3:10 to Yuma: Reviews(1)

3:10 to Yuma has opened in theatres around the world yesterday. Here is a collection of the reviews of the movie published in various websites.

Entertainment Weekly dubs 3:10 to Yuma “fullsillade of hot-lead chaos.” The movie will be a good one for those who love to see lot of actions on the screen. The review says that the main focus of the film is the psychological conflict between the good and evil. Ben Wade played by Russell Crowe is a man who is very proud of himself and believes that he does things that others crave secretly. He feels pity for Dan (Christian Bale) and tries to lure him by offering money. The review gives the movie a B grade and says that it is a crowd pleaser.

The review published in Spectrum titled “Western Revival” says that the movie gives the viewers a taste of the old west in the twenty first century. However the interesting point of the review is that it dumps Mangold’s Walk the Line and says that what Mangold had failed to do in Walk the Line done in 3:10 to Yuma. The movie may be a remake of the original but it further develops the two major characters. The review says that Christian Bales portrayal of the character is “raw acting at its best.” Dan Evans hardened face depicts a man who is proud and straight and ready to do anything to save his family. He is the father everyone expects. Russell on the other hand, has done a great job with Ben Wade. The bump in between his eye brows depicts a man who has been living life at the edge. He is bad but he has an unusual charm.

Film Crunch says that the film has been able to retain the essence of the original version and at the same time it raised the stakes through including more violence and twists in the plot. Ben Foster has done a good job with the character of Charlie Prince, the merciless henchman. Logan Lerman, playing the character of Dan Evan’s son who screams at his father in the beginning of the movie may sound nonsensical but he fits in to the story as the story paces up. The gun battles were a bit exaggerated in the final show down in the contention city where Dan and his son faces 40men with high caliber guns.

News week entertainment says that the movie may not revive the dead western genre but it definitely shows charisma of Crowe and Bale playing two men of different world and the psychological duel between the two. Crowe effortlessly fits into his character. He is everything which Dan is not.

Bale, on the other hand, practically lunges off the screen, his face so taut he suggests a man bursting at the seams. He's not an obvious choice to play a guy riddled with self-doubt, but he uses his roiling intensity to suggest a man tripping over his own demons.

News Week labels 3:10 to Yuma as a “Character driven action movie.” Ben foster makes the movie more exciting with his deep dark representation of Charlie Prince.

Obsessed with Film says that the movie may be a remake of a classic but it is wild thrill ride from the start to finish. Aside from Russell Crowe and Ben Wade the merciless Charlie Prince played by Ben Foster add more to the over all thrill and excitement in the movie. According to the review the best thing about the movie is that it does not entirely ignores the convention of western movies but at the same time it does not have any of the clichés.

MTV gives a positive review of the movie saying that James Mangold has created an ideal western setting in the movie and the actors have done the rest of the work. The review says that James Mangold had taken a very up-to-date approach by placing the camera on the moving stage coach and capturing the chases and shootouts. Russell Crowe may have made it to the news headlines for his erratic behavior once again proved that he has got acting talent.

“playing the cultivated and complex outlaw Ben Wade, should dispel all such irrelevant distractions. Here his extraordinary gifts for emotional detail and finely weighted presence in a scene, and his radiant star power, are on display in their purest concentration. It's a tide-turning accomplishment, and one hopes it'll be seen by however many remain of Crowe's detractors.”

Some interesting facts about Peter Fonda and Ben Foster

I have found another Comic-con interview report of Peter Fonda and Ben Foster promoting 3:10 to Yuma at Comic-con International in July. The report contains some interesting facts about the two actors:

• Peter Fonda is left-handed person and a study showed that left-handed people are prone to mental illness.
• Ben Foster does not talk too much. He played “Charlie Prince,” in 3:10 to Yuma. While Peter Fonda is talkative Ben does not answer any question instantly. Fonda is 67 and Ben is 26. Foster in 5 foot 9 and Fonda is 6 foot 2. They are an unmatched pair not only in terms of behavior but also in term of physique.
• Charlie Prince is the second-in-command in Wade’s gang. If Wade is the king, Charlie is the Prince. He has a lot to prove. To portray this character, Ben went through the old photos of the outlaws which he referred as “Desert Pirates.” He also saw the performances of Charlie Prince, the famous rock star of the 70’s. This also helped the costume designer to design his costume.
  
• In the movie, Ben Foster wears a creamy white coat and a black hat and carries two pistols.
  
• To bring in elegance in the character, Foster went through the documentaries on mountain cats and studied their movements.
• In this movie, Ben Foster rides horse for the first time. He rode horse like a military man. “Back erect and right arm akimbo, right hand braced on his right thigh. There's a studied arrogance to this - you see it in British cavalry - but never among American outlaws.
• Peter took inspiration for his character from Ken Rex McElroy, the town bully who was killed in 1981. During the interview, Fonda told the tragic incident how he almost killed himself when he shot himself accidentally in the stomach.
• Peter Fonda wrote the script of Easy Rider in Toronto within four hour He even co- produced the movie.The movie is ranked 84^th in the list of 100 best movies in last 100 years compiled by the American Film Institute. This movie helped him prove his talent and helped him come out of the image of his father, Henry Fonda. His father did not like the movie. He said, “I feel sorry for you, son. I'm not sure this is going to fly.'

