I have to admit that I have never been a big fan of Western's but this story has all the elements of any other great film or crime television show and I know I will want to see you make this idea come to life. After reading your journal, I am curious to see the script. The characters seemed interesting and I really like idea that there is a huge gunfight in the film (classic).
Also, I think your inspiration from Children of Men will be interesting to see with this storyline.
How are you planning to tell it, Brian? At first I thought it was a straight up western, but then I saw you mention that we see them in the 60s and I was kind of confused, but it might actually be really cool if you have both time periods going on and stay true to the western feel. Not that I've seen a ton of westerns (actually close to none) but it seems like the way you tell it will be very unique for the genre. :)
Well we've been talking plenty in person and of course we'll keep it up as you continue to develop your film around this story. No question it's good source material for something great, you just need to figure out exactly what angle you're going to tackle it at.
Personally, I really enjoy the center of the story being the mystery of what happened on that day, similar to Andy Dufresne's situation in Shawshank like you mentioned in your journal. The more I think about it, the less I care about it from the 60s reporter standpoint. I think it'd be much more solid and contained if focused solely on the events in 1918 and the brothers in jail, decades later. Possibly a parallel storyline thing going on?
Westerns aren't my cup of tea, but I think this could be something terrific. This family has gone through their share of tragedy with their mother and sister dying. I think that could be something to focus on. I prefer one of the brothers telling the story as the narrator over the 60s reporter.
Definitely a lot of potential here for a great story.
I kind of like the idea of starting off with the brothers being freed from jail for the first time then going into an interview with the journalist. Build up a little curiosity and intrigue then jump into the flashback to the fight. Let one of the brothers narrate.
Hey buddy, Sorry for such a late reply... I was moving all weekend and didn't have access to the Internet until now (no excuse I know!).
As you know, I love westerns. And therefore I love where your film is going. The thing about westerns is that you never really know where there are going to go. There is this sense of chaos and unknown in westerns that very few genre films have (minus horror films from the 70's-80's). This will really help your film in thee long run, as it will make it something of a mystery...
It’s kind of hard to judge the overall plot of this film because we don’t know much yet. All we have are the characters and where they end up in the story (the shootout). I think this will allow you to take your own liberties with the story and make it very interesting, in that it will be history told from your own perspective/ voice.
I got a little confused with the whole 1960's recount... but I see it as a "window" into the story. The narration thing has been done a million times before in this genre ("Jesse James" comes to mind), so I feel that the 1960's approach is a lot more interesting for the story (and therefore, to the audience). With the 1960's thing, is it a narration from the brother/ witness/ someone who was there during the actual fight? Or someone else entirely, like a historian? I think that it would be interested to see the story in segments from old photo's, and whoever is "pushing" the story is some reporter who has a personal interest in the story (like a long lost relative).
I really want to see the relationship of the brothers more then anything else in the story. You could form a great dynamic between the 2 characters (and maybe even the dad could play a big part in the story, helping influence the brothers decision, which affects their overall arc). I am thinking two opposites would really help the story (so like an older, crazier brother and a younger, wiser brother), as when it comes times for them to help and support each other, they would put their bickering aside and band together.
Also... you have to have a big shootout!!!
I am looking forward to see where this thing is going and hopefully will get a shot at editing it too!
I love the idea of a Western. Maybe this should be obvious but I'm a little confused about whether or not this is based on a real historical event.I really like that you are thinking about beginning the film with shots of the people who have been shot then go into the story. I agree with Ritchie about letting one of the brothers narrate instead of a detective. (I think that's what you were thinking about doing.)
Also, it is a little off topic from the actually story but there is a great little town out by the ASU East campus called Goldfield Ghost Town that is set up as a perfect replica of the old Western town that used to be there. Most of the buildings are actually original. Anyway, as soon as you said you were doing a Western I thought of that location immediately. Hope that helps!
D1 √ 1ST DRAFT/OUTLINE Not much to comment on, but I do like the world of your film; i'm just not sure what the film is about. but the idea of this incongruity between their old west ways and the "modern" world (i.e. the draft) is interesting. i could see opening shots where the audience thinks we're in the early 1800s and then -wham- something from the early 1900s comes in; but where to go from there? i'm not sure. a chase movie is not a bad thing at all; like the future hunting the present and trying to tame it or kill it. the individual ideal vs the social ideal is also at play here. good luck with it. but get a move on. i also like the idea of paralleling vietnam draft dodgers with these guys; maybe they use a lot of the same rationals; and coming from what we think of as iconographic "americans" of the old west (as opposed to pot smoking hippies) could be very interesting.
FJ i'm confused; is this WW1 or vietman? early 1900s or 1960s?? moral not clarified yet i don't think you will have a ton of research to do; mostly for production design/period accuracy i would look at Thelma and Louise, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; i like this idea of the past trying to escape the future and the inevitable demise of the past
I have to admit that I have never been a big fan of Western's but this story has all the elements of any other great film or crime television show and I know I will want to see you make this idea come to life. After reading your journal, I am curious to see the script. The characters seemed interesting and I really like idea that there is a huge gunfight in the film (classic).
