'Winter in the Blood'

Transcription

1 CLASSIFIEDS: JOBS CARS HOMES APARTMENTS DEALS BUY & SELL LOG IN News Obituaries Sports Business V FEATURED: Brain Teasers Find It Now e-newspaper Share Photos & Videos ntana Politics Fin ADVERT 'Winter in the Blood' vie adaptation of Welch novel debuts at film festival in LA Jun. 14, Comments Switch Switch A A 1 in L 2 inte 1 of 5 6/14/13 2:33 PM

2 David rse, left, and Chaske Spencer star in the film adaptation of the James Welch novel 'Winter in the Blood.' / Photo courtesy Kenneth Billington Written by Patrick Douglas For the Tribune FILED UNDER Lifestyle In many ways, the new film Winter in the Blood is a love story to ntana. Based on a book written by a ntanan, adapted for the screen and filmed by twins from ntana, it features actors from the region and is shot exclusively in the state. The DVD may as well have a Made In ntana sticker included with it st Viewe ntana movie buffs will have to wait a little longer to see the result, however, as folks in Los Angeles will get a first look at the Big Sky Country product. Winter in the Blood premieres this week at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and its creators, Alex and Andrew Smith, couldnʼt be happier. Itʼs very exciting. Iʼm really proud and pleased to have the world premiere there, said Alex in an interview with the Tribune from his home in Austin, Texas. Itʼs nice to bring it back to Los Angeles. We made this one so outside of that arena that itʼs nice to be able to merge our two worlds at one festival. Twins Alex Smith, left and Andrew Smith stayed true to the locations featured in James Welch's book, filming along the Hi-Line and on the Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap reservations. / Photo courtesy Michael Coles This film is going to take its own path, different from other films weʼve made, Andrew added. This (festival) is a wonderful place to start that journey. Big Sky Bus L year transpor Jun. 07, 2013 PHOTO GALLE Central Cathol Graduation 20 Winter in the Blood is a novel penned by the late James Welch, published in As it turns out, Welch was a family friend of the Smith brothers as they grew up in western ntana. Alex and Andrew Smith with former ntana Gov. Brian 2 of 5 (James) and his wife Lois were family friends so I got to know Jim long before I knew the novel, Alex explained. He was 6/14/13 2:33 PM

3 Schweitzer. The Smith brothers filmed 'Winter in the Blood' in ntana. / Photo courtesy Kenneth Billington always a great storyteller. Andrew and I lost our father when we were 6 so I think I was always looking at men like ʻWould he have been a good Dad?ʼ I always felt that way with Jim. I read ʻWinter in the Bloodʼ in high school and I was like ʻHoly cow, that guy wrote that?ʼ I sort of saw him in a whole new light of this profound author, he continued. Itʼs always sort of been in our blood in a way, Andrew said of the connection between the brothers and the Welch novel they adapted for the screen. We were lucky as kids to have known Jim Welch and know him very well. Set partially on the Fort Belknap Reservation, Winter in the Blood is the story of a man who is having a hard time dealing with the pitfalls of his life and the elements working against him. Page Next View Comments (2) Share your thoughts» TOP VIDEO PICKS Big Sky Bus Lines wraps up 31st year tr Jun 7, 2013 Makoshika State Park Jun 5, of 5 6/14/13 2:33 PM

4 CLASSIFIEDS: JOBS CARS HOMES APARTMENTS DEALS BUY & SELL LOG IN News Obituaries Sports Business V FEATURED: Brain Teasers Find It Now e-newspaper Share Photos & Videos ntana Politics Fin ADVERT 'Winter in the Blood' vie adaptation of Welch novel debuts at film festival in LA Jun. 14, Comments Switch Switch A A Written by Patrick Douglas For the Tribune FILED UNDER Lifestyle (Page 2 of 3) The Smith brothers are no strangers to bringing a Hollywood production to ntana. They filmed The Slaughter Rule in 2001 using mostly Great Falls and its surroundings. That film starred David rse and future Oscar-nominated actors Ryan Gosling and Amy Adams. This time around, they stayed true to the locations featured in the book and filmed along the Hi-Line and on the Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap reservations and included microscopic towns like Fresno and Cleveland in the shots. To the Smith brothers, ntana is a relatively untapped resource for filmmaking. What I love about shooting in ntana, and I hope to shoot more films there, is that itʼs not ʻshot outʼ as they say in other places, Andrew said. We havenʼt seen a lot of its special beauty. Generally speaking, youʼre always in new terrain. 1 in L 2 inte 1 of 4 6/14/13 2:34 PM

