-
Submitted Photo Kyler Boudreau on the set of his first film “Rose and the Outlaw.”
The plateau is soon to be the backdrop for an independent filmmaker’s next movie, “Reckoning,” set in the late 1800s.
Kyler Boudreau is currently in pre-production on the short film and scouting locations in Cashiers and Highlands with the help of the historical societies in both towns. He’s specifically using locations off Buck Creek Road and Col. John’s Cabin at the Cashiers Historical Society for his short film.
Announced in May 2021, the movie is a sequel to his 2020 movie, “Rose and the Outlaw,” and tells the story of Rose Lawson and her fight against the most dreaded outlaw in the Appalachians. “Rose and the Outlaw” was shot in 2020 on an ultra-low budget using an iPhone 11 and can be watched on YouTube.
The movie became an official selection of the Oniros Film Awards and received an honorable mention as well as the Silver Award by the Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles in May 2020.
“Reckoning” is set in the historic town of Little Cataloochee, North Carolina. The Cherokee first discovered the valley that would make up Big Cataloochee, but they never settled there. Little and Big Cataloochee were separated by a mountain ridge but tied together through strong family bonds.
“We’re shooting in March,” Boudreau said. “That’s the planned shoot dates. It’s going to be like a 25-to-30-minute short film set in 1883.”
Fans of “Yellowstone,” the currently running and popular Western TV show on the Paramount Network starring Kevin Costner, might be disappointed to know this film has nothing to do with that, nor its prequel series, “1883,” starring Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Sam Elliott.
“’Reckoning’ is about courage and the human struggle against problems that don’t just go away because we defeat them once,” a statement on the Theater Eleven production company website said.
Col. Robert Love was the original owner of the land in the early 1800s. By 1850, many called Cataloochee home. These places no longer exist today but are part of the Smoky Mountain National Park. Old buildings still stand from that era, though, and Boudreau will be using these for his movie.
“It’s recent for buildings to still be out there,” Boudreau said. “There’s a cabin you can hike back to and still see. It’s just a structure that’s there, stuff like that. I just chose that town because I wanted an old North Carolina town.”
The story continues the story of Lawson, whose parents were killed by an outlaw who fought with her father in the Civil War. When the war ended, the antagonist took a mask and started doing heinous things, Boudreau said.
“He and her father parted ways over some cavalry gold that was stolen,” Boudreau said. “So, he killed her parents. And they made him promise that he wouldn’t go after her. He tricks her, and she thinks she kills him, and she didn’t. So, he’s coming after her with a vengeance. That’s why it’s called, ‘Reckoning.’”
He’s got actors coming in from Chicago and Texas, and principal photography is scheduled to wrap at the end of March, with the potential for pick-up shots in April as well as post-production. No release date has been set yet, but Boudreau is using the film for an online film school he is watching.
Boudreau compares the story on his two films to that of David and Goliath, where Goliath was a Philistine, and even though David was anointed king and successful, the Philistines came after him his entire life.
“It wasn’t just a one-and-done, it was a, ‘I need to do this again,’” Boudreau said. “I need to stand up to these same enemies later in his life, they almost killed him. So, that’s kind of what it’s about.”
Boudreau has loved movies his entire life, and he said he watched the original “The Matrix” film starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss 18 times since its release in 1999.
His favorite director working in the business is Edward Zwick, known for producing movies such as “The Last Samurai,” “Courage Under Fire,” “Legends of the Fall,” and “Blood Diamond.”
“I was working for an IBM business partner, and I don’t know how to describe it, but I was eating lunch one day, and it was like a ceiling tile fell on my head and I thought I should go to film school,” Boudreau said. “I’ve never considered it. I just knew I love movies. And that’s when I was like, ‘Why don’t I just go and make them?’”
He started Googling film schools in Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Film School came up in his search results. He decided to go there and begin his journey into filmmaking.
One thing he has learned about the film industry in Hollywood is that those who say they just want to write and direct movies may not make it as far.
“The IT [Information Technology] stuff definitely helped,” Boudreau said, “because a lot of the things that I know with computers and all that makes sense. Whereas, if I just jumped into it without that, it would be harder. If you just want to write and direct movies, nobody’s going to hire you after school. Hollywood is not like most industries, where you can say, ‘Hey, I graduated with honors from this school.’ They are going to look at your IMDb credits, how much money you have and what you’ve already done.”
He brought up a friend of his, whose uncle is film director Jerry Bruckheimer known for the “Pirate of the Caribbean” films, and said while that may have given some opportunities, it did not provide a higher-up position within the industry.
“Visual effects, camera, sound, all those crafts that are very specific, are a little easier to get a job as,” Boudreau said. “If you’re just wanting to write and direct, you’re kind of screwed.”
Boudreau decided to become an editing major in film school to avoid that problem and ended up cutting a few features.
He started in the industry with a production assistant’s gig and landed a few studio films, working with actor-director Bob Odenkirk on movies like “Let’s Go to Prison” with Dax Shepard and “The Brothers Solomon” with Kristen Wiig during the mid-2000s, before going on to writing and directing himself.
“One thing I learned about Hollywood is that, yeah, the people that run the studios are all about the money,” Boudreau said. “But the people working in the movies are all about loving the art. And they just love it and want to help you.”
- By Michael O'Hearn/Crossroads Chronicle