make them believe in this other world, it’s interesting.  This story has love, it has drama, it has action, it has suspense, so there’s a lot of stuff going on.  Michael Pare is the man – he’s an all-star.  Peter Sherayko helped make this all possible, we wouldn’t even have attempted to do all this if we didn’t have one guy able to really to show us the way.  If I say, “Hey, would this happen?” he’s right there to tell me. In addition to just supplying the stuff, his knowledge is huge.  And having his team is huge.  And we have a young crew of good guys.  Don’t ever say you can’t: you can.

Peter Sherayko, Producer Michael Long, propman Christian Ramirez,

Wrangler Adeshir Radpour, Cheryl Rusa - wardrobe, photog David Coardoza

There were a lot of familiar faces on the crew, members of Peter Sherayko’s Caravan West outfit who’ve worked together on dozens of films, TV shows, commercials and documentaries.  In addition to Nikki Pelley, Christian Ramirez was working props, horseman and cowboy poet Troy Andrew Smith was wrangling, as was Ardeshir Radpour, sporting a scruffy beard for his on-camera role in the upcoming WESTWORLD.  I asked Peter how he got involved with TRADED.

Peter Sherayko

PETER:  (Producer) Mike Long called me about a month ago, and said we have a western to do, and he’d gotten a recommendation on me.  They came out to the ranch, they looked at the location, the costumes, the props, the guns, the horses.  We started talking, and Timothy, the director said, “And you were Texas Jack in TOMBSTONE!  We’ve got to have you!”  So I’m going to be acting in the movie as well.  And because of the amount of stuff I’m bringing in, they made me the consulting producer on the movie.  So I get another producer credit, which I’m very proud of.  It’s something that has happened over the last two years that has really surprised me.

HENRY:  Who do you play?

PETER:  Almost Texas Jack.  They want me to dress the same way, and Timothy’s writing the part in as we speak.  It’s not until the last week of shooting, because next week I’m in Louisiana doing ROOTS.  I’m a Confederate officer, leading a charge against Fort Pillow. 

HENRY:  Weren’t you just on the other side, playing General Grant?

PETER:  I was so thrilled with that.  I took the director and writer and producer on a tour of the Caravan West Ranch.  They were just doing a promo shoot to see if they could raise the money to shoot a movie called ELLEN BOND, who General Grant hired to be a spy in the Confederate White House.  As I’m giving them a tour, and naturally I have a cigar, the director kept looking at me, and finally he says, “Would you like to be General Grant?”  I said, “Well yeah, I’d love to.”  Then they put me through make-up – which I never do – and when they were finished, I did look like General Grant.  And I have scenes with the slave, the slave owner Grant is trying to make a deal with, and with President Lincoln. 

Peter, Nikki Pelley

HENRY: You never stop working.

PETER:  Yup.  I’m gone for the week while TRADED is at Paramount Ranch.  I’ll be finishing up in Louisiana, and driving straight to the set at White Horse Ranch in Yucca Valley. 

HENRY:   I haven’t been to White Horse Ranch.  Isn’t that near Pioneertown? 

PETER:  Yes.  White Horse Ranch only has a saloon, a jail, and maybe one other building, but a lot of false fronts and small buildings.  But this movie takes place in several towns, and they couldn’t shoot in Melody Ranch because of WESTWORLD.  So we’re doing White Horse as Wichita, whereas Paramount is going to be Dodge City. 

One great thing about visiting the sets of small movies is important stuff is shot every day – there’s no dead time.  The first thing I’d seen shot was the very end of the picture.  I’d missed the kid brother’s death earlier in the day – I hear it was heartbreaking – but I watched the scene of the boy’s body being laid out.  By then the sun was gone, and I had to be on my way.  I still have a tape-player in my car.  I pushed in a cassette of THE LONE RANGER radio show, and listened to The William Tell Overture as I passed hills and trees, cattle and sheep, but not a power-line or car headlight until I was almost out of the Big Sky property.  It was perfect.

SHOOTING SCRIPTS – FROM PULP WESTERN TO FILM by Bob Herzberg

A Book Review

The knowledgeable, entertaining and prolific Mr. Herzberg (REVOLUTIONARY MEXICO ON FILM, THE F.B.I. AND THE MOVIES, THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN – COMMUNIST AND LEFT-WING IDEOLOGY IN HOLLYWOOD, etc.) takes Western writing seriously.  He treats it not as an escapist trifle, but as literature of real merit, and SHOOTING SCRIPTS is an often amusing and always enlightening study of seven writers whose novels, and sometimes screenplays helped define how we look at the West.

