'Hatfields & McCoys': What to expect

'Hatfields & McCoys': What to expect

Image Credit: Kevin Lynch/The History Channel

Tonight, the miniseries Hatfields McCoys, starring Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton as the patriarchs at the center of the great American family feud, premieres on History (9 p.m. ET). Here’s what awaits you:

1. A bullet-riddled history lesson. Most people have heard of “the Hatfields and the McCoys,” but if you don’t know their story, this three-night event will fix that. The basics: The Hatfields are from West Virginia and the McCoys are from Kentucky, separated by the Tug Fork River. At least according to the miniseries, Devil Anse Hatfield (Costner) and Randall McCoy (Paxton) fought side-by-side in the Confederate army until Anse believed the Civil War was lost and deserted. While Randall went through further hell, Devil Anse’s timber business flourished. In January 1865, Randall’s brother Asa Harmon McCoy, who’d fought for the Union army, was killed â€" by Devil Anse’s uncle Jim Vance (Tom Berenger). In 1878, the families went to court over the ownership of a pig and a relative of both families whose testimony swayed the jury in favor of the Hatfields was killed b y two McCoys. In 1880, Devil Anse’s son Johnson “Johnse” Hatfield (Matt Barr) began courting Randall’s daughter Roseanna McCoy (Lindsay Pulsipher) and eventually got her pregnant. Needless to say, by the time Devil Anse’s brother Ellison Hatfield (Damian O’Hare) was killed by three of Roseanna’s brothers in 1882, the feud was officially on. Devil Anse retaliated by having the McCoy boys tied to pawpaw trees for a firing squad execution. (The location is one of the stops on the official Hatfield-McCoy Feud Driving Tour.) And that, by the way, only takes you to the midpoint of the miniseries.

2. A desire to Google “Johnse Hatfield.” Allow us to save you the effort: Here is a photo of the legendary lothario, who wanted to marry Roseanna but their fathers wouldn’t allow it. After her brothers kidnapped him for a planned execution, he backed off and instead, married her cousin Nancy McCoy (a grownup Jena Malone), whose father was Asa Harmon. In the miniseries, we can tell she has long-term revenge on her mind, but Johnse, bless his heart, doesn’t have the hate in him so he doesn’t see it in her. Though actor Matt Barr isn’t a dead ringer for Johnse (see him in character here), he is a welcome sight in his numerous shirtless scenes.

3. Delight at seeing Costner doing another Western. It’s more than just how comfortable he looks in costume, on horseback, and carrying a pistol. It’s that you believe he understands backcountry justice, which makes a scene like the one in part 3, when Devil Anse takes his loose-lipped son Johnse fishing â€" and sits behind him â€" all the more suspenseful.

4. A lot of spitting. Tom Berenger, in particular, seems to take a lot of joy in doing it. Also look for as much drinking as you'd see in Deadwood but less whoring.

5. No mention of the Hatfields and McCoys ending up on Family Feud! As the credits roll at the end of the miniseries, which concludes Wednesday, we read, "In 2003, after 138 years, a symbolic peace treaty was signed by 60 descendants from both families." But in 1979, an informal truce had been called when descendants appeared on Family Feud and vied for money and, you guessed it, a pig.

Read more:
Watch the 'Hatfields McCoys' trailer
Ken Tucker reviews 'Hatfields McCoys'

Hatfields and McCoys blast away in mini-series, an iconic feud come to cable

Hatfields and McCoys blast away in mini-series, an iconic feud come to cable

Cable’s History is pulling out all the stops for this lapidary retelling of one of our country’s most renowned internecine struggles.

Hatfields McCoys gets a fulsome miniseries treatment (showing over three consecutive nights, beginning Memorial Day), star power (Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton play the antagonistic patriarchs), and an unprecedented promotional campaign (on TV, at cineplexes, even at the Floyd Mayweatherâ€"Miguel Cotto fight earlier this month).

All this for some violent hillbillies who simply could not get along. Because down in their neck of the Appalachians, there really wasn’t much to squabble over except pride. The challenge for History is to give this nasty family feud an epic spin. The result plays out like The Godfather with squirrel rifles.

The mini starts off strongly with Capt. William Anderson Hatfield (Costner) and Randall McCoy (Paxton) fighting side by side for the Confederacy. Before the War Between the States began, the two men and their large clans had lived peaceably in the same region -- Devil Anse Hatfield, as he was known, on the east side of Tug Fork ( a tributary of the Big Sandy River), in territory that would become part of West Virginia during the Civil War, and Ole Ran’l McCoy on the Kentucky side.

