One of Michael Madsen’s final films will play in North Texas this month
One of Michael Madsen’s final films is playing the Dallas International Film Festival.
The “Kill Bill” and “Reservoir Dogs” actor died of heart failure last summer. The 67-year-old had more than 300 acting credits to his name, including several in post-production.
One of those completed films is “Blood Behind Us,” which will have two screenings over the festival.
“When a battle-scarred ex-soldier fighting to reclaim his role as a father is targeted by a psychotic contract killer, his fragile shot at redemption turns deadly — forcing him to confront the violent past he buried to protect the family he thought he’d lost forever,” the film’s logline reads.
“Blood Behind Us” is directed by Brendan Gabriel Murphy and stars Tanner Beard.
The Texas-made film is produced by Silver Sail Entertainment, which is owned by Beard and moved to Fort Worth from Los Angeles last year. The company has another film playing the Dallas festival — “One In A Million” — that counts Beard as director and writer.
Ahead of “Blood Behind Us” screenings on April 26 and April 28, Murphy and Beard spoke with the Star-Telegram about making the film and working with Madsen.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Star-Telegram: “Blood Behind Us” looks like an action-packed thriller with a father and son dynamic. Brendan, where did this project come from?
Brendan Gabriel Murphy: It’s been a project that’s been in Mr. Beard’s wheelhouse for over eight years. It started as a short film they had shot a long time ago. From the short, Tanner was like, “Hey, I think we should turn this into a feature.” We were at the Mammoth Film Festival. Michael Madsen was up there. [Tanner said] “I think we should get Michael to play my father. Let’s pitch him.”
We cornered Michael at the Mammoth Film Festival, and we both pitched him what would become “Blood Behind Us.”
It was pretty awesome, because I’m a huge Michael Madsen fan. I’ve followed his career my whole life. Tarantino all the way. We had a great conversation about it, and his only stipulation was that he was like, “I don’t want to die.” That gave me enough ammo to go back with my writing partner, and we wrote the character kind of around Michael and Tanner’s character’s relationship. We really wanted this father and son relationship, just an estranged father and son who haven’t seen each other in many years. But wanted to keep it still badass and crime oriented, but still have the heart of a redemption story. We built on that, and we really worked hard towards putting together this heroic ending for Michael Madsen’s character, which he usually does not get. He’s usually the villain. He gets killed off in most of these movies. It really came full circle for all of us when Tanner was like, “Hey, what if we had this Elvis gun?” We were like, “This is great.”
Then we’ve kind of built a little bit about around Elvis. How his father is an Elvis freak and loves and dies for Elvis. I don’t want to give away too much of the movie, but somehow he gets a hold of Elvis’ prized possession, which was his .45, his engraved signature Elvis Presley gun. We built this heroic ending around that, and around the relationship. We had no clue this was going to end up being [one of] Michael Madsen’s last films. We weren’t expecting that at all. It’s a very fitting send off for someone who’s such a legend in the entertainment industry. It was just a blast to write and work with Tanner again. This is our second film we worked together, and he’s a dear friend of mine.
S-T: Tanner, why did you want Michael Madsen to play your father?
Tanner Beard: Val Kilmer actually was going to play my father, and he sadly passed away, or he didn’t pass away then, but he couldn’t perform, which was a really sad deal. I’m like, “How do you replace Val Kilmer?”
But when we had gotten to know Mike, he was already like, “Yeah, you could be my son. I got a son about your height anyway. Yeah, I’ll be your dad. But look, I’m gonna need to get paid here.” We didn’t know it was gonna be like $20,000 in a brown paper bag, taped to like a back of a painting, delivered in an Uber or something like that. That’s how Madsen liked to roll [laughs]. That may or may not be a true story.
What’s so funny to speak about somebody like Michael Madsen is obviously, he’s done a kajillion movies. Some are more adored than others, but you cannot deny just what a personality this gentleman was. To get to work with him, not even get to work with him, but Brendan and I were some of the last people to ever get to speak with him. We had a conversation, we both called him on the phone together [while he was in the hospital] about how the movie was going.
