Stand-In For Brad Pitt

As originally published on the edmontonsun.com website:

STAND-IN FOR BRAD PITT
Graham Hicks, The Edmonton Sun
Sunday, August 28, 2005

The celebrity industry may have created a God-like aura around actor Brad Pitt. But to Brent Woolsey, Brad is a warm, decent person who's very good at what he does.

Brent will spend much time with Pitt while The Assassination of Jesse James feature movie is filmed in Fort Edmonton Park. Setup begins after the Labour Day weekend, with actual shooting starting soon thereafter.

The Nanton-area rancher, a champion team roper in his spare time, is a professional film/TV stuntman and stunt co-ordinator.

As he was in Legends of the Fall in 1994, he'll be Pitt's stunt double for the "train, horse, killin' and fightin' stuff."

"Brad's a great guy. He's as polite and nice as they get. He's a guy you'd like to sit down and BS with for a night or two. But the whole media thing takes away so much of his freedom."

As Brent has done on some 35 films, he's also stunt co-ordinator for the Jesse James film. He scouted locations with the director from an action-sequence point of view. He works with the director in planning and executing the action scenes. As those scenes draw closer, he'll likely have more direct communication with the star than anyone on the set, besides the director.

Chances are he'll be Brad Pitt's action coach rather than his double. "I suspect Brad will end up doing most of the action scenes himself," says Brent. "He likes to do them if he can. He's a physical kind of guy. But his ego's not so big that he'd do something where he could hurt himself."

Brent's on-location job is to set up the action scene and be the double for rehearsals. He then sits down with the director and Pitt to decide if the star or the double should perform the actual stunt.

If Pitt is doing it himself, Brent prepares and coaches the actor through the scene.

Brent's life as a hockey player, chuckwagon racer, stuntman and team roper is the stuff of legends unto itself - "I've never really had a job," he says.

Those are Hicks on Six stories for another day.

"What I'm really looking forward to," he says, "is going to (former team-roping champ and Friends of Pro Rodeo co-chair) Lyle Kurtz's ranch on days off to do some team roping. I'm hoping I can get to Blacklands Ranch (north of Fort Saskatchewan) for the Alberta team roping championships."

Brad Pitt Coming Back To Alberta?

Brad Pitt as Tristan Ludlow in Legends of the Fall. © 1994 TriStar Pictures, Inc.

There's been rumblings about Brad Pitt filming in Alberta again for quite a while now. When I was conducting research for the print version of The Alberta Movie Guide a few years ago, locals in southern Alberta towns mentioned hearing about his return for a feature film production. It's been rumored that he's already visited Alberta several times in addition to filming Legends of the Fall and that he has property in Bragg Creek near Calgary, though he denies it saying if he owned land in all the places people said he did, he'd be "quite the land baron." A month ago, I heard the rumor resurface and was told that Pitt had recently made a visit to Alberta to scout locations including Fort Edmonton Park. Calgary and Edmonton media outlets have been buzzing with the news, but no official announcements have been made.

The Assassination of Jesse James, one of many flicks about the infamous outlaw, is to be directed by Chopper's Andrew Dominik and produced by Ridley and Tony Scott's Scott Free Productions.

If you've never been to Fort Edmonton Park, it's worth visiting not only for it's historic atmosphere, great location, and cultural history, but to see it up close before it appears on film again. I've had the good fortune to visit it many times during school and family outings, celebrate special occassions and film weddings there. I've even traveled down the North Saskatchewan River by canoe to stay overnight at Fort Edmonton, just as Hudson's Bay Company Fur Traders used to do many years ago. Fort Edmonton Park remains one of my favorite locations in the city. I'll have more on Fort Edmonton Park's role in films at a later date.

Note: Please don't send requests asking where Brad and other stars will be staying or what time they'll be at a certain place as I won't be providing that specific kind of information. The film production needs to run smoothly and though there'll probably be some kind of media photo opportunity if they do film here, the cast and crew don't need delays in work or hassles during the off-production hours. Just like you or I, they have a job to do. Perhaps serving as an extra on the film might be your shot at getting a glimpse of Mr. Pitt?

