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Press Materials ©1980 United Artists Corporation |
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HEAVEN'S GATE SET AND LOCATIONS (Press Release October 20, 1980) After extensive scouting, director Cimino selected Montana as the location site for the major filming. In the Northwest corner of the state, in and around the town of Kalispell, surrounded by snow-peaked mountains, the construction crew built an 1890 hotel and the Heaven's Gate Roller Skating Arena, 100 feet long by 42 feet wide, boasting a seven-foot tall wood stove used for heating. The rink served as the meeting place for the immigrants, in one of the film's climactic scenes. One of Montana's top tourist attractions, the 23-room Conrad Mansion, built in 1895, served as headquarters for the Stock Growers Association. A hundred miles away, in Glacier National Park, the Western town of Sweetwater was constructed at the edge of Two Medicine Lake, with the Rocky Mountains towering over the Main Street. Some of the train scenes were lensed at the Burlington Northern track on the edge of the park. The vintage train used in the film contains the first combination chair and baggage car built by Pullman in 1879. Additional sequences in Montana were filmed on the Blackfoot Indian reservation, at the Canadian border, and in the Flathead National Forest.
The town of Wallace, Idaho, in the center of the state's mining and logging area, had its six-block long main street transformed into Casper, Wyoming, for scenes in which Kris Kristofferson and a group of immigrants arrive in town. Parking meters were removed, facades were built around existing stores, hundreds of horses and buggies and over 900 extras were used for these sequences. Wallace was particularly selected because the town's railroad depot remains exactly as it was at the turn of the century, when it was constructed with stone imported from China. It also closely matched scenes in the script which required Kris Kristofferson to head directly from the depot down into the town's main street. The raucous college graduation ceremonies were filmed at Oxford University. Every scene in Heaven's Gate was done on location, without a single studio shot; and in addition to the principal players, more than 2500 extras were used in the making of the film. Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate stars Kris Kristofferson and co-stars Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Brad Dourif, Isabelle Huppert as Ella, and Joseph Cotten as the Reverend Doctor. Also starred is Jeff Bridges. Music is by David Mansfield; the director of photography is Vilmos Zsigmond, A.S.C. Heaven's Gate was produced by Joann Carelli and written and directed by Michael Cimino for release by United Artists, a Transamerica Company. Denis O'Dell and Charles Okun were Executives in Charge of Production and William Reynolds was the Executive in Charge of Post Production. FILLERS (Press Release October 20, 1980) Christopher Walken, who stars as a gunfighter in Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, was a dancer in musicals for many years until he was cast in the original stage production of The Lion in Winter. "I almost didn't get the role," Chris admits, "because the producer was certain a dancer wouldn't be able to speak properly." He quickly dispelled this notion, eventually going on to win an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for The Deer Hunter, also filmed by Cimino. # # # # One scene in Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate called for Kris Kristofferson to smack Sam Waterston in the jaw and knock him to the ground. For several takes Kris faked the punch, but Sam had trouble achieving the right facial expression. On the next take Kris really belted Sam and flattened him. The result was one sore jaw, but one perfect take. (on to page 3)
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