Post by Historian on Sept 18, 2009 8:20:41 GMT -5
'Dances With Wolves' has lasting effect on state, actors
By Jomay Steen, Journal staff
Rapid City Journal - 17 September 2009
www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/09/17/news/top/doc4ab2f702e639d883512393.txt
Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning “Dances with Wolves” opened a floodgate of opportunity 20 years ago for South Dakota and its residents who appeared in the movie.
Emily Currey, film and media relations representative for the South Dakota Office of Tourism, said Costner’s film truly showcased the state.
“His film played a very important role in the film industry in South Dakota,” Currey said.
“Dances with Wolves” will be celebrated at the South Dakota Film Festival today through Sunday, Sept. 20, in Aberdeen.
Costner plans to be in Aberdeen to share his filmmaking experiences and his interest in South Dakota and the Native American culture, Currey said.
More than 30 films will be shown at the festival, which will also feature film set demonstrations, two after-movie parties and discussions in the round.
Costner’s discussion will be in the Capitol Theater.
“Dances” was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven.
The film won Oscars for best picture, cinematography, director, film editing, original score, sound, and adapted screenplay.
“Dances” also changed the lives of people who worked on the film, such as Jim Hatzell of Rapid City and Tater Ward of White Horse.
At the time Costner’s crew was filming “Dances,” Hatzell was riding on the Centennial Wagon Train. Someone from the film arrived at the encampment looking for people to try out for the film.
“I heard they were looking for soldiers. I happened to have a cavalry uniform,” Hatzell said.
He sent a photograph of himself wearing the uniform to a casting agent in Montana. Then he was notified to show up in August to begin shooting the Civil War scenes in “Dances.”
A commercial artist at the time, Hatzell worked that summer as a cast member in the production. He appeared in the hospital scene, the Spearfish scene, and the Fort Sedgwick and Fort Hayes scenes.
“They made me a buffalo hunter in that one,” he said of Fort Hayes.
Hatzell was 34 at the time he took part in “Dances with Wolves.” The experience convinced him to pursue a career in filmmaking.
Since “Dances,” he has appeared in 60 to 65 cinematic productions, filmed all over the country. Hatzell also has worked with Costner on three films.
“It did change my life. Shoot, without it, I never would have considered filmmaking,” he said.
Ward, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, had a strong rodeo background. He heard through a rodeo friend that the movie people were looking for Native Americans to ride in a buffalo roundup.
“I went to Fort Pierre, and I jumped on a horse and showed them I could ride a little bit,” Ward said. “They hired me.”
Along with the buffalo hunt that took place at the Houck Ranch, Ward also worked as a double for one of the children in the horse-stealing scene.
Ward said the buffalo hunt in the film lasts minutes, but it took two weeks to create.
He and his friends were on the set by 6 a.m. each day for wardrobe, hair and makeup. They would then be sent over a hill at about 9:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. to film the buffalo scenes.
“The first thing we saw was ambulances. That shook us up a little bit,” he said.
Meanwhile, crews in pickups and a helicopter gathered the 2,000 head of buffalo into a herd, chasing them toward the riders.
Ward said the riders were paid $300 a day, plus $40 if they brought their own horses. The production company paid for their rooms, and all meals were catered.
The local cast members had to pay for gas going to and from the Houck Ranch. But the pay was enough for them to do the dangerous rides twice a day for days, Ward said.
“Most of us were in the sport of rodeo or from a rodeo background. We made a pact that if someone went down, we would bunch up around them to protect them from the herd,” he said.
It never happened.
But on one run-through, a rider on a borrowed horse lost control of it and it ran into Costner’s horse.
“He went down,” Ward said, of Costner.
Costner “had a lot of try for someone without that kind of riding background,” Ward said.
The actor had a double to do stunts, but Costner did most of his own riding, Ward said.
The movie led Ward and his cousin Gumbo Lamb to later work for a crew doing a documentary in Mandan, N.D., for a foreign production company. He also worked a week on the movie “Lightning Jack,” with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Paul Hogan.
He recalls the thrill of seeing “Dances with Wolves,” recognizing his friends and family and the pride he felt for his work.
“To see your name roll across in the credits and know the movie did as good as it did, it was probably an experience of a lifetime,” Ward said.
Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.
South Dakota filmography
Other projects filmed in South Dakota since “Dances with Wolves” that incorporated Native Americans include:
“Son of the Morning Star,” ABC, 1991
“Incident at Oglala,” Dakota Plains Productions, 1992
“Thunderheart,” TriStar Pictures, 1992
“The Ride to Wounded Knee,” Ride to Wounded Knee Productions, 1992
“Wyatt Earp,” Warner Brothers, 1994
“Lakota Woman,” Turner Pictures, 1994
“Crazy Horse,” Turner Pictures, 1996
“Skins,” Firstlook Films, 2002
“Hidalgo,” Disney, 2004
Year listed is when film was released, according to Internet Movie Database.