Related article:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/09/02/riding_shotgun/

3:10 to Yuma: Sedona Film Festival gets the first screening of the movie in Arizona

James Mangold’s remake of 3:10 to Yuma was first screened at the Sedona FilmFestival in Arizona on August 14^th.The screening took place at the Harkins Sedona Six Theatres. Patrick Schweiss, executive said that Lionsgate wanted them to be the first one to show the movie in Arizona.
Actor Peter Fonda was also present their to introduce the movie. A question answer session followed the screening where Peter answered various questions about the movie. I could not find any news about the screening of the movie but I found report by Cindy who went to the screening and also attended the question answer session. Murphsplace.com reports:

The host of the evening was, I thought pretty good at first, especially in a funny bit of sexual innuendo and banter about a pistol that kept sticking in the holster of another Film Festival man (they were gussied up in Western gear), until after the movie and the beginning of the Q&A, when he thought he was being funny by saying to Peter “Well, I’m sure we all enjoyed you beating up Russell Crowe”…and then mentioned something about the phone toss. There was some tittering in the audience but I was glad to see Peter interrupt him right away with some very nice words about Russell. He prefaced them with (I’m paraphrasing, I didn’t take notes, lol) “Whoaaa, now, Russell is a consummate professional, he’s a committed actor and was wonderful to work with. He works very, very hard, was totally professional on set, and helped work with the stuntmen and extras. He’s got a rep, but I think that’s mostly the media, and I found him to be a wonderful guy. Plus, he’s got kids now and he’s probably mellowed.” His comments got a positive reaction from the audience, especially when he mentioned Russell helping the other actors/stuntmen/extras. Fonda’s stock went up in my book after those comments. :)
He talked about Russell one other time. Someone asked about his thoughts re: the difference in acting styles/preparation of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Peter’s response was (again, paraphrasing) “None, really. When you’re as good as they are, you just do what you do.” He talked about how committed and talented they both are. He also quoted Gary Cooper a couple of times, something like "if you know who you are (the character) you don’t have to act.” He used a different word which I can’t remember but essentially meant immersing yourself into the character using a whole bag of little tricks that each actor has. Russell and Christian are both excellent at that, and I must say Peter was very good in his role as well. He told the same story I’ve heard already about Mangold not wanting him in the movie at first, said he thought he was too ‘laconic’. But Peter met with him, showed him he had the energy, got hired, and then they ended up doing it more low-key than was originally planned.

Peter Fonda plays Byron McElroy, a Pinkerton bounty-hunter. Sixty seven year old Peter Fonda is the son of legendary Hollywood actor, Henry Fonda. Peter acted in 60 movies in his 44 years acting career. Movies like Easy Rider, Ulee’s Gold brought him Academy Award nominations. Peter has been looking forward to work with James after he watched his Copland.

Useful Links:
http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/article/id/1422
http://www.notesfromhollywood.com/page.cfm?Sectionid=8&typeofsite=storydetail&ID=1355&storyset=yes
http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php?/weblog/film_festival_presents_arizona_premiere_of_arizona/
http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/0811nefonda0811ON.html?&wired
http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/CalendarOfEvents/date/2007-08-14/mode/event/id/4238
http://www.murphsplace.com/crowe/yuma/cindy-report.html
http://www.murphsplace.com/crowe/yuma/cindy-report2.html

3:10 to Yuma: Nationwide sneak preview

Present day Hollywood filmmakers treat western as dead genre. Movies based on comic characters like Spider Man, X-Men, Bat-Man, Transformers, Dare Devil, Fantastic Four, are the major crowd gatherers. In such a situation, James Mangold has definitely taken a great leap of faith by remaking a 50’s classic, 3:10 to Yuma. The movie starring Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, tells the story of a civil war veteran, Dan Evans (Christian Bale), who in desperation to save his ranch and family, volunteers for escorting a notorious outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), to Contention city where he will be boarded on the train to Yuma. On September 2^nd, the nation wide sneak preview of the movie took place.

While studying at Columbia University, James saw the original 3:10 to Yuma and liked it very much. He felt that the movie had a very vibrant story and he could tell it in a new way and he did it. The 1957’s 3:10 to Yuma emphasizes on complex emotions, contradictory feelings of Dan Evans and how he overcomes the situation. James did not change the original story and conventions of the western movies. He just brought more out door actions and gunfights along with that battle of morality. So far, there are positive reviews about the movie. Now, it is upto the viewers how they accept the movie.