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think your inspiration from Children of Men will be interesting to see with this storyline.
How are you planning to tell it, Brian? At first I thought it was a straight up western, but then I saw you mention that we see them in the 60s and I was kind of confused, but it might actually be really cool if you have both time periods going on and stay true to the western feel. Not that I've seen a ton of westerns (actually close to none) but it seems like the way you tell it will be very unique for the genre. :)
ReplyDeleteWell we've been talking plenty in person and of course we'll keep it up as you continue to develop your film around this story. No question it's good source material for something great, you just need to figure out exactly what angle you're going to tackle it at.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I really enjoy the center of the story being the mystery of what happened on that day, similar to Andy Dufresne's situation in Shawshank like you mentioned in your journal. The more I think about it, the less I care about it from the 60s reporter standpoint. I think it'd be much more solid and contained if focused solely on the events in 1918 and the brothers in jail, decades later. Possibly a parallel storyline thing going on?
We'll be talking soon, i'm sure.
Westerns aren't my cup of tea, but I think this could be something terrific. This family has gone through their share of tragedy with their mother and sister dying. I think that could be something to focus on. I prefer one of the brothers telling the story as the narrator over the 60s reporter.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to d2!
Definitely a lot of potential here for a great story.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like the idea of starting off with the brothers being freed from jail for the first time then going into an interview with the journalist. Build up a little curiosity and intrigue then jump into the flashback to the fight. Let one of the brothers narrate.
Hey buddy,
ReplyDeleteSorry for such a late reply... I was moving all weekend and didn't have access to the Internet until now (no excuse I know!).
As you know, I love westerns. And therefore I love where your film is going. The thing about westerns is that you never really know where there are going to go. There is this sense of chaos and unknown in westerns that very few genre films have (minus horror films from the 70's-80's). This will really help your film in thee long run, as it will make it something of a mystery...
It’s kind of hard to judge the overall plot of this film because we don’t know much yet. All we have are the characters and where they end up in the story (the shootout). I think this will allow you to take your own liberties with the story and make it very interesting, in that it will be history told from your own perspective/ voice.
I got a little confused with the whole 1960's recount... but I see it as a "window" into the story. The narration thing has been done a million times before in this genre ("Jesse James" comes to mind), so I feel that the 1960's approach is a lot more interesting for the story (and therefore, to the audience). With the 1960's thing, is it a narration from the brother/ witness/ someone who was there during the actual fight? Or someone else entirely, like a historian? I think that it would be interested to see the story in segments from old photo's, and whoever is "pushing" the story is some reporter who has a personal interest in the story (like a long lost relative).
I really want to see the relationship of the brothers more then anything else in the story. You could form a great dynamic between the 2 characters (and maybe even the dad could play a big part in the story, helping influence the brothers decision, which affects their overall arc). I am thinking two opposites would really help the story (so like an older, crazier brother and a younger, wiser brother), as when it comes times for them to help and support each other, they would put their bickering aside and band together.
Also... you have to have a big shootout!!!
I am looking forward to see where this thing is going and hopefully will get a shot at editing it too!
I love the idea of a Western. Maybe this should be obvious but I'm a little confused about whether or not this is based on a real historical event.I really like that you are thinking about beginning the film with shots of the people who have been shot then go into the story. I agree with Ritchie about letting one of the brothers narrate instead of a detective. (I think that's what you were thinking about doing.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, it is a little off topic from the actually story but there is a great little town out by the ASU East campus called Goldfield Ghost Town that is set up as a perfect replica of the old Western town that used to be there. Most of the buildings are actually original. Anyway, as soon as you said you were doing a Western I thought of that location immediately. Hope that helps!
D1 √
ReplyDelete1ST DRAFT/OUTLINE
Not much to comment on, but I do like the world of your film; i'm just not sure what the film is about. but the idea of this incongruity between their old west ways and the "modern" world (i.e. the draft) is interesting. i could see opening shots where the audience thinks we're in the early 1800s and then -wham- something from the early 1900s comes in; but where to go from there? i'm not sure. a chase movie is not a bad thing at all; like the future hunting the present and trying to tame it or kill it. the individual ideal vs the social ideal is also at play here. good luck with it. but get a move on.
i also like the idea of paralleling vietnam draft dodgers with these guys; maybe they use a lot of the same rationals; and coming from what we think of as iconographic "americans" of the old west (as opposed to pot smoking hippies) could be very interesting.
FJ
i'm confused; is this WW1 or vietman? early 1900s or 1960s??
moral not clarified yet i don't think
you will have a ton of research to do; mostly for production design/period accuracy
i would look at Thelma and Louise, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; i like this idea of the past trying to escape the future and the inevitable demise of the past