We made our feature film, The West and the Ruthless, in 10 days. I know there’s a lot of great articles on how to do this BUT we decided to go ahead and make a feature film in 10 days AND break all of the rules.
What are those rules? Well, I’m glad you asked. You can read the entire article right here. It features highlights such as being arrested for guns when we were 16 and more!
Our Full Trailer for the West and the Ruthless is here! This is unlike any western you’ve seen before! Here’s what the critics are saying:
“An Instant Indie Western Classic!”
Reelhouse
“Exhilarating!”
Reelhouse
“Excellent with Wry, Black Humor!”
The Film Buzz
“Like A Tarantino with Morals!”
The Black List
“It’s Not Called the West and the Nice People!”
The Modesto Bee
“One of Ten New Directors Picked by Robert Rodriguez”
El Rey Network
“Dynamic, Stylish, Refreshing, Darkly Comedic.”
The Black List
And if you missed the Teaser Trailer, you can check that out right here!
With Post-Production now a wrap on our Feature Film, The West and the Ruthless, there’s one last thing to show off, the End Titles, because when a movie is over you see the … wait for it … end titles! These are the Main on End Titles that we showed style frames for earlier.
Check ‘em out! They’re beautiful! They’re bloody!
AND they bring in the wonderful style of the Posters all together with the film!
Our last batch of stills from our upcoming Feature Film, The West and the Ruthless, are here! It’s been really fun picking out some of our favorite shots from the film and it's been so exciting for the raves the cinematography has been getting (which we wouldn't have been able to pull off without our INCREDIBLE crew!)
You can check them out right here, or over on our Instagram!
What an awesome week!
We just did another cool interview about our upcoming episode on Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network! (Which is playing this weekend!) with host John Carpenter! The Episode showcases brand new work from directors such as ourselves, Eli Roth, and a ton of other awesome directors!
For more information check that out right here:
https://www.facebook.com/ElReyNetwork/videos/900548473382916/
We chat about our short film Jack The Ripper as well as our upcoming Feature, The West and the Ruthless! Here’s a quick snippet:
"There are a few shout-outs to St. Louis in it," Nick Trivundza said. "One of the cowboys in the story is from Missouri, and the lead female character is named Mary Laclede." After Laclede’s Landing.
Check that out right here:
And to top it off, we just found out that The Dead Unknown, which we worked on with director Michael Schiller, took home an Emmy! Here’s a wonderful article on the documentary:
https://www.revealnews.org/article/digging-up-a-45-year-mystery-on-a-kentucky-hillside/
Pretty awesome that the interview with Deke Farrow made the front page this last weekend! It was a wonderful surprise and we’re really excited!
The article discusses our short films, Jack the Ripper and The Umbrella Factory, as well as our upcoming Feature, The West and The Ruthless. It also has some great quotes from Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network and President!
We are so proud of this film and as it approaches wrapping up, we wanted to release 25 more stills from the movie! We are so thrilled to have been able to work with this incredible cast, crew, Old Tucson Studios, the Tucson Film Commission and EVERYONE that helped us on this fantastic film. Seriously. This has all been one long bucket list moment.
Now, as Post is coming to a close, it's time to send the film off into the world! This is the exciting part. We actually get to start sharing it with everyone. We hope that everyone likes it as much as we've loved making.
The Posters received a tremendous amount of praise and we’re really proud of them! (One comment was that they were gorgeous and that’s with all the blood all over them!) Well, they were always part of a bigger plan. The posters for The West and the Ruthless are also part of the Main on End (Main Titles at the End of the Film).
Here’s a sneak peak:
Really excited to announce we’ll be on the brand new show by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn) over on the El Rey Network!
It’s a brand new TV Show featuring films from new filmmakers like us (Nick+Lexie) and other folks like Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel, Inglorious Basterds). The show will be hosted by director extraordinare John Carpenter (Halloween, Escape from New York, the Thing among other classics).
Join us on Oct. 30th as we chat about filmmaking with a bunch of other incredible directors!
Here’s the official announcement via Deadline:
http://deadline.com/2016/09/john-carpenter-el-rey-new-genre-anthology-series-1201825033/
As Post-Production starts to wrap on The West and the Ruthless we wanted to release some of our very favorite shots from the film!
Check out 25 Brand New Stills from the Film right here or in the Official Gallery on the site! westandtheruthless.com.
Our First Official Trailer for The West and the Ruthless is here! Watch it now!
In the dusty streets of Crow's Landing, outlaws, wealthy plantation owners, runaway slaves, a pair of brothel owners and a woman days away from giving birth all end up in a bloody shoot out and running for their lives.
Directors Statement:
Making a western as our feature film debut was really important to us. The American West was a really adventurous melting pot of diversity. People were coming from all around either in search of fame, fortune, or a new beginning. It’s this time period and this genre that allowed us to tell these stories in new and exciting ways as well. To be able to show the courage that these men and women had of all different backgrounds was really exciting.
You can also watch it over on the Official Website: westandtheruthless.com
Our final batch of posters for The West and the Ruthless! These posters feature Alexander Harris as Grant Morgan, Zoe Sloane as Jacqueline Chaplin, and Benedict Mazurek as Christopher Crow!