Useful Links:
http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/08/27/nationwide-sneak-preview-of-310-to-yuma-on-september-2nd/
http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/08/29/310-to-yuma-sneak-previews-nationwide-this-sunday/
http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3148&Itemid=99
http://movies.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1348158.php/Early_look_at_310_to_Yuma_on_September_2nd

3:10 to Yuma : First Screening and L. A Premiere

The premiere of the 3:10 to Yuma took place on August 21^st at Mann National Theater in Westwood, California. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale appeared with their wives: Danielle Spencer, Sandra Blazic. Among others there were: Jim Gianopoulos, Michael Mann, Mark Gill, David Permut, Neal Moritz, Jim Wiatt, and Ed Limato. Ukpress.google.com reports:

Russell says getting into character as a gun-toting baddie wasn't such a stretch: "It's just all fun because it's all skill sets that I've already taken on board.
"I mean there's absolutely nothing about this job that was really hard work to me, except that the weather was a bit tough every now and then, when it got to about minus 15 I got a bit cold then in period clothes... but it was all just fun. Read the script, liked it, wanted to do all this stuff - I went to work with a smile."
Russell plays captured ruthless killer Ben Wade and admits it is hard to see his character's softer side: "Do I like the guy? I don't like the guy but I like playing the guy, I wouldn't want to hang out with this guy."

On July 30^th, the first screening of the movie took place at a movie theater near Fenway Park, at Boston. The Boston journalists were present in the screening. Peter Fonda and Ben Foster were present at the first screening.

Useful Links:
http://www.variety.com/vstory/VR1117970724.html?categoryid=38&cs=1
http://www.instyle.com/instyle/parties/party/0,,20052836_20080663,00.html
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5j4s_70oqbaTs5mRk0YuZdNC4aJfA
http://www.hellomagazine.com/film/2007/08/22/christian-russell-la/

3:10 to Yuma: Interview of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale

This is the interview of MTV with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale broadcaste in MTV. The two talks about their experience about working in 3:10 to Yuma. When asked what is the thing that Christian likes about Russell Christian said that Russell is an actor with whom it is very easy to communicate. He is not like other actors who always complain about others. Here are some more questions:

MTV: Between "Rescue Dawn" and this movie, you're really on a roll.
Christian Bale: Don't worry. It'll all come to a crashing end soon.
MTV: Maybe you'll make "Ernest Goes to Camp 5" next?
Bale: Come on, now. Don't knock that, man.
MTV: Ernest was pretty cool.
Bale: Oh yeah.
MTV: It's been at least a decade since the last great cowboy movie. So when you got the script for "3:10 to Yuma," was it a matter of, "I want to make a Western," or, "I want to make this Western"?
Bale: It was, "I wanna make this bloody good story ... which just happens to be a Western."
Russell Crowe: Same thing, really. I read the script and thought, "I'd enjoy playing this character." Then I heard that Christian was interested in doing it, so that ...
Bale: ... put him off for a little while. [They laugh.]
Crowe: When I read this I said, "I'd enjoy doing this, I'd enjoy being around horses, and I'd enjoy this character, so that's what I'll go and do."
MTV: What's the best part about doing a Western?
Bale: It's great when you're out in the canyons riding your horses with the old guns, and there's nothing [to remind you] of modern life whatsoever. Except I found in New Mexico we'd have to clear [the frame of] all the old ovens and microwaves and computers that people take to the desert to shoot — to just vent their anger on.
Crowe: It was weird, wasn't it? There were a lot of photocopiers. People must take them out there and go, "I'm sick of you, you photocopying varmint!"
Bale: Also, the guns in this movie were great guns. It must have something to do with the wood and the metal as well. But they just have real character to them. It's like they have a personality themselves. And they smell so bloody good as well — after you'd fire them, you'd get a sniff of it.

3:10 to Yuma is slated to be released on September 7 is based on the story of a desperate Civil War veteran, Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who is on the verge of losing his ranch. For money he decides to escort the famous outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe). Though the movie is remake of 50’s 3:10 to Yuma, Director James Mangold has made it the way he wanted it to be made.
Related articles:
MTV

3:10 to Yuma: "La Yuma"

Yuma is the name of a county situated in Arizona near the border of Mexico. There is nothing significant about this town but 3:10 to Yuma has made it the most talked about American locale in Cuba. The 50’s classic was so successful in Cuba that a lingo “La Yuma” developed in Cuba. It refers to USA or Americans or any foreigners from a Non- Spanish country. After fifty years, the movie has been remade. Two of the top actors of Hollywood are working in the new version. Nobody knows whether the movie will be successful or not but definitely it will reinforce the popularity of “Yuma” in Cuba. Showbuzz.cbsnews.com reports:

"A new movie could mean Yuma is used more by young people who know nothing of the original," said Fernando Carr, who writes a column on language for the official magazine Bohemia.
Washington's embargo prohibits most U.S.-Cuba trade. But American films are commonly shown on state TV and in crumbling 1950s theaters where tickets cost less than a U.S. nickel. A thriving black market for pirated DVDs and videos also likely will ensure some Cubans see the 2007 version of "3:10 to Yuma."
Cubans rarely use the term "gringo," slang for American heard in Mexico and throughout Latin America. While some here refer to Americans as ``yanquis'' in a derogatory way, "Yuma" generally is not meant to be offensive.

In Cuba the term “La Yuma” became popular after 1980 when Cubans seeking political asylum crashed a minibus in Havana. Yuma’s Mayor, Larry Nelson is expects that the small town will be very popular after the release of 3:10 to Yuma on September 7.

