On Wearing Two Hats on One Ranger JESSE V. JOHNSON WRITER/DIRECTOR

Born in Winchester, England, writer/ director Jesse V. Johnson is best known for the action crime drama Avengement, the action war epic Hell Hath No Fury, and the action comedy Debt Collectors. In the white-knuckle action-thriller, One Ranger, a gunslinging Texas ranger (Thomas Jane) tracks an international terrorist (Dean Jagger) set on detonating a bomb in the heart of London. When the lawman's partner is killed, he is drawn into partnership with a British intelligence agent (Dominique Tipper) and her boss (John Malkovich) to bring the outlaw to justice -- dead or alive.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview. What prompted you to write this film? Was it based on reallife Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson?

I did read his book, One Ranger, which was fascinating but my film takes a completely different direction and has nothing to do with the Texas riot. When I first came to Los Angeles, I worked on the TV show, Walker, Texas Ranger. We'd fly into Dallas and they had a statue dedicated to Captain McDonald, the most prominent of the “Four Great Captains” of Texas Ranger history. There’s a famous quote from McDonald, who was called in to quell a riot. When he got off the train, the townsfolk asked where the rest of the Rangers were and he replied, “One riot, one Ranger.” I found the Texas Rangers wonderfully fascinating and historically romantic. Because here’s this up-to-date 21st-century law enforcement agency that still wears the 1860s uniform with a white Stetson hat, gun belt, and boots. It keeps them and us in touch with the great frontier of the American West.

By Alex A. Kecskes

As writer and director, you wore two hats in bringing One Ranger to life. What was that like?

It's wonderful because I don't offend anyone when I make last-minute changes. I do whatever works in the year-and-a-half it takes to develop it, finance it, produce and direct it. I have to consider the budget and stunts and other things when I’m writing it. But it’s a bit more fun when it’s your script.

Did you storyboard any of the shots?

I work from a very detailed shot list, which I generate the night before. Because I know how much time we have, what limitations I’ll encounter, where people are, and the locations I'm dealing with. I can have a seven-page shot list. For action scenes and special effects, where there are a lot of moving parts, I will storyboard. If you're dealing with 30 or 100 people, a storyboard can be very useful. I started storyboarding at a very young age. My uncle was a second-unit director and my crash course was storyboarding his action scenes.

You teamed a gunslinging down-toearth Texas Ranger with a smart and sassy British intelligence agent. What was your thinking there?

I've had a lot of luck with interesting buddy movies. It allows you to have one character who may behave one way in a particular situation and another who is completely different. So the audience gets the benefit of two perspectives. This is why audiences like buddy movies. They're more interesting. You get more bang for your buck. Dominique was absolutely wonderful. Thomas was quite intimidating and a force of nature in his own right. Had his sidekick been the slightest bit nervous around him, it wouldn’t have worked. But Dominique was utterly fearless and very good with guns, silencers, explosives, and props. She’d watch how to handle them once then use them like a pro. I loved the way she dressed and wore her hair, everything worked. She was totally against type.

Are there different rules for shooting in London as opposed to the US?

I was quite surprised by how similar things in the US and Britain have become. Twenty years ago, it was different—they had breaks for tea where we had to stop for half an hour twice daily. But now it’s more like a modern American film set. I thought we’d have trouble with the guns because England is a very anti-gun country. The first day we had this enormous shootout with machine guns and real heavy ordnance. I told the crew to do one take because the police would be coming to shut us down. But as it turned out, after all the shooting, there wasn’t a single complaint.

Can you go into the challenges you faced in that wild off-road desert chase at the beginning?

OMG, that was hair-raising. We had this incredible car that was capable of hitting 140 mph over rough desert terrain. Dean Jagger who plays McBride got into this car going about 100 mph. When he came back, all the blood had gone out of his face. He looked at me with this expression of horror and we burst out laughing. When you’re hitting 100 mph, the road disappears very quickly so we had to plan our run carefully.

The boy singing an Irish song was an interesting touch. What were you going for there?

It was a heartbreaking moment. I was trying to show that these men were not your classic bad guys, that at some point, they had been freedom fighters. And I wanted to do it with not a lot of dialog.

Jane and Dominique take quite a beating in those brutal, realistic fight scenes. Who choreographed them and did anyone get hurt?

Those were choreographed by Dan Styles. He’s very good with actors. The actors did most of the stunts but there were times when we used doubles. Dominique didn’t want to have anyone step in for her. We had to twist her arm to let the double do one or two scenes. Most people don’t realize that fight scenes take a lot of stamina. It’s not like a real fight; movie fights are really exhausting. You have to throw everything into it to make it look as realistic as possible. Thomas Jane portrayed a character that simply wouldn’t give up so he did a great job. I wanted each character to fight with whatever they had--knives, forks, guns, dishes. I wanted to show them beating people up as well as getting beat up. I didn’t want the sort of clean, polished martial arts stuff you sometimes see in action films.

You’ve been in the film industry for many years. What have you learned about filmmaking that surprised you?

I was surprised at how much joy and satisfaction I get out of this business. Every film, every set is different. And every actor is unique and a pleasure to work with. Each film is a surprise and presents something new. To be honest, I was surprised at how little I know. And that it’s possible to keep learning. Because the moment you get cocky and think you know everything, that’s when you’re rudely awakened. Each film sets the bar a little higher.

What advice would you give young, aspiring filmmakers trying to break in or just starting out?

Write and read. Don’t occupy your time with large amounts of social media. Read about how the guys did it 20 years ago. The business really started in 1919. Read about the challenges they faced. What the film was about—the storylines. And be receptive because it’s all been done. So you need to know what’s been done before you. A real filmmaker will have a deep understanding of what went before and their films show it. You should also read short stories by Hemingway, Jack London, and other great storytellers. Educate yourself and then write. Your first script will be awful, but that’s okay. Just keep trying and you’ll get the hang of it eventually.

By Alex A. Kecskes