Moviefone Editorial

Tag: thomas-jane

  • ‘Frontier Crucible’ Interview: Thomas Jane

    gbMinQPZ

    Opening in theaters and digital on December 5th is the new Western ‘Frontier Crucible‘, which was based on the book ‘Desert Stake-Out’ by author Harry Whittington and directed by Travis Mills (‘The Five’).

    h8bQKatNVEM2paTP8fBNr5

    The film stars Myles Clohessy (‘Blue Bloods’), Mary Stickley (‘Harvest’), Ryan Masson (‘The Last of Us’), Thomas Jane (‘Boogie Nights’ and ‘The Punisher‘), Armie Hammer (‘The Social Network’), and William H. Macy (‘Fargo’).

    Thomas Jane as “‘Mule’ Charlie McKee” in the western/thriller/drama film, 'Frontier Crucible', a Well Go USA film. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
    Thomas Jane as “‘Mule’ Charlie McKee” in the western/thriller/drama film, ‘Frontier Crucible’, a Well Go USA film. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Thomas Jane about his work on ‘Frontier Crucible’, his first reaction to the screenplay, the challenges of making a Western, his character, working with the cast, and collaborating with director Travis Mills on set.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.

    Related Article: Actor Thomas Jane Talks New Western ‘Murder at Yellowstone City’

    Thomas Jane stars in 'Frontier Crucible'.
    Thomas Jane stars in ‘Frontier Crucible’.

    Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and the adaption of author Harry Whittington’s novel?

    Thomas Jane: Well, Whittington was known as the “King of the Pulps”, and he wrote in the 1950s and’60s. They called him the “King of Pulps”, because I think he’s got the world record for the greatest number of pulp novels ever written by an author. Out of the hundreds of novels that he wrote about six are good, which is a good record. He’s got six strong novels that are worth anybody’s time who loves the Pulp stuff. One of them is ‘Desert Stakeout’, and the screenplay was adapted by S. Craig Zahler who wrote ‘Bone Tomahawk’, and I don’t even know if I’m supposed to say that. Nobody told me not to say it. But he’s an uncredited writer, and he borrowed heavily from the book, and no surprise, Whittington had a knack for great dialogue and great characters. It was really his thing. Every story that he approached, he didn’t come through the plot, he came through the character. So, for adaptations, it’s perfect, and they’ve adapted a few Harry Whittington novels over the years. This one, you read it and you’re like, “Why wasn’t this done like 30 years ago?” It really sings. So, we had a lot of fun. We had a lot to work with. We had great dialogue.

    MF: I know you have appeared in quite a few Westerns in the past, what do you enjoy about the genre and what are the biggest challenges of making a movie like this?

    TJ: Well, the challenges are always like, we need to make more Westerns, and trying to keep the fan base alive in 2025 is difficult. It’s difficult with all movies, but now, with a good Western, people will watch it. They like it. I produced a Western called ‘Murder at Yellowstone City’, which made it the number one on Netflix. So, if you do a good Western, people will watch it, and there is an audience. It’s just getting a great story. It’s getting people that really know the genre and love the genre. Travis Mills certainly loves the genre, I think he wrote a book where he’s got like 200 Western movies that he reviewed, and now he’s releasing a book on all his Western reviews. So, he’s a real student of the genre. That was fun. It’s always good when your director knows his stuff. I loved that Travis wanted to recreate the way Westerns used to be made in the ’50s and ’60s. This movie has a look that feels like it could have been made in 1965. So that was fun. I’m a fan, in other words. The challenges for an actor are really the positives, the things that I love about Westerns. I love the fact that most Westerns either implicitly or explicitly deal with the civilization of man, and there are laws and are rules, and then the wild West is the lawless land where you must make up these rules. You’re guided by a moral code. Everyone has their own moral code and their own interpretation of the moral code. Like, “Thou shalt not kill”, although that’s negotiable in certain circumstances for some people. That makes it fun.

    (Center) Armie Hammer as “Edmund Fisher” in the western/thriller/drama film, 'Frontier Crucible', a Well Go USA film. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.
    (Center) Armie Hammer as “Edmund Fisher” in the western/thriller/drama film, ‘Frontier Crucible’, a Well Go USA film. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA.

    MF: Can you talk about your character’s gang and creating those relationships with your scene partners, Armie Hammer and Ryan Masson?

    TJ: My character thinks he’s a good guy, and I think 98% of him is a decent man. I think some bad things happen to him, and he lost his way a little bit. But the darkness of his heart is revealed by the company that he keeps. You find that’s true with most people in life. It’s the company that you keep that tells you something about who they are, and who they think they are. So, that’s Armie’s role in the thing. He’s the dark heart of the gang, and we’re constantly having trouble reining him in. It’s a lot of fun. Armie had a lot of fun. He leaned into all of that. I really had a good time working with everybody. Armie’s are an intelligent guy, and a soulful guy. He’s done a lot of work on himself, and it shows, he’s stepped up. People step up or they step down and Armie stepped up. So, I’d worked with the guy again in a heartbeat. I think he’s terrific. Everybody else is young. finding their way. We, as the old pros, tried to help them as best we could.