Useful Links:
http://cubantriangle.blogspot.com/2007/08/la-yuma.html
http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/24/movies/main3202412.shtml?source=RSSattr=Entertainment_3202412
http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php?/weblog/for_cubans_yuma_a_movie_title_thats_also_a_reference_to_americans1/
http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php?/weblog/why_do_cubans_call_our_country_la_yuma/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma,_Arizona
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma_County%2C_Arizona

3:10 to Yuma: 3 interviews of Ben Foster, Christian Bale and Russell Crowe

Here is another video clip of the interview of Ben Foster at the Comic-Con International. In the video-clip you will see Ben with his rocketeer. The guy is wearing a helmet with his face covered. Ben tells the interviewer that he attends his parties with the rocketeer. I do not know whether it is true of false but I enjoyed watching the video clip. The length of the video clip is 4 minutes and 22 seconds.

This second video clip is Christian Bale’s interview on LA premiere of 3:10 to Yuma with Envelope correspondent, Elizabeth Snead. The length of this video clip is 2 minutes 54 seconds.

This third video clip is Russell Crowe’s interview on the LA premiere of 3:10 to Yuma with Envelope correspondent, Elizabeth Snead. The length of this video clip is 2 minutes 25 seconds.

3:10 to Yuma: 10 movie clips published in Collider.com

Collider.com has published a post containing ten video clips of 3:10 to Yuma. You will also find the final one-sheet of the movie. 3:10 to Yuma is going to be released on September 7. Though Western movies are not considered to be very profitable James Mangold took up the project of remaking a 50’s western classic movie. However, it looks like the movie is going to attract viewers because the cast contains two of the top actors of present day Hollywood: Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Mangold did not change the main story but he changed the settings of the movie and added what he felt necessary. The old movie was mostly shot in a hotel room but Mangold decided to include lots of out door action sequences. James developed the character of Dan Evans’ son. The clips are neatly categorized in two webpages. Here are the links:

http://www.collider.com/entertainment/news/article.asp/aid/5276/tcid/1/pg/1

http://www.collider.com/entertainment/news/article.asp/aid/5276/tcid/1/pg/2

Because of slow internet speed, I could not watch all the scenes. I just watched the first one: The Robbery. It shows some great actions. Peter Fonda did great with his shotgun. Enjoy the rest of the movie clips. Here are the links the

3:10 to Yuma: Interview of Peter Fonda and Ben Foster

Peter Fonda and Ben Foster attended the 2007 Comic-con International- San Diego for promoting 3:10 to Yuma. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, the two main actors of the movie, did not attend the event. Peter was very happy to come to the convention because he could not make it during the promotion of Ghost Rider. Peter and Ben attended a question answer session where they talked about their characters and their experience about working in the movie. In the movie Peter plays the character of a bounty hunter carrying a double barreled shotgun. Peter Fonda worked in western movies and he knows a thing or two about horse riding and gun fighting. However, it was entirely a different experience for Ben Foster, who played the bad guy, Charlie Prince. He always fascinated about western movies and finally he landed with a role. While shooting the movie, very often he lost his hat and gun. movies.ign.com reports:

The film has got fans of the Western genre excited, with some saying that it is going to bring the form back in vogue on the big screen. Fonda, however, just seems interested in talking about the shotgun he uses in the film…

"There are some gun fights involving me, and interestingly enough people have asked me, 'How can you use a shotgun?'" he says. "I have this sawed-off, double-barrel shotgun … and I quickly point out we're shooting buckshot and each shell carries nine 30-caliber balls, lead 30 caliber. So one barrel has that and the other barrel has that, so that's 18 30-caliber bullets on their way. I pop it open, two shells drop out, two shells drop in, ready to rock and roll again! And the other cowboy's loading their gun, one bullet goes in, another bullet goes in. By that time I've got out 38 rounds. This guy doesn't have a bloody chance! So I'm shotgun, you bet!"

Right, Peter. Regardless of any fetishistic shotgun talk, however, Fonda says that it was Mangold's vision for the classic story that got him and the other cast members most excited about joining the project.

"Jim Mangold's take on the original 3:10 to Yuma, he takes it to a new level," says Fonda. "He's improved on the story, he's improved on the aspects of all the personalities involved. He's made deeper characters out of this script. The Christian Bale character was really small in the original 3:10 to Yuma. It's been [expanded]. It's character-driven, but full of action. So being able to mix those two -- sometimes action is not character-driven at all, or character-driven is [like], 'Ohhh, when are we going to get some action?' It's got it all. It's got character drive. It's got incredibly good action, very well-shot stuff. The stunt work is fine. We all went to cowboy camp -- I didn't have to, I knew how to ride and I know how to shoot. But everybody learned how to do all this stuff."

Foster says it was a childhood dream fulfilled to play "cowboys and outlaws," and the time at cowboy camp alone was an interesting experience that he won't soon forget.

"The whole bit," he laughs. "It's horses and guns, man, so there wasn't a bad day on the set. I had never ridden a horse before, and that's the great thing about genre pictures. You have to learn the specific talent or skill. And knowing nothing about horses, you learn very quickly. One of the cool things is the stunt guys, who make up most of the outfit. They have their own rules, so if you lose a hat in a take, you have to buy drinks. If you lose a gun in a take, you have to buy drinks. So I bought a lot of drinks!"

