The 1961 movie The Hustler
won two Oscars and, along with The Color of Money, is probably the
most famous Hollywood pool film. Based on the novel with the same name by
Walter Tevis (1959), it tells the story full of ups and downs of the talented
"Fast" Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) and his encounters with the
legendary Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). In the movie, players were always
heavy gamblers, smokers and drinkers which contributed to the “bad boy” image
of pool. There is nothing that can be sugar coated about pool; it is not an
activity for the earnest or the clean living. It is a game for drinkers and hustlers.

I felt no need to earmark
a Fast Eddie or Minnesota Fats in this pool game, shot in a dive
bar on Route 66 near Flagstaff, Arizona but I did feel an urge to make the bar
full of cowboy mischief. I also wanted
to throw in some 1960s glamour (Josie Canseco) and - just for good measure - a
wolf. Wolves are always good visual metaphors for mischief.

Whilst my intent was playful,
my direction was for everyone on set to be deadly serious and focused. The
cowboys in the background understood my instructions, but I am not sure what
some of them were truly focused on.

I thought Clint Eastwood
from a Fistful of Dollars would be a good addition to any dive bar along Route
66. Who would not want to be in that saloon right now?