By Ryan Parsons | Image property of respective holders.
Walking Tall
Moviehole recently caught up with scribe Joe Halpin and got the writer to discuss the forthcoming Walking Tall sequels.
John Halpin On More Walking Tall
How did you get involved in “Walking Tall 2”?
In the summer of 2005, I was approached by Screen Gems executive Gilbert Dumonte about writing “Walking Tall 3”. We had worked very closely together on “Into the Sun” and enjoyed the experience. After I finished that assignment they asked me to do a quick rewrite of “Walking Tall 2”. I should add that it was already a fantastic script and that any changes I made were more for production reasons than faults with the script itself. Screen Gems is one of the few Production companies that are writer friendly. They take a real interest in your thoughts both before, during, and after production. For those that are not in the business, that’s a very rare occurrence.
Did you know straight-away that it would be DTV, and without The Rock?
knew that the casting line up would be different, and that the original plan was to have Walking Tall 2 & 3 shoot simultaneously for budgetary reasons. Even though the story is not about Buford Pusser, it still has much of the same premise as the original 1973 version. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed the latest adaptation (written by David Klass and Channing Gibson and David Levien & Brian Koppelman) but the original version (written by Mort Briskin) is still the best in my book. I’m also fully aware that the original movie has a huge following. The pressure is always there for a writer in this situation to create something that is different… but still holds true to the theme of the original. That’s not an easy task for any writer, but one that I hope I’ve accomplished.
Does it follow on from the first film, or is it something new?
The premise is that “Walking Tall” is how a man faced with acts of outright injustice can step up and fight for what’s right. It’s something that the audience can readily identify with. We all see things in our daily lives, whether it be on the news or the streets, that we think are unfair. And to see a character righting those wrongs is immensely satisfying to us as an audience. Movies are entertainment. We all want to be taken away from the daily grind of our lives. Those two hours take us into a world where we can live vicariously through the characters on screen. These types of movies are not meant to educate or enlighten. They’re made to amuse and divert the audience from their own worries. At least that’s my belief.
Who has been cast in the film?
The lead will be played by Kevin Sorbo. The supportive roles are made up of relatively new actors but from what I understand they are a talented lot. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Haley Ramm (X Men 3, Flight plan) who has the role of Kevin’s stepdaughter in the film.
Check out the entire inteview with John Halpin over at Moviehole.
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