As a homage to the Western with "Appaloosa," cowboy movie fans will be stoked to know that there's plenty of bang in actor-filmmaker Ed Harris' new entry in the genre.
But as a veteran of theater and character-driven films, Harris also wants you to know that every effort was made to make sure that the film's meaningful story and dialogue wouldn't drowned out by a rash of gunfire.
"It's really a character-driven piece and if there's any main theme to me, it's about friendship and mutual respect and trust," Harris said in a recent @ The Movies interview.
Now playing in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto and opening nationwide Friday, "Appaloosa" takes place in the Old West territory of New Mexico 1882, where city marshal Virgil Cole (Harris) and his deputy and partner Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) ride into mining community of Appaloosa to bring the murder of the town's marshal to justice. It's there that run up against ruthless ways of a powerful rancher (Jeremy Irons) and his band of outlaws, and are forced to test their long-time partnership when a mysterious woman (Renee Zellweger) comes into their lives.
Apart from bringing to the screen his "own unique story to tell," Harris said that he wasn't trying to reinvent the Western genre with "Appaloosa."
In fact, his wide shots in the film don't try to hide the fact that he's paying tribute to the late, iconic director John Ford.
"I didn't want to do just head shots and close-ups, I wanted as many wide shots as possible so people could
feel us in the time and place and see bodies and not just faces. I wasn't really out to do anything new. By not doing anything new it still feels new since there are so few recent efforts in the genre," Harris said with a laugh.
Saddling Up With The Material
While Harris is known for performances in such films as "The Right Stuff," "Apollo 13," "Glengarry Glen Ross," "The Truman Show," "A Beautiful Mind" and "Pollack" (which he also directed), Harris' roots are just as deep in theater -- a background he found beneficial in bringing the material to big screen in "Appaloosa."
"Coming from theater, having been trained as a theater actor in college and doing a lot of theater in LA and New York over the years, you learn that there's a way that you break down a play, which is nothing
but dialogue," said Harris, 57. "A stage play is written (differently than a screenplay in that it comes) without descriptions of scenery and what people are doing. You're in a situation with another character and you have to figure out what's taking place these other people. You really learn to penetrate the script to understand it. You use it as your bible to define who your character is."
Plus, Harris said, there are acting sensibilities that you learn just by the experience of being on stage.
"You learn things that aren't necessarily a part of the film actor's equipment," Harris said. "On stage, it's just you -- your whole body from your toes to your head. A lot of times in film, people get used to acting from the waist up."
"Appaloosa" is based on Robert B. Parker's novel of the same name, and like any other filmmaker who has adapted the work of a best-selling author, Harris well-knows that he's up for scrutiny by faithful readers. But rest-assured, Harris' interpretation of "Appaloosa" is very true to the source material.
"We made a few adjustments to the story lines because there were aspects of the novel that we really didn't need in the film," Harris said. "But with the dialogue, probably 85 percent of what's in the film is straight out of the book. That was one of the reasons I really wanted to do it because I love the guys talk to one another."
As for Parker, Harris said he was pleased with the way the material was handled.
"Robert Parker gave us the go-ahead and said, 'I'm flattered, go ahead and make a film out of it, and good luck,' and I sent him the final script, which he said was great," Harris recalled. "He wasn't offering, nor was I seeking his advice. I said, 'Anything you have to say, please say it,' and he said, 'No, you guys should just go for it.'"
But as a veteran of film and stage, Harris knew that the story and script were only the half of what he wanted to achieve. Already playing the part of Virgil, Harris needed to find an actor that would make the role of Everett, and ultimately, the long-term partnership of the two lawmen, feel believable.
Fate would have it that at the time Harris had read and decided to film "Appaloosa," he was starring opposite Mortensen in the crime thriller "A History of Violence." Harris said that the actor, who burned up the screen as Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, committed to his co-star on the spot.
"I was really happy that he was willing to do it because I didn't know what I'd do if he didn't," Harris said. "I had a sneaking suspicion that he'd appreciate these two guys and he did, so I was just real fortunate that it was something that would turn him on. I thought he'd be great, and I thought the two of us could bring this sort of unspoken appreciation these guys have for each other to the screen."
Plus, a little horseplay that the two have been involved in in the past didn't hurt their efforts in the film.
"I've enjoyed riding for the last 25 years and Viggo's really good with horses," Harris said. "We both also feel really comfortable in the country and the open air. It was fortunate that we could slip into the parts and feel good about it."
Preview: 'Appaloosa'
