Former OU student Christian Kane will screen his new movie, “50 to 1” April 11 in Oklahoma City as part of a national bus tour promoting the film.
Kane grew up in Texas and Oklahoma and went to OU to study art history, but was kicked out of the art school.
“Back then I was young and didn’t think there were rules to art,” Kane said. “Obviously I’m older now so I know I was wrong.”
Kane switched to marketing, but knew that he was never going to do that. With only about 15 credit hours left before graduation, Kane decided to head to California to pursue his acting career. He eventually found roles in the films “Just Married,” “Seconhand Lions,” and “Friday Night Lights” among others. Kane currently co-starts in the TNT drama “Leverage.”
Kane’s latests film, “50 to 1” is a true story about underdog New Mexican cowboys who raced their horse, Mine That Bird, in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Both Kane and producer Jim Wilson were influenced by their pasts in making the film.
Being from Oklahoma, Kane was able to grow up around horses and the people of Texas and Oklahoma.
Working on set of “50 to 1” took Kane back to some of his roots of being a cowboy and coming from a line of work in horses, he said. This helped him to better connect with his character in the film, Mark Allen.
“We didn’t fall too far from the same tree,” Kane said. “We’ve both been in our fair share of bar fights.”
Kane will return home to Oklahoma City, where his parents still live, for the Oklahoma premier. He said that he is excited to be able to come home with something that he did and enjoy it with his people.
The new movie will be premiering in cities across the country as a part of a bus tour that started with a premier in Albuquerque, N.M. March 17. This tiered release plan is a way for the movie to be brought directly to its intended audience.
“When you do a film, you sit back in Los Angeles and you just pray for the best,” said Kane. “You don’t get to get out there and see what’s going on.”
Wilson said it gets to be a little locked in when one lives in L.A., and he’s looking forward to seeing the country again.
“Too often we make our movies and then just go to a red carpet premiere in L.A. and I never get to meet the people this is intended for,” Wilson said.
The movie is about the heartland of America, Wilson said. The bus tour plans to travel through cities large and small to connect to the real American audiences the movie was intended for.
Wilson grew up going to the racetracks with his parents and in his 30’s he began to buy his own racehorses. He said that he has always loved the West and shooting film outdoors with animals, which also made his Oscar-winning movie “Dances With Wolves” a very special project. However, it still did not come as close to the passions in his life as “50 to 1” does, Wilson said.
This movie is supposed to be a feel-good and inspirational movie that all ages can enjoy. Wilson said many of the big Hollywood movies today are just lacking the heart to connect with their audience.
“I wanted to give the audience an alternative, and not just feed them these giant studio-driven pictures,” Wilson said. “You got to have a choice today and there aren’t many, I don’t think.”
Bus tour dates are subject to change, but the premier is scheduled in Oklahoma City for April 11 and the time is still to be announced.