The second batch of posters for the West and the Ruthless are here, once again featuring some awesome hand drawn detail! These posters feature Will Roberts as Emery Chaplin, Dan Fowlks as Chester Crow, and Rebecca Gomberg as Scarlet Winchester.
Next up, posters 7-9!
Our first batch of posters are here for the West and the Ruthless with some really incredible hand drawn detail! These posters feature Paul Haapaniemi as Francisco Winchester, Matt Boone as Cole Henry, and Danny Brown as Mary Laclede.
Next up, posters 4-6!
After we wrapped production filming The West and the Ruthless on location at Old Tucson, we sent an email to the crew that went something like this:
For months leading up to the shoot, everyone kept trying to stop us. Individuals and even corporations kept telling us that shooting this film in 10 days could not be done. They told us it was impossible.
Well, we all did the impossible.
We shot a feature in 10 days. And not just any feature, but West and the Ruthless, a film that features shoot outs, stagecoaches, extended dialogue scenes, fx, make up, period costumes, horses, extras, love scenes, exteriors, interiors, shooting out in the desert, and embracing those excessive heat warnings that kept popping up on my phone.
But the thing is, we couldn't have done this without the most amazing and talented cast and crew in the world. You guys are our crew for life. You're stuck with us.
And just as a neat little side note, we captured 13 Hours 14 minutes and 49 seconds of footage and audio.
It feels kinda cool to do the impossible.
Our last day of production once again took place in John Wayne’s bedroom. What a great way to end! We started with these huge scenes out in the desert, with blood and guns, and missions and trains, and wrapped with a bit of romance.
Back on set were Benedict Mazurek and Zoe Sloane finishing a scene that they had started (sound designed?) back on Day 7. It’s a nice little intimate scene followed by 6 or 7 pages of dialogue - which basically means every day on West and the Ruthless was an intense shooting day for the cast and the crew (who were also busy breaking down and re-doing sets every day).
Then, after months and months of preparation, financing, casting the most talented actors ever, putting together an incredible crew, heading to Arizona (a few times), and working with the amazing guys and gals at Old Tucson Studios, it was a wrap.
Our second to last day was filmed entirely upstairs of our Brothel Saloon at the Hotel Del Toro as our cast continued to slim down. On set were Danny Brown and Dan Fowlks working their magic on one of the longest scenes in the film which included a stand off with a revolver, a bath tub, and a squeaky bed.
For film buffs and movie lovers, the upstairs of the Hotel Del Toro was once the apartment of movie legend John Wayne. Whenever John Wayne was filming at Old Tucson Studios this is where he would stay. It was pretty exciting to have our own bedroom scenes take place where the Duke himself used to sleep!
Day 8 was the first day our cast started to slim down. On set were Dan Fowlks, Danny Brown, and Benedict Mazurek. It was amazing to watch these guys in action. Every take is amazing. We spent most of the day in the Crow’s Landing Brothel shooting scenes and once again our townsfolk were on hand to add to and embellish the shots.
We also had a chance to film another family cameo as Lexie’s dad stopped by the set, went through wardrobe and makeup to become a saloon patron.
Then we finished our shootout. The revolvers were firing, the shotguns were blasting, and once again, there was blood.
Day 7 was one of the first days we were almost completely indoors which was a really nice change of pace from the first 6 days where we had huge chunks of shooting out in the desert, the heat, and the monsoons.
Back on set were Benedict Mazurek, Dan Fowlks , Zoe Sloane, and Will Roberts. We filmed in the brothel, the jail, Chester’s Office, and had one fun little exterior scene where Dan and Benedict literally drag Will through the streets.
This was also the day that our Extras arrived! Days 7 and 8 on The West and the Ruthless brought in some of the most amazing Extras that anyone will ever work with. I’m sure it’s different on every film, but these actors weren’t just in the background - they slowly became more like supporting actors for every scene they were in, enhancing it, adding to it, and bringing both some nice dramatic flare and humor to the scenes.
Oh, and Benedict and Zoe did some pretty great sound effects, but you’ll have to wait and watch the film for those :)
Day 6 was another big day on the set of The West and the Ruthless! This was the day that our final cast members arrived, Dan Fowlks and Benedict Mazurek as the Crow Brothers, Chester and Christopher. It was also the day that our main location of the Crow’s Landing Saloon and Brothel was completed and it looked unbelievable. The set was dressed with hundreds of old bottles and antique trunks and then it was lit beautifully.
We started the day back out in the desert and for the first time both Matt Boone and Paul Haapaniemi weren’t covered in blood, well, momentarily, as we shot the film’s open. Also on set were Rebecca Gomberg and Danny Brown filming another round of incredible moments.
Next up Will Roberts and Zoe Sloane got in some gun practice. A lot since the antique guns weren’t really all that willing to fire on command, but we got the scene and it looks fantastic.
Then it was time for our epic shoot out. Just gonna go ahead and say, it was a total bucket list moment to be on top of those old western buildings, looking down at the dusty streets as a shoot out took place and the outlaws died in the streets below. #fuckingamazing.
