Last time it was mentioned that Steve Doucette is a very funny man. He was formerly in a comedy team at the Funny Bone. Drew Carey helped the team write jokes and they opened for Drew. This certainly explains why we laughed so very much during our interview. Steve was gracious enough to share many things about the making of Yellow Rock.
“The opening scene in Yellow Rock has a cowboy riding down a steep mountain extremely fast. We were screaming for the stunt man to slow down and that we would get a couple takes. He came flying down the mountain anyway. Lenore was so nervous she couldn’t watch.”
Wolves
Steve explained the magic of editing and how a pack of wolves was created in Yellow Rock, when there were actually only two on the set. They spook easily, so when they were on set, everyone had to cooperate. The set had to be closed down because if the wolves got scared . . . they wouldn’t come out.
Research
“Everything has to be authentic and thank God for Peter Sherayko. He provided it all from costumes to horses. Authenticity was important to us. I walked the set with Eddie and Michael Spears for their input from the Native American side.
“Things that happened by accident . . . we let cameras role.”
“Nick Vallelonga, our director, came up with the idea of having Michael Biehn use a line from Tombstone, “I want your blood.” It was a tribute to Michael playing Johnny Ringo and he has screen presence like Clint Eastwood and James Russo. These guys are real pros. At the end we were tired, cranky and we didn’t even know what we had.”
Randy Miller
The musical score has a sweeping sound – same type of feel as the story. Randy shared the dream and mixed the Indian and cowboy trails. For Lenore and I it creates the feel.”
Behind the Scenes
“A horse farted as he trotted out of a scene. We all cracked up, then had to cut and shoot it again. Funny thing was, the horse passed gas again in the same spot.
“When Michael was tackling James Russo, we wanted to make it look realistic. The cameras kept going with the scene, even when they were in real pain from cuts, scratches and bruises.”
Schedule
“Most people who watch this movie will think it took a lot longer to shoot. We did it on a song and dance, and food stamps.” Steve laughed. “The time frame with multiple locations, wolves, and horses . . . it was ambitious . . . most remarkable to do this in 12 days. We love them all.”
Yellow Rock is dedicated to the memory of all the lost tribes that didn’t survive. It is also dedicated to the memory of the movie’s Casting Director Bridgett Burdine, who was killed by a hit and run driver when Yellow Rock was in post-production. It is a part of the story and caused a great deal of grief. However, it also inspired the cast and crew to be more sensitive and driven to complete the movie. They are convinced that it all fell into place, due to their special angel Bridgett, directing from heaven.
