Society rightfully worries about how artistic work, notably films, will harrowingly influence audiences, particularly young and impressionable youth. But often times the most gripping and influential projects are actually those that are inspired by the daunting experiences of troubled individuals who are unable to cope with the conflicts in their lives. Those disheartening troubles are powerfully showcased in director-producer Josh Evans’ new drama, ‘Death in the Desert,’ which is based on journalist and crime author Cathy Scott’s 2000 biographical book, ‘Death in the Desert: The Ted Binion Homicide Case.’ Like the book, the crime action adventure film, which is now available on VOD and On Demand from Osiris Entertainment, is based on the tragic real life story of Lonnie Theodore “Ted” Binion, the heir to Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas.
‘Death in the Desert’ follows Ray Easler (Michael Madsen), a legendary Las Vegas casino owner and a cocaine and heroin addict. After becoming attracted to local stripper Kim Davis (Shayla Beesley), he convinces her to leave her job and roommate and move in with him. While the two quickly form a dysfunctional and at-times emotionally and physically abusive relationship, the two still care for each other. However, their seemingly idealistic life is turned upside down when Ray hires Matt Duvall (John Palladino) to bury his $20 million fortune of silver on the floor of the Nevada desert. The casino owner becomes more determined to keep the money hidden from his siblings, with whom he has tumultuous relationships with, than completely caring for, and protecting, Kim.
As a result, Kim seeks comfort from Matt, who provides her with support as she contemplates whether she should stay in her relationship with Ray, as well as what to do with the rest of her life. The three subsequently embark on a turbulent love triangle as they all struggle to overcome their addictions and contend with their dysfunctional views on love and intimacy.
Evans generously took the time recently to talk about directing and producing ‘Death in the Desert’ during an exclusive phone interview. Among other things, the filmmaker discussed how he was drawn to adapting Scott’s book for the screen because not only does he appreciate her writing, but also felt Binion’s story, as well as his dilemmas with the people in his life and the situations he found himself in, were extremely cinematic. The filmmaker, who already had a working relationship with Madsen before stating production on their new crime drama, also noted that he cast the actor in the lead male role because he felt there was no one better than him to play a modern-day complex Las Vegas cowboy.
ShockYa (SY): You directed the new crime action adventure film, ‘Death in the Desert,’ whose screenplay was written by John Steppling. What was it about John’s script that convinced you to helm the movie? How did you become involved in direct the drama?
Josh Evans (JE): Well, I had been working on adapting a book a few years back about The Notorious B.I.G. that the author Cathy Scott wrote. We had spent a couple of years working on that project, but it got stalled because movie about the subject matter was made.
So I started looking at her other books because she’s a great writer, and features so much truth in her work. That helped me become interested in the other cases she has written about in her books.
She then spent me her book of ‘Death in the Desert,’ and I looked at its cover, which has a picture of Las Vegas on it. I then read what the case was about, and thought it was extremely cinematic in its premise, as well as in the dilemma of the characters and the situation they found themselves in. That convinced me to tell the story about the case in a film.
SY: Like you just mentioned, the action film is based on the 2000 biographical crime book, ‘Death in the Desert: The Ted Binion Homicide Case,’ which Cathy wrote. What was the process of collaborating with Cathy to adapt the book into the feature?
JE: When I started working on adapting the film, I thought, if I have her book in my hands, then I have the truth. Or I would be as close to the truth as one can get, without including a gossipy slant. When we began shooting the film, Cathy visited the set a few times. She gave me her nod of approval, which I knew, coming from her, meant a lot, and that gave me confidence.
SY: ‘Death in the Desert’ is based on the real life story of Lonnie Theodore “Ted” Binion, the heir to Binion’s Horseshoe Casino. What kind of research did you do into Ted’s life before you began filming?
JE: I did do my own research, but Cathy’s book was my main research. I also lived in Las Vegas for about six months before we began shooting. While I was there, I decided to change the story. I not only changed things about the Binion case, but also included things about the new Las Vegas.
The city is such a big part of the film, but I didn’t want to tell a story about the city in the ’90s; I wanted to tell a story about modern Vegas. With that came the freedom of changing some of some of the key elements. Some of those elements are my own interpretation of how events would occur if they were happening now.
So I did research, but it was more into how these events would unfold if they were happening now, instead of who committed the crime. That’s not what the movie’s about. It matters to some people, but the who did it aspect wasn’t what was interesting to me. The story’s more about how people find themselves in this type of situation, and how they live in this type of life.
SY: ‘Death in the Desert’ features a diverse cast, including Michael Madsen, Shayla Beesley and John Palladino. How did you decide who you wanted to feature in the film?
JE: I had previously worked with Michael on a film about 10 years ago, so I already had a relationship with him. So when I was reading the script for ‘Death in the Desert,’ and thinking who could play the role of Ray and be a modern-day Vegas cowboy, there was no one really better than him. I knew he could play the role, and bring it to another level than what was on the page.
SY: Once the actors were cast, particularly Michael, Shayla and John, were you able to have time to rehearse with the actors, in order to build their characters’ connections and backstories?
JE: I like the tension of the film’s situation, so I wasn’t looking to have the typical rehearsal period. You might want that rehearsal for another type of film, but for this, I liked the awkwardness of what was actually happening in the moment. So I liked the world we created on set without having too much rehearsal time.
SY: What was the process of finding the locations that you included in the drama, such as The Grand Hotel, that would showcase the emotional and physical struggles that Ray and Kim were experiencing together?
JE: It was an arduous process that required a lot of faith, because we were still trying to put the entire film together as we were looking for the locations. Every day we’d say, “We’re waiting for this and that answer.” While we were waiting, there were other things that needed to get done.