    MF: I was not familiar with Myles Clohessy or Mary Stickley’s work before seeing this film. What was your experience like working with them on this movie?

    TJ: Myles came from another project (producer) Dallas Sonnier had done, and he certainly looks like a leading man, and he’s learning what that entails. It’s a very different set of rules when you’re the leading man or the leading lady than it is if you’re a supporting character. I like the supporting characters. I’ve gotten a chance to play a lot of leads and I’m grateful for that. But I love the character stuff. It’s what got me into this thing in the first place. Now I’m getting a little older and I’m finding more opportunities to flex those muscles. It gives me a little more freedom. I don’t have the movie that I’m carrying on my back, and I get to have a little more fun.

    (Center Foreground) Director Travis Mills behind the scenes on the western/thriller/drama film, 'Frontier Crucible', a Well Go USA film. Photo courtesy of Gene Page.
    (Center Foreground) Director Travis Mills behind the scenes on the western/thriller/drama film, ‘Frontier Crucible’, a Well Go USA film. Photo courtesy of Gene Page.

    MF: Finally, what was it like collaborating with director Travis Mills on set, particularly in the remote locations that you were shooting in?

    TJ: Director Anthony Mann did a bunch of Westerns in the ’50s and ’60s, and he says, “Anytime you can get on location, you got to do it”. It brings the show to life, and it brings the actors to life. They feel grounded. They’re in the world that the characters live in, and that was certainly true for this. We had one location, we showed up there every day. We got into our costumes, and we were staying at a hotel. It was about a half hour away and our dressing room was in the hotel. They took a couple of hotel rooms and turned them into a dressing room. So, we would show up, we’d roll out of bed, stumble downstairs, grab a cup of coffee, and then hit the dressing room, where all the actors would change together, which is exactly what you do in theater. There’s one place, it’s called backstage, and that’s where you got into your outfit. So, we had that morning ritual of everybody putting on their costumes, at usually 4:30am because we had to capture the daylight. We had to be out there at the crack of dawn. Then we’d shoot until we couldn’t shoot anymore. So that community, that camaraderie, and the fact that our characters were also stuck together waiting for bad things to happen, that was fun. I got to tell you; it was unique. Normally, you hit set, you hit your trailer, you get your coffee, and you have those moments alone. We didn’t have any trailers on this. Another great thing about making a lower budget movie is the locations. We never would have been able to shoot there if it were a bigger film because there’s nowhere to put all the trucks. You’d have to put them way far away and then shuttle everybody. But we were able to just show up and me and Armie started building fires and making our own coffee over a campfire. We were making cowboy coffee. We would do that all day. We’d keep the fire going, and other actors would come around, and throw wood on the fire. We just had a little fire going all day. So, it was a unique experience. Travis created that. We all signed up. We knew what we were getting into. He’s like, “This is what I want to do.” He wanted to create that period feel to everything and I think he did a darn good job with that.

    You can pre-order the ‘Frontier Crucible’ here. 

    (L to R) William H. Macy as “Major O’Rourke” and Director Travis Mills behind the scenes on the western/thriller/drama film, 'Frontier Crucible', a Well Go USA film. Photo courtesy of Gene Page.
    (L to R) William H. Macy as “Major O’Rourke” and Director Travis Mills behind the scenes on the western/thriller/drama film, ‘Frontier Crucible’, a Well Go USA film. Photo courtesy of Gene Page.

    What is the plot of ‘Frontier Crucible’?

    In 1870s Arizona Territory, a desperately needed wagon full of medical supplies falls victim to an Apache attack. The only man who can guide it through is Merrick Beckford (Myles Clohessy), but to get there, he’ll need to enlist the help of a trio of dangerous outlaws (Thomas Jane, Arie Hammer and Ryan Masson) hellbent on survival. When they accidentally kill an Apache scout, all bets are off, and survival is the name of the game.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Frontier Crucible’?

    'Frontier Crucible' opens in theaters and digital on December 5th.
    ‘Frontier Crucible’ opens in theaters and digital on December 5th.

    List of Western Movies and TV Shows:’

    Buy Thomas Jane Movies On Amazon

  • Movie Review: ‘Play Dirty’

    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield in 'Play Dirty'. Photo: Prime Video.
    (L to R) Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield in ‘Play Dirty’. Photo: Prime Video.

    On Prime Video on October 1st is ‘Play Dirty’, the new crime thriller from ‘Lethal Weapon’ writer and ‘Iron Man 3’ co-writer/director Shane Black, who here adapts the work of cult novelist Donald E. Westlake.

    ZfzsuxMetk7XEd8SjCF4J3

    Starring Mark Wahlberg (‘The Fighter’) as inveterate thief Parker, the cast also includes LaKeith Stanfield (‘Sorry to Bother You’), Rosa Salazar (‘Alita: Battle Angel’), Tony Shalhoub (‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’) and Nat Wolff (‘Paper Towns’).

    Related Article: LaKeith Stanfield, Jason Clarke & Trevante Rhodes will Lead ‘F.A.S.T.’

