Valkyr brings to life an original Western creative in picturesque Montana using the world's most expensive SUV as the "all-powerful" stagecoach driven by a vigilante Gunslinger.
It's no secret that Westerns have been gaining popularity in recent years. Perhaps it's their simplicity in an otherwise chaotic and confusing modern world.
Being hugely inspired by The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, as well as the futuristic take on the West in Westworld, it was very high on my list to create some sort of Western-inspired project for quite some time.
Continuing on themes I was exploring with my previous effort, Mr. E, I wanted to expand on who would be the perfect fit for a car like the Cullinan regardless of time or place in history.
The Rolls-Royce of SUVs is very capable off-road, but it's rare to see a half-million-dollar car leave the pavement. It felt like the perfect opportunity to showcase that capability with high-speed off-road, horse chases, and river crossings and inject the brooding beast into a place in history that could really benefit from it—a boomtown under siege.
Leaning into the tropes, I wanted the stereotypes to be fully displayed. This piece was not to focus on dialogue but to have lots of acting through emotion and action. There's not enough time in even 3 minutes to convey much dialogue, and in a Western, it doesn't feel as necessary as in other genres. With this in mind, we built a story around the concept, got Rolls-Royce NA on board to lend us a Cullinan, scouted, prepped, hired a cast and crew, and landed in Paradise Valley at Yellowstone Film Ranch for 4 dense days of production.
The first two days were dedicated to our wonderful cast of Western characters. From a nefarious man-in-black and his number two to a sheriff, miner, blacksmith, and bartender, to finally our heroine, the capable but cornered intelligent Saloon girl.
The enigmatic Claudine Quadrat played the part, which required leading a cast of nearly 30 actors in costume, wielding period weapons accurately, and even driving the Rolls in certain instances. Her performance is one of the very best parts of the film.
With our talent days shot out, we turned to the car. It was equal parts out of place and at home in Montana. An opulent SUV that fit right in with the state's wealthier lifestyle yet had a shape that didn't resemble a diesel dully pickup with a brush guard.
Seeing it drift through the film set on its first practice runs is something I'll not soon forget.
At the wheel of the Cullinan, our precision driver Gianni Cabiglio had disabled every nanny system he could in the car and could sling it around without too much trouble.
Besides running the gang out of town, we chased horses through the prairie and forded a river-thankfully, all without a single scratch on the car.
The film, which was lensed by the talented DP Joe Victorine, is a one-part narrative and one-part commercial. In aiming to be both, it has become neither; rather, it's an answer to a burning question of "What if"? "What if a Rolls time-traveled to the West?" It doesn't matter how it got there; it only matters that it's a force to be reckoned with and helps the good guys save the day.
This film required a lot of hard work and effort, and I'm insanely grateful to everyone who made it happen.