The Last Rites of Ransom Pride, a pulp western shot with graphic novel influence, and a eclectic cast featuring Kris Kristofferson, Jason Priestley, and Peter Dinklage among others has become a festival darling. The DVD has hit the shelves and I had a chance to talk with Director Tiller Russell. Here are some of the things that I learned:
- He calls this movie a Graphic Novel Western.
- His goal was to take the western, an iconic American film genre and make it with a punk rock, in your face attitude.
- He thinks genres come and go and it’s time for the Western to make a return – even if it’s in a reimagined form.
- He was intimidated by Kris Kristofferson when he first met him, but Kris immediately put him at ease. Kris read the script and loved it.
- The inspiration for the story came in a series of dreams. He went to his producing partner and told him it would make a great song and his partner said “No, it’d make a great movie.”
- He said the theme in his life and in this movie is basically young guy and older dude working together to bring different voices to the project and in the movie itself the main characters have that dichotomy going on.
- The film’s budget was an estimated $8 million and was shot in 30 days in Canada.
- He describes the film’s style as a graphic novel that hasn’t been made a graphic novel yet.
- The Costume design is inspired by Mad Max and not historical record.
- He wanted to push the idea of using extreme visuals.
- His other inspirations came from photographs, music, and he loves all the classic directors like Sam Peckinpah. He loves Denis Hopper and 70s movies.
- His comic book inspiration came from Bastard Samauri and his dream project would be a film version of that book.
- He’s currently working on a television show for Discovery, but swore me to secret on the current details.
Trailer