John Carroll Lynch & William Mapother star alongside Mario Van Peebles in his new western, Outlaw Posse which is released this week. They stopped by to chat with us about the movie.
Today we’re going to be talking about your new movie Outlaw Posse from Mario Van Peebles. I’m a huge Western fan. What appealed about the movie to both of you?
John: The opportunity to work with such a great filmmaker was obviously an important decision. I enjoyed the script, I enjoyed its ambition; it was going to be a Western, which I had never done before, and was really, really excited to be in one. With a mug like mine, I wondered why it took so long (laughs), but it was great to be a part of that to work in Montana. It’s such a stunning State and the film will reflect the beauty of it. And to have a movie with such a fun ride, those are the things that really stood out.
What about you William?
William: Mario. Montana. Maniac. (laughs) What else? How can I say no?
John: And alliterative.
That is impressive. William, you play the villain of Outlaw Posse, Angel. Although he’s a villain, he’s still very much a human character. I love the fact that he cries when hearing that music. Was that important to you that he wasn’t just a cartoon villain, but he still felt like a human?
William: Yes, there are times in which playing a character that seems one or two dimensional is appropriate, but in a film like this, it’s better that he was well rounded. A lot of that credit, if not all of it goes to Mario’s on the page. Then when we were shooting, he ensured that that was brought out in the performance. But yes, it’s important to me, and I liked the fact that he presents it. It was on the page, it presented at least Angel’s point of view and some of his own motivation. There was revenge, greed, maybe some little bit of racism, but that it at least helps the actor and hopefully the audience, believe in the character. They may not like him. They may not agree with him, but they at least understand where he’s coming from.
Yeah, exactly. John, what do you think are Carson’s core values as a person and is there any of yourself in him?
John: One of the primary things with Carson, his center of ideas is loyalty and the sense of that you’re loyal to people and not to ideas, that people earn loyalty. And certainly, that’s what’s happened with his friends in this film. Along with that, I loved his sense of gentleness towards nature and his ferocity towards men (laughs).
How did you both go around handling firearms for the movie? Did you have to undergo any specific training for that?
William: Well, I don’t know about John. I’ve certainly shot prop firearms on a number of shows. But usually there is a training regardless, usually the armorer, the person who handles the prop guns, gives an instruction to the whole crew. They work with each individual. At least I had my own specific weapon and so they let me they get accustomed to it and they were very careful on set. Especially, given what has happened recently in the industry. So, I felt very comfortable in the instruction I was given in the way we were shooting with firearms.
John: I would say that’s exactly right. I certainly have shot or pretended to shoot firearms in a wide variety of circumstances on film, and I’m a big believer in everything to do with the safety protocols. I don’t skip any step. That’s my responsibility. These are not toys, and they shouldn’t be treated as toys. That being said, the echo of what happened. I mean, when we were shooting, what happened less than a year, previously on the Rust set was certainly in people’s minds. Also some of the people that worked on our movie also worked on that. So, it was certainly fresh in their minds.
What would you like audiences to take away from the film?
John: I’ll just say it really quickly, Joy. I hope they have a good time. And I hope with that joy that they get to see a world that has not been included in Hollywood westerns, to the degree that it could be.
William: I hope that they enjoy the ride, that it makes them question what they’re not, and have not been seeing in movies. And that finally, John Carroll Lynch is represented and acknowledged to be the handsome man that he is.
John: Yes, that’s important to me. It’s really important to me that you are recognized as the vile, evil person that you actually are (laughs).
William: Please Mario, deliver that to me (laughs).
That sounds like a good time to finish up. Thanks so much for chatting guys and all the best with the film.