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Originally published in the Edmonton Journal, June 22, 2005:

Details of Pitt visit as elusive as James gang
Hot actor coming to Edmonton for film about Wild West outlaw

Rick McConnell
The Edmonton Journal
June 22, 2005

EDMONTON - Wanted: Information leading to some arresting details about the new Brad Pitt western coming to a city very near you.

The blond, heart-throb leading man will soon be back in Alberta to film his new Jesse James movie, which will be shot at historic Fort Edmonton Park and in the wide-open spaces outside Calgary.

Beyond that, there are few eyewitness reports about the $30-million drama. Reporters seeking tips about the movie and its big-name star followed a cold trail Tuesday.

"This is the best news a film commissioner can get," said Edmonton Film Commissioner Patti Tucker, who, as it turned out, couldn't offer an accurate description about who will do what to whom, or when, or how.

"I'm as frustrated as you are," Tucker said when asked to confirm the whole Brad-Pitt-is-coming-to-town story.

"We need to get this good news out, but it's got to come from (Alberta Film Commissioner) Dan Chugg. I can't say one word to anybody, and I've been working on this for three months."

Chugg, who oversees the province's film industry and reports to Economic Development Minister Clint Dunford, was out of the office and unavailable for comment.

Requests for information were passed to the department's communications branch, but no one from that office called back to confirm one of the biggest film projects to hit the province in years.

Still, despite efforts to keep word from leaking out, those tracking the story were able to learn that Plan B Films, a company started by Pitt and his estranged wife, Jennifer Aniston, will co-produce the movie, along with Scott Free Productions, owned by brothers Tony and Ridley Scott.

Pitt will play Jesse James, who was living under the alias Tom Howard in St. Joseph, Mo., when he was gunned down in his living room on April 3, 1882, by his cousin, Bob Ford, a former member of his gang.

The movie, based on the 1983 Ron Hansen novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, will be good news to Alberta's film industry.

But to the people who will one day market the movie, good news is apparently no news at all.

At Warner Bros. Pictures offices in Los Angeles, one publicist after another said, more or less, "they went thataway," and finally suggested information might be forthcoming from the company's Canadian headquarters in Toronto.

There, however, a harassed publicist was dealing with a power outage and had no time to talk. Hours later, the Toronto publicist called back and passed the bouncing ball back to another Warner spokesperson in Hollywood, who confirmed that Pitt and the Scotts are indeed involved, but wouldn't say much more.

Is there anyone from Warner Bros., the spokesperson was asked, who can talk about this project?

"No," the spokesperson said.

Could you tell us why that is?

"No," the spokesperson said. "If we put out a press release in which we announce this, then the head of production would make the announcement. When we put out a formal announcement, then it will come from the head of the studio."

Over at the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association offices, things seemed a little more certain.

"I understand there are quite a few locations around Alberta, not just Calgary and Edmonton," said executive director Alan Brooks. "It means a lot of work for a lot of people in this industry."

Brooks said he was told production officials involved with the project visited the Alberta capital months ago.

"They fell in love with Fort Edmonton Park," he said. "It was absolutely perfect for the movie."

"We have no information," said the person answering telephones at the park, who then suggested Patti Tucker might be the person to call.

With a posse of reporters still hot on the story's trail, by the end of the day the film's director had been identified as Andrew Dominik, who once wrote and directed a film called Chopper (2000), which starred an actor named Eric Bana, who later worked in a film called Troy, which starred a certain shy fellow named Pitt, who might remember Alberta from his work a decade ago on Legends of the Fall, which some people say was filmed here.

But that might be a rumour.

rmcconnell@thejournal.canwest.com

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The Calgary Sun also has a report on the 'Pitt-stop' at this link.

Welcome to The Alberta Movie Guide

Two things I really enjoy besides watching movies are reading about their making and visiting the locations they're filmed at. There's definitely something magical about walking on the same soil as Film Directors like Steven Spielberg or George Lucas and stars such as Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, and Jackie Chan. You start to think of moments from the films, and then, if you're like me, you try and figure out where the cameras were set up, what angles they shot, where the Directors were sitting, what the weather was like, and even what's changed since the production has left. As somebody with a film/video production background, I understand the enormous amount work that goes into making our favorite cinema adventures, including the care taken to choose suitable filming sites.

