By H. Simmons
The Coachella Valley is home to many Hollywood types. Actors, writers, directors and producers have enriched our community and enhanced our valley’s reputation with celebrity and glamour for decades. But Hollywood is changing and there is a new breed of Hollywood “type.”
Writer and director Charles Evered is an anti-type. Evered has all the accoutrements indicative of a successful career in Hollywood – produced credits as a feature and television writer, (Adopt a Sailor, Showtime, Monk, USA Network), published plays, an agent, attorney, high profile contacts and the respect of his peers. He is 6’ 4”, has rugged good looks and a personable charm that rivals Hollywood’s leading men. But what makes Evered different from other Hollywood talent is– he forages his own way.
“Along with the more mainstream work I do in Hollywood, I need to work on projects that are personally meaningful to me,” remarks Evered, who divides his time between the desert and Princeton, New Jersey.
A Thousand Cuts, (Kino Lorber/Horizon Films), is Evered’s second feature as a director. It arrives on DVD and Blu-ray January 22. A Thousand Cuts is a psychological thriller about a father who seeks revenge against a filmmaker when his daughter is murdered by a killer who re-enacts the director’s torture movie. The film was co-written by Evered, Marty James and Eric Barr and shot in the CV.
Academy Award nominee Michael O’Keefe stars as the father and Michael A. Newcomer plays the director. The layers of the story unfold as the two characters are held hostage over the debate about the affects of violence in film and the question of who is accountable. O’Keefe’s character wants answers and his suffering to end – as he considers it “worse than a thousand cuts.”
Both actors deliver intense performances around a provocative and supremely relevant subject that takes a serious look at the effect violent Hollywood movies may or may not have on society.
“I don’t imply that all of our culture’s ills are a result of the proliferation of media violence, slasher films, hyper violent video games, etc, — but to ignore any effect they might have at all is to me — adopting a kind of willful ignorance. A Thousand Cuts doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do hope that by raising the questions, we might learn something,” explains Evered.
A father of two, a son and teenage daughter, Evered speaks from a personal place. “It’s the worst nightmare, isn’t it? But to me, going to jail for taking revenge on the person who harmed my kids would be less terrifying than failing to protect them in the first place.”
It is disconcerting to Evered that there are young men who watch thousands of simulated murders and acts of violence before they reach puberty. He believes without guidance and context it can encourage a lack of empathy and passiveness, creating a chilling “flat affect” that he believes is becoming more prevalent in young people today.
New York based Kino Lorber, distributors of independent art house films and notable world cinema, have partnered to represent A Thousand Cuts.
Eric Wilkinson, Vice President of Home Entertainment Sales and Distribution for Kino Lorber found A Thousand Cuts first and foremost to be a very intriguing story. “The idea that filmmakers have a responsibility to the viewers of their films has always been a timely issue,” said Wilkinson. “I loved that Charles has wrapped this concept around a very tense thriller with a great cast. I’m proud to be a champion of this film and am looking forward to its release.”
A Thousand Cuts had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival a year ago followed by a limited theatrical release, and this week it will be available at Barnes & Noble, Red Box and other outlets.
Talk to Evered for any length and you realize he is thoughtful, intelligent and genuine. He’s proud that he was able to shoot A Thousand Cuts in ten days for well under a million dollars and with a skeletal crew.
To pursue making films that are personally meaningful, Evered has formed his own production company, Ordinance 14. The company’s name is an homage to one of his heroes, actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood. “Ordinance 14” is a signpost in the film Unforgiven. As Eastwood’s character rides into town for the big showdown, he passes the sign declaring that there are no guns allowed — that’s Ordinance 14. But Eastwood is armed and ready to take care of business.
Do not mistake Evered as a Hollywood bleeding-heart liberal type either — not that there’s anything wrong with that. Sure, he’s socially progressive and steadfastly secular, but he’s fiercely independent and freethinking. Evered was a Lieutenant when he left the Navy reserves, flies an American flag on his remote two and half acre compound in Joshua Tree and is a believer in the right to bear arms. He has a graduate degree from Yale University and currently serves as a tenured Associate Professor in the University of California system.
Evered’s next project titled Haylo, is the antithesis of A Thousand Cuts. A metaphysical comedy, it is about a disenchanted man, Jimmy Haylo, who retreats to a cabin in the desert in hopes of figuring out the meaning of life and comes across a menagerie of colorful eccentric characters who help him find purpose. Written by Evered, he will also direct. It will be produced by Ordinance 14 (or fondly referred to as “O14”) and is scheduled to begin shooting in the fall of this year.
“Haylo is an idea born out of my need to tell a more hopeful story. I’ve been living with A Thousand Cuts in some form for more than two years. So with Haylo, I’m looking forward to lightening up,” declares Evered.
Hollywood is changing and so is the nature of filmmaking. It no longer takes a big crew and budget. Great movies can come from artists who have a clear vision. As a film artist, Evered makes his own Hollywood wherever he is. (See this weeks Screeners column for a review of A Thousand Cuts.)
