TNT Takes Us INTO THE WEST
The Network’s new Western series
offers more than a myth.

By Paige McKenzie

It is not often enough that we get a chance to turn back that historical clock and ride back into that fascinating window of our collective American story—the unfolding of the West.

So when Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks and Turner Network Television’s epic series Into the West airs on June 10, those of us who sometimes feel as though we were born 150 years too late will be glued to our television screens for 12 glorious but too-short hours.

But take note: This is not a Western, as producer David Rosemont hastens to point out. “I really love the form, and that’s part of Americana. But this one is about five notches above [the typical Western]. I was able to tell a story about the history of the American West over a 70-year period, and reenact some of the greatest historic moments. As a producer in today’s world of international entertainment you have an opportunity to create something like that, and create a legacy for young people and hopefully their kids.”

If Rosemont’s name sounds familiar, it’s no wonder. His successful films Riders of the Purple Sage and Purgatory, which won an Emmy and multiple Emmy nominations, are evidence of his love of the Western genre. Both were produced for TNT...

Find the rest of this exciting article and more in the May/June 2005 issue of American Cowboy magazine...

KURT MARKUS The character of Martin Jarrett, a prospector, is played by Sean Astin.

CHRIS LARGE Keri Russell and Skeet Ulrich play cousins Naomi and Jethro Wheeler, emigrants on their way West.

"Every person that's in the film has wound up being the exact right person for the part"