Filming on location is not an easy task. First, the production has to find locations that are within close proximity to major cities or towns in case they need to house the cast and crew, seek medical attention, send for supplies, or enlist the help of local extras. If the production requires several exterior locations, you want to locate them as close together as possible in order to minimize travel time between them. This helps to allow more daylight hours for filming and cast and crew downtime. In most cases, the Producers or Coordinators also have to acquire permits, obtain permission from landowners - and sometimes homeowners - ensure security for the cast, and finally (but not completely), have a backup indoor location for filming in case of weather delays. It can all be a very complex process, but in the end, if the locations are right, the credibility of the characters and story is increased.

The Alberta Movie Guide is an idea I dreamt up several years ago. My wife and I were fortunate enough to get married in Hawai'i and we had our honeymoon on the beautiful 'Garden Island' of Kaua'i. One of the reasons we chose Kaua'i was because of its use in many of the most successful (and favorite) blockbusters of all time. With the help of The Kaua'i Movie Book and a map marked with film locations, we set off to 'relive' some great movie moments. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Blue Hawaii, Honeymoon in Vegas, and Mighty Joe Young (1998) have all showcased the emerald green jungles, rugged coastlines, colorful blooms, relaxing beaches, and countless waterfalls of Kaua'i. Just as the movies had transported audiences, so too were we taken to the 'film worlds' by visiting many of these locations during our trip. It was an exciting adventure for both of us and though others had already paved the way, it didn't detract from our own fantastic journey.

Born and raised in Alberta, I have a lifetime fondness for the province's diverse scenery. Ranging from the breathtaking mountain peaks of Jasper and Banff, the ancient badlands of Drumheller and Dinosaur Provincial Park, to the otherworldly oil sands of the north, Alberta has provided the backdrop for fictional and historic film subjects. When you take into account the well-preserved structures of pioneering Forts and ranches, the golden waves of grain and yellow fields of Canola, and snow-packed peaks of Canmore and Kananaskis, Alberta has filled in for just about any piece of scenery required. Okay, so we don't have tropical, but there's always indoors for that if needed.


Unforgiven. © 1992 Warner Bros.

Not to be forgotten, Alberta is also fortunate enough to have a wealth of creative talent, many who have already contributed towards Hollywood hits like Unforgiven, Superman, Legends of the Fall, Rat Race, River of No Return, Shanghai Noon, The Edge, Days of Heaven, and Cool Runnings. That's just for starters. I haven't even discussed the many Canadian-made films.

Realizing the lack of a comprehensive news and location resource available to those inside and outside the Alberta filmmaking community, my goal was, and is, to help bring The Kaua'i Movie Book concept to Alberta. The Alberta Movie Guide (book currently in development) and this blog aren't intended to replace the efforts of the incredible Alberta Film Commission and other production resources, but rather to act as a complimentary source to bring reports, opinions, reviews, and location information to professionals and amateurs alike, helping them appreciate all that Alberta has to offer in film, television, and media production. It's truly a place I believe to be one of the best in the world, and an area I'm proud to call home.


Shanghai Noon. © 2000 Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. and Spyglass Entertainment Group, LP.

I'd like to add that as Albertans, we don't want to be looked at as 'the bad guys' in what's being labeled as 'runaway film production.' Along with our scenery, we're very proud of our production community and our collaboration with foreign film, television, and media productions. We're hardworking professionals, and like many North Americans, Europeans, and Asians, we have dreams of 'being in the movies.' It is our hope to continue to provide facilitation for all creative media productions.

I hope you'll enjoy the journey and I (and my collaborators) look forward to sharing Alberta's rich film and television history (and future) with all of you!

Note: Many locations are on private property and I will not be providing information on how to 'sneak into' these places. It is my intention to respect the production, the cast, crew, and landowners. If I do post any information on private locations, it will either be because the information has already been published, the landowner has given consent, or members of the Alberta film community have been allowed to share such knowledge.