Saunders: Cowboy in Selleck rides again
January 15, 2003
HOLLYWOOD Long before television went on its reality binge, six-guns and sagebrush dominated the schedules.
In 1959 B.C. (before cable) viewers witnessed a virtual stampede to the Western genre, as 28 series were regulars in the weekly prime-time network lineups. Matt Dillon, Wyatt Earp and the Cartwright clan from Bonanza were among the holstered heroes who made the home screens safe from outlaws, cattle rustlers and nasty, mustached villains who cheated at poker in saloons.
But eventually, the TV Western went thataway, to become, for the most part, fodder for trivia and nostalgia. Only occasional miniseries like the Lonesome Dove franchise brought cowboys back into fashion.
But if Tom Selleck were in charge of television, networks would provide more cowpokes - maybe not 28 shows a week, but enough to keep viewers entertained by what he calls "part of our heritage, part of our country's mythology."
Practicing what he preaches, Selleck, no stranger to giddyup dialogue and riding horseback, stars in Monte Walsh, TNT's 2 ½-hour cable movie premiering at 6 p.m. Friday with additional airings on Saturday and Sunday as part of the network's western weekend roundup.
Based on the novel by Jack Schafer (Shane), Monte Walsh tells of an independent Wyoming loner who won't quit being a cowboy even though the Old West is moving into a modern, motorized age.
Like Monte Walsh, Selleck won't quit "cowboyin' " - a least on the screen.
He's been playing Western characters for more than 15 years in cable films like Louis L'Amour's Crossfire Trail, which premiered in July 2000 with the highest movie ratings in basic cable history.
"I seem to relate to these Western characters," Selleck says.
"They're flawed, which I always find interesting. As an actor I like to play flawed characters.
"Western heroes, if hero is the right word, are basically good men who are struggling while trying to do the right thing."
Set in the final decade of the 1800s, Monte Walsh profiles the last of a dying breed - a genuine cowboy, an iconoclastic original who is experiencing firsthand the seismic changes technology is bringing. Eastern corporations are gobbling up Western land with little regard for the people who live and work there.
"I guess I'm an old-fashioned guy," muses Selleck. "We just went through the turn of the century and I don't know about you but I'm feeling a little left behind. I kind of miss the 20th century.
"That's what this movie is about. Monte can't cope with the changes."
Directed by Simon Wincer (Lonesome Dove), the tale, filmed in Calgary, has an expansive, wide-screen look - a must for a successful Western.
Selleck's stellar supporting cast includes Isabella Rossellini as a prostitute he loves, and Keith Carradine, William Devane and George Eads (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) as cowpokes caught up in the evolution.
"If you're going to do a Western you have to cast it right," says Selleck, who's also co-producer.
"You also have to make sure the land and life are also characters in the film. This sense of environmentalism is one reason that a good Western's appeal is universal. Wide-open land without fences is a vision that appeals to all of us."
While overly romantic at times in its depiction of the Old West, Monte Walsh does convey the disillusionment of men who see their lifestyles crumbling on a daily basis.
And Selleck is ready to saddle up again any time a producer or a network offers another Western project.
Selleck certainly has support from TNT when it comes to pushing Westerns back into a TV focus.
The network will air 16 Western films (more than 52 hours of programming) during a three-day period, beginning at noon Friday with Quigley Down Under, starring Selleck and Laura San Giacomo.
Noted feature films include: The Magnificent Seven, Maverick, Chisum, Pale Rider, The Outlaw Josie Wales, Rio Bravo and McLintock!
TV movies in the lineup include Crossfire Trail, Conagher and Last Stand at Sabre River.
TODAY'S NOSTALGIA: On Jan. 15, 1981, NBC premiered Hill Street Blues, one of the most honored series in TV history. Initially, in the premiere episode, officers Bobby Hill (Michael Warren) and Andy Renko (Charles Haid) were supposed to die after being shot by a drug dealer. The second script was rewritten and the two continued as series regulars.
http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/entertainment_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_84_1673918,00.html
I’m not expecting much. Last I checked they had kicked out Ron Howard as the director, and inserted the guy that did The Rookie. It was an excellent movie and I assume that he is a good director, but I’m pretty sure Howard was interested in being as factual as possible, as he was making a sincere effort to be while he was still director. I am not sure about this other guy. One of the earlier copies of the script sounded to me like it would be ok if their focus was really the facts, but allowed for lots of PC crap if they weren’t. I’m excited about the possibilities, but incredibly leery of the pitfalls. Frankly I’m not expecting much. They were taking extras for the Mexican army and other big shots like that. The filming is supposed to start pretty soon and its being filmed outside of Austin. You can find lots of info about it here.