If you are not happy reading the interviews, no problem. I have found two video clips of the interviews of these two actors in about.com. Enjoy them

Peter Fonda Interview:
http://video.about.com/movies/Peter-Fonda-Interview.htm

Ben Foster Interview:
http://video.about.com/movies/Ben-Foster-Interview.htm

3:10 to Yuma:Ten interesting things about Peter Fonda

Peter Fonda, is one of the legendary figures of Hollywood. His father,Henry Fonda is one of the all time great Hollywood actors. After watching James' Copland Peter was looking forward to work with this brilliant director. He played the character of a Pinkerton bounty hunter in 3:10 to Yuma. Few days ago, Peter appeared at the USA Film Festival’s preview screening of 3:10 to Yuma at Dallas. Peter talked with the reporters and gave out ten interesting piece of information. Here are they:

• Peter Fonda hates horses. He loves motorcycles.
• On two occasions Peter Fonda went through Yuma Arizona: once with his Ferrari and his motorcycle.
• Peter Fonda said that Russell Crowe did not throw any cell phones on the set.
• Peter Fonda took this role because he wanted to work with James Mangold. He was impressed after watching his Copland.
• As snow storm happened in the shooting spot, the film crew had to bring 40 tons of snow to cover the shooting spot.
• Peter received huge amount of money for his unaccredited role in Wild Hogs. He also got a ride by private jet for free.
• Peter Fonda’s dad, Henry Fonda, used to host card games at the house where people like The Duke, director John Ford, Randolph Scott, and Gary Cooper used to come.
• He enjoyed very much while shooting for Ulee’s Gold.
• According to Peter Fonda, alterations are a natural process while turning a literary piece into movie.
• Western movies are not as popular as they used to in the 60’s and the 70’s.

Related article:

Pegasus News

Russell Crowe in The Dark Knight

Russell Crowe, the bad guy of 3:10 to Yuma will be making a surprise appearance in the next Batman movie. The news was given during a promotional interview by the next “Dark Knight” himself. After the success of Batman Begins Warner Brothers is going to produce another movie The Dark Knight and Russell Crowe is giving a surprise appearance in the movie. Ireland on-line reports:

Russell Crowe will make a surprise appearance in the next Batman movie, Caped Crusader star Christian Bale has revealed.
Bale let the secret slip during an interview to promote '3:10 To Yuma', in which both actors star.
He told iF Magazine: "Russell's going to actually be in the new Batman movie, which is a big surprise and I want to reveal it to everybody right now."

In 2005, Christian Bale starred in Batman Begins. The movie was not a follow up of the earlier Batman movies but a resurrected Batman. To play the character of Bruce Wayne, Bale worked very hard and put on weight. The outcome was a block buster action movie Bat Man Begins. The movie collected $48,745,440 in its opening weekend and collected $371,853,783 around the world.

Related article:
Ireland on-line

3:10 to Yuma was no hard work for Russel Crowe

Well, 3:10 to Yuma may be difficult for Christian Bale because he had to limp through the movie but not for Russell Crowe. The 43 year old actor has played the character of an outlaw leader named, Ben Wade. For him working in the movie was nothing very difficult or challenging. The actor was present during the movie’s premiere in Los Angels and talked with the reporters about the movie. Buckingham Today reports:

Russell says getting into character as a gun-toting baddie wasn't such a stretch: "It's just all fun because it's all skill sets that I've already taken on board.
"I mean there's absolutely nothing about this job that was really hard work to me, except that the weather was a bit tough every now and then, when it got to about minus 15 I got a bit cold then in period clothes... but it was all just fun. Read the script, liked it, wanted to do all this stuff - I went to work with a smile."
Russell plays captured ruthless killer Ben Wade and admits it is hard to see his character's softer side: "Do I like the guy? I don't like the guy but I like playing the guy, I wouldn't want to hang out with this guy."

Crowe who now lives in Australia has his own farm and enjoys riding horse. Even James Mangold praises Crowe’s horse riding ability. Before 3:10 to Yuma Crowe worked in another western movie, “The Quick and the Dead.”

Related article:
Buckingham Today

Interview of the screen writers of 3:10 to Yuma: Michael Brandt and Derek Haas

After publishing two interviews of Mangold, I have found another interview of Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. Brandt and Haas are the screen writers of 3:10 to Yuma. These two brilliant scripts writers wrote scripts of 2 Fast 2 Furious. Despite knowing that not too many western movies are made these days, the two writers decided to write the script of a movie remake which was a big challenge in itself. Both Brandt and Haas grew up in Texas watching western movies and they know the conventions but the biggest obstacle was remaining honest to the original story structure at the same time bringing in some fresh twist to match the test of the present audience. Here are some questions from the interview published in IESB:

IESB.NET: Okay, so, how much guidance or inspiration did you get from the original? Did you change anything?
Derek: Yeah, we changed quite a bit. The original movie is almost like a two-act play, but the original movie pretty much takes place with Dan deciding that he's going to help take Ben Wade and put him on a train and then you cut to a hotel room and they're waiting for a train, and that become the second half of the movie. What Michael and I recognized was that there was an opportunity to basically create a new second act, a new chapter to the short story by Elmore Leonard, kind of the third act of the movie, and we said let's put the town a two days' ride away, and by the way they're going to have to ride along the path where the rail road is being put down, so there's literally a gorge, and Indian country, and a Chinese labor camp where they're laying the rails and blasting through, and come up on the town, which is a railroad town, which in our research we found were just dens of inequity for whores and gamblers and people trying to separate the railroad workers from their money, it just became a great way to update the original. And then the other thing that we did was in the original movie the son character is barely in it, just kinda in the first act, and we thought, what an excellent way to be able to see the movie through fresh eyes, as this morality tale that plays out through the son as he's idolizing the Russell Crowe character, Ben Wade, this kind of rock star in the West, and his father, who he is disappointed in, and he's got to watch his father do this thing.

