Greetings again from the darkness. If you have seen Sam Peckinpah's classic original with Dustin Hoffman and Susan George, it is impossible to watch this remake without comparing the two films. Because of that, these comments will include some comparative notes. After all, it's been 40 years and most people watching this new version have never seen the original. Director Rod Lurie follows the Peckinpah version pretty closely with the obvious changes being a move from the English countryside to the deep south Mississippi , and the main characters are now a screenwriter and actress instead of mathematical whiz and Those are the obvious changes, but not the most significant.
I really missed the subtlety and psychological trickery delivered by Peckinpah, especially in the relationship between David and Amy. Lurie chooses to take advantage of the physical screen presence of Alexander Skarsgard True Blood as Charlie, the local stud and Amy's ex. Charlie's past exploits on the football field and his creepy leadership skills with his posse of thugs, provide the yin of physical strength to the yang of David's intelligence.
It's interesting to note that this version spells out Sun-Tzu's description of "straw dogs" while Peckinpah left his audience to fend for themselves. But, of course, what this boils down to is just how far can a civilized person be pushed James Woods is a welcome and terrifying addition to the new version. Since it is based in the small town south, high school football must play a role.
Woods is the former high school coach who is now a violent drunk, and still leader of his former players. He is a sadistic type who picks on Jeremy Niles Dominic Purcell , the slow-witted brother of Daniel Walton Goggins and constantly accuses him of inappropriate behavior with his 15 year old cheerleader daughter.
They come back to Amy's childhood home so she can rest and David can have some peace and quiet while writing his screenplay on the Battle of Stalingrad. Well, we couldn't really have him writing a rom-com, could we?
From Day One, the peace and quiet is clearly missing and Lynyrd Skynyrd wins out over Bach in the battle of radio volume. Tension builds and David is tested daily over what it means to be a man Things turn from bad to worse when the locals invite David to go hunting with them. What happens with Charlie and Amy during this time changes everything.
This sequence was the key to the controversy of the original and what caused it to be banned in many cities and countries. Lurie chooses to handle it in a very straightforward manner - plus, times and mores have changed quite a bit in the last 40 years. For me, the Peckinpah original remains a classic film with brilliant psychological undertones which left me feeling very uncomfortable and questioning what I might do in this situation.
Lurie's new version offered little of that but does work fine as a straightforward suspenseful thriller. Details Edit. Release date September 16, United States. United States. Official site. Screen Gems Battleplan Productions. Box office Edit. Technical specs Edit. In one sense it's basically a stand-in for a lot of small towns in the Great Plains or in the Midwest or that part of the country.
But in another sense, it has a very distinct culture, because it also has a large Indigenous community, and the tribal authority administers the land there, so it actually was kind of a stand-in for Sterlin's hometown, which is about two hours away from Tulsa and just too far, logistically, to work. Something the show does incredibly well is use seemingly unremarkable places—an auntie's home, the community health center, a scrapyard—to tell the viewer about the character's lives, their challenges, and the dynamics between them.
How did you identify the locations to use in this way? The intention is to have these layered, character-driven sets. When scouting, I would get in the car and knock on 20 doors a day, or drive down 30 country roads looking for the space that will tell the story Sterlin had in mind. For me, it was about being invited into people's homes in Okmulgee and observing everything I could—what paint colors were on the walls, what Bible quotes they have on a whiteboard on the fridge.
What pop culture posters do the kids have in their rooms? We had an amazing team of people from the community who were able to come onto the art department and translate those personal details and use those in a way that resonated visually.
I can't overstate how important it was having people from the actual community leading the way. In Auntie B's apartment, in an episode that touches on beadwork, we're dealing with a character who's on the periphery.
Her apartment was actually a vacant unit in a tribal housing development, so we brought in every single piece of furniture and small detail. Her apartment is a glimpse into the life of someone who's not one of the four main characters, but it's even more important in that sense because it's a glimpse into the community, and into what you can assume is behind any door in the community.
We were working with so many people who are actually artisans and do the kind of bead work [that Auntie B does], so we could borrow or rent their supplies from them and get input on, like, yes, this is realistic, this is what my beading station looks like. For the entirety of the show, the main characters—Bear Smallhill, Willie Jack, Elora Danan, and Cheese—have this dream of leaving for California, though there's a clear tension in actually saying goodbye to this place.
How did that impact the way you portrayed their fictional hometown of Okern? To some degree, California is the undefined dream. It's never entirely clear what will happen once they get there. I wanted to keep their environment warm and comforting, especially when it comes to the homes. Image: Ryan Cook. Cook lives in Vancouver and drives to his workshop in Squamish five days a week.
These include dragons, Greek mythology characters, and beings that look like they just stepped out of Game of Thrones or The Chronicles of Narnia. Cook will often also pay homage to his BC roots by sculpting local animals such as bears, wolves and eagles. One of his works that Cook considers very meaningful is a sculpture he carved of his stepfather. To pay tribute to him, I sculpted him as my piece for the world championships. When he saw it, he started to cry because it had so much meaning.
Ever the diverse artist, Cook has done a number of fruit carving segments on local TV.
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