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Aspiring filmmaker lands role in 'Jonah Hex'

Aspiring filmmaker lands role in 'Jonah Hex'

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  • BY APRILL BRANDONABRANDON@VICAD.COM
  • Originally published June 11, 2009 at midnight, updated June 11, 2009 at midnight

Sometimes, it pays off to be impulsive.

On a whim, Crossroads aspiring filmmaker, Landon McDonald, decided to answer a casting call for actors for an action-adventure movie in New Orleans. Just a few days later, McDonald found himself on the set of "Jonah Hex" surrounded by movie stars and Hollywood bigwigs.

"I religiously check all the latest movie news and when I saw that they were looking for cast members, I responded. They asked me if I could be in New Orleans the next day and, considering I was doing nothing with my life at the moment, I decided I might as well take the chance," he said.

McDonald grabbed his friend, Jon Foshee, and the two made a road trip out of it. They both ended up getting roles as the villain's (played by John Malkovich) lackeys.

The movie, which is being directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin and Megan Fox, is based on the DC Comics featuring the Western anti-hero Jonah Hex. It is slated for release in the summer of 2010.

"It was an awesome experience," McDonald, 23, said.

Shooting from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day, the two were asked to come back for another scene two weeks later. Although they didn't get speaking parts, in each of their scenes they are close to all the major players of the movie.

Offscreen, they managed to get even closer. One day, while McDonald was getting his makeup done in the trailer, Brolin came in with a video camera and asked him if he minded being filmed getting his makeup done, he said.

"Of course, I said, 'go ahead.' Soon after he left, I followed him and struck up a conversation with him outside," he said.

With both McDonald and Foshee, formerly of El Campo, trying to break into the film industry, the opportunity on set has allowed them the chance to advance their own career. The two have been working on getting McDonald's script "Dual Berrettas," a 70s-style crime thriller, made. After building up a rapport with Brolin, McDonald said he was invited into the star's trailer to talk about the script, and Brolin asked if he could have a copy.

"I was all giddy when I handed it to him. Every day I woke up while on set, I was in awe," he said. "It was great to see behind the scenes on a movie like this."

Sadly, McDonald's time on the set didn't allow him to get any closer to Hollywood "It" girl Megan Fox.

"No, never got to see her," he laughed. "The whole movie is guys, and a lot of them were hired for their looks, meaning a lot of them look like serial killers. So, she wasn't hanging around the set a lot if she wasn't filming."

As for what this might mean for his own career as a filmmaker, McDonald is hopeful.

"I've always wanted to make movies, not act, but you have to do whatever you can to get through the door," he said. "I met a lot of great people and I'll just have to wait and see what happens."


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