"They found nearly everything they needed right here," said Peteetneet staff member Helen Scott.

McGill gave up a role in an upcoming Al Pacino film to take the part as the antagonist in this film. He was sent the script and the video of Little's "Saints and Soldiers." The script intrigued him so he watched the video. That convinced him to take the role.

As the credits were rolling to "Saints" he was on the phone accepting his part in "The Outlaw Trial." The role was better than the one in the Pacino film, he said.

"I wanted to work with Ryan Little for his ability to tell a story on film. I can be picky now," McGill said. "A large part of what I decide (to take) is who's doing it."

He also chose to do "The Outlaw Trail" because it was inoffensive. And he was impressed with what Little did in "Saints" with a comparatively low-budget film.

"The Outlaw Trail" has a similar budget, although the amount remains undisclosed.

"This is a kids caper. It's 'The Goonies' meet 'Indiana Jones,' " McGill said. "That's how it was presented to me."

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E-mail: rodger@desnews.com