IESB.NET: Okay, is there anything you wante to add to the script that just couldn't be done?
Michael: There's always a lot of that. We had a pretty big scene we had to cut because of budget that plays over a gorge, with a cable car that was transporting people across the gorge, and we had a big accident set on that which they ended up having to set on dry land because of budget, but other than that I think for the most part, everything we envisioned action-wise made it into the movie.

IESB.NET: What are your thoughts on Crowe and Bale, are they what you imagined for the characters?
Michael: They're more than we ever imagined. There's no way . . . They are the two perfect actors for these parts, you know, the rock star gunslinger who is full of charisma, who can smile and also kill you, is the perfect role for Russell Crowe, and there aren’t a lot of people on the face of the earth who can play that part and probably know they can play it as well as he does. And then Christian Bale has such a pathos to him, and just a real sense of true actors acting, and threw himself into the role putting, and honestly when Derek and I were envisioning these parts, we would have been laughed at if we'd said we're thinking Russell Crow and Christian Bale, so we really couldn't have asked for any more.

James Mangold also helped a lot in writing the script. Mangold himself is also a talented screen writer and he gave them a general idea of what he is looking for in the script which also helped the script writers. In the movie credit list, name of Halsted Welles, the script writer of 50's 3:10 to Yuma has also been included as per the rule of the screen writer's guild.

Related link:

IESB

Lionsgate planning to submit 3:10 to Yuma in the Oscar

One of the major reasons for shifting the released date of 3:10 to Yuma by Lionsgate is that the movie makers are planning to submit the movie in various award giving ceremonies including the academy award. The Envelope reports:

Meantime, Edward Douglas of Comingsoon.net tells Gold Derby, "I think '3:10 to Yuma' stands a good chance to make the Oscars' short list in a couple categories, particularly for writing and directing. Of course, I might still be bitter about James Mangold being shut out for his skillful direction of 'Walk the Line' a few years ago, but I think anyone who sees '3:10' would have a hard time (not recognizing his impressive skill). And the script, which was derived from the original screenplay from the 1957 movie is excellent, maybe the best script since 'Zodiac' . . . really sharp and reverential to the old Westerns without seeming dated. Which I think will go over very well with the WGA and Academy writers.

3:10 to Yuma is a remake of the 1957’s western movie of the same name. James Mangold who has directed movies like Walk the Line did a research on this movie during his university years and he liked it so much that he decided to remake the movie in his own way. Though critics and movie financers considered Western to be a dead genre, Mangold has managed two of the most successful actors of Hollywood to work in the movie. I have not seen Christian Bale working in any western movie but I have Russell is well experienced. In 1995, he worked in The Quick and the dead by Sam Raimi.

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The Envelope

3:10 to Yuma: Another interview of James Mangold

Here is another interview of James Mangold about his upcoming western movie, 3:10 to Yuma. The interview kicks off with a discussion about Ben Foster’s character in the movie, Charlie Prince, the second in command and the right had of Ben Wade (Russell Crowe). James feels that some characters in the movie may not have major presence but they play crucial roles in the movie and Charlie Prince is one such character and Ben has done a very good job as Charlie Prince. One of the noticeable things about Charlie Prince in this movie is that he is wearing a white jacket which is unconventional in western movies. The hero and the villain is always distinguished by black and white but James feels that the black and white has been used too much in western movies to portray good and evil and it is time for a change. Here are some more questions and answers from the interview.

MTV: Having now seen the original “3:10 to Yuma,” it seems clear that film influenced “Cop Land.”
JM: Absolutely. It features a lot of echoes from that film. Stallone’s character [Freddy Heflin] is actually named after the actor Van Heflin. I was trying to make a Western fused with a kind of modern Jersey cop mob world. I think they are two of our most original forms, the mob movie and the Western. They’re two of America’s most original film forms where you get to examine issues of morality and loyalty in a much more interesting fashion than you generally get a chance to in other genres.

MTV: As a fan of the Western, what did you want to avoid with “3:10 to Yuma”?
JM: I felt that the Western had been hurt by a couple of things. One is the over historical epic-ization of the Western. The Western was never about historical accuracy or teaching a history lesson, not the great ones anyway. They were about character. To my taste, one of the mistakes in Westerns I’d seen was this ponderous sweeping Remington painting kind of Western with the big sweeping strings where suddenly I felt it was more about someone getting lost in the idea of making a Western than actually making a story about characters living in the West.

