Director
I was first introduced to the script by James when he returned from his honeymoon. It was written on 15 pages of scrap paper that looked as if he had to smuggle them back. I sat in his kitchen and started through the wreck of notes. The story was almost all there, I began to get excited as I poured through all 15 pages of scribble. When I finally reached the plot I knew we had a picture that was both artistic and entertaining. It underwent numerous drafts that we all had a heavy say in, but you could see from the beginning that it was something special.
This film captured me instantly because of the genre. I have always had an affinity for the old westerns. I met with the cinematographer and we watched a lot of our favorite westerns to find a visual motif that would achieve the classic style of story telling while keeping it modern.
I would say that casting this film was certainly one of the most interesting aspects of this production for me. All of our preconceived notions of these characters went right out the window as soon as the process began. For instance, we originally envisioned El Jeffe as a more spanish looking character. However, Nigel blew us away in his audition. He had an undeniable presence to him and he ended up stealing the show. Our lead cowboy was supposed to be the rugged American cowboy type. Well we ended up with a Caribbean mob boss and a Cuban cowboy. We kept an open mind going into casting and we ended up with a phenomenal ensemble.
With our cast and crew in place, I was now equipped with the right tools for the job of telling this story. I would like to thank my amazing cast and talented crew, as well as James Madison for allowing me to tell his story.
Director
Writer & Producer
It had been two years since Nic and I last collaborated on a film and we were both anxious to get back to it. Our hiatus was mostly due to our busy work schedules and my recent engagement. We are always tossing around ideas and discussing possible projects. However, neither of us were actively searching for a project at the time. The whole thing was somewhat of delightful mishap.
One of the biggest assets Nic and I provide for each other is our widely contradictory taste in films and the projects we are interested in. It is the reason we have such a diverse range of projects and genres we have worked on together. It is also what makes it hard for us to settle on a project sometimes. That is why I knew immediately this would be a great project for us. It had a little something for everything. The idea came to me all at once, like a flash of inspiration. It was my honeymoon and I was relaxing on the on the beach enjoying a cocktail or two when it hit me. In my head, I was like "Nic is going to love this. I need to write it down before I forget." My wife was pissed. I spent most of the afternoon scribbling down the story line. I knew we had something. I actually called Nic from St. Thomas. My wife was pissed about that too. I had promised her, "No business on the honeymoon." She got over it.
Once I got back and we showed it to Ben, I was sure of it. this was going to be a great film and it did not disappoint. We had a good script, a great crew and a plan. It did not always go according to plan but that's the biz and we made it work. We are very fortunate to have so many people around us that believed in the project and were willing to lend their support. We could not have done it without them and we are eternally grateful.
Writer/Producer