Between a Republican Party increasingly beholden to moneyed interests and ridiculous melodramas like Yellowstone perpetuating a very inaccurate mythology (and causing people to move here in search of that mythology) Montana has been dealt an odious double-whammy. Nebraska (the movie) is far more the real Montana (and adjacent states) than anything Costner has given us. And far more real for most of us than the lifestyles of the moneyed carpetbaggers who have taken over the state. You hit the nail on the head, Russell.
Holy buckets, you made us suffer through a regurgitation of Kostner films to get to the good juice of the post, hehe. Yes, spot on, Mr. Rowland, it's the story of Hollywood and nice that you gave shoutouts to so many remarkable Montana writers. Like you, having lived in known artsey states like CA & NY, Montana may have the highest number of chiseled jaw, tall, dark 'n silent ;-) creative types per cap of any place in the country. All the hours of windshield time, tractor jockeying, and sittin' horseback gives people time to daydream. We live among a special population, thanks for enumerating some.
I’ve never particularly cared for Costner, but seeing him interviewed the other night by Jimmy Fallon and talking about his new movie made me realize why, again.
Curious what you think of Larry McMurtry's work. I just finished reading Lonesome Dove for the first time, something I admittedly went into with a bit of a romance for a sweeping western odyssey. And it is that in a sense, but damn does he not shy away from the absolutely relentless tragedy of that life— with no character spared.
I loved it and can't stop thinking about it, but I know he had his own complicated feelings about it's legacy and I'm sure the legacy of most of the examples you've mentioned here.
I'm really glad you brought up his name, Marshall. I also approached that book with a heavy dose of skepticism, and I absolutely loved it. I also thought his screenplay for Brokeback was fabulous. A lot of great films based on his books, as you know. Last Picture Show and Hud are my favorites along with Lonesome Dove.
I wish you'd been with me when Kevin Costner and his band made a debut at the Belly Up in Aspen. The groupies were in full force, at the stage, and it looked like they were trying to claw his boots. I watched a few episodes of Yellowstone, and his home on Independence Pass outside of Aspen was catty-corner from a little cottage I owned; I couldn't see into his property well, but once when I was bushwhacking across the mountain, I got up high and glanced across the road to see lots of it. It was beautiful. I thought about the upkeep. How many were on staff just to keep it going, even when he wasn't there? So did he write the script for his new film? I think Sly Stone is in some kind of midwestern-themed mafia deal or thug story, and I wonder about it, though I'm not a big fan of Sly.
He co-wrote the script, and this seems to be an indication of how much he's starting to believe his own press, since he's never had a writing credit for anything before. The reviews have not been kind. I have also heard that he rents out that ranch for $10,000/day
Having grown up on a small farm and attended a small school in the small town of Conrad, MT, in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, it had never occurred to me that the West had its own mystic, let alone, it’s own mythology. That naïveté was corrected in the, when I attended the University of Chicago and there took an English class as a literature elective titled The Western, in which we read, watched movies of, and discussed the western classics of the era like Shane and The Virginian, and of course, the Saturday matinee cowboy standards like The Lone Ranger and Gene Autry. While I recognized some—the horses, the hats, the landscapes—the ethos, the rugged individualism, the social stereotypes were foreign and mostly artificial to my childhood experience. For better or worse, I have not been drawn to the genre ever since, and out of principle, more recently have avoided Yellowstone, and Costner’s movies altogether. Thanks for reminding me why was so.
I had a friend who worked as a driver for Cosner on Dances. He had sad commentary on Kevin as a person. I did not like Yellowstone at all, but I only watched an episode. Cosner advances the propaganda of the Western myth that I was raised watching: Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie to name a few.
Thank you my friend. I couldn’t get through the first episode of Yellowstone without feeling nauseous and Costner isn’t my idea of a fine actor. Marlboro men have serious issues.
Between a Republican Party increasingly beholden to moneyed interests and ridiculous melodramas like Yellowstone perpetuating a very inaccurate mythology (and causing people to move here in search of that mythology) Montana has been dealt an odious double-whammy. Nebraska (the movie) is far more the real Montana (and adjacent states) than anything Costner has given us. And far more real for most of us than the lifestyles of the moneyed carpetbaggers who have taken over the state. You hit the nail on the head, Russell.
