We have an exclusive sneak peek at American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective, an all-new documentary celebrating the iconic actor. American Badass takes a look at the fascinating life and impressive career of the actor, producer, writer and poet. Madsen’s iconic 40+ year career and more than 170 films include Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2, Thelma & Louise, Die Another Day, Sin City, Free Willy and perhaps most notably Reservoir Dogs.
In a new clip from the doc, late actor Robert Forster offers high praise to Madsen. Forster compares Madsen to another legendary actor, Malcolm McDowell, describing them as in the same category. Quentin Tarantino and William Baldwin are also featured in the video to speak about Madsen. You can check it out in the video below.
Meanwhile, many other notable stars are featured in American Badass to speak about Madsen and their memories of working with Michael Madsen. These include John Travolta, Ron Perlman, Virginia Madsen, Charlie Sheen, Paul Sorvino, Harry Dean Stanton, Daryl Hannah, and Chuck Zito. Of course, Madsen is also featured in the doc.
Co-produced by Playmaker pictures and Jolia Corp, directed by Dominique Milano, CEO of Playmaker Pictures LLC, it took more than three years to complete. Milano states, “It was a very difficult task to assemble together such a complex documentary and we were so blessed and honored to have Michael bring incredible, talented artists to participate in it so we wanted to make sure we got it right. All of the hard work was rewarded when Quentin Tarantino viewed the final cut and gave his stamp of approval, saying ‘the director and his team did a great job.'”
Production was halted for about five months at the early stages around 2017. Michael had an issue with some of the people involved in the project and it got pretty heated. Milano and his partner Samuel had to re-crew and start fresh to keep the project alive. They learned very early that Michael was respectfully hands on. Milano felt it was very important to depict the alcohol and the crime spree segments, he had no interest in making a puff piece. Milano said, “It’s either we show the real thing or we don’t do it.” Michael accepted, agreed to candidly open up about his difficult past and the documentary was kept alive.
Madsen also states, “It was the right time and the right thing to do. Being an actor is one thing and it’s glorifying, but people out there need to know that I am also human and I have my issues like everybody else. Some of them I am not proud of.”
On Madsen, Milano adds, “When you’re a 12-year-old kid and your own father beat the crap out of you with a belt, there is a strong chance you’ll grow up doing stupid things. you are going to mature very fast with a strong core and a presence that will give you an undeniable edge on the screen.”
Principal photography was completed in early 2019. Milano says that “the most important factor was to have a final cut with a Tarantinesque Flavor to honor their friendship, but editing turned out to be very challenging. Hollywood legendary producer Mario Kassar also brought his magic touch to the project, spending precious time with the director, reviewing and giving important notes.”
Milano adds, “I ended up cutting this doc from scratch eight times, I had to make sure the final product would not only properly cover Michael’s life story but would also honor all the celebrities involved and most importantly, to be real.”
American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective is reportedly ready to hit the mainstream market. For now, you can find out more about the movie by visiting the official website at MichaelMadsenDoc.com.