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THE FILM
Gonzo rocker and hunting buff Ted makes his feature film debut in Beer For My Horses. A comedy, it tells the story of Joe Bill "Rack" Racklin, an Oklahoma deputy sheriff who, along with his fellow deputies and their best friends, defy the local sheriff to embark on an outrageous road trip and end up matching wits with a Mexican drug lord. Produced jointly by CMT Films and Toby Keith and directed by Michael Salomon, the film hits theatres August 8, 2008.
While the feature takes its name from Keith's hit song, the country star is quick to point out that the movie’s is nothing like the video for the song. "The movie is more of a comedy, a tip of the hat to Burt Reynolds," Keith explained to the crowd of 40 or so journalists who packed the film’s press conference. "I wanted it be 48 Hours meets Smoky and the Bandit." Writing the screenplay, he added, "was something I
wanted to prove I could do. It was one
of the most creative things I've ever done,
and I had great time doing it."
THE ROLE
Ted plays an officer of the law that has a bow and arrow —and isn't afraid to use it. He brings to life the character of Skunk Tarver — a longhaired, smartass, defiant, over gunned, rock-n-roll bow hunting deputy sheriff who’s dedicated to bagging bad guys. Ted made sure Skunk’s ammo was killer-quality, having him use both his MARTIN FireCat and his Sims DZ32.
During the film, Ted’s character shoots a stuffed donkey in the ass during a huge drug bust and zaps a few bad guys with arrows, including one very exciting flaming arrow, which utilizes the same technology that Ted uses when he fires off one of his signature Gold Tip Zebra Nuge arrows in concert.
When jumps, falls and leaps were a bit too much for Ol' Nuge, a professional stuntman, and fellow Michiganiac, named Dan did a grand job of capturing the spirit.
THE CAST
Keith and Salomon did all the casting, assembling a terrific group of actors that includes everyone from Claire Forlani, Barry Corbin and Tom Skerritt to Willie Nelson and Mel Tillis.
Keith, Rodney Carrington and Ted play the local authorities in Jackson County, OK where they raise hell with drug runners and bad guys. The plot goes into high gear after the do-gooders take a Mexican drug czar's brother prisoner. In retaliation, the drug cartel kidnaps Keith's character’s girlfriend (Forlani) and our good ol' boys suddenly find themselves war with the gangs in Mexico.
Toby and Ted bonded as BloodBrothers while on a USO tour in Iraq and Afghanistan with their American military heroes and subsequently the pair toured the USA together and became good friends.
"(Ted) is an incredible person," Keith said of working with Nugent. "He has a magnificent vocabulary; however, he can be as rude and crude as anybody who walks the earth." At one point, Keith added, a cottontail rabbit crossed the movie set. Nugent, who still had his crossbow in hand from the scene they had just finished filming, shot the animal and gutted it, right in front of all the Hollywood types there on location.
THE LOCATION
The film was made around Santa Fe and Albuquerque and whilst in the state of New Mexico, Ted got some fantastic footage that could very well appear in future episodes of his Spirit of the Wild TV show on Outdoor Channel. Ted was quickly hooked on the New Mexico’s beauty and now wants others to know about it. "New Mexico is probably in the top dozen states for out-of-state hunters to enjoy elk, mountain lions, turkey," he said. "It should be No. 1."
IMAGES
LINKS
Click here to view CMT airings for BEER FOR MY HORSES
Interview: Toby Keith & Claire Forlani, chat about Ted and the film
Interview: Uncle Ted aka Skunk Tarver
Click to view the official movie trailer and more!
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