5 Weʼve only shot a few angles on the amazing state, Alex said. I honestly feel like thereʼs going to be a renaissance of stuff shot up in ntana. Thereʼs a wealth of different parts of ntana (with) different feelings. It was a very powerful experience shooting it up where the book took place and the community rallied around it and all kinds of beautiful things happened around the production of the film that Iʼd never experienced in 20 years in filmmaking and that was due to the energy of the people helping us with that, Alex continued st Viewe To cast the film, the brothers turned to veteran casting director and Great Falls native Rene Haynes. Haynes specializes in Native American casting and brought in actors like Gary Farmer, Julia Jones, Eddie Spears and Saginaw Grant. Her recommendation of using Twilight actor Chaske Spencer to play the lead character Virgil First Raise was key, Alex Smith said. She was a champion for Chaske, Alex explained. It was a big gamble because we hadnʼt worked with him before, and we didnʼt know if he could carry the movie but it was a jackpot. He carries it heroically. Being in ntana, we got in touch with (producer) Sherman Alexie in Seattle to get ahold of Rene in Los Angeles only to find out that Reneʼs from Great Falls, Alex said. The funny thing was; we had to go to Rene to meet Chaske, who lives in Brooklyn, to find out he grew up in Poplar. Page Previous Big Sky Bus L year transpor Jun. 07, 2013 PHOTO GALLE Central Cathol Graduation 20 Next View Comments (2) Share your thoughts» TOP VIDEO PICKS 2 of 4 6/14/13 2:34 PM

6 CLASSIFIEDS: JOBS CARS HOMES APARTMENTS DEALS BUY & SELL LOG IN News Obituaries Sports Business V FEATURED: Brain Teasers Find It Now e-newspaper Share Photos & Videos ntana Politics Fin ADVERT 'Winter in the Blood' vie adaptation of Welch novel debuts at film festival in LA Jun. 14, Comments Switch Switch A A Written by Patrick Douglas For the Tribune FILED UNDER Lifestyle (Page 3 of 3) It was this weird going outward to come back inward thing to do this project, he said. Having a story primarily involving Native Americans with Native actors was extremely important, Alex said. Itʼs a very underrepresented demographic or ethnicity in American film, he said. The stories are deep and the stories are really beautiful. Obviously thereʼs a lot of tragedy involved and a lot of loss and displacement but thereʼs also an amazing amount of power and understanding of the natural world, of families, of communities. We relied very heavily on our Native cast to keep us authentic and create the emotional storyline, the emotional journey of the characters to make it true to life, Andrew said. Not being Natives ourselves, we filled out that sensibility by empowering the cast as much as we could. 1 in L 2 inte 1 of 4 6/14/13 2:34 PM

7 The best part, according to both men, was the reception they got everywhere they set up shop to film. People were opening doors to locations and props and vehicles and costumes and made us meals and were really supportive of this project in this beautiful way, Alex said. Andrew, an associate professor in film studies at the University of ntana, talked of a special bond he has with his twin brother, giving them a unique working experience behind the camera st Viewe Itʼs very much a labor of love. Because we are very close and work with such kinship and live in different cities and have different lives, it is a thrill, Andrew said. Weʼre excited to keep working together and bringing more stories to bear. This kind of filmmaking takes a supreme amount of effort and weʼre happy to do it. We grew up pretty isolated on this ranch outside of Missoula without a TV, explained Alex, a teacher at the University of Texas. We spent a lot of our childhood collaborating. We used to make films and comic books and all kinds of stuff. It took us going to different colleges to create our own identity and not just be the twins. Big Sky Bus L year transpor Jun. 07, 2013 PHOTO GALLE There are tentative plans to show the film around ntana over the late summer and early fall, but nothing has been set in stone yet. Weʼre definitely going to have a big, fun, splashy ntana premiere and, hopefully, circuit, Alex said. Weʼre just trying to figure out when. Central Cathol Graduation 20 Completing the film and knowing how special it was not only for the filmmakers but the people involved in the behind-the-scenes work brings it all back to where it came from, Alex said. It took almost 40 years for something of Welchʼs to be filmed, Alex said. I loved working with the tribes we worked with and the actors we worked with and the crew that we worked with that were Native American. If anything happens with this movie, I hope it inspires more adaptations of Native literature or just people telling stories 2 of 4 6/14/13 2:34 PM

8 from a Native American perspective. Douglas can be reached by at patjessdouglas@netscape.net. Page Previous View Comments (2) Share your thoughts» TOP VIDEO PICKS selected by Taboola Big Sky Bus Lines wraps up 31st year tr Jun 7, 2013 Makoshika State Park Jun 5, 2013 YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN Blackfeet judge expunges DUIs of Sen. Augare's brother Helena reggae band playing at the Zone Barry Beach recalls finding out about Supreme Court Officials ID ntana man shot by Idaho trooper Eye doctor still missing on Lake Ewell 9 Ways to Keep Your Washer and Dryer Healthy (Washer Dryer Info) SPONSORED LINKS 12 vies That Filmed Happy Endings You Never Saw (Pop Secret Labs) Jessica Alba s Rockin Retro 60s Swimsuit (Yahoo!) Youʼre Doing it Wrong!: 15 vies Based on a True (Styleblazer) Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans Escalate Things on (POPSUGAR Entertainment) They Came, They Stole, They Conquered: 15 Rip-Off (Styleblazer) ʻMan of Steelʼ looking to take June box office to new (TheCelebrityCafe.com) [?] Superman rocks a new look USA Entertain Jun 13, 2013 ARCHIVES THINGS TO DO REPORT MON View the last seven days Yesterday, Jun. 13 Wednesday, Jun. 12 Tuesday, Jun. 11 nday, Jun. 10 FRI 14 SAT 15 SUN 16 PATRIOTIC MUSICAL MON 17 TUE 18 WED 19 Redeemer Lutheran Church Great Falls, MT THU 20 3 of 4 6/14/13 2:34 PM