Mario Van Peebles is a legend of action having starred in movies like Heartbreak Ridge alongside Clint Eastwood, Gunmen, Highlander III, Posse, Solo and many more.
His latest movie Outlaw Posse brings together a diverse cast, so he and his co-star and son Mandela stopped by to chat with us about the film.
Thanks for chatting with me today guys; really appreciate it.
Yeah, man, where are you?
Well, I’m in Toronto in a blizzard right now. But I’m from Scotland originally.
Okay, thought I heard that accent.
So, today we’re going to talk about your new movie Outlaw Posse. I think that as a society in recent years, we seem to have regressed in terms of living together, but this movie brings people together in a positive way. Can you talk a little bit about that and how you want it to resonate with audiences?
Mario: Yeah, I think part of it is, I was lucky enough in our crazy family to grow up with a lot of diversity; we got white, black, gay, straight, and even got a Trumper in our family. So, we have to love with big arms. That’s been an advantage I felt as a human being, but also as a filmmaker in that I saw our commonalities, not just what separates us. America made more westerns than any other genre film and like anything, you can use a cinema to divide or cinema to unite. I thought, “what if we had a western where there was a good reason to unite?” and when this diverse group comes together, and then you realize at the end that there were actually people in history who looked like this, who were there. The Sheriff is trying to find out who robbed the bank, and he goes, “black and white, working in cahoots together?” Who could have seen that coming? That our diversity is actually a strength. I felt like we’re so divided right now that if you could make a western that entertains, has a lot of fun, has all the action adventure, but add a little nutritional value, a little bit of edutainment. What an interesting time to do that and say, “Well, I built it, we do the movie, and they’ll come”. Then go out and find the best actors you can to play these different roles. I needed someone to play my son who can ride a horse, and had some practice… and maybe I’ll go to this guy (laughs and nudges Mandela).
Speaking of this guy, Mandela, how does it feel to be part of the next generation on Outlaw Posse and to be directed by your father?
Mandela: It was a great time working with him. It always is; we worked together on a few projects before this. What was great about this one is not only is he directing it, but he’s also acting in it; I’m playing his son. So, that’s a relationship we have a lot of practice in; throw in some revolvers and horses and the beautiful landscapes of Montana, I’m happy to be a part of it. It was kind of like you said, a movie, although Western, although entertaining, showing real people. Not only show them as real people, but kind of discussing and exploring real topics, real issues that we still deal with today, whether it’s Stagecoach Mary – a woman not having the right to vote back then. Or the conversation we have with Whoopi Goldberg, who plays Stagecoach Mary in Outlaw Posse on top of the stagecoach about people not being able to have access to education or the scene with the Baker Brothers. How systematically people in power, use their power to marginalize people who just have as much of a right as anyone to the American dream, and really what worked and who was a part of making America in order to have this dream accessible. So, I think a lot of the movie is entertaining, but a lot of it is real stuff. And even the word cowboy, the real history of it, that means a lot, so that was a lot of fun.
Mario, what was the process for writing the script?
Mario: There was a Johnny Cash song called A Boy Named Sue, about a guy who goes through the process of later understanding his dad’s position and why he named him Sue. I thought, in my own life with my father, I didn’t always understand him. Sometimes I didn’t like him that much when I was younger, but when I decided that I wanted to go into filmmaking, and in some ways, take the history back where you say, “Well, look, one out of three cowboys was black”. I did my first movie with Clint Eastwood, and he sort of talked about that and that’s why he put Morgan Freeman in Unforgiven like that. I thought, “Well, I haven’t seen that and now I want to be a filmmaker”. To do that I had to walk in some of my dad’s footsteps and understand him better and the more I did that, the more respect I had and lo and behold the more I enjoyed him on and on and on, until we had this great relationship. We made Posse 30 years ago when I did that I didn’t have Mandela and now 30 years later, I don’t have my dad and so I made that with him. So, the process was, I sort of wrote thinking of that Boy Named Sue song by Johnny Cash, like I said, and then I thought about classic westerns and things that I wanted to play on and show and I wanted to give each character their moment. It’s not just about my character, per se. “Oh, what’s the best intro for Emmett Walsh or Neal McDonough or DC Young Fly or Allen Payne?” to make sure that every character gets to shine; that as a filmmaker, I give the foot rub I want to get. I like to let other actors come in, bring their best game, bring their creative game, and know that it’s a collab process.
So, the writing is not something where I go, “Oh, that’s gotta be like this!”; there’s certain things I feel like this, but a lot of times there’s like, “oh, well, if Whoopi’s gonna play it, then you can do that, because she can handle this and has the smarts” and “Oh Mandela is going to play this; he can Mandela-fy it, but he can also ride”. I’m not having someone who plays my son who can’t ride and he can; he can actually do that stunt because we’re gonna do the bank robbery in one cut, no cuts. No trick-ology; he’s got to ride his ass out on that horse and rescue that (laughs). We’re gonna have to go back to back in the scene and we’re not going to have 12 takes; we’re gonna have two takes or three takes. So, you got to go in with people that are hot and ready to rock and roll and bring that attitude to it. A lot of the attitude of the outlaws had to be forward leaning, make it happen. Yes, we can!
Mandela, how did you prepare for the role?
Mandela: I think I’ve been preparing for this my whole life (laughs); a lot of practice being his son. No, I think it being an indie, we really have to kind of spend even the free time getting together to rehearse, getting together and riding the horses, or just getting together. I remember even just from spinning those guns, I had like a little callus on my finger. But every aspect of the character being ex-military or–
Mario: Ex-Buffalo Soldier.
Mandela: Exactly. So, having those skills to just whip out even if it’s improv, to make the character real. It was a lot of fun. Yeah, even riding the horses, you’re not supposed to bounce up and down and keep your hat on. So, all these things I wanted so Decker would be able to hold his own and be believable.
One last question. So we’ve had Posse in 1993, then Los Locos: Posse Rides Again in 1997. Now we have Outlaw Posse. Do you think in a few years, we could have another Posse?
Mario: I never say never, I don’t know. This was a big one to make. I looked up the other day and my dad gave me my first lines ever in a feature film and I gave him his last lines ever in a feature film. So, that kind of circle doesn’t happen all the time and especially rare for I think filmmakers of color/Black Filmmakers. From my dad to me, to Mandela and my daughter Morgana, Makaylo and the kids that decide they want to be in the family business and that it’s really exciting to do it. This was a dream come true. I try to make every movie like it could be your last movie because one day it will be. They’ll make movies that count. What’s the three loves?
Mandela: Love what you say. Love who you say it with and love what you’re saying with it.
Mario: Yeah, yeah.
Thank you so much, guys for taking the time to chat and best of luck with the movie.
Thank you, brother. Take care. Thanks so much.