By Jomay Steen, Journal staff
Rapid City Journal - 17 September 2009
www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/09/17/news/top/doc4ab2f702e639d883512393.txt
Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning “Dances with Wolves” opened a floodgate of opportunity 20 years ago for South Dakota and its residents who appeared in the movie.
Emily Currey, film and media relations representative for the South Dakota Office of Tourism, said Costner’s film truly showcased the state.
“His film played a very important role in the film industry in South Dakota,” Currey said.
“Dances with Wolves” will be celebrated at the South Dakota Film Festival today through Sunday, Sept. 20, in Aberdeen.
Costner plans to be in Aberdeen to share his filmmaking experiences and his interest in South Dakota and the Native American culture, Currey said.
More than 30 films will be shown at the festival, which will also feature film set demonstrations, two after-movie parties and discussions in the round.
Costner’s discussion will be in the Capitol Theater.
“Dances” was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven.
The film won Oscars for best picture, cinematography, director, film editing, original score, sound, and adapted screenplay.
“Dances” also changed the lives of people who worked on the film, such as Jim Hatzell of Rapid City and Tater Ward of White Horse.
At the time Costner’s crew was filming “Dances,” Hatzell was riding on the Centennial Wagon Train. Someone from the film arrived at the encampment looking for people to try out for the film.
“I heard they were looking for soldiers. I happened to have a cavalry uniform,” Hatzell said.
He sent a photograph of himself wearing the uniform to a casting agent in Montana. Then he was notified to show up in August to begin shooting the Civil War scenes in “Dances.”
A commercial artist at the time, Hatzell worked that summer as a cast member in the production. He appeared in the hospital scene, the Spearfish scene, and the Fort Sedgwick and Fort Hayes scenes.
“They made me a buffalo hunter in that one,” he said of Fort Hayes.
Hatzell was 34 at the time he took part in “Dances with Wolves.” The experience convinced him to pursue a career in filmmaking.
Since “Dances,” he has appeared in 60 to 65 cinematic productions, filmed all over the country. Hatzell also has worked with Costner on three films.
“It did change my life. Shoot, without it, I never would have considered filmmaking,” he said.
Ward, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, had a strong rodeo background. He heard through a rodeo friend that the movie people were looking for Native Americans to ride in a buffalo roundup.
“I went to Fort Pierre, and I jumped on a horse and showed them I could ride a little bit,” Ward said. “They hired me.”
Along with the buffalo hunt that took place at the Houck Ranch, Ward also worked as a double for one of the children in the horse-stealing scene.
Ward said the buffalo hunt in the film lasts minutes, but it took two weeks to create.
He and his friends were on the set by 6 a.m. each day for wardrobe, hair and makeup. They would then be sent over a hill at about 9:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. to film the buffalo scenes.
“The first thing we saw was ambulances. That shook us up a little bit,” he said.
Meanwhile, crews in pickups and a helicopter gathered the 2,000 head of buffalo into a herd, chasing them toward the riders.
Ward said the riders were paid $300 a day, plus $40 if they brought their own horses. The production company paid for their rooms, and all meals were catered.
The local cast members had to pay for gas going to and from the Houck Ranch. But the pay was enough for them to do the dangerous rides twice a day for days, Ward said.
“Most of us were in the sport of rodeo or from a rodeo background. We made a pact that if someone went down, we would bunch up around them to protect them from the herd,” he said.
It never happened.
But on one run-through, a rider on a borrowed horse lost control of it and it ran into Costner’s horse.
“He went down,” Ward said, of Costner.
Costner “had a lot of try for someone without that kind of riding background,” Ward said.
The actor had a double to do stunts, but Costner did most of his own riding, Ward said.
The movie led Ward and his cousin Gumbo Lamb to later work for a crew doing a documentary in Mandan, N.D., for a foreign production company. He also worked a week on the movie “Lightning Jack,” with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Paul Hogan.
He recalls the thrill of seeing “Dances with Wolves,” recognizing his friends and family and the pride he felt for his work.
“To see your name roll across in the credits and know the movie did as good as it did, it was probably an experience of a lifetime,” Ward said.
Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com.
South Dakota filmography
Other projects filmed in South Dakota since “Dances with Wolves” that incorporated Native Americans include:
“Son of the Morning Star,” ABC, 1991
“Incident at Oglala,” Dakota Plains Productions, 1992
“Thunderheart,” TriStar Pictures, 1992
“The Ride to Wounded Knee,” Ride to Wounded Knee Productions, 1992
“Wyatt Earp,” Warner Brothers, 1994
“Lakota Woman,” Turner Pictures, 1994
“Crazy Horse,” Turner Pictures, 1996
“Skins,” Firstlook Films, 2002
“Hidalgo,” Disney, 2004
Year listed is when film was released, according to Internet Movie Database.
