A fun BEHIND THE LENS for you this week, thanks to writer/director CARLYLE EUBANK, who joins me talking about his feature directorial debut, BROKE, and director JAMES BAMFORD, who breaks it all down for THE LAST GUNFIGHT.
It’s long been said to write what you know. Well, that’s exactly what writer/director CARLYLE EUBANK has done with BROKE, his feature directorial debut. Some of you might recognize Carlyle’s name and if you do, it’s probably thanks to “The Signal” which was written by Carlyle and directed and co-written by his brother William, or “Muzzle” starring Aaron Eckhardt which he co-wrote with William and which was directed by John Stalberg, Jr. But as Carlyle now steps into the director’s chair with BROKE, this is 100% Carlyle Eubank.
Riding horses since before he could walk, Carlyle grew up living the Western lifestyle. He often helped his neighbors gather, sort, ship, and brand their cattle and continues to do so today. Familiar with all aspects of modern-day cowboy life, it makes sense that his first directorial feature, with a script written solely by him, would be a western.
BROKE is a contemporary western that follows the story of True Brandywine, played by Wyatt Russell, a bareback bronc rider clinging to his fading rodeo career. When True gets trapped in a freak spring blizzard, he must battle injuries, illness, and the bitter cold. While fighting for his survival, True is forced to face his choices and the circumstances that led him to his tenuous situation.
Joining Wyatt Russell as True is Dennis Quaid, who plays his father George, while Mary McDonnell of “Dances with Wolves” fame plays his mother Mary. Veteran actor Tom Skerritt is also on board as is Johnny Berchtold, who plays True’s younger brother Caleb.
BROKE has great emotional depth and texture thanks to an incredibly well-crafted and complex character in True Brandywine, providing what feels like a meditation on life, showcasing the complexities, not only within True, but within all of us. Your parent wants you to do one thing, you have your own mindset, and your heart is pulling you in another direction, even though you might not be making money, but you’re happy. What outweighs what? And where do you go? I don’t think there’s a person anywhere who can’t relate to that.
In this exclusive interview, Carlyle and I dissected the film from script to screen, discussing the immersive and beautiful cinematography of Charlie Sarroff, the creative use of flashbacks, shooting in different seasons on location in Montana to create the passage of time, as well as natural visual differences. We even get into the challenges of filming in harsh winter conditions, including equipment failures and the need for some CGI to maintain continuity, such as with snowflakes. I love our snowflake discussion! And rodeos! Actual rodeo footage and bronc busting from about 6 rodeos around the state that they traveled to and filmed at. Casting is also covered, with much of the film’s success attributed to its immersive storytelling and the strong performances of Dennis and Wyatt, capturing the complex father-son dynamic. And let’s not forget Glenn Garland’s seamless editing.
BROKE is now available on digital platforms.
Then we shift gears with THE LAST GUNFIGHT and yet another exclusive interview with one of my favorite directors and a fantastic guy in general, JAMES BAMFORD. We chat so often that letting only a couple of months go by without talking is like going through withdrawal. James is a fantastic director. He came up through the stunt world as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director, and ultimately feature director, so you know that his action is going to be spot on in every film. His films are always action-packed, boast excellent casting, superlative well-choreographed and executed action, and solid stories. Some of my fave Bamford films include “Shadow Land”, “Air Force One Down”, “Utopia”, “Man With No Past”, and “High Ground”.
Anyone who has seen a James Bamford film already will note several things – he has an amazing producing and story partner in Steven Paul (just listening to the two of them together is a kick in the ass) – Steven is credited with the story for THE LAST GUNFIGHT with script by JD Zeik, he has core actors and production department heads who he collaborates with on many of his films – notably his fight choreographer Radoslav Parvanov, for one, and actor Jon Voight who is working with James for the fourth time with THE LAST GUNFIGHT, and James shoots his films at Nu Boyana Studios in Bulgaria. What I love about James shooting at Nu Boyana is that it feels like the golden age of movies, where films were shot on the lot at MGM or Fox, or Universal. You recognize touchstones of the studio lot. James has now utilized all of the streets, sets, and buildings at Nu Boyana, and in THE LAST GUNFIGHT, there are quite a few nods to a prior film of his that was shot there.
I think THE LAST GUNFIGHT is James’ biggest endeavor to date and has a large ensemble cast and some of the biggest and most impressive action sequences that will have you thinking of John Wick, thanks to all of the action disciplines employed. This is also a story that expands beyond what we’ve seen from James before. THE LAST GUNFIGHT takes place in a ruthless underground tournament, where the world’s top assassins fight to the death. But hidden among them is a rogue crew with its own deadly agenda: infiltrate the competition, survive the bloodbath, and take down the mastermind pulling the strings. As alliances shift and the bodies pile up, the real battle isn’t just for survival – it’s for revenge, and a fortune worth killing for. Starring Academy Award® winner Jon Voight, Adam Woodward, Charlotte Vega, Shaina West, the superb Rade Serbedzija, and a new actor for my radar, the scene-stealing and oh-so-dead pan-funny Dearbhla Molloy.
In this exclusive interview, James and I break it all down for you, highlighting the action-packed and fun nature of the story, particularly the character dynamics and Jon Voight’s performance. Interesting is that this go round, James is working with Ivan Vatzov as his cinematographer and A-camera operator. Ivan was a camera operator on “Expendables 3” so he knows how to shoot action, use light to its best advantage, and he also brought some unique visual elements to play. We talk about the casting of this one and how this casting was a bit different than James’ other films, as the actors had to be able to execute the action sequences themselves, which meant casting started very early for this shoot. As usual, we also talk about Radoslav’s complex yet fluid fight choreography. And some new areas of discussion between James and me – sound design and the great attention paid to the different weaponry and environs, and the pre-planning and physical preparation for this film due to its physical complexity throughout the studio lot.
THE LAST GUNFIGHT is now streaming on digital platforms.