    Initial Thoughts

    Parker (Mark Wahlberg) in 'Play Dirty'. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Parker (Mark Wahlberg) in ‘Play Dirty’. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    Once the king of the 1980s and 1990s action-comedy script sale, since turning his hand to directing, Shane Black has had a somewhat more mixed career. There have been definite highs (‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ and ‘Iron Man 3’) and true lows (his most recent directorial effort was the ill-fated ‘The Predator’ back in 2018). And even when he’s hit the mark, the box office results have not been kind (‘The Nice Guys’ really deserved better).

    With ‘Play Dirty’, he’s got some choice (if frequently adapted) source material in Donald E. Westlake’s Parker character, and while he manages to pull off a convincing, double-triple-quadruple-crossing crime caper, there’s a big problem sitting squarely at the top of the cast list.

    Script and Direction

    Director Shane Black at the premiere of 'Play Dirty'. Photo: Prime Video.
    Director Shane Black at the premiere of ‘Play Dirty’. Photo: Prime Video.

    Black, working here with Charles Mondry (2024’s ‘Road House’) and Anthony Bagarozzi (who co-wrote ‘The Nice Guys’ with the director), has cooked up a twisty heist thriller that draws from Westlake’s novels but isn’t a direct adaptation of any of them.

    It’s certainly chock full of action, though the pacing suffers some when the filmmaker takes his foot off the gas (or the train pedal) to dig down into exposition, but that is largely carried by some great actors spouting swear-laden dialogue at each other. Oh, and no points for guessing that the movie is set during Black’s trademark Christmas season.

    Cast and Performances

    (L to R) Stan (Chai Hansen), Parker (Mark Wahlberg), and Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield) in 'Play Dirty'. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    (L to R) Stan (Chai Hansen), Parker (Mark Wahlberg), and Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield) in ‘Play Dirty’. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    The elephant in the room in ‘Play Dirty’s case is Mark Wahlberg, who brings about as much charisma to the lead role as some wet, peeling wallpaper. It’s even harder to stomach when you know that Black’s old pal Robert Downey Jr. was originally attached to star.

    Still, the rest of the cast essentially act Wahlberg off the screen, with particular plaudits due the likes of Rosa Salazar, Keegan-Michael Key, LaKeith Stanfield and Tony Shalhoub, the latter getting to show off his gangster side with aplomb.

    Final Thoughts

    Parker (Mark Wahlberg) in 'Play Dirty'. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Parker (Mark Wahlberg) in ‘Play Dirty’. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    While nowhere near a classic Shane Black offering (come on Prime Video, just buy the rights and let him reunite Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe for ‘The Nice Guys 2’!), it’s diverting enough, even if the lead character is something of a joyless chore rather than the sharp criminal of the books.

    ‘Play Dirty’ receives 70 out of 100.

    Parker (Mark Wahlberg) in 'Play Dirty'. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
    Parker (Mark Wahlberg) in ‘Play Dirty’. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.

    What’s the story of ‘Play Dirty’?

    An expert thief rolls out the biggest heist of his life as Parker (Mark Wahlberg), along with Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield), Zen (Rosa Salazar) and a skilled crew, stumble onto a score that pits them against the New York mob.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Play Dirty’?

    Mark Wahlberg as Parker
    LaKeith Stanfield as Grofield
    Rosa Salazar as Zen
    Tony Shalhoub as Lozini
    Keegan-Michael Key as Ed Mackey
    Nat Wolff as Kincaid
    Chukwudi Iwuji as Phineas Paul
    Thomas Jane as Philly Webb

    Director Shane Black at the premiere of 'Play Dirty'. Photo: Prime Video.
    Director Shane Black at the premiere of ‘Play Dirty’. Photo: Prime Video.

    Other Movies Directed by Shane Black:

    Buy Mark Wahlberg Movies On Amazon

    P1KLZkzB

  • ‘One Ranger’ Interview: Thomas Jane Talks New Action Thriller

    TZNHGdh6

    Opening in theaters on May 5th is the new action thriller ‘One Ranger’ from writer and director Jesse V. Johnson (‘White Elephant’).

    What is the plot of ‘One Ranger?’

    In ‘One Ranger,’ a gunslinging Texas ranger (Thomas Jane) tracks a bank robber (Dean Jagger) across the desert — only to discover he’s an international terrorist set on detonating a bomb in the heart of London. When the lawman’s partner is killed, he is drawn into partnership with a British intelligence agent (Dominique Tipper) and her boss (John Malkovich) to bring the outlaw to justice — dead or alive.

    qI6sTXKVulsQDDQO68hpm

    Who is in the cast of ‘One Ranger?’

    ‘One Ranger’ stars Thomas Jane (‘Boogie Nights,’ ‘The Punisher,’ ‘The Predator’), Dominique Tipper (‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’), Dean Jagger (‘Game of Thrones’), Patrick Bergin (‘Patriot Games’), and John Malkovich (‘In the Line of Fire,’ ‘Being John Malkovich,’ ‘RED’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Thomas Jane about his work on ‘One Ranger,’ the “fish out of water” premise, creating his character, his partnership with Dominique Tipper’s character, the action sequences, working with John Malkovich and the possibilities of a sequel.