MTV: Tom Cruise was attached to this for a while. How did you arrive at Russell?
JM: I always wanted Russell. At that point he was attached to Baz Luhrmann’s movie. When he became available it became the greatest thing that ever happened to the film because I really think he was born to play a guy like this.

In his interview with Dark Horizons, Mangold said that he wanted to do this movie because he feels that he can add something to the movie and he can tell the story in his own way and I think this is the way he likes it to be told; dressing the bad guy in white jacket.

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Moviesblog.mtv.com

Final one -sheet, poster and out door art of 3:10 to Yuma

Today, again I watched James Mangold's Walk The Line. Truly, it is a beautiful movie. Joaquin Phoenix looks great as Johnny Cash. Joaquin has a great voice and he looks very romantic. His performance reminded me of a man who is searching for something but does not know where he can get it. A singer in search of something. Anyway, I just found three posters of 3:10 to Yuma. All of them are good but I liked the second one. Had I had enough money I would have definitely bought it. I have posted all three posters. Check them out and tell me which one you like most.


Here is the final-one-sheet of 3:10 to Yuma. There was nothing exceptional I could find in this picture. It is just like ten other action movies.

Cinematical dubbed it “Bad-Ass poster.” I also liked it. The cowboy standing with two guns in his hands looks real bad ass.According to MTV Movies Blog, Ben Foster, who plays Charlie Prince, the right hand of Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) in this movie, modeled for the poster.Despite having stars like Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, the movie makers decide to go with Ben Foster. I do not know about you guys out there but it looks cool to me

This is outdoor art of the movie. I do not know what it really means but the picture resembles more with a cartoon character.

3:10 to Yuma: Meet Thell Reed, the best gun coach of Hollywood

At the age of seven, his father gave him a .45 and told him to make a living with the guns. When boys used to play with toy guns he practiced shooting with real guns and live ammunition. Meet Thell Reed, the best gun coach of Hollywood. In the latest movie of Russell Crowe, 3:10 to Yuma, Thell Reed worked with Crowe.

Reed’s father was a great lover of firearms. Reed got that love and enthusiasm from his father and proved his talent with guns. At the age of 16 he won many shooting competitions and became the “Fastest gun alive.” He later joined traveling road show and earned name and fame.

Thell has an impressive background as film crew and gun trainer. He trained famous actors such as, Steve McQueen, Russell Crowe, Gene Hackman, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Val Kilmer, Jeff Bridges, Edward Norton, Don Cheadle, Sharon Stone, Sam Elliot. He is also a good friend of actor Girard Swan. Reed has a pretty long history working with Crowe. As a trainer he worked on Proof of Life, The Quick and The Dead, L.A. Confidential. Reed even trained Brad Pitt for his upcoming movie Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. At his fifties, Thell is now equally active and training actors how to shoot. Like his father he also told his son to make a living with the guns.

Here, I am giving you the link of Thell Reed’s website. It is a great website with articles and lots pictures of gun slinging. You can also get information about Thell Reed in Internet Movie Database.

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Film Stew

Some interesting facts about 3:10 to Yuma (1)

3:10 to Yuma is going to hit the big screen on September 7. I have collected some interesting facts about the remake of this classic movie. Hope you enjoy reading them.I am planning to make it a series . Whenever I will collect some more interesting facts about the movie I will post it . For now enjoy reading these .

3:10 to Yuma (1957):

• In 1953, famous writer, Elmore Leonard, wrote a short story titled, Three ten to Yuma. Four years later, Delmer Daves made the story into a movie which became one of the all time best classic western cinema. The story was first published in 1953 issue of Dime Western magazine.
• As a director, Delmer used to follow a relaxed approach. He let the actors and the screenplay control the movie.
• In the 1950’s 3:10 to Yuma, Glenn Ford played the character of Ben Wade and Van Heflin played the character of Dan Evans. The role played by Glenn Ford is considered to be one of his best.
• In the 50’s movie, most of the shot was confined in a hotel room. The movie did not depend much on action rather upon actors, the way they represented their characters and delivered the dialogues and brilliant cinematography.
• The 57’s 3:10 to Yuma was a 92 minutes movie and the new 3:10 to Yuma is 117 minutes. (truly a mentionable difference within 50 years!!)
• Mangold’s 1997 movie, Copland, was also inspired from another Delmer Daves movie.
• The film was nominated in Best Film from any source USA category in 1958 BAFTA Film Award. The movie also won Laurel Awards in top action drama category.

3:10 to Yuma (2007):

