I’m very excited. This weekend I’ve got my first quick draw lesson. I had been searching for someone to help me with some of my holstering skills, and in my internet travels I have stumbled upon this society of people who love to quick draw. They participate in what’s called “Cowboy Action Shooting” and from what I understand it’s a game where participants are judged on style, speed, and accuracy. So I get ahold of this guy, who runs the “Ventura County Gunfighters”, and has appeared in many of these competitions, and ask him if he can help me. I can’t wait to report back on this. They even have nicknames in these competitions…I’ve been thinking of one myself…how’s “Dead Eye Mike”? That might be taken the wrong way actually…I’ll have to work on it.

I find what Chad wrote in the previous blog to be true as well. It’s almost like you put on your character one piece at time, like getting dressed in the morning defines your persona somewhat.

There are a million ways to approach the development of a character. Actors often argue the technique of working from the inside-out versus the outside-in. The thought being that your inner world dictates your outer physical being. There are times as an actor when you just can’t find that inner soul, especially if the character resembles nothing of who you are naturally. This is when you turn to the outside. Or, as an old acting coach of mine would ask, “what kind of shoe does this character wear?”

It might sound stupid but clues to a character’s soul can sometimes be found through the simplest act - like putting on a pair of cowboy boots. It’s amazing how a pair of shoes can change your whole persona. In boots you feel different. Your posture changes. You move differently. Those physical influences begin to affect your inner workings whether you realize it or not.

On a movie commentary, Morgan Freeman once mentioned his use of hats as a hook into a character. He felt that a hat, “tied the knot in the thread.” It’s the identifying part of his character that he can build from. I have to agree. After my first reading of the Cowboy Smoke script, I immediately put on cowboy boots. Boots started my character’s inner journey.

I have continued to work with the actors in an attempt to develop their characters. Typically you want to have as much time as possible during pre-production to work with the actors - this way when rehearsals begin the actor/director dialogue will be that much further ahead of the curve. When I talk about dialogue between the actor and director I am referring to both being on the same page regarding choices and objectives of the character. The actor may have his or her ideas and the director, well most of the time he has a completely different opinion. It’s best to get on the same page and this is done through an open dialogue between the actor and director during pre-production. I met up with Matt Johnston (one of the lead actors) this weekend and read through a number of scenes with him. It was amazing just being able to talk through his scenes as he had ideas and opinions that opened up my mind even further regarding his character, ideas that would give his performance more depth.

I would say that we have 75% of the locations picked out. It should take one more trip and then we will have the locations locked and Mike Jennings (our UPM) can begin finalizing a schedule. This is going to be such a fun shoot and the film itself is going to be amazing. We have a great script, talented actors, and the locations are phenomenal. More to come.

Hey Mike Lutz here, as we’ve been talking about so far on this blog, the prep work that an actor does for a role is really important. For me watching old westerns, and practicing shooting a revlover has been part of that. More than that, though, it’s the start of a really interesting journey. In recent weeks, I’ve found myself in places that I would normally never go. (i.e. gun shops on the sunset strip, gun ranges downtown and in the high desert, western wear shops in the valley.) I’m forced to step out of the sunny confines of my beach town and explore. Here in Los Angeles, that can be a truly eye-opening experience. And I mean that in good way. Sometimes in life, you get stale, you get a little too comfortable. It’s so rewarding to get out of that box and get into the world around you. I guess what I’m saying is, let’s all do a little more exploring, people. It brings us closer to where we live. Think about it.

This weekend marked the third time Fagan and I had gone out location scouting. On Saturday we sat down with a list of locations needed and came up with possible ideas, then on Sunday we drove out to each possible location and took pictures. The pictures help in two ways; they help me decide if the location is really where I would like to shoot and more importantly, when I am making out a shot list and story boarding, the pictures are a great reference for how I would like to shoot each individual scene. Location scouting is an essential and fun part of pre-production. It is the first time that I, the director, can begin to visualize the story in a real way. Before location scouting, before casting, it’s just me and the script, and my ideas of how I would like the movie to look. It’s not until I actual visit the various locations that my ideas become a reality. This is when the magic truly happens and I can feel the story coming to life.

I’m very excited to be involved in Cowboy Smoke. When I was attending TCU, I actually took a course dedicated completely to Westerns. It was really interesting. I fell in love with the genre and had always hoped to be a part of a western in some capacity or another. As an actor, this period (before production actually starts) can be great fun. Your imagination is free to run wild. Right now, I’m watching every western I can get my hands on to familiarize myself with it’s style and history. I’m writing daily in the voice of my character - trying to create back story for myself. I’m searching for those little things that I’ll carry with me onto the set, so when work gets technical and stagnant as an actor, the core of what I’ve created beforehand will actually free me up. This continual prep work, along with script analysis, will undoubtedly ease me into my character when I finally arrive in Texas for the shoot.

I have started working with the actors on character development. I will have a daily assignment for the actors that will be emailed off each morning and it’s my hope that by the end of the day the actors will have their assignment completed. These assignments are nothing more than my attempt to open up the world of the character to the actor. For example, today I asked each actor to define his or her characters super objective/spine of the story. A SUPER OBJECTIVE is what the character wants during the whole story; what he/she wants out of life. It is the one specific thing that a character needs more than any other, will sacrifice the most to have.

In addition to this I have broken the script down in terms of locations needed and figure that we are going to require a total of seventy locations. Now this sound like a lot, but 85% of the locations will be within a 5-mile radius (I hope). I have already spent two weekends scouting out potential locations and taken hundreds of pictures. Now I will look back through those pictures and attempt to match them up with what I need. I have two more location scouting trips planned and hopefully that should get the job done. Most likely, by the middle of this week I will begin posting notices on a variety of websites for cast and crew calls. Stay tuned.

Hey Mike Lutz here again…Another aspect of Joe is his ability to handle a gun. So I’ve been going to a indoor gun range in downtown Los Angeles and getting acquainted with some revolvers. Although I grew up around guns (my father who is an avid hunter has a small arsenal), it’s been a while since I really handled one. The gun range has been a very interesting experience. The first thing I’ve noticed is there are three groups of people that frequent this shootery, off-duty cops, gangbangers practicing for “entrance exams”, and asian couples on dates. I’m just reporting what I’m seeing, people…it’s just an odd place. I have to admit at first it was a little intimidating, but there is certainly a rush you get from shooting. Hopefully, I’ll continue to improve…I’ve posted my targets all over the house, much to the dismay of my wife.

Hey ya’ll…well as I delve more into the character of Joe, one of the first things the audience finds out about him is his love for westerns, especially the spaghetti westerns of the ’60’s and ’70’s. Oddly enough, I had never seen any of these films. Even though they are now part of the pop culture lexicon, I somehow missed them. So started at the top with the Sergio Leone films, A Fist Full of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and Once Upon A Time In The West. It’s been really fun getting them. Leone was really an artist, you just don’t see films made like this anymore. With hardly any dialogue, Leone chose to tell his stories through a character’s actions. Really beautiful stuff actually. I do believe I’m hooked.