August 31, 2007

Filming The Only Good Indian

‘Indian’ summer

Locally produced film explores hidden history of HaskellToday, the filmmakers are shooting a scene in which the Haskell superintendent (Geer) is addressing the Indian children who have just been pulled off the reservation. The story focuses on one such Kickapoo youth (played by newcomer Winter Fox Frank), who is taken from his family and forcibly sent to Haskell under government orders to integrate into white society.

After being assigned a new name and religion, Frank’s character escapes and attempts to return home, only to be pursued by an American Indian bounty hunter (Wes Studi).

“What we know of the Indian boarding schools all across the country is that they were almost like concentration camps,” says Steve Cadue, the Kickapoo tribal chairman who is on the set at the invitation of the filmmakers.
The writer/producer's view:Tom Carmody is the man who first began framing these questions in screenplay form.

The writer and producer of “The Only Good Indian” says he’s always been fascinated by American Indian culture.

“Growing up in Lawrence and attending Broken Arrow school and South Junior High, many of the kids in the classes were Native American, as were many of the kids on my football team at Lawrence High. It was just part of growing up,” Carmody says.

In addition to its emphasis on history, Carmody regarded the project as a new riff on a genre movie.

He says, “When you look at westerns per se, you rarely see the Native American point of view. I can’t even think of one.”
Comment:  For Western movies with a Native point of view, see Broken Arrow, Cheyenne Autumn, Dances with Wolves, Geronimo: An American Legend, Crazy Horse, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Into the West, and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, among others. This partial list excludes all the movies set in the modern West (e.g., Thunderheart, Dreamkeeper) or the old East (e.g., The Light in the Forest, Pocahontas) with a Native POV.

This kind of movie may not be commonplace, but it's not unheard of either. Carmody is revealing more about himself than about Westerns when he says he can't think of one with a Native POV.

Helpful hint to creative types: Don't suggest you're the first to do something unless you really are the first.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPLETED ON
DIRECTOR KEVIN WILLMOTT’S NEW FEATURE FILM

THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN
STARRING WES STUDI

PERIOD FILM WAS WRITTEN BY THOMAS L. CARMODY,
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY JAMES MCDANIEL

LAWRENCE, KANSAS (October 17, 2007) – Director Kevin Willmott (CSA: Confederate States of America) has completed principal photography on his new independent feature film THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN, starring Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans, Avatar). The film was written by Thomas L. Carmody. Actor James McDaniel (NYPD Blue) is the executive producer.

In the film, Wes Studi portrays an early 1900’s era Cherokee bounty hunter hired to return an escapee from an Indian boarding school. Winter Fox Frank plays the teenaged student who is trying to get back to his family and the Kansas Kickapoo reservation in Kansas. J. Kenneth Campbell (Bullworth, Yulee’s Gold) plays a legendary “Indian fighter”-turned-sheriff who is after both of them.

The cast includes Paul Butler (Reign Over Me), Thirza Defoe (Pow Wow Dreams), Laura Kirk (Lisa Picard is Famous), Blake Robbins (Oz), Kevin Geer (The Contender), Christopher Wheatley (Raising Jeffrey Dahmer), Scott Allegrucci (The Feud), Kip Niven (Magnum Force), Delanna Studi (Edge of America), Queen Bey (Ninth Street) and David Midthunder (Hidalgo).

THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN was shot in various Kansas locations during the summer of 2007. Matt Jacobson is the director of photography. Thomas L. Carmody, Kevin Willmott, Matt Cullen, Greg Hurd, Rick Cowan and Scott Richardson are the producers. J. T. O’Neal, Hanay Geiogamah and Dan Wildcat are co-executive producers.

Kevin Willmott wrote and directed the highly acclaimed independent feature CSA: Confederate States of America, which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival, and Ninth Street, which starred Martin Sheen and Isaac Hayes. He has written scripts for Oliver Stone, NBC, 20th Century Fox and Columbia Tri-Star. Willmott is currently completing post production on Bunker Hill, a feature film starring James McDaniel, Saeed Jaffrey and Laura Kirk.

Wes Studi’s celebrated acting career includes lead roles Geronimo: An American Legend, Dances With Wolves, Last of the Mohicans, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Into the West, Seraphim Falls, The New World, Edge of America and Mystery Men. Studi starred as Lt. Joe Leaphorn in a PBS television series based on novels by Tony Hillerman. His upcoming films include James Cameron’s Avatar.

## ## ##
CONTACT: Scott Richardson 785-865-3439 scottrichardson@sunflower.com

Anonymous said...

Спешу поделиться новостью: обмен Яндекс.Денег на Вебмани и обратно больше официально не производится. Не знаю, какая их собака укусила, но сейчас обмен практически невозможен. Все крупные обменники, коими я пользовался переводы в данных направлениях просто не осуществляют. Порой приходилось с ЯД на WM переводить немалые суммы. И что теперь делать, ума не приложу.
Хорошо наверное тем, кто не пользуется электронной валютой, а по старинке - банковскими операциями, платёжками по факсу и тд)))

Anonymous said...

Hi : )
Why is it that women and men (society generally) still pre-judge people with tats. girls especially?
I'm a twenty six year old F, have got 9 tats, most of which cannot be seen on my daily travels. 5 To 6 during the summer are pretty much constantly on display. I don't strive for attention and i also have a loving boyfriend WITH NO TATTOOS .I get the impression that many people think that tattooed people are blind, as we get stared at, even if we return a glance many people continue staring. When will society change?