It’s so cool to have that experience. He called us quite frequently to see how this movie was going, because he was so proud of it. He’s like, “I gotta show this one to Quentin [Tarantino], man. I want him to see this one. I’m finally a good guy. I want him to see me be a good guy.” Quentin’s actually seen the movie, which is lovely for us to share that with his family.
S-T: This movie was made in North Texas. I’m curious about how making the movie here impacted the flavor of the project?
BGM: This was my first time filming in Texas. I’m a New Yorker. I’ve lived in California now for 25 years. Tanner is born and bred in Texas. I have to say, it is probably my favorite place I ever shot. It’s so filmmaker-friendly.
Everyone bends over backwards for you in Texas, where you don’t have to jump through all the hoops, as you would in, especially in California. It was just so much easier to get things done. Everyone was on board. The crew was amazing. Just such a good vibe. Film work is hard work. You’re trying to make your days. It’s very hard when you’re on an independent budget, because you only have a certain amount of money and a certain amount of time, so you have to get all this stuff done. You want to make your days, so that you can finish your movie. When everybody jumps on board, is busting their ass to get this done, you just feel it in your bones that you’re doing something special.
We were fortunate to shoot a majority of the movie on this gorgeous ranch that the Beards own, which is the one of the most beautiful properties I’ve ever seen. We were able to get so much bang for our buck and nobody really knocking on our door to be like, “Hey, you can’t do this.” We could stretch it and just get as many locations as possible.
It just looks incredible on film, the vistas, just everything. We created rain, we actually got some real rain. The rain was so heavy it actually showed up on film. Rain does not show up on film. You have to bring in rain machines. Then we have thunder come in and we kept it in the movie. We found this phenomenal roadhouse bar that really is pretty much the heart of the movie, because it’s so unique. Honestly, I think it’s cooler than the bar in the “Road House” movie.
TB: I knew we were in business, because as soon as Brendan got off the plane, we drove to Best Hat Store in Fort Worth. He got a proper cowboy hat, which he wore every day of shooting. That’s how we knew we were making a movie in Texas. But no, that’s just it. The geography, the way that the dust kicks off the tires. Texas has its own look and feel. You just know it when you’re there.
I think that’s just what the Fort Worth area kind of brings to the people in this. Obviously, the proof is in the pudding of that, because you can see how many things are being shot there. Everything about it was kind of fun. But, places like Mineral Wells and outside where we shoot off I-20 out there that way. I mean, that’s where tons of Taylor Sheridan stuff is shooting, from “Lioness” to everything else. We were too, and it just felt like we were in really good company out there.
S-T: “Blood Behind Us” is playing the Dallas International Film Festival next week. One, how do you guys feel about that? Two, what’s the distribution plan for this?
TB: Yeah, I love the Dallas Film Festival. That was my first film festival I ever got to go to as a filmmaker many moons ago, in 2011 or 2012. My first film (”The Legend of Hell’s Gate: An American Conspiracy”) that I ever made world premiered there. It has a huge place in my heart. I like the Lone Star Film Festival too, I got to play “6 Bullets to Hell” there many years ago, and I haven’t been back since then. But, I love it all. Dallas International Film Festival, to have this movie being shot 90% in Texas. There were some scenes in Colorado, and then we had a war scene that we had to shoot elsewhere. But, I mean, the whole movie takes place in Texas. It’s a Texas movie for sure. We’re in the Texas competition, if I’m not wrong, right, Brendan?
BGM: We are. Yeah, it’s definitely a Texas movie. I think my favorite part of filming this movie was that it’s a neo-Western. It’s not cowboys and Indians, but it has the vibe of a Western. It’s just modern day. That comes from all my influences of watching Westerns. Growing up, my dad was huge into Westerns, so I saw everybody. He schooled me on all the greats. I mean, I was playing with “Lone Ranger” toys when I was a kid. For me, I was in a way, doing this for, well, Tanner and my father [laughs]. I want to do Texas justice, because I’m not from there. But I also thought my father would really dig this kind of story.
“Blood Behind Us” screens at 7:30 p.m. April 26 at the Texas Theatre, and at 10 p.m. April 28 at Cinépolis Victory Park.