We looked for locations both inside and outside of Las Vegas. We didn’t look on the strip, but the world that lives outside of the strip. It was a completely new world to me, because I had never known anything about it. So there was a great sense of discovery when we found great locations. There were great spaces and adventures outside of the experiences I had as a visitor.
SY: What was the process of collaborating with ‘Death in the Desert’s Director of Photography, Helle Jensen, to obtain the overlook look of Las Vegas that you featured in the movie?
JE: Well, we shot the film on 35mm. Since we shot the movie on film in a growing digital world, the whole idea of the shoot was that every shot had to matter, particularly to fit into our limited budget and schedule. So I was thinking about the exterior B-roll shots we were going to use as we were shooting.
The last few days of filming, there was this place I would always see, up near the Red Rock Canyon. There was this very particular view of Las Vegas that reminded me of the characters and their world. So we went up there and shot three or four rolls of just that one section. I had seen so many shots of Vegas and the different venues. But this particular view was certainly new to me. People who live there probably think, that’s not new. But I had never seen it before, so I had shot a lot of that view.
SY: What was the process of working with Michael, Shayla and the rest of the cast on their characters’ physicality?
JE: Well, to me, the characters had a different characteristic that fit into the Vegas lifestyle. Roxy (Saint, who played Cory) was the ultimate showgirl. She had a modern aspect to her, in which she was singing and beautiful. Shayla was the beach girl who came into Vegas. John, to me, was like the Marlboro man. He was this handsome guy who came down from Montana, and was both classic and modern at the same time.
SY: As the director on ‘Death in the Desert,’ what was the experience of filming the drama independently? Did it influence your creative process on the set at all?
JE: What’s funny is that we actually finished filming the movie ahead of schedule. The big choice on the movie came when we were finishing pre-production up. We had a very limited amount of money; I think we only had about five percent of what the total budget would be, and I thought, let’s just buy film.
Fuji was selling this beautiful film in England that was being discontinued. I said, “Let’s just buy as much of this film as we can. When it gets shipped, I’ll know that we’re making the movie, even if it doesn’t happen right away. I’d rather spend $30,000 on the film stock, so that I know that I can ultimately make the picture, then spending the money on something else.”
As far as scheduling, that was a monstrous process. You can make a schedule for yourself, and work hard to meet it. On a small budget and schedule like ours, we couldn’t miss a day. So we had to have a schedule that we knew we could make, and that required a lot of skill by a lot of people.
SY: Besides helming the film, you also served as one of the producers. Why did you also decide to produce the drama? How did your producing duties influence your directing on the set?
JE: For me, also serving as a producer on the film was so paramount to getting it completed. The moment I created the environment for the film, I did my job. As a producer, creating an environment that allows me to do my job as the director was so important. It goes back to making sure you have a schedule and enough resources to make the film. So producing and directing went back and forth. But there were times when I thought, I can’t do this and this.
I was ultimately able to finish the film because I had some great producers with me. My wife, Roxy (Saint, who not only played Cory in the drama, but also served as an executive producer), was tremendously helpful. She came through with things we would have never been able to do otherwise.
She introduced me to someone who could work on the film’s numbers and budget. We were sort of abandoned when we drove out to Las Vegas. When we went out there, the producer who guaranteed me the budget quit the movie the day I showed up in Nevada. So I had nobody to help at the time, and we still had a play or pay offer with the main actors. So we basically had six weeks to put the movie together, and the guy who told me he could put the movie together on budget dropped out.
So Roxy introduced me to David Hillary (who served as an executive producer on the movie), and he really brought the production together. It was a tough shoot in a foreign land, even though for me, Las Vegas is only a five-hour drive away. So I had a lot of help with the producing, and I found a peace between the producing and directing.
SY: ‘Death in the Desert’ (was recently) distributed On Demand and VOD by Osiris Entertainment. Why do you think the On Demand platform is beneficial for independent films like this one?
JE: I’m sort of conflicted about that way of distribution. I love seeing movies on the big screen. I think people who want to take the energy to watch films on the big screen will have a more impactful experience. In my dreams, the movie would play for three months in a theater. But now I don’t even see big blockbusters in the theaters for more than four weeks.
Conversely, I think it’s fantastic that so many millions of people are going to be able to see the film On Demand and VOD. I think they’ll still be able to enjoy watching the movie on their own personal screens at home.
SY: The action film premiered at the Tucson Film Festival, and has also screened at the Arizona Underground Film Festival. What was your experience of bringing the movie on the festival circuit?
JE: The festival circuit is exciting. It lets you find the right match with distributors and audiences. But it can also be a little bit debilitating. You’re trying to get acceptance by a group, but you just want to share your movie with the public. I’ve had some of my previous films play at festivals, and I’ve had positive experiences. But I also had a more innocent state of mind than I do now.
I now want to get the movie out, and have people see it and know it exists. You can spend a year-and-a-half waiting for a festival to tell you your movie is good, so that you can get it out. But there’s also an urgency in that you want to release the movie, and have people see it. If that can happen at the same time as the festival circuit, that’s fantastic.
SY: Besides ‘Death in the Desert,’ do you have any other upcoming projects lined up that you can discuss? Are you interested in directing more crime films?
JE: Well, the next movie I want to make is one that I want to work on with my wife again. It’s a rock-n-roll music movie that’s based on the Coachella Festival, so it couldn’t be more different than ‘Death in the Desert.’
In terms of staying in the crime genre, I would love to make a similar film. But I don’t think there will ever be another movie quite like this one, as it reflects a certain time and experience in my life. But I certainly want to keep making more films.
Watch the official trailer for ‘Death in the Desert’ below.
Written by: Karen Benardello