Indian Motorcycle recently got the chance to catch up with James Gorrie, writer and director of the new Indian movie. The movie features the complex story of a negligent father who in order to receive a life-saving transplant, must face the son he abandoned 15 years earlier. He hires a beautiful mechanic to help restore an old Indian Motorcycle as a means to manipulate his troubled teen-aged son’s emotions. Complications arise when he has difficulty maintaining the lie to both his son and himself.
Q. Why did you decide to create the Indian movie?
A. I decided to write the story, or rather the story decided it would be written--it just came into my brain late one night driving down the freeway after I had seen my grandfather's Indians in storage twenty years after he had passed away. I decided to make the movie because it has always been my dream to make movies, and I wanted to make a movie that would move people, that would hopefully make a small difference in people's lives, and that all audiences could watch.
After one screening, a man exited the theater and cornered me to say that he had not seen his son since the day he was born three years earlier, and that he would be on a plane the next day to go see him. That's a pretty powerful endorsement, I think, and I am proud and humble at the same time.
Q. Where can you see the Indian film?
A. I am currently in discussions with distributors, so hopefully, it won't be too long before it will be available everywhere. However, you can see the trailer , get reviews and myspace links and read about the movie atwww.theindianthemovie.com
Q. What year/model Indian is featured?
A. There has been some debate about the year--since my grandfather is no longer here, I have to go by other Indian aficionados--some say it's a 1917, and others say it's a 1916. This ambiguity is put in the dialogue of the movie to reflect that debate.
There is a terrific back story about the Indian motorcycles my grandfather had and how Steve McQueen tried to buy them. You can read in on the website.
Q. What film festivals have you won?
A. THE INDIAN won:
--Best Feature at the 2007 Cinema City Int'l Film Festival, --Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress (Jane Higginson)at the 2007 Breckenridge Festival of Film --Best Ensemble Cast and Best Newcomer (Matt Dallas) at the 2007 Angel Film Awards in the Monaco Film Festival --Opening Night Film for the 2007 Montclair Film Festival --Official Selection for the 2007 Newport Beach Film Festival --Official Selection for the 2007 Palm Beach Int'l Film Festival.