Jordon Prince-Wright shooting in the wild west

LOCAL filmmaker Jordon Prince-Wright (20) has embarked on a two-hour feature film project to add to his body of work in film.

His latest venture, a western-style film in the vein of classics such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, will be set in locations including Leonora, Yalgoo, Cue, Mt Magnet and Kukerin, among others.

The Sons of Gwalia mine will also feature in the film.

After a nine-day shoot in Yalgoo for his most recent film, Red Dirt, Prince-Wright has called on actors to support his long-held dream of making a western-style film.

“It is the first western film ever to be filmed entirely in WA about WA,” he said.

“We are bringing back the colonial times of the late 1800s to the rural shires and so far we have received a great deal of support.”

Some of the actors in The Decadent and Depraved, include Michael Muntz (A Country Practice), Ben Mortley (Cloudstreet, MacLeod’s Daughters, Lantana), Clarence Ryan (Lockie Leonard) and Steve Turner.

A strong supporting cast of several Perth up-and-comers and indigenous actors aged between 15 and 25 have also been cast, supported by a large production crew.

Jordon-Wright said he was seeking sponsors for the film set in 1884.

“This will be about cattle herders and cowboys, and there will be horses, guns and shooting,” Prince-Wright said.

“We will be using helicopters for long tracking shots which is why a sponsor would be very good,” he said.

The film will be completed for release late next year.

Jordon-Wright is completing a masters degree in film at the WA Academy of Performing Arts.

“As a young boy I was introduced to the old westerns starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and John Wayne and the western genre has always been in my blood,” he said.

“And now, finally, I get to make one that will be unique and special to WA.”

Screenwriter Axel Karlsson, from Sweden, said he was inspired to write and create a classic western because of the accessibility of history that presented itself in WA.

Karlsson has spent time in WA researching the culture and events of the 1880s and, with the help of dialect experts, he has balanced historical accuracy with the film’s narrative.

When accepted into WAAPA based on his body of work, Prince-Wright was admitted straight into third year.

He has also made several international award-winning short films.

Prince-Wright said he credited all his awards and success to the filmmaking team he had built up around him since high school.

“I can’t remember when I first picked up a camera as it was so long ago, but I do remember the first film I made,” he said.

“While not being a masterpiece, it indeed was the spark of a fire, a fire which grew very rapidly.”

Prince-Wright said making films was one of the best feelings in the world.

He said his motto was “nothing is impossible, it is only hard to do”, which meant if one wanted to achieve something that might seem impossible it wasn’t; one just had to work harder.

He said this was especially true for filmmaking.

To see other productions from the team, click here.