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

‘LONGMIRE’ PLAY-DATE, ‘JANE’ REPRIEVE, ‘BONE TOMAHAWK’ REVEAL, PLUS ‘EDGE’ TO CUT A PILOT, AMC ORDERS REDFORD WEST SERIES!

‘LONGMIRE’ RETURNS, NOW TO NETFLIX, THURS., SEPT 10!

The long-awaited 4^th season of LONGMIRE is ‘in the can’ and almost here!  What was A&E’s most successful drama ever – until they abruptly dropped it – will premiere in a little over a month on Netflix.   It will NOT be available on broadcast or cable or satellite – you’ll have to subscribe to Netflix to see it through the internet.  The entire ten-episode season will be available on that day, so if you want, you can binge-watch it in a sitting (and have no more LONGMIRE to watch for a year – ulp!).  All the regular characters are back, and season 4 will begin right were season 3 ended.  And here’s some great news: because Netflix is a pay service, there are no commercials, so the episodes will be not 48 minutes, but at least an hour long!  In my LONGMIRE article in the upcoming October TRUE WEST, I’ll be discussing the whole A&E/Netflix TV saga with LONGMIRE-creator Craig Johnson, and actor Zahn McClarnon, who plays Navajo Officer Mathias.

‘JANE’ RESCUED FROM RELATIVITY CHAPTER 11!

Finally some positive news for the long-embattled JANE GOT A GUN.  The film’s principal financier, lawyer David Boises, got JANE extricated from Relativity Media the day before the imploding mini-major filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  The movie was set to be a co-release by Relativity and The Weinstein Company.  It hasn’t been announced yet if Weinstein is still in the mix.  To say star Natalie Portman’s first film as a producer has been beleaguered is putting it mildly.  It started when acclaimed writer/director Lynne Ramsay quit on what would have been the first day of shooting.  Star Jude Law went with her, the producers scrambled to recast, Acclaimed director Gavin O’Connor stepped in, Ewan MacGregor stepped in and, against all predictions, the movie was made.  The story concerns a woman who turns for help to her former lover when former associates come after her outlaw husband. 

‘BONE TOMAHAWK’ TO PREMIERE AT ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE ‘FANTASIC FEST’!

Kurt Russell, cowboys and cannibals come together in BONE TOMAHAWK, the new dark Western which will have its world launch at the 11^th annual Alamo Drafthouse Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.  The Fest runs from September 24^th through October 1^st.   The film also features Lili Simmons, Sean Young, David Arquette, Sid Haig, Michael Pare, and Oscar-nominee Richard Jenkins.  I had the chance to visit the set, and you’ll be reading my interview with writer/director Craig Zahler soon. 

ROBERT REDFORD’S ‘THE WEST’ COMES TO AMC SUMMER 2016

When you’re Robert Redford, you don’t need to audition.  No pilot was required for AMC to sign up for eight one-hour episodes of THE WEST, a docudrama series from Sundance Films that had once been announced at the Discovery Channel.  A new look at familiar bad men and good men of all shades, like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Jesse James and Billy the Kid, the series will feature commentaries by actors known to the genre, including James Caan, Tom Sellick, Ed Harris and Keifer Sutherland.  It’s planned to run in the summer of 2016, alongside the final episodes of HELL ON WHEELS. 

WAYNE DIEHL ON THE ‘WRITER’S BLOCK’ GUEST THURSDAY NIGHT!

On Thursday, August 6th at 8 pm, Wayne Diehl, author of THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF MISSY MONTAIGNE, will be joining hosts Jim Christina and Bobbi Jean Bell for an hour of talk on their weekly show, Writer’s Block, on L.A.Talk Radio.  You can listen live (at ‘Listen Live 2’) HERE.  You can call in live at 818-602-4929.  And if you miss the live broadcast, or want to catch up on earlier shows, you can find podcasts of them HERE 

PILOT BASED ON ‘EDGE’ BOOKS ORDERED BY AMAZON

George Gilman’s THE EDGE Western novels and characters will be the basis of a series pilot for Amazon.  Written by the prolific English author in the early 1970s, to follow up with his successful novelizations of the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood trilogy, they are cold and violent spaghetti westerns on the page.  Shane Black, who wrote and directed IRON MAN 3, will co-write with Fred Dekker, direct and exec produce.  Max Martini, the SEAL Commander from CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, will play Josiah Hedges, aka Edge, out to avenge his brother’s death.  Ryan Kwanten, of TRUE BLOOD fame, will play Edge’s quarry, the likable son of a senator, secretly a sadistic monster.    

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

So much new Western news!  And people keep asking me, ‘Do they make Westerns anymore?’  Duh!  Have a great week, folks!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright August 2014 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

‘MAGNIFICENT 7’ MEMORIES, PLUS WESTERN PORTRAIT PROJECT, ME ON WRITER’S BLOCK, AND DON RICARDO RETURNS TO THE PICO ADOBE!

PRODUCER WALTER MIRISCH ON ‘THE MAGNIFICENT 7’

On Tuesday night, July 14^th, at Santa Monica’s Aero Theatre, an invited private audience attended the annual James Coburn Movie Night, part of the weekly KCET Cinema Series.  The James Coburn film to be screened was THE MAGNIFICENT 7, and it was that much more special a night, because the movie’s famed producer Walter Mirisch would be attending, and receiving the KCET Lumiere Award, recognizing excellence, artistry and innovation for outstanding contribution to film.

I spoke to Mr. Mirisch on the red carpet, and we talked about his early Western days, when he produced Joel McCrea Westerns at Monogram Studios (if you missed that, HERE is the link).

Also present were Coburn’s son and daughter, James Jr. and Lisa, and Lynda Erkiletian, exec director of the James and Paula Coburn Foundation.  Mirisch’s son and frequent collaborator Andrew Mirisch also attended.

The Coburn family

Onstage, KCET head of development Mary Mazur introduced Mr. Mirisch. “I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to present this award to Walter tonight.  My first job in television was at NBC, and one of my first executive assignments was as the program executive on a series of TV Movies called DESPERADO, which were produced by Walter and his son Drew.”  There were five DESPERADO movies, the original written by Elmore Leonard.

WALTER MIRISCH: Somehow or other, receiving awards never gets old.  This is a wonderful evening.  It gives me a great opportunity to see one of my really treasured memories, THE MAGNIFICENT 7, which is really a milestone film in my career and in my life.  And I am deeply moved, honored and proud to receive this most distinguished award here this evening.  I am particularly proud to remember that it comes from KCET, whose studio was my home for ten years in the very beginning of my career, and where all the films of my earlier career were made.  (Note: the original home of KCET was Monogram Studios.)  I’m also proud that a sponsor of this event is the James and Paula Coburn Foundation, because Jim was a friend of mine.  I was crazy about him.  We first met when he was in a segment of a television show I was making, that starred Joel McCrea, WICHITA TOWN.  He was in the pilot episode, which was called THE NIGHT THE COWBOYS ROARED.  Jimmy was just great in it, and I remembered him, and as my career progressed, and as his did, I kept looking for opportunities to find a role.  It didn’t happen until THE MAGNIFICENT 7 came along, and then I did find the right role for him, and I think you’ll agree when you see the picture, because he’s just marvelous in it.    Later on we continued to work together, and then Jim appeared in THE GREAT ESCAPE, also a signal film in my curriculum.  And then finally, the last one he did for me was MIDWAY, in 1975.  I’m also proud to be a part of this continuing saga of KCET’s contribution to our community.  I’ve enjoyed it all my life, and I continue to.  So here we go, and if you ask me some questions, I’ll try to answer them, Pete, and I hope they won’t be too embarrassing.

The Mirisch family

DEADLINE: HOLLYWOOD writer Pete Hammond then took the stage, with a recommendation that we all read Walter Mirisch’s autobiography, I THOUGHT WE WERE MAKING MOVIES, NOT HISTORY.

PETE HAMMOND:  Look at the cover: all of those Oscars, and the Thalberg Award, and the Golden Globe.  This is one helluvah career that you’ve had.  I’m curious how MAGNIFICENT 7 came about, because there was this Japanese film, SEVEN SAMURAI.

WALTER MIRISCH:  Kurosawa, the great Japanese director, made THE SEVEN SAMURAI.  I saw it and thought it was wonderful.  It starred the great Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who I had the privilege of working with; he appeared in my film MIDWAY many years later.  For those of you who haven’t seen it, it’s the story of Japanese soldiers of fortune, in the medieval period of Japan.  And I kept thinking about whether it could be translated into an American picture, when a friend of mine who was associated with Yul Brynner called me up.  He said, you’d asked me about the rights to SEVEN SAMURI.  It’s funny, Yul Brynner brought the same question up to me, because he also had Japanese connections.  We both thought that perhaps he could intervene with Toho, the Japanese company that had produced it.  I had just succeeded in attracting to our company John Sturges.  I was a great fan of John’s movies, and I called him up and said, John, I think I’ve got the first movie for us to make.  I want you to come over, and I want to run THE SEVEN SAMURAI with you.  The two of us sat alone in a projection room and watched it, and had the best time ever, talking while the movie was running, and translating all of the sequences of Mr. Kurasawa’s movie into the western motif.  So in the projection room we made a western of THE SEVEN SAMAURI.  Then we hit on a marvelous writer, Walter Newman, who did the basic script of THE MAGNIFICENT 7. 

PETE HAMMOND:  I notice Walter Newman is not listed on the posters on the lobby.  Was he a blacklisted writer at that time?

WALTER MIRISCH:  No, he was not a blacklisted writer.  Don’t let that get around.  However, Walter was very stubborn.  While we were shooting the picture, we needed some work done while we were down in Mexico.  I asked Walter to come down, and for one reason or another, he couldn’t come.  I think the Writer’s Guild then had an arbitration, and decided the writer we had brought down had made a significant contribution, and should receive some kind of a shared credit.  Walter resented that; he was angry at his Guild, not at John or I, and he said that if they didn’t give him sole credit, he didn’t want anything.  It was a very serious career mistake that Walter, who was a wonderful writer, made.  And it was Bill Roberts who did the work down in Mexico, and helped us field the suggestions that came from our always cooperative cast, all of whom wanted to enlarge their roles.  That’s how that came about.    

PETE HAMMOND:  Actually I think James Coburn was one member of the cast who liked not having many lines in the film.  Does he have eleven lines?

James Coburn, Horst Bucholtz

WALTER MIRISCH:  I never counted them.  However, he plays this laconic character.  I shall never forget, one day Walter Newman came in to my office and said, I’ve got to ask you about something that I’ve been noodling with, and can’t make up my mind.  If two men faced one another, and one man had a gun and the other had a knife, and they both fired at the same time, which would arrive first?  I said, no question about it, the bullet would.  He said, I was thinking about having the knife-thrower do it.  I said that’s a great idea; and that’s how that got into the movie.  It was showmanship, and Jim was the perfect one to execute it. 

PETE HAMMOND:  Talk about the rest of the cast, because Steve McQueen was starring in a television series, WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE, at the time.  

WALTER MIRISCH:  The casting of THE MAGNIFICENT 7 was kind of a fun exercise for John Sturges and myself.  Because we had these wonderful roles to fill.  And I’d try and get all of my favorite actors in, and John would try and get his.  That’s how Jim Coburn got in, because I had been looking for a really good Jim Coburn role since WICHITA TOWN.  John Sturges had made a movie for MGM with Frank Sinatra called NEVER SO FEW.  And he kept telling me he had this kid in it, and the kid is marvelous, and we’ve got to find a part for the kid.  And the kid, of course, was Steve McQueen.

PETE HAMMOND:  Charles Bronson?

WALTER MIRISCH:  Charlie Bronson I had known for a long time, and the O’Reilley part just cried out for Bronson.  I think the most exciting piece of casting comes with the story.  A couple of years ago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York honored me.  At the event they asked Eli Wallach to come and speak about me.  I hadn’t seen Eli a lot in recent years; he always lived in New York, and we didn’t run across one another too often.  Eli got up and said, I think I owe my whole career to Walter Mirisch.  Well, I perked up.  I didn’t know why he felt that way, but I was interested, as I hope you all are.  And Eli said, before I met Walter Mirisch, I was just another Jewish actor in New York.  After I met him, I became a Mexican bandit for life!

PETE HAMMOND:  It was Sturges’ idea?

WALTER MIRISCH:  It was John’s idea.  And it was brilliant.  I said, are you crazy?  He said no, no, think, and we looked at some film, and then I met him, and it came together.  John and I had a wonderful relationship.  As a matter of fact I am indebted to him for the title of my book.  He had called me once, while I was writing it.  He was retired by then.  He loved boats, and he was down in Mexico someplace, on his boat.  He called me and said, Walter, I’ve been asked to do an article about THE GREAT ESCAPE.   And I don’t really remember some things that I wanted to write about.  And I was wondering if you still have a copy of the script?   I said John; I can’t believe you don’t have a copy of the script: this is one of the best movies of your whole life.  He said, what are you talking about?    I thought we were just making movies, not history.  So that resonated with me, and I used that as the title.

PETE HAMMOND:  You really didn’t think you were making history when you were making all these movies?

WALTER MIRISCH:  No – I was trying to make a living.

PETE HAMMOND:  They say music is the soundtrack of your life; your movies are the soundtrack of my life, from SOME LIKE IT HOT to WEST SIDE STORY.  WEST SIDE STORY and THE APARTMENT were back to back Best Picture winners.  Billy Wilder, you did nine films with him.

WALTER MIRISCH:  Actually he worked for nobody else during the period of seventeen years when we were together.  However, the important thing in my career was not just making those movies with Billy Wilder; what was more important was having a thousand lunches with him.  He was the most interesting, stimulating, brilliant man.

KCET CEO Michael Riley, Mirisch, KCET COO Mary Mazur

PETE HAMMOND:  Can I say how old you are?  Because you’re still working every day, going to the office, developing movies.  And you’re 93 years old.

WALTER MIRISCH:  I have done nothing to deserve that.  It’s probably genetic.

PETE HAMMOND:  I heard you just had a Hallmark movie done.

WALTER MIRISCH:  Yes, they just reran it a couple of weeks ago.

PETE HAMMOND:  And another PINK PANTHER?

WALTER MIRISCH:  Yes, I’m working on the script of that for MGM now.  It’s going to be a combination of live action and animation.  It’s really challenging and something new, and I’m very excited about it.

PETE HAMMOND:  Do you have any favorites among your films?

WALTER MIRISCH:  How many children do you have?  Do you have a personal favorite?  If you have, you won’t tell.

PETE HAMMOND:  Your films really hold up.  They live on.

WALTER MIRISCH:  That’s what classic movies are, I guess.  And that’s the exciting thing about living to this ripe old age.  You get to see how succeeding generations react to your films, and to the things you wanted to say to your audiences.  And it’s particularly true to WEST SIDE STORY, and the message of WEST SIDE STORY.  That message needs to be repeated again and again, because we still haven’t learned our lesson.  IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, in which attacked the racial issue right in the heart of the civil rights revolution, I hoped would make a real contribution to better understanding, and tolerance.  I like to think that it made some kind of contribution, but it didn’t solve it; the problem is still with us.  Motion pictures, besides entertaining, can be tremendously important in educating people.  Because it’s a way to make people understand issues in a way that’s easy to accept.  And hopefully they will come away from it feeling much more sympathetic to that black detective who is the protagonist. 

PETE HAMMOND:  Now THE MAGNIFICENT 7 lives on; you made three sequels yourself to this movie.

WALTER MIRISCH:  Yes, the first one, Yul Brynner appeared in, RETURN OF THE 7.  Then other people played him.  And over the years we used the franchise a number of times. 

PETE HAMMOND:  The TV series.

WALTER MIRISCH:  And it is now being remade.  We’re shooting it now, down in Louisiana.  It stars Denzel Washington, who plays the part that Yul Brynner played.  Chris Pratt, who plays the lead in JURASSIC WORLD.  And Ethan Hawk.  It’s got a wonderful cast.

PETE HAMMOND:  And you’re going to have an executive producer credit on it.  Is it going to have any of that iconic theme by Elmer Bernstein, one of the most famous pieces of music in movie history?

WALTER MIRISCH:  It was not nominated.  Actually it was nominated in one of the sequels; but not in the original.  It just goes to show you that the Academy Awards are not perfect. (Note: Elmer Bernstein’s scores for MAGNIFICENT 7 and RETURN OF THE 7 were both Oscar-nominated, and both lost)

Mirisch and Hammond admiring a huge poster

PETE HAMMOND:  This coming from a man who used to be president of the Academy.

WALTER MIRISCH:  It is a magnificent piece of music, and it developed its own life.  It became the theme of the Marlboro cigarette company, and they played  it for years and years and years.

JAMES HORNER COMPOSED ‘MAGNIFICENT 7’ REMAKE’S SCORE BEFORE HIS DEATH!

And on the heels of our MAGNIFICENT 7 story, a remarkable surprise!  While composer James Horner recently died in a private plane crash, we will hear more of his music.  During an NPR interview, MAGNIFICENT 7 remake director Antoine Fuqua revealed that Horner, who also scored Fuqua’s just-released SOUTHPAW, surprised him with a completed score for MAGNIFICENT 7 based on the screenplay – currently shooting.  For the complete interview, go 

HERE.  

SPENT SUNDAY WITH BRUCE BOXLEITNER!

watching the GUNSMOKE and HOW THE WEST WAS WON star pose for photographer/action director Steve Carver (LONE WOLF MCQUADE, BIG BAD MAMA).  For his upcoming photography book, UNSUNG HEROES & VILLAINS OF THE SILVER SCREEN, Carver uses 19^th Century photo techniques, and he’s been taking these portraits of stars and characters actors for 22 years!  There aren’t a lot of smiles in them, either: just like the old tintype days, they have to pose motionless for 8 seconds.  Try it!  The whole story, and wonderful portraits, and my interview with Bruce, coming soon to the Round-up!

I’M THE ‘WRITER’S BLOCK’ GUEST THURSDAY NIGHT!

Jim Bell, Bobbi Jean Bell & me

On Thursday, July 30^th at 8 pm, I’ll be joining hosts Jim Christina and Bobbi Jean Bell for an hour of talk about writing and up-coming Westerns on their weekly show, Writer’s Block, on L.A.Talk Radio.  You can listen live (at ‘Listen Live 2’) HERE.  You can call in live at 818-602-4929.  And if you miss the live broadcast, or want to catch up on earlier shows, you can find podcasts of them HERE .

SEE ‘DON RICARDO RETURNS’ FRIDAY NIGHT AT ANDRES PICO ADOBE!

The Andres Pico Adobe Museum is a jewel in the San Fernando Valley.  The headquarters of the San Fernando Valley Historical Society, built in 1853, it is the second oldest home in Los Angeles.  On Friday night, July 31^st, at 8 pm, they will screen the 1946 swashbuckler DON RICARDO RETURNS, starring Fred Coby and Lita Baron (a.k.a. Isabelita).  This rarely seen (I’ve never seen it) PRC Studios Spanish adventure story was filmed in part at the Pico Adobe itself, so seeing it there should be particular fun.  The story is by Johnston McCulley, the creator of Zorro.  The screenplay is co-written by Jack DeWitt, who would later gain fame for scripting A MAN CALLED HORSE, and Renault Duncan, pen-name for the screen’s Cisco Kid, Duncan Renaldo!  The address is 10940 Sepulveda Ave., Mission Hills 91346.  Their phone is 818-365-7810.  Their website is www.sfvhs.com. 

The movie is free, the gates open at 7 pm, so you can come early, and bring snacks or a picnic dinner.  If you’ve never visited the Adobe before, here’s a perfect opportunity.        

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Have a great week – or what’s left of the week!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright July 2015 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved