"Hostiles" Screened and Q&A with Wes Studi, Scott Cooper and Christian Bale

Nov. 11, 2017

I don't often mention the screenings I go to, as there usually isn't anything extremely exciting to report. But every once in a while there is one that has a Q&A that excites me and I'm very eager to go to. Pictured to the left are writer/director SCOTT COOPER, RORY COCHRANE, WES STUDI, and Q'ONANKA KILCHER.

Hostiles is one of those movies -- first, because of the theme and then because of the casting. So having a SAG/AFTRA Film Society screening of it at the DGA on Nov. 11, 2017 was a treat.

Hostiles is a story about Union cavalry captain, played by Christian Bale, in 1892 having to transport Cheyenne leader Yellow Hawk, played by Wes Studi, from New Mexico to his tribal land in Montana in order to die from cancer, after being imprisoned with his family for 7 years. As in all cases that happen with our indigenous peoples, this was not an act of mercy or kindness, but a response to political pressure on the President surrounding a dying man.

Both Bale's and Studi's characters are successful leaders who have killed each other's friends in battles and raids and so have strong reasons to hate each other and no reasons to trust each other. It is a powerful film written by Scott Cooper who has done such fine films as Black Mass, Out of the Furnace, and Crazy Heart. It really grabbed me.

In the great Q&A afterwards, Cooper said because he's a "failed actor," he always loves coming to SAG-AFTRA events as he feels most comfortable with actors and loves them. He also said that his good friend (and star of the film) Christian Bale was racing to get to the Q&A, but we probably won't recognize him because he's transformed as Dick Cheney.

He was right. I would have never recognized the guy who came in half way through the Q&A as Bale.

Being that our history with Native Americans is pretty horrific and this film shows a lot of stark reality in it, the questions the audience asked were fascinating. Mostly about scenes that were alluded to but not shown. And Cooper confirmed that they were in the narrative but not anything he would film.

The biggest lure for me to this Q&A was Wes Studi whom I've long admired and never heard talk before. I found out that he was Cherokee. And he was asked about how many Native American languages he spoke and how hard was it for him to learn. He said that he was able to speak about a dozen but didn't feel he knew the languages. But since English wasn't his first language, he had already been used to speaking different sounds and moving his mouth in different ways so it was less of a problem for him to learn the other languages.

I feel honored that I got to hear his words and hear him talk about acting from his perspective.