"Butch" played by John ElliotLone bounty hunter/gunslinger for hire, Butch has been in a bad mood ever since his fiance was killed when he returned from a stint in the Union Army after the civil war.
Right now all he really wants is to get paid. He has been known to get ornery when people try to fleece him.
"Akemi" played by Narisa Suzuki Beautiful, ferocious Akemi has only one thing on her mind: Revenge.
Forced into prostitution to pay her father's debt to greasy Hiram Firth, Akemi watched her younger sister die in a botched robbery by the evil Mondego gang; she has sworn to avenge her sister's death and kill Mondego - whatever it takes.
"Mondego" played by Ben HallLeader of a group of outlaws known especially for their particular brand of viciousness, Mondego is the epitome of pure evil. Killing follows him like disease follow vermin. When he discovers that hidden gold is in his territory, he does everything in his power to claim it for himself.
Rattler's hidden cache of gold brings the characters together - for better or for worse. The "used car salesman of the west", Rattler Fenton is a slippery, fast talking caricature of every charismatic two bit con man who ever lived - and who was bad at his job.
"Puco Chavez" played by Abel BecerraTired of indentured slavery at the hands of the unrelenting Sheriff Bostock, Puco dreams of being the leader of his own gang and earning fame throughout the West as a gunslinger. When Puco finds a way to share in part of the hidden gold he decides that it's time to escape a life of servitude and go for his dream.
"Charley Chavez" played by Jason LeyvaCharley is a kinder, gentler version of his older brother, Puco. Though he idolizes his brother, this soft spoken handy man dreams of tending a vegetable patch of his own one day away from the violence and gunslinging that excites his brother so much.
Ecstasy of Gold is a sharp shooting, gun slinging, stylized western exploring the sometimes hilarious intersection of lust, greed and money. Butch (John Elliot) is a bounty hunter who just wants to get paid an honest amount for an honest day's work; his chattel, morally corrupt Rattler Fenton just wants to cash in on his well hidden and – to hear him tell it – hard won gold. As Butch navigates an increasingly magical West in search of 
payment he is joined by a quirky band of outcasts and outlaws –including beautiful, ferocious Akemi (Narisa Suzuki) - and terrorized by the entirely evil but not entirely human Mondego gang. Good and Evil collide, as both heroes and villains alike are enthralled by the Ecstasy of Gold.
THE ECSTASY OF GOLD is an Oklahoma based production supporting Oklahoma's nascent film community by using local talent, crew and locations, creating a Hollywood style action adventure film for a fraction of the budget a like film would have cost in Hollywood.
Principal photography took place in Oklahoma over the summer, fall and winter of 2008 at Natural Falls, Gloss Mountain and Little Sahara State park, and in the historical town of Guthrie, OK.
From the Black Mesa in the panhandle, to the Little Sahara and the Great Salt Plains in the northwest, to the Ouachita Mountains of the southeast, the beautiful vistas and vast expanse of Oklahoma provide an amazing and visual stunning backdrop for the film.
John Elliot is a native of southern California who has grown up all over the US. He’s been acting for six years, acquiring numerous Film, Television and Stage credits, including “Alex” in The Other Side of Paradise (2008) as well as a recurring role on the hit TV show Prison Break. While he calls Fort Worth, TX his home he is planning to relocated to SoCal, the land of opportunity, to concentrate on his acting career in the summer of 2009.
Narisa Suzuki was born in Japan and came to the United States in 2004 to pursue a career in the performing arts. As a young student in Japan, she attended specialized music and vocal performance academies for both her junior and high school education. During that time, she performed various musical voiceovers for television, radio, and CD recordings. While in Japan, Narisa performed in several musicals, including “The Wizard of Oz” (Dorothy), “Peter Pan” (Peter), and “The Sound of Music” (Liesl). Her opera experience includes “Hansel and Gretel” (Wicked Witch), “Die Fledermaus" (Prince Orlofsky) and "La Boheme" (Children’s Chorus).
Jason Leyva comes to us from McAlester Okla. For the past 10 years he has resided in the north where he was an Entertainment Manager for Six Flags America, Director of Activities and Entertainment for the Double JJ Ranch & Golf Resort, and now the Technical Director at the Artisan Center Theatre in Hurst,Tx. He has participated in over 100 stage shows where he has directed, produced, choreographed, and acted, with Maryland Ensemble Theatre, Oklahoma Children’s Theatre, L.I.P. Service Inc., Independent Artist Organization, Oklahoma Artist in Residency Program, Premiere Parks, and Six Flags. He is also currently filming Moondancer Entertainment’s “Murder by Mistake” in Grapevine,Texas.
scrollAbel Becerra - Hailing from west Texas, Abel Becerra now pursues his acting and music career in Dallas. Becerra’s theater credits include Grease and The White Rose. His film credits include the Spirit award winning film August Evening as well as the short film The Grass Grows Green. Becerra is also a talented, aspiring musician. Recently, his acting and music paths crossed as he was cast in the lead role for La Sinfonia’s "No Meresco Tu Amor" music video , as well as the role of guitarist in Ronnie Millsap's "Local Girls". Abel and his family plan on relocating to L.A. where they hope to continue their acting careers.
Adam Oxsen - Director / Producer / Co-writer
Twenty-five year old Adam Oxsen is an Oklahoma native and filmmaker. With a bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma School of Art and aspirations of producing films in Oklahoma, Oxsen embarked on writing and fundraising for his first feature film. Throughout the next two years, Oxsen donned various hats - entrepreneur, producer, salesman, filmmaker - in order to bring Ecstasy of Gold to cinematic life.
Jordan Boyd - Co-Writer / Visual Effects Supervisor / Concept Artist
Hailing from Oklahoma City, Jordan Boyd studied filmmaking at the University of Oklahoma before moving off to Canada to attend the Visual Effects program at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts where he directed a group of his peers in the creation of a VFX-heavy short film, Zone 12 (action/sci-fi). From there, he decided to ply his new trade helping Adam Oxsen bring this ambitious project to the screen.
Levi Lee - Writer / Assistant Director
Levi Lee is a short filmmaker and writer from Moore, OK. He has written and produced "The Dirty Man" (short western) & "Something's Burning" (horror/comedy) which have collectively screened at DeadCenter 2007, Southern Winds Film Festival 2007, the 2007 Oklahoma Film and Video Studies Conference, and the 2007 OU Campus Activities Council Film Festival. At the Oklahoma Film and Video Studies Conference, Lee also sat a panel fielding questions about his films and about filmmaking in general.
