Development The project started with producer
Mace Neufeld, and was intended as a prestige thriller headlined by
James Caan but that version stalled due to difficulties with the script. Neufeld later partnered with
Moshe Diamant to pitch it, under the title
Heart of Stone, to football player and aspiring actor
Brian Bosworth. Diamant's
Epic Productions had formed a joint venture with
Michael Douglas and Rick Bieber's Stonebridge Entertainment called the Stone Group Joining the other executive producers was
Gary Wichard, Bosworth's personal manager who had spearheaded his transition to movies. Producer duties were entrusted to Yoram Ben Ami, CEO of
Triumph Releasing, a
Columbia Pictures subsidiary that usually dealt with Diamant's product. During pre-production, the screenplay was attributed to Walter Doninger and Howard Cushnir A late pre-production report claimed that the story was to be set in the
Midwest. However, Ben Ami indicated that the
Deep South region had been chosen because it was in the script, Although Arkansas, whose
capitol building had recently appeared in
Under Siege, came under consideration, Mississippi was chosen as the central location after Governor
Ray Mabus, then involved in a lobbying campaign to woo
Hollywood to his state, personally signed on to allow use of his own
statehouse in February. Two months of location scouting took place in spring 1990 across East Louisiana, Western Alabama and both
North Mississippi and the
Gulf Coast. This was his first non-football role, and he trained extensively with acting coach
Harold Guskin. Wichard, who was noted for his hyperbolic statements, claimed that some of the lessons lasted up to 20 hours. but creative changes led to both characters being cut during production.
Lance Henriksen and
Arabella Holzbog had appeared together shortly before in
The Last Samurai. Henriksen had also co-starred with
William Forsythe in the 1985 biker movie
Savage Dawn. The lead actors trained with biker and stuntman Greg "Magic" Schwartz. Bosworth and Henriksen, both motorcycle enthusiasts, personally oversaw the customization of their bikes for the film. Henriksen's was painted by Jane Pollack, a member of the film's art department, who would later become his wife although the two did not connect on this shoot. Henriksen was unconvinced by the background players selected to portray his "Brotherhood", and personally toured
Gulf Coast bike shops to recruit some that looked more legitimate. However, when a reporter mistakenly stated that Henriksen was a real-life member of the
Bandidos MC gang, a rebuttal had to be quickly put out to avoid tensions with any of them.
Early filming Preliminary photography on the film, now known as
The Brotherhood, started in the
Bienville neighborhood of
Mobile, Alabama on May 23, 1990, during a concert sponsored by local radio
92 ZEW. Early reports put the start of filming in March 1990, but Malmuth claimed that he chose to work in the heat of summer to make the actors more edgy. There, the crew came in contact with a member of the local Asgard Motorcycle Club, who was enrolled as an additional consultant. 60 days of filming were scheduled The film's starting budget was announced at $10 including original cinematographer
John R. Leonetti, making his feature debut.
Mid-production reboot On June 25, Bruce Malmuth left the movie, having only directed thirteen days. but the dispute was resolved a few weeks later. Malmuth called the split a "non hostile, amicable" one, resulting from his push towards a psychological approach, which Baxley described as "almost too dark". Hasty rewrites were made by Doninger, Cushnir and
Harley Peyton based on collective feedback. Filming resumed on July 5. Bosworth performed a higher-than-average share of his stunts, including driving his bike during select action sequences. Baxley's father
Paul served as stunt coordinator on the film. The production was sanctioned by the
Directors Guild of America and
Screen Actors Guild, but did not recognize other labor groups. As such, the film's technicians were signed to a flat fee. Bosworth himself assured that the accident had been handled in a civil manner by both.
Relocation to Arkansas With filming still underway in Mississippi, reports emerged that Lieutenant Governor
Brad Dye was about to renege on Governor Mabus' permission to stage the finale at Jackson's State Capitol. Various reasons were mooted, ranging from the removal of a
Magnolia tree (which would actually have been replanted afterwards), to graphic violence unbecoming of the institution, to potential damage to the building's antique windows. However, insiders posited that it was in fact retaliation against Mabus from within his
own party, for allowing filming without consulting his Lieutenant Governor and
House Speaker Tim Ford, who both had a legal say in the matter. Democratic state representatives Scott Ross and
Robert Moak filed a motion to block the shoot, with Ross arguing that "[a]ny film whose major star is Brian Bosworth is grade-B at best and would do nothing to enhance the image of the state." While Ben Ami had successfully applied to use Jackson's
Hinds County Courthouse as a fallback option, Dye penned a letter to trade magazine
Variety to justify his stance, and made a token offer to reinstate the shoot if displays of violence were cut, to which the filmmakers did not bother responding. Mississippi Film Commission boss Phil Cole resigned over the incident. A few locals, most notably
Arkansas Gazette columnist John Brummett, also objected to the staging of a violent picture at their
State Capitol, In a bizarre coincidence, one of its own Magnolia trees burned down during the staging of the helicopter crash. McCuen ordered that the hole be covered to conceal the mishap before it reopened to the public. Principal photography belatedly ended on September 26, 1990. The outcome of the lawsuit was not publicized. ==Release==