Devil Anse sees the writing on the wall and deserts (in real life, he lead a band of marauding rebel guerillas in the Tug Valley); Ole Ran’l is taken prisoner and suffers greatly in a Union stockade. The Civil War may end, but a personal grudge continues to percolate between these men for decades. (Ironically, given how many Hatfield and McCoy relatives and children were killed in these vendettas, Devil Anse and Ole Ran’l both lived into their 80s).

There are some great set pieces here -- for instance, a trial in which the charge is pig thievery. The justice of the peace (Powers Boothe) is a Hatfield. The lawyer bringing the case (Ronan Vibert) is a McCoy and the jury is evenly divided, six and six, between the two clans. You don’t have to adjourn to take a satisfying pull off one of the the jugs.

Not surprisingly, the miniseries has to feature a great romance, and with few options in the historical annals, chooses to elevate the somewhat tawdry liaison between Johnse Hatfield and Roseanna McCoy to Romeo and Juliet status. The actors (Matt Barr and Lucy Pulsipher) are blonde and beautiful, two things that as far as I know, no one ever accused the Hatfields or McCoys of being.

The docudrama’s leads, Costner and Paxton, are compelling. Two of the more arresting performances among the supporting cast belong to Tom Berenger as Devil Anse’s brutal, bearish Uncle Jim, and Andrew Howard as Bad Frank Phillips a former Pinkerton and revenuer who makes a pretty good living collecting the bounties the McCoys have put on the Hatfields’ heads after the New Year’s Night Massacre of 1888.

The mood, costumes, props and locations are all convincing. The entire film seems to be shot in a sad, late autumnal sepia tone. All it really needs is a better (and shorter) script. But be warned, although Hatfields McCoys is slow moving, it’s also oddly gripping. If you start watching, there’s a good chance you’ll keep watching, not as a witness to history, more as one of the clans.

You’ll certainly learn a thing or two along the way. For instance, did you know about the worst insult you can pay a man is "You’re just a huckleberry persimmon, ain’t ye?"

Them’s fightin’ words.

 

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Television  Hatfields amp; McCoys   9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on History

'Hatfields & McCoys' miniseries: Kevin Costner talks going to TV

'Hatfields & McCoys' miniseries: Kevin Costner talks going to TV

One of America's greatest feuds is told in the new miniseries for The History Chanel called "Hatfields McCoys." The series, which premieres on The History Channel on May 28, stars Kevin Costner and the actor recently explained why he took on a role in the miniseries.

"I didn't try to over think it. It was the piece that spoke to me loudest of the things I was reading and so you'd have to respond that way," the 57-year-old actor told OnTheRedCarpet.com in a recent interview at the premiere in Los Angeles.

In the series, Costner plays Anse "Devil" Hatfield, whose West Virginia family is involved in a feud with the McCoys of Kentucky. Bill Paxton plays his adversary Randall McCoy. Hatfield and McCoy actually fought alongside each other during the Civil War in the Confederate army. Hatfield abandoned the fight and eventually went on to succeed in business. The feud began when McCoy's brother Asa -- who fought in the Union army -- was killed by Hatfield's uncle Jim Vance.

"It was a long time coming," Costner said about bringing the feud to television. "When I said yes, I meant it and everybody realized I was serious and then everybody started signing up, so maybe I take -- I don't know what credit I can take, I don't really need any credit. You know, the film speaks for itself, I really enjoy the actors."

About his co-stars, Costner said, "If you believe in something you want everyone that comes on board to feel that and if they didn't feel that, they needed to go somewhere else, and nobody was going anywhere. We were in tough conditions and everybody held together. "

Costner is sort of an American history buff and some of his most high-profile roles reflect that like "Wyatt Earp," "JFK," "The Untouchables" and "Dances With Wolves."

Bill Paxton, who is likely best known for his role on "Big Love," said he knew when Costner signed on that the miniseries was going to be quality entertainment.

"When I was approached to do this last year, History came to me and told me what they were going to do and I thought well this is going to be a landmark production," he told OnTheredCarpet.com. "With Kevin Costner on board I knew that it was going to be quality."

