Written by Charlie Mihelich

Since Frosty has been out of commission, I got the opportunity to attend the “Hell Ride” press junket at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills. This was my first press junket as a Collider staffer (actually, my first ever), and overall I must say it was a very positive experience. It was a relatively small junket (compared to the much larger junket for “Bottle Shock” downstairs), but it provided a relaxed, intimate setting for some brief one on one interviews.

“Hell Ride” is a film written by, directed by, and starring Larry Bishop as Pistolero, the leader of the Victors, a ruthless motorcycle gang prowling the

Arizona desert. The Victors are opposed by the 666ers, led by The Deuce (David Carridine), and the two gangs battle it out in a twisted revenge saga. Matters are complicated further by Comanche (Eric Balfour), a part Native-American whose past plays an important role in the fate of all the principle characters. The film also features Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, Leonor Varela, and Dennis Hopper. I was given the opportunity to interview Bishop, Madsen, Varela, and Jones (Balfour was also supposed to be on hand, but a filming conflict in Romania kept him from being there).

My first interview was with Larry Bishop, who told me about his thought process going into the movie. He said that he wanted to really explore the R-rating, and see what new could be brought to the table from within the genre. He talks about working on a small budget, and how the Weinstein’s (and Quentin Tarentino, who has Executive Producer credits) basically told him that if he would agree to their budget, they would leave him alone throughout the production process.

Larry Bishop Video Interview

Next I sat down with Michael Madsen, who told me that he got involved with this project back when he and Bishop met during “Kill Bill Vol. 2” (Bishop played Madsen’s boss at the strip club), and Madsen agreed to do this project provided that his character (appropriately named “The Gent”) could wear a tuxedo. At the end of the interview I ask him about “Sin City 2”, and oddly enough he knows about as much about the film as we do, which is almost nothing. He says that Robert Rodriguez hasn’t been returning his phone calls, but he assumes it’s still happening because it’s still on IMDB.

Michael Madsen Video Interview