WAR PARTY
War Party Director: Franc Roddam
Screenwriter: Spencer Eastman
Producers: Hemdale Film Corporation; Mercury Productions (II)
Music: Michael Conway Baker
Cast : Billy Wirth, Kevin Dillon, Tim Sampson, Jimmy Ray Weeks, Kevyn Major Howard, Tantoo Cardinal, M. Emmet Walsh, Dennis Banks, Saginaw Grant, Rodney A. Grant, Jackie Old Coyote,
Filmed in Montana
Photography began August 6, 1987 in Browning, Montana. The film shot in 10 weeks at various locations throughout Montana, including Cut Bank, Choteau, and spectacular Glacier National Park.
One of the more scenic locations used, was Chief Mountain, located in the rugged Glacier Park with a central cast and 5,000 extras.
About the cast:
BILLY WIRTH (Sonny Crowkiller) recently starred in the smash hit The Lost Boys . A student of acting in NYC, his other appearances include the film Seven Minutes in Heaven and the television shows, The Equalizer, The Ellen Burstyn Show and Wise Guy (Dead Dog Arc series).
BILLY WIRTH BIO SKETCH FROM FILM NOTES:
Like the character he plays in the film Wirth is of Indian descent. "As soon as I read the script, I knew I wanted to be in the film.". "I've always had a fascination with the Native American culture - their spirituality, their respect for nature, and their way of life. It is an experience I'll never forget..........."
For his role he had to go through extensive training. "I really had to push myself", I've never done so much horseback riding. I also did a lot of my own stunts".
Born in NYC had visions of being an Olympic Athlete. While attending Collegiate High School in Manhattan, he competed as a high jumper in the Junior Olympics and the Empire State Games. At Brown University, he broke the school high jump record with a astounding seven-foot jump.
A friend convinced him to take an acting course and his ambitions shifted, he studied acting for 2 years at Brown. " I discovered that the same kind of preparation I used to ready myself for athletic competition was necessary for acting. And acting, unlike sports, didn't come easy for me. I've had to work very hard. It's the challenge of becoming a good actor that motivates me."
GOALS: My eventual goal is to be a full - fledged film producer. I like being involved in every stage of the creative process, from formulating the concept and developing a workable script to raising money and actually shooting the film." I'm hoping that I will be allowed to get my own films made one day."'Billy Wirth Puts Convictions into His Acting by Playing a Blackfoot Indian in War Party.
Atlanta Journal
Oct. 2, 1989
By Steve DollarBilly Wirth admits he was never a film buff. "But I saw the movies and believed them," recalls the 27 year old actor, who now has to make audiences believe he's a Blackfoot Indian in the new film "War Party"
Mr. Wirth, who began modeling while attending Brown University in Providence, R.I., slipped into performing after being encouraged to read a monologue from William Inge's "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs."
I was a very shy kid, "he says, chatting over coffee and the strains of "Bali Ha'I" in the piano lounge of the Buckhead hotel. "I was very afraid of showing emotions in front of people."All that changed. Mr. Wirth got the acting bug, took some classes at Brown, found an agent and landed himself a spot on a Diet Pepsi commercial. That was followed by a part as a teen nosferatu in the MTV-meets-Dracula thriller The Lost Boys and the lead in Hemdale's drama "War Party."
The film which opened Friday, is both a cautionary drama and an old-fashioned action flick. Set in the contemporary West, it addresses racial tensions as a group of young Blackfoot Indians clash with belligerent whites in the Montana foothills, sparked by a historic battle re-enactment that turns horrifyingly real. Mr. Wirth, whose mother is part Indian, campaigned to be cast in the role- in part because it elevated American Indians above cliché.
"I liked the action, but I also liked the way it portrayed Indians, showing them as people with emotions and real feelings, "the actor says." You know, the kind of life that they have, rather than (seeing) a lot of running around in war paint."
The movie has its share of that, too, but it's presented as ironic and it's balanced by a racial message. "Unless different people come to understand each other," Mr. Wirth says, "the inevitable result is a bad scene." We've got to understand that we're all the same. We've got to lean to work together."
The actor also seen as Singer Eddie Tempest on CBS's Wiseguy, "has learned a few lessons as well during his 2 ½ year residence in LA. He's angling for projects to produce and writing songs. And he probably spends a lot more time revving up his Harley - Davidson than chasing the spotlight.
The reason I'm doing publicity is I have a movie out, "he says downplaying his recent US Magazine photo spread with red-hot "road house" star Kelly Lynch. "I really don't care about becoming famous."
New Photos Pages 1 of 7 | WP Stills Page 2
Omaha News War Party ReviewComing soon - fan reviews of War Party
We have some narration from magazines & review. All the photos are from the production presskit of the movie War Party hope everyone enjoys - C.
