Remake of Macon County Line

http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/movies/story/557731.html


Remake of ‘Macon County Line’ to be shot in Tonganoxie
By ROBERT W. BUTLER
The Kansas City Star

Max Baer Jr. produced, co-wrote and also appeared in the low-budget 1974 version of “Macon County Line.” Tonganoxie will be the primary filming location for a low-budget remake of the 1974 drive-in hit “Macon County Line.”

“Welcome to Macon County” is scheduled to go into production this summer, although no stars or director have been named. Producing is Jeff East, the Kansas City native who as a child actor starred in the feature films “Tom Sawyer” and “Huckleberry Finn” and went on to portray young Clark Kent in 1978’s “Superman.”

The original “Macon County Line” (it will be re-released on DVD in May) cost $200,000 to make and earned $50 million at the box office. Its producers booked it almost exclusively into drive-ins in the South and Midwest.

Since then it has become a cult classic, often cited as an example of how a low-budget film can rise above its exploitation roots by emphasizing character development and a mood of moral ambiguity.

The film was so profitable that it spawned a slew of “backwoods exploitation” films like “Gator Bait,” “Return to Badham County” and “Return to Macon County,” the last starring Don Johnson and Nick Nolte.

The screenplay for this summer’s remake was written by Jesse Vint, who starred with his late brother, Alan Vint, in the original.

“I’ve been friends with Jesse Vint for years,” East said in a phone call from Los Angeles, where he was finishing the production package. “About three months ago he sent me the script, and I optioned it. It’s both a remake and an expansion of the story, starting in the present and then flashing back to the early ’60s.”

East recently obtained the rights to the remake from Max Baer Jr., who produced, co-wrote and also appeared in the 1974 movie. Baer, son of the former heavyweight boxing champion, is best known for his portrayal of Jethro Bodine on the “Beverly Hillbillies” TV show.

East said he planned to film the feature — budgeted at between $1 million and $1.5 million — in Kansas, mostly in Tonganoxie in Leavenworth County.

“The story may be set in Georgia, but you can film it anywhere,” said East, who returned to this area in 2004. “The original was shot in Sacramento. And the guys in Hollywood are excited about the money they can save by filming around Kansas City.”

The plot of the original film centers on two brothers on a road trip through the South. Their car breaks down in Macon County, where they are mistaken for a pair of murderous drifters and find themselves pursued by a vengeful deputy sheriff (Baer).

The remake tells essentially the same story but employs a framing device in which an old man — one of the two brothers — relates to his grandchildren his experiences long ago in Macon County.

East, who recently has appeared in KC stage productions and in locally made movies, said that while two or three of the leading roles will be cast in Los Angeles, most of the players will come from Kansas City’s talent pool.

Already on board is local filmmaker Ty Jones, who will be the director of photography. East said he still is looking for a director for the project.

“Some of my partners are trying to get me to play the sheriff, but I told them no,” East said. “I want a really good actor for this — somebody like Michael Biehn” (best known for “The Terminator”).

Warner Bros. has expressed an interest in distributing his film, East said, but he won’t decide until the production is finished.



I would say go for it, take Michael Biehn for this role. He is an amazing actor.