    Thomas Jane in 'One Ranger.'
    Thomas Jane in ‘One Ranger.’

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Thomas Jane, and writer and director Jesse V. Johnson about ‘One Ranger.’

    Moviefone: To begin with, I thought this character fit you like a glove and is a prefect Thomas Jane role. Did you recognize that when you first read the script, and what were some of the aspects of the character you were excited to explore on screen?

    Thomas Jane: I’ve had a lot of fun with creating iconic, classic characters, people that are a little left of center. This guy, just by being alive in 2023, is already a fish out of water even in his own world. We’re fortunate enough to be the opening night film at the Dallas Film Festival, so we’re in Texas Ranger country right now. I feel a real responsibility to creating something that these guys are probably going to watch. It’s probably only a few of them, but they’re going to watch this thing. So, I wanted to make sure not to embarrass myself and create something that honored who they are and what they do, because we need more Texas Rangers in the world right now.

    MF: Can you talk about the unlikely partnership that your character forms with Dominique Tipper’s character throughout the events of the film?

    TJ: We had this British character in the script and we were batting around ideas, and I had just worked with Dominique for five years on ‘The Expanse,’ and we had a really nice relationship. She’s a good egg. She’s dedicated, and we had the connection already between the two of us. So for us it was creating the antagonism that these two obviously are from opposite sides of the pond, and we wanted to have fun with that. But we knew that underneath was the respect that we both just naturally have for each other, so she ended up being a perfect choice and I’m just glad she said yes. It was a lot of fun but it was a tough shoot.

    Dominique Tipper in 'One Ranger.'
    Dominique Tipper in ‘One Ranger.’

    MF: I know you’ve worked with John Malkovich before, but what was it like for you to reunite with him again and work together on this movie?

    TJ: He’s one of those consummate actors that every actor respects and admires. I remember when he did ‘Of Mice and Men’ back in the day, that must have been like the ‘80s when he hit the scene doing theater in Chicago and all that. So he’s always been someone to look up to and its always a thrill when you get to work with that caliber of talent. He always shows up. He showed up and he did his job. He was present, and he was there. A lot of these actors that come in for a short period of time, you can’t really count on them. Sometimes they need cue cards, you know what I mean? Not Malkovich. He shows up to have fun, and we certainly did have a good time. These two characters were allies. They’re on the same side, ostensibly, but they have very different ideas about how to get the job done, and that was fun. We had a respect, but also there was an antagonism and you’re always looking for that kind of thing.

    Thomas Jane in 'One Ranger.'
    Thomas Jane in ‘One Ranger.’

    MF: I know that you did a lot of your own stunts and action sequences in this film, do you enjoy doing that and does it help you to stay in character and make those scenes as realistic as possible?

    TJ: I’m a huge fan of Harrison Ford and if you watch his movies, even in something like ‘Frantic,’ that Polanski directed. Where his family gets kidnapped and he’s got to go after them, but he’s a regular dude. His physicality is just so great. He can say so much with the character just in the way that he moves his body, whether it’s ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ or something else. I grew up watching this guy, with his physicality. You know that it’s him because of the way he moves. You know that’s not a stunt guy because it’s Harrison Ford and the way he moves his body is telling us that he’s scared but he’s going to do it anyway, that he’s never been in this situation before but he’s figuring it out as he goes along. I always aspire to bring something like that because it always struck me. That’s why I like to have fun with the stunts and doing them.

    MF: Finally, have you given any thought to a sequel and is this a character that you would like to play again?

    TJ: We were just talking about that. Apparently Lionsgate has the same idea, so we’re going to try to figure that out.

    Thomas Jane and Dominique Tipper in 'One Ranger.'
    (L to R) Thomas Jane and Dominique Tipper in ‘One Ranger.’

    Other Movies Similar to ‘One Ranger:’

    Buy Tickets: ‘One Ranger’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Thomas Jane Movies On Amazon

    ‘One Ranger’ is produced by BondIt Media Capital, Lionsgate, and Renegade Entertainment. It is set to release in theaters on May 5th.

  • ‘Watchmen’s Malin Akerman Talks ‘Slayers’

    6YkMDQEW

    Opening in theaters, on digital and on demand beginning October 21st is the new vampire comedy ‘Slayers,’ which was directed by K. Asher Levin (‘Dig’).

    The movie stars Malin Akerman as Beverly Rektor, a reclusive billionaire who invites a group of influencers including Flynn (Kara Hayward) and Jules (Abigail Breslin) to her mansion.

    But when they discover that Rektor is really a vampire looking to feast on her unassuming guests, the influencers will have to team with reality TV star and vampire hunter Eliot Jones (Thomas Jane) in order to survive.

    Actress Malin Akerman has appeared in dozens of popular film and TV projects including ‘Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,’ ’27 Dresses,’ ‘The Proposal,’ ‘Couples Retreat,’ ‘Rampage,’ ‘The Comeback’ and ‘Childrens Hospital.’

