MOCK DOCUMENTARY TAKES INSPIRATION FROM REALITY TO CREATE THE LAST GREAT CHASE OF THE AMERICAN WEST

Santa Clarita, CA -- When independent filmmaker and writer R.J.
Thomas heard about heard about the company of famous silent film
director D.W. Griffith heading to Mexico at the request of famous
outlaw Poncho Villa, he was intrigued. When he heard about their
colorful adventures that barely let them escape alive, he was too
fascinated to ignore them; he just had to fashion the tale into
a story of his own.

Thomas' "mock-umentary" (called "Western Flickers") is pure
fiction dressed up to look like a true story. This time, the
film company isn't that of D.W. Griffith, but a small studio that
specializes in cheap westerns (often called "oaters"). And its
production chief isn't a famous movie mogul, but a former bicycle
repairman turned early-hollywood movie maker.

"My story is that of shameless self-promoter T.J. Spikes, an old-
west bounty hunter whose lackluster career is drawing to a
close," says Thomas. "In a last-ditch effort to get into the
history books, he invites the Western Flickers Motion Picture
Company to Texas to film his pursuit and capture of the notorious
Cactus Kid, a villain who'd eluded the law for 30 years." The
film that resulted from that effort, we're told, was a hit at the
box office that simply faded from memory. Then, in 1997, a
singing instructor finds a truck full of old westerns in her
attic, and one of them just happens to be this film, called "Hero
of the Range."

As the story of the film and it's adventures, original release,
eventual loss, and modern-day restoration unfolds, bits and
pieces of the "original" 1913 blockbuster are mixed with
convincing and entertaining silent-era film. Pictures, newsreel
footage, sound effects, scenery shots, and special effects make
the film a true-to-life vision of 1913. According to Thomas, "I
couldn't afford to make a huge historical epic, so I decided to
create the illusion of one."

R.J. Thomas is a california-based filmmaker who originally made
"Western Flickers" as a short film in 1992, and expanded it to
feature length nearly ten years later. Thomas made his first
movie, a western, at age nine. As a teenager, his films were
featured in numerous festivals around the country. Thomas has
written, produced, directed, and hosted two true documentaries,
and has written four books.

"Western Flickers" is available for purchase on Amazon.com.




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