"I think they've upped the ante here and I hope this bodes well for other productions like this. 'Cause there's a lot of good actors ready to tell some great stories," he added. "I'm hoping it does very well and from what I've seen it's going to do very well."

"Hatfields McCoys" airs on The History Channel on May 28 at 9 p.m. Check out a preview below.

Television Review: ‘Hatfields & McCoys,’ With Kevin Costner, on History Channel

Television Review: ‘Hatfields & McCoys,’ With Kevin Costner, on History Channel

A Hatfield defected from the Confederate side during the Civil War and got a head start on postwar business, which irritated his former friend, a McCoy. But then there was already bad blood because a McCoy had accused another Hatfield of illicit relations with a dog.

Well, it makes sense that the origins of a famous feud a century and a half ago might be confusing. A more timely question would be: How did the story of the West Virginia Hatfields and the Kentucky McCoys become a six-hour television drama? The answer to that is simple: Kevin Costner wanted it so.

Mr. Costner stars in “Hatfields McCoys” as Anse, the primary Hatfield, and is a producer of the project. It was directed by Kevin Reynolds, a feature film director whose credits include two Costner vehicles, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and “Waterworld.” And Mr. Costner’s involvement probably has something to do with the quality of the cast, which includes Bill Paxton as Mr. Costner’s opposite number, Randall McCoy, as well as Powers Boothe and Mare Winningham.

Mr. Costner’s interest in the history of the American frontier has not had memorable results overall â€" the world wouldn’t be that much poorer without “Silverado,” “Wyatt Earp” or (contrarian alert) “Dances With Wolves” â€" but “Hatfields McCoys” is a perfectly respectable piece of work, and probably better than we could have expected for a History mini-series. Mr. Costner and Mr. Paxton acquit themselves well, and Mr. Reynolds gives the ambushes and shootouts, filmed in Romania, a shambling, ugly realism. The writing, by Bill Kerby, Ted Mann and Ronald Parker, is florid within tolerable limits.

The mini-series’s main problem is that six-hour running time. Filling it means that more attention than necessary is paid to things like an interfamily love affair, and legal and political wrangling, that are of historical interest but distract from the real business at hand, which is Hatfields and McCoys shooting at one another.

Hatfields McCoys

History, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.

Produced for History by Thinkfactory Media. Directed by Kevin Reynolds; story by Bill Kerby and Ted Mann; written by Mr. Mann (Episodes 1, 2 and 3) and Ronald Parker (Episodes 2 and 3); Nancy Dubuc and Dirk Hoogstra, executive producers for History; Leslie Greif, executive producer for Thinkfactory Media; Kevin Costner, Darrell Fetty and Herb Nanas, producers; Barry Berg, supervising producer.

WITH: Kevin Costner (Devil Anse Hatfield), Bill Paxton (Randall McCoy), Tom Berenger (Jim Vance), Powers Boothe (Wall Hatfield), Mare Winningham (Sally McCoy), Matt Barr (Johnse Hatfield), Noel Fisher (Cotton Top Mounts), Boyd Holbrook (William Hatfield), Andrew Howard (Bad Frank Phillips), Jena Malone (Nancy McCoy), Sarah Parish (Levicy Hatfield), Lindsay Pulsipher (Roseanna McCoy) and Ronan Vibert (Perry Cline).

Review: 'Hatfields & McCoys' has vivid detail, fine acting

Review: 'Hatfields & McCoys' has vivid detail, fine acting

History knows more than a little something about the dangers of messing with a big family.

The network's first foray into scripted drama was derailed last year when its ambitious biopic "The Kennedys" drew intense pre-release criticism from family members and leading historians. Eventually, the basic cable channel abandoned its firstborn, and the relatively unknown ReelzChannel aired the program, which later earned Emmy nominations for all of its male leads, and an Emmy win for Barry Pepper's portrayal of Bobby Kennedy.

So it is only fitting that the first miniseries to actually air on History is another chronicle of the perils of familial power and ambition. But where "The Kennedys" sang of greatness, both in its rigors and its moral cost, "Hatfields McCoys" can only lament and despair. There is no greatness here, only the tragedy of pride and bitterness made deadly by two stubborn men â€" each with too many sons, too m any guns, too little sense, and way too much liquor.

Directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by Ted Mann and Ronald Parker, "Hatfields McCoys" is a star-studded, gorgeously produced and astonishingly nuanced look at America's most famous family feud, which began after the Civil War in the Appalachian Mountains along the Kentucky-West Virginia border.

Although deftly nailed into its time and place with sets and costumes so vivid you can smell the blue wood smoke and the stink of moonshine sweat, "Hatfields McCoys" transcends the confines of its age by revealing the feud's posturing, resentments and callous violence that mirror the dynamics of modern urban gangs.

With Kevin Costner as Devil Anse Hatfield and Bill Paxton as Randall McCoy, an immediate standard of dramatic excellence is set by the two actors to which the rest of the cast must live up â€" and they do.

When we first meet Devil Anse and Randall, they are fighting together in the Confederate Army. Within min utes on the battlefield, one saves the other â€" and then the favor is promptly returned.

But Devil Anse, fed up with a war that cannot be won, deserts â€" something Randall, a Bible-quoting zealot, cannot forgive. After being taken prisoner, Randall's heart hardens more when he returns home to find the Hatfields flourishing under Devil Anse's leadership, while his wife (the glorious and far too rarely seen Mare Winningham) has become a grim shadow struggling to keep food on her family's table.

To make matters worse, a Hatfield relative â€" the grizzled sociopath Jim Vance (Tom Berenger) â€" has already killed a McCoy who made the mistake of fighting for the Union Army. Soon the families are at such odds that a budding romance between Johnse Hatfield (Matt Barr) and Roseanna McCoy (Lindsay Pulsipher) kicks up a maelstrom of violence and murder that eventually ensnares bounty hunters, deputies, two state governments and the Supreme Court.

But no matter how w ide the conflict becomes, it is always the two men who are at the story's center. As Devil Anse, Costner comes as close to a hero as this piece gets. It is a truly brilliant performance, worthy of an Emmy for the pipe-smoking alone.

Costner makes this Hatfield as wise as he is ruthless. He appears to be the only character aware of what is actually happening and the only one capable of stopping it, which makes his refusal to do so until it is too late the story's greatest tragedy.

Paxton's Randall is a more calcified force. Summoning an Old Testament version of the religious devotion that fueled his character in HBO's"Big Love," Paxton creates a man so obsessed with prayer he has lost sight of God. His character is so concerned with the purity of his soul that he does not notice his heart has turned to stone and that he's become a man who would claim to save his family by sacrificing them one by one.

With their careful speech and tobacco-spitting ways, Randa ll and Devil Anse are men of their time, grimy, bearded and oblivious to the humanity of their wives and children, to the impossible demands of machismo, to the obvious implications of their actions. But they, like Berenger's crazy Vance and Winningham's stoic Sally, could just as easily be characters in a modern play, which is what makes "Hatfields McCoys" so mesmerizing.

It isn't a perfect piece â€" as with "The Kennedys," when faced with a choice between historic detail and story, "Hatfield McCoys" errs on the side of detail, which is both the series' greatest strength and weakness. At times the sight of dirty men shooting one another in the woods yet again becomes a little tedious.

Still, it bodes well for the reality-heavy network and its ability to execute a scripted series. If this is what History has in mind, then by all means, bring on "The Vikings."

mary.mcnamara@latimes.com

Memorial Day weekend events around KC

Memorial Day weekend events around KC

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In addition to honoring our nation’s war dead, Memorial Day serves as the unofficial start of summer, and there are a multitude of holiday events happening around town this weekend, including the opening of municipal pools Saturday in Kansas City, Mo., and Overland Park, Kan.

What sponsors call the largest free holiday weekend event in the Midwest returns Sunday for its 10th anniversary. The Kansas City Symphony, under the baton of maestro Michael Stern, will play patriotic favorites against the backdrop of historic Union Station. The “Bank of America Celebration at the Station” starts at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 27, and concludes with a fireworks display at 9:15 p.m. Grounds open at 3 p.m. Food and drink will be available for purchase at the station. Blankets and lawn chairs are encouraged. KC native, former U.S. Air Force General and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard B. Meyers will narrate a salute to the armed forces.

Up the hill from Union Station, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial will host a display of vintage military vehicles on its southeast lawn Sunday and Monday, May 27 and 28. It will also be the location of a Memorial Day observance that begins at 9 a.m. Monday, May 28. The ceremony includes a parade of color guards from local military, ROTC and Boy Scouts. The WW I Museum, which is normally closed on Mondays, will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Memorial Day. Regular admission fees will be charged.

The fifth annual Jiggle Jam Family Music Fest takes place Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27, at Crown Center Square. The family-oriented event features more than two dozen live musicians and other entertainers, plus crafts and educational activities. Admission is $15 a person at the gate; kids under 2 are free. For more details, visit www.kcjigglejam.com.

The Abdallah Shrine Rodeo returns to the Leavenworth County Fairgrounds in Tonganoxie, Kan., May 25 and 26, but this year with the addition of a demolition derby. The car-crashing event starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 26. Admission is $12 for adults, $4 for children age 6-12; kids 5 and under are free. For details, visit www.shrinerodeo.com.

It’s going to be hot this weekend. How about a visit to a water park?

The Schlitterbahn KC Water Park opens for its third season at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 26, after an off-season expansion that nearly doubled its size. The new rides includes what Schlitterbahn calls Kansas City’s only surf ride, a rapids river, two head-first mat slides, an enclosed, dark tube slide and a ride-up “Aqua Veyer.â € General admission is $46.98 for adults; $38.98 for children and seniors. For more information, visit www.schlitterbahn.com/ kc. In addition, Oceans of Fun opens for the 30th season at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 26. Admission is $29.99 for adults; $17.99 for children and seniors. For details, visit www.worldsoffun.com.

Sporting KC takes on the San Jose Earthquakes at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 27, at Livestrong Sporting Park. For details, visit www.sportingkc.com.

The 25th annual Amy Thompson Run for Brain Injury takes place Monday, May 28, with the start-finish line at Loose Park. Events include an 8K run, a 5K run/walk, a new, one-mile untimed Walk for Thought and a Kiddie Dash. The 8K and 5 K courses are certified and chip timed. Participants will also enjoy, music, food and drink as they participate. Proceeds benefit the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City. You can register on race day, starting at 6:30 a.m. at a cost of $35 per event. For details, visit www.amythompsonrun.org.

In addition to the big event at Liberty Memorial on Monday morning, at least two other ceremonies are scheduled on Memorial Day itself.

The Simpson-Hoggatt Detachment of the Marine Corps League will hold its 70th annual Memorial Day ceremony at 8 a.m. Monday, May 28, at Mount Moriah Cemetery, 10507 Holmes Road. The program features the Ararat Shrine Temple Bag Pipes Drums, color guard and firing detail presented by 24th Marine Regiment Headquarters in Kansas City, wreath placement and Memorial Day address. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Ken Spencer, (913) 362-8383.

Chapel Hill Memoria l Gardens and Chapel Hill-Butler Funeral Home, in partnership with American Legion Post 188, will hold their annual Memorial Day Service of Remembrance at 11:30 a.m. Monday, May 28, outside the funeral home, 701 N. 94th St. in Kansas City, Mo. The event is free and open to the public. Call (913) 334-3366 for more information.

Is there an event you plan on attending that's not on the list? Post a comment below with the details!

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Memorial Day closings in Hampton Roads

Memorial Day closings in Hampton Roads

The Virginian-Pilot
© May 26, 2012

Courts and municipal offices

Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach City offices and courts will be closed Monday.

Financial institutions

Most banks and credit unions will be closed Monday. Contact specific institutions.

Garbage collection

Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk and Virginia Beach No scheduled trash collections Monday.

Portsmouth Trash normally collected Monday will be picked up Wednesday.

Hampton Roads transit

On Monday, HRT buses and light rail will operate on a Saturday schedule. Customer service hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 222-6100.

Postal service

Post offices will be closed Monday with no regular mail delivery.

Public libraries

Chesapeake Closed Sunday and Monday, but book drops will be open.

Norfolk Closed Sunday and Monday.

Portsmouth and Virginia Beach Closed Monday.

Suffolk Closed Monday. Suffolk Art Gallery will be closed today through Monday.

Public schools

Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach Closed Monday.

Recreation centers

Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach Closed Monday.

Norfolk Closed Monday. Adult softball league games have been canceled through Monday. Today's youth soccer games have been canceled. RBI baseball games will be held today.

Suffolk All joint-use centers will be closed today through Monday. East Suffolk Recreation Center will be closed Monday.

State offices

DMV All Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles customer service centers will be closed Monday. Service for many common transactions is available at www.dmvnow.com and 888-337-4782.

ABC Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control stores will be open Monday until 6 p.m.

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