This is right in my wheelhouse, if not in my budget: With his new book Homage to Humanity photographer Jimmy Nelson and his team will be presenting an all immersive experience that invites you on an extraordinary journey. Next to Nelson’s established iconic photography, this new book will contain personal interviews with the portrayed individuals, … [Read more...]
Working The Trapline — October 2018
Moving is a pain in the ass, no getting around that. But there’s something strangely satisfying in it, too. There’s the getting rid of “stuff,” of course — it is fine to lighten the load. But more than that, I still feel that sense of possibility that comes with pulling up stakes. Speaking of which… • STARZ has teased the opening title … [Read more...]
‘Plain To See Plainsman’
I cut through the Rockies like some unholy blade The icy depths of the Pacific I have bade Forever I wander, forever I stray The rustle of wheat fields starts callin’ my name Callin’ my name Let me die in the country that I love the most I’m a plain-to-see plainsman, and this I will boast A heart that lies far from the east or … [Read more...]
‘A Shield To Her People’
“I saw a magnificent woman on a beautiful black horse Lozen, sister of Victorio. Lozen, the woman warrior! High above her head she held her rifle. There was a glitter as her right foot lifted and struck the shoulder of her horse. He reared, then plunged into the torrent. She turned his head upstream, and he began swimming.” — James … [Read more...]
Get The Memo
“He doesn’t write for pussies and he doesn’t write for women. He writes for men. Because he’s a man.” Sam Elliott said that about film writer and director John Milius; the words apply in spades to Tim Willocks. I know there are women who have devoured his novel of the 1565 Great Siege of Malta, The Religion, with as much gusto as any man, and I … [Read more...]
Indian Summer
A few days of glorious Indian Summer. I’ve stolen one of them. There is much that must be done. There is always much that must be done. I couldna let such a day go to waste. I set out reasonably early to the woods north of Zimmerman Butte (aka The Pit; our shooting range). The songbirds played a lively tune as the fine morning light crowned … [Read more...]
Mad Mel & The Wild Bunch
I don’t know what I think about this. From Deadline Hollywood: Mel Gibson has been set by Warner Bros to direct The Wild Bunch, a new version of the 1969 Sam Peckinpah-directed classic Western. Gibson is writing the script with Bryan Bagby. Gibson will be executive producer. In The Wild Bunch, an aging group of outlaws look for one last big … [Read more...]
Firearms Of The Frontier Partisans — Of Hawkens And Hybrids
For many years, the Hawken Rifle had the reputation of being “The Mountain Man’s Choice.” That’s largely thanks to the classic 1972 movie Jeremiah Johnson (the first movie I saw in a theater). At the opening, the narrator explains that Johnson sought a .50 caliber Hawken Rifle before heading alone into the Rocky Mountains. “He settled for a … [Read more...]
‘To Bastards Of All Nations’
I am fond of bastards. Truly. I love the way the word rolls off the tongue in a Tom Russell song, the way Breaker Morant bellowed it into the muzzles of a Cameron Highlander firing squad. And I am always sympathetic to the illegitimate sons of empire. One of the areas of frontier history that fascinates me most is the mingling of peoples in … [Read more...]
More From The Trapline — September 2018
• I neglected to mention the Coen Brothers’ anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival where it earned Best Screenplay honors. Netflix drops it upon us in November. The Hollywood Reporter offers a synopsis: The Joel and Ethan Coen film, which was directed, written and produced by the brothers, is … [Read more...]
