8/1/07 -- Dear Murph,
    
I just came back from joining the D.C. area "Royal House of Russell" club including Deborah ("Gigs"), Penny, Angela, Joyce and Karen at an advance screening of "3:10 to Yuma" in Bethesda, MD. Peter Fonda and Ben Foster were there for a Q & A session following the screening as part of the PR tour.
    
We were told in advance that the titles were not completed and that there would likely be no credits (there weren't). Fonda said after the show that Mangold is still doing some tweaking to the soundtrack (which is used very skillfully) and color, and didn't expect any major changes to the film as it was shown. They are working hard to get it completed for an earlier release date in September instead of the original October date.
    
No spoilers here: The movie is a suspenseful character-driven western with action that keeps you riveted through the end. Russell once again puts in a masterful performance--this time as the charming "bad as hell" villian (Ben Wade) who has a thieve's code of honor, but may or may not have a heart left in his chest. He conveys the depth of his character with magnificent acting and fairly sparse dialogue. His Ben Wade is very seductive and dangerous--he can charm with a smile or kill with a glance. Christian Bale is wonderful as the humble rancher seeking both to get his family out of debt and redeem his manhood in the eyes of his wife and sons. Ben Foster is a terrific psychotically-vicious "lieutenant" to Ben Wade. All of the many character actors put in excellent performances.
    
The suspense is broken up with some comic lines throughout--the entire audience laughed out loud a number of times. Fonda shared with the audience how Mangold was very inventive in the face of problematic shooting conditions. As an example, there is a chase scene through some unfinished buildings that is visually very exciting. Turns out, it wasn't planned that way at all. The set hadn't been finished on time due to unexpected snow and freezing temperatures, but budget issues required that they stay on schedule. So Mangold came up with the idea of incorporating the unfinished set in a dramatic chase scene. Brilliant!
    
Fonda did most of the talking during the Q & A. He said he didn't consider the movie to be a remake. Rather, Mangold started fresh, relying on Leonard's book and adding new characters that weren't included in the first film. I wanted to ask Fonda and Foster about the "cowboy school" that Russell led on the set and if either of them participated, but didn't get a chance.
    
I don't know if the movie has been rated yet or not. Based on what we saw this evening, I would expect an "R" rating based on language and violence. In this age of spectacular computer-enhanced, action-driven films, I do hope that this movie does well at the box office. It is a wonderfully told story in the tradition of the mythic American western, as Fonda said.

Alison

P.S. - Russell does a little bit of cowboy ballad singing in the movie in his lovely baritone!