Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: Frontier Crucible, thomas jane, Well Go USA Entertainment

Frontier Crucible Star Thomas Jane on Whittington Story, Mills & More

Thomas Jane (Troppo) spoke to us about his latest Western in Well Go USA's Frontier Crucible, Harry Whittington, co-stars, and more.

When Thomas Jane heard about Well Go USA's latest Western Frontier Crucible, he knew he had to sign up as fan of Harry Whittington as the author, who wrote under several pseudonyms, was known as "King of the Pulps," amassing over 200 novels with several of his works adapted to the screen across several TV shows like Falconhurst, The Sword of the Golden Stud, Man From U.N.C.L.E., Bonanza, and Lawman. Directed by Travis Mills, Frontier Crucible, which is based on Whittington's 1961 work Desert Stake-Out, follows a desperately needed wagon full of medical supplies that falls victim to an Apache attack. The only man who can guide it through to its destination is Merrick Beckford (Myles Clohessy), but to get there, he'll need to enlist the help of a trio of dangerous outlaws hell-bent on survival. When they accidentally kill an Apache scout, all bets are off, and survival is the name of the game in Mills's western thriller. Jane spoke to Bleeding Cool about following the late author's work, working with Mills, co-stars, why fall is ideal to film Westerns, and what scene stood out most.

Frontier Crucible Star Thomas Jane on the Throwback Western Feel

What intrigued you about Frontier Crucible, and what'd you like about the novel?

I'm a Harry Whittington fan. He was known as the "King of the Pulps," and I'm a big pulp guy. I love all that stuff, so I've got a pretty good collection of pulps. I was well aware of Whittington, and he earned that nickname because he's written more pulp novels than anybody else. He loved crime, dirty cops, and he did a lot of Westerns. Desert Stakeout is the name of the book (of which Frontier Crucible is based), and it's one of his best. It's one of his top six books, so when Dallas Sonnier, the producer, sent me the script, I came on board right away as a big Whittington fan, big fan of Westerns. I loved the character (of Mule). The dialogue in the script was excellent. A lot of it is stolen from Harry Whittington and his novel. The whole plot is a real adaptation of his book. A lot of people take a scene or just the characters; this is the book.

What'd you like about working with Travis as a creative?

Travis wanted to create an old school Western, and I'm on board with that 100 percent. The look of the thing, Maxime Alexandre shot it, and did a fantastic job, because he was able to capture the way they used to shoot Westerns back in the '60s, which I still think is the best way to shoot a Western. There's a mood, a style, a look that is captured that a lot of Westerns we lost over time. Technology changed, film stock changed, and then we went to digital. To be able to recapture the way that a Western used to look and feel was a real accomplishment, and that came out of Travis and what he wanted to do. We were all on board with that, and it was a lot of fun. I love that kind of thing.

You got such a talented ensemble with Myles, Eli (Brown), William (H Macy), Ryan (Masson), and Mary (Stickley). What can you say about your time them?

We're definitely an ensemble cast. Everybody has a terrific part to play, and due to the nature of the thing that we were on a location that was tough to get to. We didn't have trailers, so our dressing room was the hotel where we were staying. We would stumble out of bed at 4:30 a.m. or 5, go downstairs, grab a cup of coffee, and then we'd all be in the dressing room, getting into our costumes, getting out of our street clothes, into our costumes every morning, and that was a lot of fun. It was different. I've never done it before, except for in the theater.

We had this wonderful theatrical experience making the darn thing, which is fitting because this really is a western stage play shot out in the middle of the desert. Now, we've got a lot of blood, Indians, damage that is done, and all that's very cinematic. We got Maxime, who shot the hell out of this thing, but the heart of the story is a bunch of characters playing emotional chess with each other out in the desert.

What was the most standout aspect of production for you? Did the weather factor into the way the conditions of the shoot?

We're fortunate to shoot at the time in Arizona, when in the fall, so around this time, last year. We've got the sun lower in the sky, all the cinematographers want to shoot in the fall, because you're not looking at that straight overhead sun for most of the day. You've got the sun coming in from an angle, and that does something to the light that cinematographers love. The thing about Arizona is you're getting the same damn weather every day, so shooting on location at the spot is always preferable, especially for a western than being on stage.

Was there a scene that stood out to you that you struggled with? I imagine there's a lot that had to be done with that crucible in the final scenes there, or was there something else that stood out?

Brutal! Okay. Craig Zahler, who wrote Bone Tomahawk (2015), so any fans of Tomahawk will know what that word means when I say "Brutal!" Zahler has an exceptionally brutal imagination, and we had a lot of fun bringing that to life.

Frontier Crucible is available in theaters and on digital.

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