    But she is probably best known for playing Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre II in director Zack Snyder’s groundbreaking superhero movie ‘Watchmen,’ and as Bobby Axelrod’s wife, Lara, on Showtime’s ‘Billions.’

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with actress and producer Malin Akerman about her work on ‘Slayers,’ how she got involved in the project, balancing comedy and horror, her character, the cast, her friendship with director K. Asher Levin, and her memories of working on ‘Watchmen’ with Zack Snyder.

    Ashley Reyes as Natalie and Malin Akerman as Beverly Rektor in the comedy/horror, 'Slayers,'
    (L to R) Ashley Reyes as Natalie and Malin Akerman as Beverly Rektor in the comedy/horror, ‘Slayers,’ The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Akerman and Thomas Jane about ‘Slayers.’

    Moviefone: To begin with, how did you get involved with this project both as an actress and producer, and what was your first reaction to the screenplay?

    Malin Akerman: So, Asher, our lovely director, is a very close family friend. I’ve known him for over a decade. He came to me during COVID and just said, “I’ve got this movie, I think we’re going to do it and would love for you to help put it together and maybe produce with me. Do you think your husband (Jack Donnelly) would want to play one of the roles?”

    I was like, “Yeah, sure. Let’s do it. Let’s do something together.” I read the script, and I thought it was super fun. I’ve never done a vampire film. I’ve never done anything in this genre before. So, I thought, what a fun, new, exciting, creative venture to go on with friends of mine.

    Then he approached me a few weeks later and said, “Would you want to maybe play the queen Vampire in this? I mean, I think you’d be great for it.” Again, I love doing projects with friends. You just want to work with people that you really like. So, it was such a fun opportunity to get to work together. I just loved it. And I thought that it would be fun to play a vampire.

    I thought it was really fun, and I am not an aficionado on vampire films or horror films, so I’m not the best judge of character. But I personally just thought it was a really fun take on it, modernizing vampires and bringing in the modern world and influencers, and mixing it with old legends. So yeah, the answer was a big resounding yes.

    MF: Can you talk about the challenges as an actress of balancing the movie’s comedy and horror tones?

    MA: Well, when you’re in it and you’re acting it, you always have to act it for real. Unless you’re in a sketch, of course. So, for me, it was all about being Beverly Rector. It was all about this empowered queen vampire who has lived many years, has a lot of wisdom and street smarts, and is very manipulative.

    So, I was just playing that as straightforward as possible. But having said that, it was so much fun to watch all of our actors playing the influencers. They had free reign and a lot of more space to do improv because that really is what these influencers do.

    MF: While you haven’t appeared in a vampire movie before, you have played rich and powerful women like Beverly Rector before in projects like ‘Rampage’ or ‘Billions.” So, could you identify with that aspect of the character and did that ground the role in a certain reality for you?

    MA: Well, I like to think of myself as a powerful woman in today’s society. I’m not as cutthroat as Lara Axelrod, and I’m not in that world at all. But I think that it’s just stepping into your power as a human being.

    As for myself getting older and knowing myself a bit better compared to in my twenties, where I thought I knew myself and I thought I knew what I wanted, to actually knowing what I want and who I am, it feels a bit easier to step into those types of characters.

    Even though Beverly Rector has evil behind her, she still is sitting in her power and has poise. I am learning through the years to do that myself, to just sit in my own skin and be comfortable in it.

    Kara Hayward as Flynn Chambers and Thomas Jane as Elliot Jones in the comedy/horror, 'Slayers.'
    (L to R) Kara Hayward as Flynn Chambers and Thomas Jane as Elliot Jones in the comedy/horror, ‘Slayers,’ The Avenue release. Photo courtesy of The Avenue.

    MF: What was it like working with the cast including Thomas Jane, Abigail Breslin, Kara Hayward, and Jack Donnelly?

    MA: It was a great cast. I only wish that it wasn’t in the height of COVID. I mean, it was really the first film out of the gate. It was in November of 2020. So, we didn’t get a chance to hang out off of set.

    Everyone was asked to kind of quarantine and be on their own so that we just made sure we could make this movie. But the time that we did have on set was lovely. I mean, there wasn’t one bad apple. Everyone was just so great and so great at improv. Not that there was a lot of improv, but I loved how everyone just knew their characters well enough to be able to do it.

    Thomas Jane, he’s been at it for a minute and he’s incredible to watch. He really brought his character to another level that wasn’t on the page. He heightened it. I can say that for everyone. Everyone heightened their characters. He just brought a character that was really cool. He’s the slayer. He is the main slayer of them all. So, he really lived up to it.

    MF: As an actress, do you prefer it when another actor comes to set with their character fully realized, or is it okay for an actor to arrive and find the character while shooting?

    MA: I think it’s such a shifting scale. I think it doesn’t really matter. If it works, it works. Some people come prepared. I think that’s more of an actor/director relationship. Some directors want actors that they can mold and that they can work with, and some directors want actors to come to set already with choices made.

    Some actors work that way as well, where they go, “I want the director to direct me.” Some actors go, “Minimal, please. I’ve made these choices because I really know this character and I want to be able to do that.” So, for me, I feel like a chameleon and I feel like this is what we do. We work with people and it all becomes a collaboration and you just got to kind of find how this dance works between us.

