Director Bruce McDonald used to make documentaries. But let's face it, with non-fiction you never know if anything's actually going to happen and you never know what your ending's going to be.

With Hard Core Logo, he gets a documentarian's revenge.

"You can prod and guide, but it's pretty much up to the gods," says McDonald. "I was considering a documentary about the Headstones or some other band, but you don't know if there's going to be any conflict."

Hard Core Logo -- which opens Oct. 18 -- has conflict aplenty.

loosely based on the novel of the same name, HCL tells the tale of an infamous (but fictional) Vancouver punk group trying to make one last go of it.

McDonald got his Headstone after all -- HCL stars Hugh Dillon in the lead role.

"Hugh gave up drinking for the show, which is a big deal," McDonald says. "He realized how hard it is to be an actor."

As well as Dillon performed, he had to be convinced to do it. McDonald was in town directing a Lonesome Dove episode when the Headstones played the Republik.

McDonald made his final pitch.

"It was a gamble. I'd used musicians before in small parts, but never to carry the movie. We auditioned 200 actors, but kept coming back to Hugh."

The Republik was almost used in the film, as one of the clubs on the group's reunion tour. But shooting ended up being rushed through 18 days.

"We snuck in one night and shot a little film coming over the (Centre Street) bridge towards 4 Ave.," reveals McDonald.

"We shot most of it in Vancouver. When you have limited resources, you can't shoot for an hour and then travel for a day."

The independent film has managed to spread its low-budget wings quite far. It showed at this year's Cannes, Venice and Vancouver film festivals.

"Cannes was very humbling. You're in the same arena as Bernardo Bertolucci and Czechoslovakian pornographers. It's such a bizarre spectrum."

All of a sudden, McDonald hands to phone over to someone else in the room. The voice proves to be Bernie Coulson. Coulson has appeared in The Accused, The X-Files and Lonesome Dove -- where working with McDonald led to the part of Pipefitter, the drummer.

Coulson has a disturbing, while hysterical, sense of humor, and the five-minute conversation garners only one comment applicable to Hard Core Logo:

"Being in this movie was like being in the audience at a Rolling Stones concert, crashing the stage, grabbing the microphone, and Mick letting you take the rest of the show."

McDonald eventually returns to the phone to discuss his next movie. A film version of the cult comic book Yummy Fur.

Let's recap. Yummy Fur, Hard Core Logo, and Dance Me Outside. What do these McDonald projects have in common? Nothing.

"The fun of being a filmmaker is getting to visit other little planets you wouldn't otherwise have entry into," says McDonald. "whether it's an Indian reservation or travelling with a rock band."

ROCKER TURNS OVER NEW STONE

The fictional punk group Hard Core Logo has a very real rock star driving the van.

The Headstones' Hugh Dillon takes the mike as Joe Dick -- the scheming, desperate Mohawk (the hairstyle, not the tribe) spitting his way through Western Canada.

"I did it because I like the piece, I did it for myself, I did it for money," lists Dillon.

Dillon previously appeared in Bruce McDonald's Dance Me Outside as a maniacal redneck, and McDonald directed a video for the Headstones -- yet Dillon initially turned the role down.

"As soon as he gave me freedom to make the screenplay more believable, I became interested," says Dillon.

"Bruce allowed me creative input and that's what made it a special piece for me as opposed to doing someone else's thing," Dillon quickly adds, "which I'm not very good at."

No, Dillon's quite accustomed to being the leader of the band. Tales of his hard living, musician's lifestyle stretch across Canada.

"Yes, some of it is true," Dillon admits. "Acting is completely different. There's a lot of discipline. You've got to be up every morning at seven, 16-hour days ..."

But the head Headstone says Hard Core Logo was well worth the ride.

"I made some great friends, learned a lot, and I think I became a better person for it."

Though his Bruce Willis-like performance is impressive, Dillon has no plans to leave the 'stones for a silver screen career.

"That's not where my passion is. My loyalties lie with the band.

"Our next album, Smile and Wave, will be out in January and it's the best thing we've done so far."

Ten years down the road, will we ever see a Hard Core Logo-type reunion of the Headstones?

"Never, never, never. The band will never end."

OK, Hugh. And The Who were going to die before they got old.


More Artists