March 04, 2010

Debating Unbound Captives

Some comments on Preview of Unbound Captives and my responses:Writing an article based on rumor is a good way to further promote misinformation. The script is far different from the picture you are painting.Actually, most of the posting was my speculation, not an article "based on rumor(s)" I read elsewhere.

I searched for information on Unbound Captives but couldn't find any. Whose fault is it if the filmmakers can't or won't explain their movie satisfactorily? Are we supposed to avoid discussing it until they say it's okay?The script is far different from the picture you are painting. The story is mostly about the two characters portrayed by Hugh & Rachel. It's a love story set in the late 1850s to late 1860s. Hugh's character was also raised by the Comanche and still feels part Comanche in his heart.Featuring white characters in a Native-themed movie is part of the problem, not part of the solution. This is especially true if the white characters are supposed to be part Indian or raised by Indians. The use of "half-breeds" and "white Indians" lets the filmmakers pretend to do an Indian story while showcasing their white-as-a-vampire actors.

Here's an idea

Want to do a story about people held captive or raised by Comanches? Here's a radical thought: Use actual Comanches. Most have enough white blood that you can say they were raised by whites, were members of white society, were "torn between two worlds," etc. Showcase them rather than Australians and Brits feigning a Native upbringing.

If nothing else, you'll save a lot of money on salaries for Jackman, Wiesz, and Pattinson. If the investors and studios won't go for a movie without Jackman...well, it seems they're not going for Unbound Captives now. Try a different model than the star-centered vehicle that usually flops.The main Indian is based on a real person named Buffalo Hump.Buffalo Hump was a Comanche war chief while the Comanches held Cynthia Ann Parker. Both were characters in the TV version of Larry McMurtry's Comanche Moon.

I don't know if Buffalo Hump and Parker met, but they were active in the same time and place. There's still a good chance that Unbound Captives is partly based on Parker's story.You should try to contact Stowe to discuss your concerns and then write a follow-up. I think you'll have a different opinion once you get the facts.Sorry, but I don't have time to go through multiple layers of handlers to contact a celebrity. I'm the one who's making himself available here. Stowe can contact me if she wishes to correct my misapprehensions and promote her movie.

Making movies in the 21st century

Alas, Unbound Captives may not be going forward. As the commenters noted:Stowe has not even secured financing for this film yet.

Right now it doesn't look like it will happen till at least fall.
Fortunately, that doesn't stop me from discussing it. <g>

If I were an investor, I'd be thinking: White people raised by Indians who don't fit into either world? Hmm, that's been done hundreds of times already in the long history of movies. How about if we try something new?

Maybe a Native-themed movie starring actual Indians? Wouldn't that appeal to America's increasingly multiracial and multicultural society? Yes, by Jove, I think it would!

For more on the subject, see Indians Hold Steady at 0.3% and Roscoe Pond or a Big-Name Actor?

Below:  Raised by a band of Comanches, he grew up wild as a wolverine! Only a woman's love could tame his savage breast!

A heartrending story as old as the 1910s but new for the 2010s! See Hugh Jackman and Robert Pattison as you've often seen them before...shirtless!

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