The Smith brothers Josh and Tate are the directors of the independent American Western, Iron Brothers. Today, they talk with us about the project, what it took to get it made and what it’s like working together behind and in front of the camera.
Hello and thanks for taking the time to talk with me about your film Iron Brothers. Let’s start with you. Tell me a little about yourselves and how you got into making movies.
Josh Smith: It wasn’t a conventional path, but is there ever a conventional path in the world of filmmaking? For me it was something I felt I wanted to do when I was very little; the earliest I can remember was 5 years old asking my teacher if I could direct our class play. From there my brothers and I would choreograph sword fights and lightsaber battles in our backyard. But outside of that I had no real thought I could ever be a director, it felt like some crazy dream that only a lucky few ever achieved. But when I was 16 my family moved to Southern California, and there started to be this shift in my mind that maybe being a filmmaker was possible.
Tate Smith: Just like Josh, we grew up having fun creating adventures and stories. I was a weird kid that not only loved watching The Lord of the Rings, but loved diving into the Behind the Scenes as well. I loved to read when I was younger and I would always close the book at night disappointed that my life wasn’t as adventurous as the protagonist I was reading about. It started to click, when I got older, that it could be adventurous as the stories I read. The people who made Lord of the Rings, lived Lord of the Rings, and that was exactly the case with Iron Brothers. It was an adventure just like the stories I grew up reading.
RELATED: Review of the Smith Brothers Western Film Iron Brothers
Iron Brothers is a western film about two brothers who go on the run in the foothills of the Rockies after a misunderstanding with some Native Americans. Tell me about what inspired the story?
Josh: I was going to school in Southeastern Idaho and we would frequently drive down to Utah to visit friends and family. The countryside we would drive through looked untouched and beautiful. I remember thinking to myself, it would cost nothing to make a movie out there, and it would look beautiful. So I started brainstorming ideas with Tate.
Tate: We knew we had to write a compelling story only using the resources that we already had, because money wasn’t one of them. We were three brothers, living in the Idaho wilderness. Okay, let’s make a movie about that.
Is the western genre something you’ve always been drawn to?
Josh: To put it simply, yes. I love the visual of a stoic cowboy, their grit and courage have always been endearing attributes to me.
Tate: I always wanted to be a cowboy when I was a kid, so a lot of my dreams were fulfilled making this movie, but I actually wasn’t necessarily drawn to western movies. There were a few that I loved, but I definitely didn’t think that the first movie I would make would be a western.
How important was authenticity to the film? Was there any historical record or consultant to help keep it as true as it feels?
Josh: Authenticity was very important. We did all of the research ourselves and would double check everything with our grandpa, who is a big time mountain man enthusiast. But more than anything I feel the authenticity came from the fact that everything you see in the film we actually did!
Tate: Yes, script accuracy is huge, If it’s not grounded, there’s no sense of consequence.
The film is shot on location in some gorgeous territory. Tell me about some of the hardships in shooting outdoors and what it took to get the shots you needed? You must have some great stories.
Josh: We have too many stories (laughs). The difficulty in simply getting on location was incredible! We would either have to drive 10 miles down a snowy, muddy back road, terrified we might slide off the road into the drainage ditch; or we might have to forge a trail down a river bank to find the perfect spot; or get snow shoes so we can walk through 6 feet of snow to get to the right back woods location. The physical aspect of making this film was ever present and the most difficult aspect of the whole project. I’ll never forget the night one of our cars broke down in the canyon. We had no service and only one car, a tiny suzuki samurai, and the sun was setting. Our dad was on set with us that day and so we made him the driver. We sent the makeup and wardrobe girls out of the canyon first. While we waited, the sun went down and the temperature dropped to -15. We decided to make the best of our time and film an improvised scene; it is the scene where Henry is sleeping by the fire while Abel watches over him sipping his prized coffee. In the scene there is a fire, but it was so cold the sagebrush we were burning wouldn’t hardly start and so we kept the fire going in the scene with gasoline. We wrapped the scene and kept warm by lighting candles in the back of the broken down car, eventually we all got out safely, but not before we had created one of the most memorable moments of our lives.
Tate: Like Josh said, there are an infinite amount of stories. My character wore real moccasins, not shoes, so everyday my feet were frozen in the snow. On the last day of filming the big action scene at the end of the movie, there was a hidden rusted piece of metal that I stepped on and went straight into my foot. But it took everything to get all the things lined up necessary to film that day so I knew we had to keep going. We decided to have my character be shot in the leg with an arrow so that the limping would make sense! The very last scene in the movie was shot that day as the sun was setting. It took no acting skills whatsoever to be exhausted, beaten, bloodied and bruised. (I went to the emergency room and got a tetanus shot later that night, so no worries.)
As you mention, this is a family affair on screen and off. Talk to me about the collaboration as real brothers on both sides of the camera.
Josh: Growing up we moved constantly, like every two years. Because of this we never really made long lasting friendships except for each other. We did everything together, so it felt natural to do this together. Now I would add we are normal brothers, so we still argue.
Tate: The great thing is that none of us are talented enough by ourselves to try to pull something like this off, each of us has our own strengths where the other is weakest, so together, we make one competent filmmaker.
The film sidesteps a number of western movie tropes, including gunfights in the streets, lawmen versus corrupt rustlers and saloons full of archetypes, concentrating entirely on the survival of two brothers in the wild. Did you consciously try to redefine expectations of the genre?
Josh: No (laughs). We did what we could afford mostly. We knew we had to make a film with a minimal cast using the location around us. More than anything those restrictions pushed us to make the decisions we did.
Tate: To me, it was always a Mountain Man film, not necessarily a western. I think writing in such a different setting just naturally forced us to write a plot that looks entirely different from most other westerns. There’s still a few familiar elements though.
As independent filmmakers, what were some of the larger challenges you faced in getting your film both made and distributed?
Josh: MONEY (Laughs). I think that is the biggest obstacle for any independent film, but especially first time filmmakers! We knew the chances of us getting financers was slim to none, so we bootstrapped the whole thing ourselves. We feel very blessed to have met the great team at Random Media and we are eternally grateful they gave our film a chance. There are other amazing individuals who helped facilitate the meeting with Random Media, and we are very grateful to them as well.
Tate: Money and talent. We aren’t good at everything it takes to make a movie, as you can tell, sound engineering is one of those things. All the things that fall short in the movie are because we didn’t have a team member that was competent in that area. But on the flip side, all the things that work in the movie are because of the extremely multi-talented team that ultimately made it what it is.
What’s next for you? Will the Smith Brothers be making more movies?
Josh: Yes! We are writing our next project now and we are very excited to get things rolling on it.
Tate: Oh yes, there’s nothing else we could do.
Our site dedicates a lot of content to writing about great moments in movies. Are there any movie moments (or movies in general) that have had impact or influence on you?
Josh: My favorite film is No Country for Old Men by the Coen brothers shot by the incredible Roger Deakins. And I say it’s my favorite because I could watch it over and over again, and still everytime I watch it I learn something new about filmmaking. That pan across the boot marks on the station floor tells such a powerful story in just one shot, it blows my mind!
I really appreciate your taking the time to talk about the movie. Hopefully our paths will cross again.
Josh: Thank you for taking the time to watch and review our film, and thank you for your positive remarks. When we set out to make Iron Brothers we didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but we feel so blessed to have had it turn out like this. Thank you.
Tate: Thank you.