Blanco County native Billie Jean (Beck) Kutzer grew up hearing stories of the Hill Country as told to her by her great grandmother Linda Wuest and grandmother Elsie Beck. They and many other families with roots in the Texas Hill Country during the 1800s have similar stories.
One of those stories led to her writing the screenplay “Legend,” which is in production and being presented to several studios.
Legend is based off the story of a mule train carrying gold through the Hill Country to San Antonio. “When a scout warned of an impending Comanche attack, the convoy quickly hid the gold and tried to escape. Everyone in the mule train was killed in the attack, and the gold was never found,” Kutzer said. “The gold is rumored to be hidden in the Blanco area. As a child my great grandmother and grandmother took me along on many adventures as they looked for the treasure on their ranch. My screenplay, ‘Legend,’ is based on that story, and ‘Legend’ is historical fiction representing a flash back in time.”
“Legend” focuses on the Mata and Hoffman families as they struggle to survive in a hostile land while looking for their missing sons who have run away to find the hidden treasure. Texas Ranger Kolton Knopp, a friend of both families, leads the search for the boys who have been taken hostage by raiding Comanches.
“Sattler Ridge is the name of a fictional town in the Texas Hill Country and forms the setting for the story,” Kutzer said. “The screenplay focuses on the time period, areas and families of the late 1800s. My heart and soul is in this script.”
Evolution of a screenplay
Kutzer met movie producer Mark Headley while he was filming “Black Jack Murphy,” which is another series filmed in Blanco. According to Headley, “Billie Jean Kutzer had written this screenplay several years earlier, and when I looked at it I knew that this was a story worth telling.”
The production team started with principal photography in Blanco on Aug. 13 and will be in production over the next few months. The team consists of producer Mark Headley, director Sean-Marcus Headley, and associate producers Elly Nolen, Nick Murray and Kutzer. The executive producer is Cicero Alexander Rust III, known as C.A. to the locals. Southern Arizona Video Productions of Tucson has provided gear and labor for production.
Well-known actor Don Collier
The most noteworthy character featured in “Legend” is 91-year old Don Collier. He played the lead character Sam Butler in the television series High Chaparral, and plays lead character Texas Ranger Kolton Knopp in “Legend.” As “Legend” begins, the retired Knopp reluctantly shares his story to a newspaper reporter played by actor Paul Ryan of Austin. From that point in 1900, Collier’s character flashes back to a memory dear to him. In addition to the opening and closing scenes, Collier also has voice overs within the movie.
Collier has performed in over 200 films in his career, including “The Outlaws,” “The Young Riders,” “The War Wagon,” “El Dorado” and “The Undefeated.”
During filming, Collier enjoyed a grand tour of the Buggy Barn Museum with Dennis and Kelly Moore and daughter Amanda Moore Smith. There was also a dinner hosted by Rust in Collier’s honor, at which time the guests were treated to many amazing stories from Collier’s career.
The filming process
Headley was in the area for about 10 days, while Collier spent three days locally.
“The actual filming took only a few days. We filmed, rehearsed, did setup, would break, and then we’d work again,” Rust said. “The crew even filmed my deer, donkeys and cattle in the pasture and different themes on the ranch. Rust said future filming will include shots at the Buggy Barn and other surrounding areas.
Rust’s ranch provided some wonderful props for filming.
“Having my family’s antiques utilized as authentic props in the filming of ‘Legend’ last week really pleased me,” he said. “The Rust and Danz families’ farming implements came to life again, and my late mother’s dining room table is now immortalized in the film, and that’s exciting.”
Anyone wishing to participate in “Legend” may reach Producer Mark Headley at [email protected].
“Wardrobe is very important in a period piece because this section we’re shooting takes place in 1900,” Headley said. “We have to be very careful with the wardrobe for 1900, because it can be 1900 or earlier, but not later. The makeup is also essential, and director Sean-Marcus Headley’s job is to take all the tools that I give him to make the greatest picture he possibly can.”
Challenges of the pandemic
“The filming is providing a happy respite in contrast to the reality of the current pandemic,” Rust said.
The crew followed health department protocols, Rust said, which included members of the crew wearing masks.
“They removed the masks during filming, but practiced social distancing,” Rust said. “For instance, when the reporter interviewed Don Collier, they sat on a couple of stumps which were at least six feet apart. The sound man social distanced as he held the recording device in the air, and the cinematographer social distanced from the sound guy. The challenges of filming during the pandemic also forced the production team to be diligent and careful on set.”
The final production is likely to be finished by the end of 2021, at which time there will be a premiere, Headley said.
‘Legend’s’ purpose
“In writing this screenplay, I wanted to recreate the era of the 1800s in order to portray as accurately as I could how people lived in the Hill Country, and of their struggles,” Kutzer said. “Men and women had to be tough and strong to carve out a life in this wilderness with nothing, and to truly learn to live off the land. I want to keep our heritage alive, and to recreate it for newcomers so that they can understand us better.”