Thank you, David! I loved Nebraska.
Nebraska is on my favorite list
Holy buckets, you made us suffer through a regurgitation of Kostner films to get to the good juice of the post, hehe. Yes, spot on, Mr. Rowland, it's the story of Hollywood and nice that you gave shoutouts to so many remarkable Montana writers. Like you, having lived in known artsey states like CA & NY, Montana may have the highest number of chiseled jaw, tall, dark 'n silent ;-) creative types per cap of any place in the country. All the hours of windshield time, tractor jockeying, and sittin' horseback gives people time to daydream. We live among a special population, thanks for enumerating some.
I’ve never particularly cared for Costner, but seeing him interviewed the other night by Jimmy Fallon and talking about his new movie made me realize why, again.
Oh, and the clip from the movie sealed the deal.
He doesn't have a single writing credit to his name, so I think it shows his arrogance that he suddenly decides he's a writer.
Curious what you think of Larry McMurtry's work. I just finished reading Lonesome Dove for the first time, something I admittedly went into with a bit of a romance for a sweeping western odyssey. And it is that in a sense, but damn does he not shy away from the absolutely relentless tragedy of that life— with no character spared.
I loved it and can't stop thinking about it, but I know he had his own complicated feelings about it's legacy and I'm sure the legacy of most of the examples you've mentioned here.
I'm really glad you brought up his name, Marshall. I also approached that book with a heavy dose of skepticism, and I absolutely loved it. I also thought his screenplay for Brokeback was fabulous. A lot of great films based on his books, as you know. Last Picture Show and Hud are my favorites along with Lonesome Dove.
Ten thousand a day? Oh, that's just incredible. Oh. It's crazy. Oh.
I wish you'd been with me when Kevin Costner and his band made a debut at the Belly Up in Aspen. The groupies were in full force, at the stage, and it looked like they were trying to claw his boots. I watched a few episodes of Yellowstone, and his home on Independence Pass outside of Aspen was catty-corner from a little cottage I owned; I couldn't see into his property well, but once when I was bushwhacking across the mountain, I got up high and glanced across the road to see lots of it. It was beautiful. I thought about the upkeep. How many were on staff just to keep it going, even when he wasn't there? So did he write the script for his new film? I think Sly Stone is in some kind of midwestern-themed mafia deal or thug story, and I wonder about it, though I'm not a big fan of Sly.
He co-wrote the script, and this seems to be an indication of how much he's starting to believe his own press, since he's never had a writing credit for anything before. The reviews have not been kind. I have also heard that he rents out that ranch for $10,000/day
Nice piece.
Having grown up on a small farm and attended a small school in the small town of Conrad, MT, in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, it had never occurred to me that the West had its own mystic, let alone, it’s own mythology. That naïveté was corrected in the, when I attended the University of Chicago and there took an English class as a literature elective titled The Western, in which we read, watched movies of, and discussed the western classics of the era like Shane and The Virginian, and of course, the Saturday matinee cowboy standards like The Lone Ranger and Gene Autry. While I recognized some—the horses, the hats, the landscapes—the ethos, the rugged individualism, the social stereotypes were foreign and mostly artificial to my childhood experience. For better or worse, I have not been drawn to the genre ever since, and out of principle, more recently have avoided Yellowstone, and Costner’s movies altogether. Thanks for reminding me why was so.
great reflections, David. Thanks so much for chiming in.
Well put! I couldn't agree more! Thank you Russell Rowland.
Absolutely nailed it. All of it. 👏♥️
I had a friend who worked as a driver for Cosner on Dances. He had sad commentary on Kevin as a person. I did not like Yellowstone at all, but I only watched an episode. Cosner advances the propaganda of the Western myth that I was raised watching: Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie to name a few.
Thank you my friend. I couldn’t get through the first episode of Yellowstone without feeling nauseous and Costner isn’t my idea of a fine actor. Marlboro men have serious issues.
Have you read Betsy Gaines Quammen's True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America?
She explores western myths and how they shape (distort) life in the west. I'm sure you'd like it.
There's a story there. I have not read it.