‘Deadwood: The Movie’: How Director Daniel Minahan Revived David Milch’s HBO Western 13 Years Later – Crew Call Podcast
Daniel Minahan is no stranger to Deadwood having directed four episodes during the western series three season run on HBO, starting with Season 1, episode 8’s “Suffer the Children”.
It was an unforgettable beginning, as the episode guest-starred Kristen Bell pre-Veronica Mars as Flora Anderson, a grifter who infiltrates the town with her younger brother in an attempt to steal jewelry from Cy Tolliver’s (Powers Boothe) former madam, Joanie Stubbs. Let’s just say things don’t go Flora’s way. Minahan went on to direct “Mister Wu” (season 1, episode 10), “Advances, None Miraculous” (season 2, episode 10 in which season 2 star Sarah Paulson as Pinkerton agent in the camp is finally dealt with by town kingpin Al Swearengen and team), and “A Two Headed Beast” (season 3, episode 5 in which Timothy Olyphant’s Sheriff Bullock has just had his fill of prospector George Heart’s bull****.
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Minahan, who shared a limited series Primetime Emmy win last year as an EP on FX’s American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, details the long-awaited revival of Deadwood, from getting the call from series EP Carolyn Strauss, to series creator David Milch’s process on set, to getting the actors back in character, as well as dusting off and reinvigorating the Melody Ranch set in Newhall, CA; a production hub to such recent greats as HBO’s Westworld and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.
Deadwood: The Movie kicks off with a South Dakota statehood celebration in 1889, but not all wounds have healed a decade later. Hearst, now a California Senator has stormed into town, looking to accelerate the lawless mining town into the future with telephone polls, and covets the land that old Bill Hickok buddy Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie) sits upon. Blood spills, and Bullock, Trixie (Paula Malcomson) and Swearengen (Ian McShane) spring like cats on a fat rat.
Deadwood received 28 Primetime Emmy nominations and eight wins during its 2004-2006 run on HBO. Here’s today’s Crew Call with Minahan. Deadwood: The Movie can currently be seen on HBO and HBO Go.
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