• In the latest 3:10 to Yuma, Russell Crowe played the character of Ben Wade and Christian Bale was Dan Evans.
• The latest 3:10 to Yuma was shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
• At the initial stage, rumor surfaced that Tom Cruise and Eric Bana were approached for the movie but it did not work out with them. Then Mangold chose Russell Crowe and he agreed and the work of the movie started.
• Unlike other actors, Russell Crowe is very good at horse riding. According to Mangold, Crowe can smoothly control a horse and deliver his dialogues. In 1995, Crowe worked in another western movie titled The Quick and the dead. The movie was directed by Sam Raimi.
• Russell Crowe, James Mangold and producer Cathy Konrad unanimously chose Christian Bale.
• The story of the movie takes place in a town observing severe drought. One week before the ending of the shooting, serious snow storm happened and covered the place with 2 feet snow. The snow was removed from the shooting spot manually.
• The movie was funded by Relativity Media and New Mexico's Film Investment Program.
• 3:10 to Yuma was originally supposed to be released on October 5, 2007. However, Lionsgate decided to launch the movie one month earlier because two other western movies are coming out in September and November. One is the Warner Brothers’ The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, opening on September 21; the other is No Country for Old Men by Miramax, slated for November 7. Two of the Hollywood heavyweights are starring in these movies. Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse. James by the Coward Robert Ford and Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men
• Lionsgate is further planning to start an award campaign with 3:10 to Yuma.
• While shooting the movie in New Mexico, a horse was seriously injured and The American Humane Association ordered an independent investigation about the accident. For the injury, the horse was euthanized.
• The screening of the movie started exactly at 3:10.
• According to variety.com review of the movie, the extreme loyalty of Charlie Prince portrayed by Ben Foster appears like homoeroticism.
• In the latest version of the movie, director James Mangold included the name of Halsted Welles who wrote the script of the 50’s 3:10 to Yuma along with script writers of the latest version: Michael Brandt & Derek Haas.
• Most of the events of the 50’s 3:10 to Yuma took place in a hotel room. On the contrary, Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma uses more action sequence and out door shots.
• According to cinematical blog, the budget of the movie was $80 million at first. Later, it was made $50 million.

3:10 to Yuma: Interview of James Mangold

Before reading this interview, I did not know that this man directed the movie Walk the Line. Yes, I am a big fan of Walk the Line. I admit that I never heard Johnny Cash but I liked Walk the line very much. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were great. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is where June says that Johnny Cash that his voice was steady like a train, sharp like a razor.

Recently, Mangold directed the remake of 50’s classic movie, 3:10 to Yuma. In an interview with Dark Horizons ,he talked about the movie and what made him take the story of a 50’s classic movie and do it again. Below is given some of the questions and answers of the interview.

Question: You know, I was talking to a director the other day who said to me how incredibly hard it is to make films in Hollywood and even though you have this track record and the last film that you did won a huge amount of acclaim, is it tough even with an established track record to make the kinds of passion projects that you want to make?
Mangold: Well I don’t even have to be self-revelationary to answer our question. I can tell you the facts. This was a movie set up at Sony and they didn’t make it.

Question: 3:10 to Yuma has been around a while ---
Mangold: Well I started it with Cathy Konrad in development when we were making Identity in about 2002. And when it came time to make this picture, after Walk the Line, Sony passed. And they graciously they let us take it with the underlying rights which they owned, because the original film and script were their underlying rights, and we shopped around town and every single studio in town passed.

Question: Why?
Mangold: You’d have to ask them. You could call any one of them and ask why, ‘cause they all passed on Walk the Line and they all passed on this. All I could tell you is that my own suspicion is that there’s something similar between these two films which is that they take place between New York and LA in the world that exists previously – they’re both periods. One was exploring the life of a musician who, I don’t how many people in Los Angeles studios in green light positions listen to Johnny Cash and understood the kind of connection he has and I think that studios similarly are afraid of country music and what that means. I think similarly they’re afraid of westerns and they’re afraid that Nintendo playing people can’t get used to the world of watching the latest young stars in Spandex that doesn’t somehow translate to a western.
I mean honestly when we made Walk the Line, Ray hadn’t come out - we were pretty much simultaneous with them, about a month and a half schedule wise behind. So a lot of times where people act like our movie was pulled together in response to Ray, we were little wrapping about a month or two after they did. I hadn’t even heard of the film until I was finishing shooting Walk the Line, but I think they had a hard time getting that movie financed. I mean that reality is that that it’s really hard to get ambitious movies about people in any period made and all you have to do is look at the films this fall, last fall and the ones that are interesting and then trace who green-lit them. The truth is that most of them are pickups or feature alternate financing or independent in nature. The studios are almost taking a pass right now on real filmmaking.

Question: That seems so depressing to me.
Mangold: It’s depressing but as long as the movies are getting made it’s not completely depressing and I think that the chickens will come home to roost in a sense. Let me put it this way, the seventies are a great moment in movies and emerged from one of the worst periods of movies. There is in a sense that whenever the paradigm is shifting, there is an opportunity for alternate methods of getting movies made. That’s how the whole Sundance generation happened, it’s how the whole Miramax moment happened. Corporations are just not going to be on the pulse of anything, hey’re going to be making what worked last year until it doesn’t work any more. So when finally one of these Marvel or DC movies fails, then another one and another one, I think they’ll think again.

When asked about his idea of making the movie he said that during his Columbia University years, he did thorough research on the movie. It was introduced to him by his teacher, Alexander McKendrick. He felt that the film had a great story to tell and it can be told in a totally new way; the way he want it to be told and that what made him make this film. Mangold feels that he has two great actors who perfectly suit the character requirements; especially, Russell Crowe. Crowe is a great horse rider. Presently, there are very few actors in Hollywood who, at the same time can ride a horse, control it and deliver his dialogues smoothly; Crowe can do all these things. On the other hand, Christian bale has proven himself to be one to top actors in Hollywood.

Related article:

Dark Horizons