“1923” – The Las Vegas Premiere And The Prime Hollywood Talent Sheridan Wrangled In
“1923” had its Las Vegas premiere on Saturday night at the Wynn and it boy, did it rope in Hollywood’s
Toni Gonzales
“1923” had its Las Vegas premiere on Saturday night at the Wynn and it boy, did it rope in Hollywood’s top talent. The show is a prequel to “Yellowstone,” the uber popular drama that has taken up prime real estate on the network and is currently in its fifth season.
“1923” will see the rooting of Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) leading that latest generation of the Dutton family. The show comes 50 years after its predecessor “1883.” In it, viewers will see how the Dutton’s have grown with their newfound power at a time of great change in the country. The 1920’s saw the Great Depression, Prohibition and the birth of the automobile.
And, much like the land it occupies, it has some of the biggest and most sought after pieces of prime talent on its property. That includes stars Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Timothy Dalton, and Sebastian Roché to name a few. And, just as both of its predecessors, the ranch boss is Taylor Sheridan.
Celeb Magazine with the stars on the red carpet after the first episode was shown to a packed audience at the Wynn (who has been adding to their entertainment slate themselves) All any of the show’s stars could talk about was their creator.
Sheridan Is All Of The Talk At Las Vegas Premiere
That includes Harrison Ford who was first to praise Sheridan and his storytelling. “In a time when we can make easy judgements and easy perceptions, Taylor takes us to the edge to look at it from there,” says Ford. “He is so visceral and so sophisticated at the same time. His understanding of human nature is amazing.”
Dame Helen Mirren echoed the praise for the Oscar nominated writer, particularly when it comes to his writing of females. “Women have always been the cornerstone, the foundation of society. The ones who have kept the whole thing going really. And I love the way that Taylor has appreciated that and written such wonderful female roles,” Mirren tells Celeb Magazine.
“There are some really great female roles. You saw us in the lineup and every single one of those girls has a great role. They are also great actresses and their roles are fundamental and complex. It’s great for women.” High praise from Mirren who has been both deemed a Dame by the late Queen of England and played the Queen herself, a role she won an Academy Award for.
That isn’t exclusive to his headlining stars. According to the cast, Sheridan takes a great deal of care for every one of the characters he writes. Amelia Rico says Sheridan treats every story line with respect and authenticity. Rico plays Issaxche, a “determined, strong-willed and maternal figure in “1923” is part of a Native American storyline in the show. “I am so grateful to Taylor for telling this story and using his voice and having his audience be able to be enlightened about the American history that has been swept under the rug for so long.” she Rico.
Ditto for veteran actor Sebastian Roché. “Everything starts with the writing. His [Taylor’s] ability to write in such a scope is unreal. I have never seen anyone who can talk about a subject with such expertise. It is truly incredible,” says Roché who plays Father Renaud, a “polarizing and extreme” priest in an all girls Catholic school. “For me, it’s actually very brave of him to talk about it and it needs to be told,” he says of addressing a well known issue between the Catholic church and boarding schools of the time.
It’s a well known and documented stain on the history of America in which the church was accused of horrible behavior. The least of which was not allowing Native Americans to speak their own language or practice their long held rituals. “It’s a dark point in our history and it should be talked about. My character is very extreme, but I think he is very close to…having read about the subject, he’s pretty close to what happened in those schools in those days.”
His admiration for Sheridan continues, “He manages to meld these incredible universes into brilliant storytelling and that’s why everyone wants to work with him. He truly is a novelist in his head, it’s like Hemingway. I was reading this [the script] like I was reading Hemingway.”
Dame Helen Miren agrees and says of the show, “I see this not so much as a story of a family, I see it as a story of American history. That it’s an examination of American history, through the eyes of a family – but it’s about American history.”
All Harrison Ford needed was the idea of the story. “In my case I didn’t have a script to work from, we just had a conversation and a meeting with Taylor. And, on the basis of that I was willing to join up,” says Ford. “But the material that has been supplied to me since then has exceeded my expectations.”
No Spoilers (ish)
As for exactly what to expect from “1923,” you will get no spoilers here. But, Rob Kirkland who plays Commander Bill Ramsey in “Yellowstone” hit the Vegas premiere (after seeing it the night before in Los Angeles) says jokingly, “Someone is going to die. Someone is going to die.” He continues lightheartedly, “Knowing the Sheridan universe, there are going to be some fights. Someone is gonna get shot.” he says with a robust laugh. “I don’t want to take a guess and it be right and then I get a phone call tomorrow, you know what I mean?”
“Someone is going to die. Someone is going to die. Knowing the Sheridan universe, there are going to be some fights. Someone is gonna get shot.”
Rob Kirkland “Yellowstone’s” Commander Bill Ramsey
After assuring us that he does not know what is ahead Kirkland does offer this up, “Taylor doesn’t repeat. There is poetry and in poetry when you do different stanzas and how the meter picks up and then rests and resets. But there are certain beats that he just does not repeat the same way. He’s not gonna repeat that beat up the same way because he set that beat up at the top. The tone is different but it’s still a part of the universe cause it’s still coming from Taylor. It has the same heart in it, it has the same poetry in it. It has the same grit in it and authenticity in it.”
“1923,” the next installment of the Dutton family origin story premieres on December 18th on Paramount+.