The Red Hills is a unique area in Tuolumne County known for its serpentine soil and pine/buckbrush chaparral. The Sierra Railway snakes through the area. That fact and its ‘badlands’ look has led to numerous film productions, most notably the town and train scenes for Back to the Future III, the opening of Petticoat Junction, and the train scene in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.
Last week we posted a Henry Weinhard’s ad that took place at Railtown, but could have been anywhere. This one you know is Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. Not only do we see the depot, but the Movie Train, Sierra #3, makes an appearance. Speaking of appearances, is that Richard Dysart (Leland McKenzie on L.A. Law) I see in a supporting role???
The Henry Weinhard’s ad itself is classic Hal Riney stuff, taking a scene from a hundred years prior and adding a whimsical, contemporary spin with the tagline “Westerners have always been slightly ahead of their times.” Lots of locals in the train car too!
Last week we posted the first trailer for a 16-minute Western short called Hired Gun, which shot last year locally in Jamestown and Columbia. Since then we got hold of a second teaser and had a chance to speak with the producer Casey O’Reilly. The first thing we wanted to know was how they made it so gawsh-darn purty.
“We had a fair amount of visual effects done on the film,” said O’Reilly. “Most of them were to remove telephone lines, signs, roads, etc. The film was colored by a colorist and friend of ours Paul Cope. He did such a great job and really put a lot of work into it.”
None of that was missed, and the sky and mountains look glorious. We did notice a fair amount of visual effects crew in the credits, most from the San Francisco-based Academy of Art. It turns out they did some addition as well: “For the shoot out scene we added the bullet holes and debris in the door as well as the blood spray when the bartender gets shot in the face.”
O’Reilly has been studying filmmaking at the Academy of Art. This was his first stab at producing. “Joe (Heath, the director) approached me with the script and he asked, no wait, told me, that he wanted me to help him make this film. I didn’t know much about Westerns but for some reason I agreed. I think it was because I was promised my own walkie talkie.”
We forgot to ask if he did indeed get that walkie-talkie, but O’Reilly couldn’t be more effusive about the experience. “Everyone put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears (literally). Shooting out across the countryside for those 2 weeks was one of the best experiences of my life. So many strong bonds were formed during this whole crazy adventure and I’m totally indebted to everyone involved. They f—in rocked, I love them all and am incredibly grateful. Excuse my language.”
Casey, you are excused. And WE are grateful, too.
You can keep track of the progress of Hired Gun on its Facebook Fan Page.
There are few places as beautiful and untouched as the High Sierra, and the drive along the Sonora Pass is a truly spectacular way to witness its beauty. Sonora Pass is at 9624 feet (2933 meters), is very steep, narrow, and winding. Like its neighbor on Hwy 120, Tioga Pass, this route is generally closed from November to May.
These pictures are all taken on the Western slope from between Kennedy Meadows and Sonora Pass. Most of these photos are of the dramatic canyon-like area that encompasses Chipmunk Flat, Deadman’s Creek, and a zigzag Highway 108 in walls of granite.
Age has given this video a bit of a soft focus, but it’s still quite fun. Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve was a pretty popular beer around these parts in the late 80s, probably more for their clever advertisements than the quality of their brew.
Most of those ads were created and narrated by advertising industry legend Hal Riney (“Morning in America”). These ads focused on Western US history and culture, so it’s not surprising SF-based Riney did a couple of commercial spots at our own Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. This one doesn’t have trains in it and it really could have been made on a set back in the Bay Area. We’re suspecting they came up to shoot just one commercial with the train (which we’ll show next week), then the location — and perhaps the people — inspired this one.
The one-minute ad below is set in a Gold Rush-era bar and features two local characters just perfect for their roles: Black Irish Band member Steve McArthur and Railtown’s Chief Engineer George Sapp. George is the one at the bar and bowler; look for his devastating closeup about 40 seconds in.
Last year we hosted a Western short film called Hired Gun, shot primarily in the southern Sierra Nevada landscape near Ridgecrest, Bishop, and Lone Pine with a couple of key scenes in the St. Charles Saloon in Columbia and the National Hotel in Jamestown. The story follows a wicked young sharpshooter with a massive ego and an eerie stare who meets up with a grizzled old ‘Hired Gun’ he knows quite well. Or at least he thinks he does.
I’ve seen the completed project and it is both engaging and gorgeous, showing off the work of director Joe Heath and cinematographer Jabin Piaget along with what looks like some serious post-production work. This Western short film is certain to be headed for the festival circuit soon, but you can get a good feel for it right now from this trailer. We hope to get an interview with producer Casey O’Reilly soon and find out how they made those colors pop!