Starting with the basic premise that God created Owen Wister (THE VIRGINIAN), and Wister begat Zane Grey, Max Brand, and Hopalong Cassidy-creator Clarence Mulford, Herzberg examines the highly productive seven – not all of them magnificent – whose work so frequently graced the screen from the Great Depression through the 1970s: Ernest Haycox, Luke Short, Frank Gruber, Norman A. Fox, Louis L’Amour, Marvin H. Albert, and Clair Huffaker. 

His analysis is in-depth.  Each author receives a detailed biography, and each of his filmed novels receives a step-by-step comparison of where plots were followed, and where they strayed, where it helped and where it hurt.  Mr. Herzberg is not shy in offering his often withering criticisms of much-loved writers.  He considers Frank Gruber a talentless hack, and Louis L’Amour endlessly repetitive, and with something of a master-race obsession.  He has laudable respect for the Ernest ‘STAGECOACH’ Haycox, and Luke ‘Everything with Randolph Scott’ Short.  He also gives Huffaker, the screenwriter of many of the best big and small-screen Westerns of the 1960s, attention that is long overdue.

Every period film, consciously or not reflects two periods: when the story is set, and when the film is made.  An unexpected element of the book is Herzberg’s political analysis of the films, often revealing an undercurrent of McCarthyism or Communism that went over the audience’s heads.  His discussion of L’Amour’s SHALAKO alone is worth the price of admission. 

The one thing this volume lacks is a simple list of credits for each author.  It’s all there, but you have to search through the text to find it.  Published by McFarland, SHOOTING SCRIPTS is available from Amazon and other fine booksellers for $35. 

ENJOY ‘RAMONA MOVIE NIGHT’ AND ‘RANCHO CAMULOS DAY’ THIS WEEKEND!

Rancho Camulos, the ranch home a mile from Piru that inspired Helen Hunt Jackson to write the international best-seller RAMONA, will celebrate its history this weekend with a pair of Ramona-centric events!  On Saturday night, November 7^th, you can have an elegant candlelight dinner at the 1852 adobe, and then watch two – count ‘em two – silent film versions of RAMONA, both filmed at the Rancho.  The 1910 version, directed by D. W. Griffith, and starring Mary Pickford, will be followed by clips from the recently discovered, long ‘lost’ 1916 version, starring Ada Gleason, which in its original full version was said to run over three hours!  The price per ticket is $50.  On Sunday, Rancho Camulos Day, from noon ‘til 4, enjoy a variety of historical entertainments, reenactments, food and fun, and a 3:30 pm screening of the 1928 Dolores Del Rio version of RAMONA.  Tickets are $5.  For more information, and to buy tickets, visit their official site HERE.  

JOIN ME AT THE AUTRY SATURDAY, NOV. 14, FOR ‘OUTLAW JOSEY WALES’

I’m tremendously flattered that I’ve been asked to introduce THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (1976) at the Autry, as a part of their long-running ‘What is a Western?’ film series.  This emotional and highly personal post-Civil War drama, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, is as good as anything else he’s directed before or since.  It features a powerful cast, including Oscar nominees Sondra Locke (for THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER) and Chief Dan George (for LITTLE BIG MAN), John Vernon, Sam Bottoms, and many others.  I can’t wait to share some of the remarkable behind-the-scenes stories about Clint, screenwriter Philip Kaufman, and novelist Forrest Carter.  The program takes place at 1:30 pm, at the Wells Fargo Theatre, and is free with your paid museum admission.  I hope to see you there!

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Me, Bobbi Jean Bell & Jim Christina

Something new has been added!  Jim Christina and Bobbi Jean Bell, the good folks who do the Writer’s Block Show on radio every Thursday night at eight, have made me a regular part of their program.  Every other show, I’ll drop by to give a sneak preview of the next Round-up!

And coming soon to the Round-up will be my interview with Western actor Bruce Boxleitner; director Steve Carver, who has been working for years on a stunning Western photography project; and David Gregory, who has created a new Western radio drama.

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Material Copyright November 2015 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved