It’s difficult to believe that living icon Nicolas Cage has never been in a Western, considering his filmography of well over one hundred films. Director Brett Donowho rectifies that by having Cage play a gunslinger whose past catches up with him in The Old Way.
FilmInk chatted to Brett about working in the genre, Cage, and why he thinks Westerns remain important.
W.C. Fields is famous for saying “Never work with children or animals.” In The Old Way, you work with both. Ryan Kiera Armstrong is a force of nature as Brooke. How was it directing such a bright upcoming talent?
“Haha, yes there is a certain aspect of sadomasochism that is required to be a filmmaker but a period Western with a child star on an indie budget was certainly a new level. I cannot speak more highly of Ryan Kiera Armstrong as both an actor and human. After I read the script [by Carl W. Lucas], the first thought that crossed my mind was not who is going to play the lead of Colton Briggs but being a dad myself with three daughters, I was thinking how on earth are we going to find a precocious talented twelve-year-old actor who has the emotional IQ to portray this three-dimensional young lady on the spectrum.
“Thousands of auditions later and quite literally the last audition I see, I find myself standing on the street corner in Chicago with tears forming in my eyes with emotional release having found my Brooke.
“Ryan’s audition was at performance level and even then, represented the final performance we see now. Nothing more enjoyable than working with artists and craftspeople who bring their A game and are just as passionate as I am, and Ryan, mark my words, is the star of tomorrow. She was always prepared and at 13 now going on 35 she was able to take the subtlest of direction and nail it every time. So proud of her and thrilled she brought Brooke Briggs to life.”
Everyone is going to ask you about working with Nicolas Cage, especially in his first Western. What’s particularly interesting about his character is that he seems to be on the spectrum. What methods did you use to get Nic to convey that?
“I started as an actor, so Nic and I hit it off as we both spoke the same language and had many conversations about what some would say is the lost art of acting.
“Directing is being able to communicate a vision and then collaborate with the cast and crew you assemble to hopefully create a solid piece of art reflecting the talent of those under the ‘big top’, if you will. I am really proud to say the cast and crew came together and we made something really special here; everyone contributing their own perspective and art form with me steering the proverbial ship.
“Cage needs no ‘direction’, but as a pro and talented artist, joins the team to collaborate and contribute his vast wisdom and experience to the collective art.
“From the first moment I read the script, it wasn’t just the homage this script possessed to the traditional plot points of loss and revenge of the classic Western, but the fresh take of showing this story through the father and daughter relationship of Colton and Brooke. The journey we go on discovering the relationship between this retired gunslinger and his daughter and the story of two people on the spectrum learning about themselves and each other.
“I expressed this early on to both Nic and Ryan. As one who is a huge advocate (I grew up interpreting for the deaf), I found the story of a father and daughter caught in the solitude of their own loneliness and isolation from a world they don’t fit in, inspiring, moving and irrespective of genre, a story that had to be told. With each actor, I discussed how best to showcase that arc of the character relationship; not just with each other but also themselves as they make these discoveries about themselves.
“I am happy to hear you perceived this. I chose not to address this issue on the nose and let the audience come to their own conclusion, so I am always happy when someone ‘gets it’. I am honoured to have been able to work with both Nic and Ryan and look forward to doing so again.”
The list of amazing character actors who make an appearance is stunning, especially Clint Howard and Abraham Benrubi. Did you enjoy working with such seasoned professionals and giving them a chance to stand out?
“I love this question. From the first conversation with Nic when I told him I wanted to make sure I have the best actors I can find so that every role down to the one liner was at his caliber, I set out on that path with my casting director Farrah West. Shout out to Farrah as there are few humans that will work 18 hours a day like I do, and she was always there, even at 4am sometimes trying to fulfil my vision and scouring the earth to find the best talent.
“Clint and I actually worked together on my film Music Within years ago, so upon my first reading I knew immediately I was going to approach him and see if he was available. What was so great about that was he called me after reading the script and said, “Brett, really like this script… I just want you to know I have a new look now and have a long white beard…” and I immediately responded, “That’s fantastic, send me a photo!” As soon as he texted me the photo, I was laughing because it was the exact look I had envisioned as an homage to the old Westerns that have this kind of character. And Abraham Benrubi… what an amazing human. I had never worked with him before but as I would describe the characters, I was envisioning Farrah would come back with these perfect representations and he is the epitome of Big Mike. I really feel blessed because the supporting cast as written can come off the page as small parts and as an actor myself, I don’t believe in such a thing. There is no small part and acting to me is about listening. It’s not about the dialogue but what you are doing in those moments that everyone else is talking. I worked with all of the supporting cast to identify their own arc and have specificity, so am really happy that this was noticed because not unlike the stage, it’s the full company that makes up the production and I appreciate all of this cast for each of their contributions and subtle nuances. A feature is merely the sum of its parts, and I am happy this puzzle came together into a tapestry people are enjoying.”
The movie is filmed in Montana. What drew you to that location?
“I consider myself a Texan, however my dad was in the US Air Force and so I was born on the Malstrom Air Force base in Montana where I lived the first two months of life. How surreal to find myself back in the state I was born for the first time in fifty years to make this film.
“Sion Michel [cinematographer] and I, from the beginning, discussed trying to stand out a bit from the dusty New Mexico desert look that is so common to the era of Westerns we love. And it was after scouting Paradise Valley, Montana, that we were convinced this was the backdrop we had to use as our canvas to paint on. There is nothing quite like the vistas, mountains, and streams of Montana.
“There was a moment in the middle of prepping the film, the producers were debating moving the entire show to New Mexico and it was at that point I was like, “No guys, Montana is now a character in this film, and I have fallen in love.” And the locations I was able to find were literally the epitome of what I envisioned. Colton’s homestead as an example; it is the exact vision I had with the A frame barn in front of mountains with the log cabin in the foreground. A little surreal to be honest, as it was the exact vision in my head. I can say that for each of the locations and I spent months finding them.”
There are some obvious film references in the movie. High Noon and True Grit come to mind. What are some of your favourite Westerns? Was there any film that stuck out to you as particularly important?
“I grew up watching Westerns but when tackling this project, I decided to go back and watch as many as I could. So hard to pick my favourites. From Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo and Red River, to Gregory Peck in High Noon as you mention, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly to Eastwood’ masterpiece Unforgiven. Of course, True Grit and my personal favourite in modern times Tombstone. But something about Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time In The West that I watched several times that stuck with me. I would say that influenced me the most on this picture. Nothing quite like the harmonica man Bronson.
“In approaching The Old Way, Sion and I discussed at great lengths about making a modern movie that had both the aesthetic and “feel” of these iconic westerns, yet with a fresh take. To both give a feeling of homage to these greats and yet with a modern twist. This translated into choosing Montana as our backdrop, which was not the typical dessert of New Mexico as mentioned.
“And then with costumes by the amazing Vicki Hales, and remarkable set deck by Tesla Hasting, bring the authenticity of the era to complement the amazing locations. There were different aspects I took from each film; pacing, intensity, suspense, music, location…The cinematic language I presume we all recognise is the landscape of the Western. Both for its majesty as well as how it plays a specific and influential character in the movies. It is the harshness of the terrain itself that shows how tough our cowboys are. The very idea that they can confront the unknown wilderness and survive.
“One will notice as they watch the film, we start out with these magnificent wide shots exposing not just the beauty of the location but also the distance found between Colton and Brooke as father and daughter. If you notice in the photo in the living room as Colton pulls out the old Colt pistol, you can see the family photos with Colton on one side and Brooke on the other side of her mother Ruth (Kerry Knuppe). This distance as represented visually throughout the first act in both the blocking and the wide anamorphic frame allows me to show the landscape but then as the story progresses, we cyclone into this funnel with the frame becoming tighter as their relationship grows and the tension ramps up.”
Why do you think audiences respond to Westerns as a genre?
“As critical as some can be about the simplicity of the Western genre, it’s what I love most about it personally and I think that it is true of other fans of the genre. Here we have a simple story filled with complex and three-dimensional characters battling the harshness of the wilderness with the hope to survive. And what made this one stand out is having a ruthless gunslinger and his daughter on the spectrum. For the first time in the Western, we are defining a condition that existed in the late 1800s through the lens of modern psychology and then questioning as we look back. “Was that character a sociopath or did they perhaps have autism?” As we see here, Colton and Brooke are allowed to communicate and find themselves as they share their personal perspectives on life at the fire scene – my favourite scene in the film. It is here that these characters begin their transformation and begin their journey toward finding love. Thus, they are autist and not sociopathic in my mind, as they find their emotions. The wild west in its harsh reality of life in this era was unrelenting and pragmatically real. Your survival on the frontier oftentimes came down to your grit, determination, and how you handled the forces of nature ever-present in your face. In this modern time, we still as a society, for all our advances, have real world problems and issues that must be faced and solved. By looking to our past and seeing how the men and women faced life and death and chose from day to day to make decisions based on integrity and truth, the “Cowboy Way” it is called, we can learn to help and solve some of our current issues with the same grit and resolve. I think at its core, this is why specifically at this time in history, the Western is making a comeback.”
A tricky question, but what is your favourite Nicolas Cage performance?
“I almost said what I tend to answer with what’s your favourite questions above, that it’s one I dislike the most. Especially as an ADHD artist, my brain is always rapid fire and I like so many different aspects of so many of the Westerns I’ve seen, and of course who can pick the best Nic performance!? I will say that Red Rock West is when he entered my psyche, and I was like “alright we have to keep an eye on this guy.” FACE/OFF will always be a top five as his performance was as epic as the film, and I would say because I was so moved by Oliver Stone’s movie and the subject matter, Nic’s performance in World Trade Center I still see in my head today.”
Can you sum up why people should see The Old Way?
“The hardest part of current society is that we have become in the later generations, in my opinion, so critical that we forget to acknowledge the hard work and effort that 200, and in some cases on studio level movies, 1000s of artisans and craftsman have sacrificed to make a piece of art. So, whether one likes my movie or any other, I hope we take pause, if even for a minute, to appreciate the extreme effort that was put into a piece of art just as if you are walking in a museum and happen to not like the artist’s painting but recognise the talent and effort reflected therein.
“All that to say, I am an indie filmmaker, and I am honoured and humbled this picture received a theatrical release in the US and other countries in the world, and will soon be available to the world. I am making a concerted effort to go back to making stories that I love and resonate with me on an emotional, if not esoteric, level and I hope that this translates to every viewer. We all love the crash ‘em up, big budget fantastical extravaganza that is the big budget escape fest. With The Old Way, I hope that people resonate with the emotional grounded elements of this story. The journey of Briggs and Brooke as they find common ground with their disability and learn to find love as a father and daughter, makes this a movie that I hope will both touch the viewer and inspire us all to take the journey of discovery and understanding with our friends and family. And as a fan of all Westerns, I am so proud that these gorgeous Montana vistas will be able to be seen on the big screen and made available to Western fans around the world.”
The Old Way is available on DVD and Digital from February 22, 2023
Source link
#Brett #Donowhos #FilmInk