    I enjoy the production of it. I can say that I’m more of a creative producer, putting things together and making sure everything is synergetic on set. But as an actor, I just want to collaborate and kind of be present to all the different people on set and take it in and see how we work together.

    MF: Can you talk about collaborating with director K. Asher Levin, both as an actress and as a producer?

    MA: Well, Asher is a close family friend. I’ve known him for over a decade. So, that was really fun. I kind of know how he works. But it was lovely. Again, because we know each other it was just an easy collaboration. There were no bumps in the road. We were on the same page all the time. We could talk to each other with no problem. It was smooth sailing.

    Patrick Wilson as Daniel Dreiberg / Nite Owl II, Malin Åkerman as Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II, and Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs / Rorschach in director Zack Snyder's 'Watchmen.'
    (L to R) Patrick Wilson as Daniel Dreiberg / Nite Owl II, Malin Åkerman as Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II, and Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs / Rorschach in director Zack Snyder’s ‘Watchmen.’

    MF: Finally, I think ‘Watchmen’ is a masterpiece and one of the best superhero movies ever made. What are your memories of making that film and working with Zach Snyder?

    MA: I Loved it. It was the biggest experience for me. I mean, that was like going from Mickey Mouse to Superman all of a sudden. I was playing with the big kids and in the big sets. Everyone was wonderful.

    I have friends. Everyone in the cast. Carla Gugino is one of my best friends. Many of the cast I’ve kept in touch with and had the pleasure of working with some of them again. But I can’t express enough how super that was, how big that was, and how awesome that was.

    The set pieces, the costumes, the material itself that we got to work with. It was six months of shooting, which I’ve never done anything like that before. The fight training was incredible. It was hard work, and it was long hours, but I wanted to be there. Zack was incredible. I love that man so much. His energy and his vision are just beautiful.

    Malin Akerman stars as Beverly Rektor in the comedy/horror, 'Slayers.'
    Malin Akerman stars as Beverly Rektor in the comedy/horror, ‘Slayers.’
    VtxlxAuJsVNT6KS1uQvkX5

  • Thomas Jane Talks ‘Murder at Yellowstone City’

    XT7C16zo

    Opening in theaters, On Demand and digital beginning June 24th is the new Western ‘Murder at Yellowstone City,’ which was directed by Richard Gray (‘Robert The Bruce’).

    When a prospector is found dead in Yellowstone City, Sheriff Ambrose (Gabriel Byrne) quickly arrests the town’s newcomer and former slave, Cicero (Isaiah Mustafa). The town’s new preacher, Thaddeus Murphy (Thomas Jane) and his wife Alice (Anna Camp) soon discover Cicero is innocent and now must stand up to the Sheriff in order to bring the true murderer to justice.

    In addition, the film also features Nat Wolf (‘The Fault in Our Stars’), Aimee Garcia (‘Lucifer’), Zach McGowan (‘Terminator Salvation‘), Scottie Thompson (‘Star Trek’), Emma Kenney (‘The Conners’), and Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss (‘Jaws’).

    Thomas Jane has appeared in dozens of popular movies including ‘Face/Off,’ ‘Boogie Nights,’ ‘The Thin Red Line,’ ‘Magnolia,’ ‘61*,’ ‘Dreamcatcher,’ ‘The Mist,’ ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,’ and ‘The Predator.’

    But he is probably best known to Marvel fans as Frank Castle in 2004’s ‘The Punisher.’ He currently stars as Ted Conkaffey on the Freevee series, ‘Troppo.’

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Thomas Jane about his work on ‘Murder at Yellowstone City.’

    Thomas Jane in 'Murder at Yellowstone City.
    Thomas Jane in ‘Murder at Yellowstone City.

    You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Jane, and director Richard Gray.

    Moviefone: To begin with, how did you get involved in this project and what was your initial reaction to the screenplay?

    Thomas Jane: Me and my partner Courtney Penn started a production company in 2019 called Renegade. Renegade’s logo is a horse made out of fire. So, it was natural for us to be attracted to Westerns and to have Westerns sent to us. This was the second Western that we did that we shot in 2020. The first was called ‘The Last Son’ and that’s come and gone.

    This one we’re real proud of. It’s a script that came across our desk and we thought “this is a classic Western that does good things with the genre, but doesn’t break the genre or step outside of it, or try to twist it around in some funny way, like bringing aliens in.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But this was a classic Western and when they work, they work. They’ve been around for a long time for a reason.

    It’s that tension between the individual, the freedom of the individual and the town, which is society, the rules of society and the morals of society that can be constricting in some ways. Yet you need the society in order to survive. No man is an island, but there’s always an outsider. The outsider comes into the town. The town is either a good town, full of decent people, but ultimately weak and in need of protection, open to the predations of villainous and murderous men.

    Or the town is a strong town, but bad. There’s a corrupt sheriff, there’s some corruption creeping through the veins of the town, keeping people off balance. In both cases, a hero is needed from the outside to come in and at first, he’s shunned and then he’s needed. Then at the end, he has righted some wrongs, stomped out some evil and rides off into the sunset.

    That’s the basic Western. There’re different variations on that theme. There’s the vengeance theme, which we have a little bit. There’s the professional theme, which came around in the 70’s. It was with Lee Marvin‘s ‘The Professionals,’ and ‘The Wild Bunch’ with William Holden. This was a new twist. It really didn’t exist before the late 60’s and 70’s where you had a group of professional gun fighters. It was always a group. It’s a group of pros and they’ve come in and they don’t care. They’re just being paid to do their job. Along the way their own morality is challenged and then they have to step up and write the wrongs because wrongs need righting.

    MF: Director Richard Gray has referred to you as a “Western movie expert.” Do you agree with that statement and how did your work on previous Westerns prepare you to make this movie?

    TJ: On both films we were lucky enough to meet and then work with the Schultz brothers who are a group of horse wranglers that live in the Dakotas and they are expert horsemen. The value of good horsemen to a Western, you can’t put a price on it. It is absolutely necessary in order to get your shots on time, to make your days, to get what you need out of the actor and the horse when they’re working together, it’s vital. So, I’m very happy to have teamed up with the Schultz brothers, plan on doing that again many times.

    My experience with the Western mostly comes from watching them with my dad. The Western is such a father/son relationship and me and my dad on the weekends would sit down and pop in a Western. We had a lot of great times, a lot of great discussions and a lot of interesting insights into what it meant to be a man, and what it meant to be a good man. The role of masculinity in society, how that role is both needed and despised, and how that changes over the years and the decades.

    It’s a purely an American invention, the myth of the American West. It’s like baseball and jazz. These are real American products and it spread all over the world, and now you find Italian Westerns, Japanese Westerns, Bollywood Westerns. So, it speaks to people. It doesn’t really matter where you’re from. It speaks to people who live in a society, the rights and the wrongs and the morality of that. It’s changed over the years.

    The classic Western always had a damsel in distress. She represented the weak society that needed protecting from the bad guys, and the hero would step in and say, “get behind me, woman.” He would take care of business. But then the 60’s came around and that evolved to a woman that was strong enough to be the hero’s equal. They would partner up as a couple and then take on the bad guys. That evolution you didn’t see before the 60’s or 70’s.

    Then the Western died in the eighties. There were no Westerns in the 80’s. ‘Heaven’s Gate’ in 1980 killed it. It was a huge movie and a financial disaster. It’s actually a very good film if you watch the director’s cut. It is really good, and a real tragedy that the movie didn’t do better. But that killed the Western for the 80’s.

    Then they revived again in the 90’s with ‘Dances With Wolves’ and ‘Unforgiven.’ Then you the variations start to creep in like ‘Desperado,’ or ‘The Quick and the Dead,’ where you had a strong female character taking over the role of the hero. Then ‘Posse,’ when you had a black man step up as the hero. So, we started seeing variations. Some of those variations worked better than others. You can bend the genre, but you can’t break it.

    Hopefully people have tuned into that now because it plays a very specific role in the American psyche. If you mess with it too much, then it no longer plays that role and then Westerns die again for another 10 years.

    Isaiah Mustafa and Anna Camp in 'Murder at Yellowstone City.'
    (L to R) Isaiah Mustafa and Anna Camp in ‘Murder at Yellowstone City.’

    MF: A lot of clues about your character’s past are given with very little dialogue, but its’ clear from your behavior that he hasn’t always been a preacher. Can you talk about creating his backstory for yourself and how that helped you create the character?

    TJ: I like that you mentioned that we accomplished it with very little dialogue. I’m a big fan of stripping away as much dialogue as you can and leaving only the essentials, letting the audience put the pieces together. That’s how I like to watch movies. I like to watch movies that aren’t spoon fed, that respects my intelligence enough that I will be able to put the pieces together without having somebody give a long speech.

    We accomplished that, me and Richie Gray went through the script and we were able to excise as much material as we possibly could in order to boil it down to its essentials. That allows the audience to fill in the blanks with their own imagination, much like you do when you read a novel. That’s always the goal, so it’s nice to hear you say that.

    MF: Finally, I understand that this is the first Western that Gabriel Byrne has ever made. What was it like for you working with him on this film?

    TJ: As he gets older, he has got a great face for Westerns. I think Westerns are all about faces. Sergio Leone, you look at those movies, you look at the smaller characters and the faces, the grit, the grime and the sweat, but they always had these faces that were hard road. They’ve been ridden hard. You really got that sense that life was tough. It was nasty, brutish, and short, and people were lucky to be alive every day. You could be wiped out any day by the simplest thing. Step on a rattlesnake while you’re digging a grave. So that has always appealed to me.

    Byrne is a classically trained, and a wonderful actor. He’s got a great voice. I love the Irish brogue. I love the fact that Westerns are all about immigrants, and there were a lot of immigrants coming in. So, you got a Swedish accent, or an Irish accent, or a British accent. They were all coming in. I like that aspect of the reality that we bring to it. Gabriel is a pro, he’s a real pro and he was a lot of fun to work with.

    Gabriel Byrne in 'Murder at Yellowstone City.'
    Gabriel Byrne in ‘Murder at Yellowstone City.’

    ‘Murder at Yellowstone City’ will be in Theaters, On Demand and Digital on June 24th.

    Dqz0E53GV5dcz0FUe6pzN3

  • Thomas Jane and Nicole Chamoun Talk ‘Troppo’

    Nicole Chamoun and Thomas Jane
    (L to R) Nicole Chamoun and Thomas Jane in Freevee’s ‘Troppo.’ Photo: Bradley Patrick. Copyright: Troppo Productions.

    Premiering on Freevee beginning May 20th is the new Australian detective series ‘Troppo,’ which is based on the novel ‘Crimson Lake’ by Candice Fox.

    The series centers on disgraced ex-cop Ted Conkaffey (Thomas Jane), who is recruited by Amanda Pharrell (Nicole Chamoun), an eccentric private investigator with a criminal past. As they try to uncover the whereabouts of a missing Korean family man and tech pioneer, they discover a string of bizarre deaths that lead to answers to questions from their own past.

    In addition to Jane and Chamoun, the series also stars David Lyons (‘Safe Haven’), Peta Wilson (‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’), and Radha Mitchell (‘Man on Fire’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Thomas Jane and Nicole Chamoun about their work on ‘Troppo.’

    tfL0ai68

    You can read our full interview with Thomas Jane and Nicole Chamoun below or click on the video played above to watch our interview with Jane, Chamoun, and ‘Crimson Lake’ author Candice Fox.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Nicole can you talk about the challenges of playing a character as multi-layered as Amanda?

    Nicole Chamoun: I mean, we didn’t have the scripts as the show happened, so we were getting more information. I like that because it means I’m not trying to fake anything or decide on things based on what I already know, and so I guess there was a lot of the information that I was learning at the same time that the audience was learning that. I like to work that way, especially with a murder mystery or who done it. She learns at the same time as the audience does and as was I, which I thought was pretty cool.

    MF: Thomas, I thought this was such a great character for you to play. What did you love about playing Ted Conkaffey?

    Thomas Jane: Oh, gosh. I think the more damaged your character, the more fun it is to play, but also the harder it is. You have to carry around some weight on this guy. There was a little bit of freedom because here’s a guy whose life has been destroyed, so he takes up and he goes as far north as he possibly can, which means Australia.

    So, you get far north up there and basically, he wants to disappear, he wants to die. He’s done, he’s at the end of his rope, and that’s hard but also liberating because anything goes. It’s like, “Bring it on because I’m out of here anyway,” and there’s this freedom in that I felt like I could have some fun and find the humor. It was important for me to really try to find the humor in Ted’s predicament because otherwise it’s just like, “Slash my wrists and get me out of here.” So, finding the humor was really fun for me.

    MF: Your character has pet geese, did working with them add to the humor?

    TJ: The geese are awesome. I knew when I read that in the novel, I was like, “Oh, people are going to love this. This is really neat.” In the novel, they have a relationship. He does monologue, and he tells this mother goose about his whole life. I was like, “We got to do that.” So, maybe in season two, we’ll get some good scenes between me and the goose.

    Nicole Chamoun and Thomas Jane
    (L to R) Nicole Chamoun and Thomas Jane in Freevee’s ‘Troppo.’ Photo: Bradley Patrick. Copyright: Troppo Productions.

    MF: Can you talk about the working relationship between Amanda and Ted and how they both help to redeem each other?

    NC: I think at the beginning, she’s a born hustler. Actually, she’s born into hustling and she recognizes something in him that she can use, and so at the beginning, that’s all it is. He’s a paycheck. But as time goes on, she realizes that there is something more there. I think she learned a lot from Ted about how to work.

    Even she would never admit that, but he taught her a lot. She was just faking it until she made it, but she was learning from him. So, she wouldn’t have solved any of the crimes without him and he wouldn’t have got anything without her. So, as much as they didn’t want to need each other, they did. They really did, they needed each other.

    MF: Finally Thomas, Ted seems intrigued by Amanda when he first meets her. Is that how you would describe it?

    TJ: Yes. It’s like, “Who is this creature?” He’s a detective, he’s a truth seeker, right? He uncovers the truth. He’s interested in that and finds value in it. It’s a valuable service to humanity and he’s passionate about it. So, as much as he’s kind of repelled by her character, he’s also intrigued. It’s like, “What is going on in there? What’s that about?”

    Then he’s like, “What? Do I even want to know the answer to that question? Do I need to get involved?” But he keeps getting sucked back into seeking the truth. So, as much as he’s like, “I don’t want anything to do with this,” it’s also, “I’ve got to know who you are. What happened to you?”

    Nicole Chamoun and Thomas Jane
    (L to R) Nicole Chamoun and Thomas Jane in Freevee’s ‘Troppo.’ Photo: Daniel Asher Smith. Copyright: Troppo Productions. 

    Please click on the video player below to watch an exclusive clip from ‘Troppo,’ which premieres May 20th on Freevee.

    WLFdoVAh