Who's that unmasked man?

A real-life cowboy named Bronc saves Houston from rodeo's runaway bull

When real-life cowboy Bronc Boehnlein heard the commotion — and the panic — of a more than 1,400-pound rodeo bull breaking free into a public parking lot, he didn't hesitate.

Bronc asked a nearby calf roper if he could borrow his rope and his horse. Then, Bronc went about saving the day — cowboy style.

With "20 to 30 police officers," doing their best to steer the runaway bull from the public lot to an employee lot, according to Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo CEO Leroy Shafer, Bronc rode onto the scene. Then, he did what a police Taser shot could not.

Bronc stopped the bull, by roping it with that borrowed lasso.

"The more I hear about it, the more and more impressed I am by what transpired and how everyone reacted to the situation — especially this wrangler, who believe it or not, tells our people that his name really is Bronc," Shafer said. "Just the presence of mind to ask to borrow a rope and a horse ... And obviously, he has very advanced roping skills. As a wrangler, that's his training."

Wranglers don't expect to practice their training in a parking lot on a packed, Jonas Brothers Sunday evening at the Houston rodeo, though. But there Bronc was ensuring that tragedy did not accompany the first parking-lot-breakaway bull in Shafer's 37 years running the rodeo.

In true cowboy fashion, Bronc didn't even stick around for a thank you. Before Shafer even learned the identity of the mystery cowboy hero today, Bronc was on a plane to Sacramento to help his wife — a rodeo barrel racer — in a rodeo in California's capital city.

"I hope he gets back here," Shafer said. "I want to buy him the biggest, best steak dinner he's ever had."

The Houston police would probably like to give Bronc a few pats on the hat as well. While Shafer went out of his way to praise the effort of the 20-30 officers who quickly worked to protect the public by helping to guide the bull into the employee lot, Houston's finest found out that Tasers do not work well against bulls.

At least, not against this particular bull called Hardball.

"There was an unsuccessful Taser attempt," Shafer said. "I heard that a Taser glanced off one of the bull's horns. I also heard that a Taser just brushed against the bull's head. I don't think we'll ever know for sure which."

While he didn't have the spec sheet on Hardball handy, Shafer estimated that the bull is between 1,400 and 1,800 pounds. "He's not one of our larger bulls at the moment," Shafer said. "But he's a good, medium-sized bull."

When asked if Bronc put himself in harm's way to ensure that no one was seriously hurt by Hardball, Shafer didn't hesitate. "Absolutely," he said.

Attempts to reach Bronc were unsuccessful. Bronc is a 23-year-old wrangler from Riverside, Calif. who lists his nickname as "Bad Bitch" on his MySpace page. Anyone who saw Hardball running loose in the parking lot would surely concur with that bit of self gloss.

And Bronc wasn't the only cowboy or cowgirl that sprang into action. A female wrangler had her foot stepped on by the bull while trying to contain Hardball. A rodeo security guard also suffered a minor injury and was also treated at the scene for bruises.

Shafer is the first one to say that Hardball never should have gotten free in the first place. Hardball got through two gates due to a malfunction in the first gate. It happened during a transitional period in Sunday's rodeo performance. As the bull riding ended and the chuck wagons entered the stadium floor around 5:30 p.m., Hardball charged the first gate, causing the pin to fail. Hardball was a reride bull, who had not been used in the rodeo competition.

Bronc's quick action not only prevented more serious injuries to people — it protected Hardball as well.

"The police were obviously concerned with the public's safety — as they should have been," Shafer said. "But our cowboy wrangler was concerned for the people and the animal."

Hardball is already resting comfortably (or doing whatever it is bulls do) at the rodeo's off-site 23-acre-plus animal staging area. Hardball will be used in the rodeo competition Wednesday night and Tyler Thomsen (competitor No. 356) has drawn him.

As for the rodeo's great unmasked hero, Bronc, ... he's already onto his next cowboy gig.

"I think it shows the quality of people we have working the rodeo," Shafer said. "The quality of cowboys. These are real cowboys."

You don't have to tell Hardball.

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Movie review

Will Arnett shines in Bradley Cooper’s divorce drama Is This Thing On?

Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Jason McDonald

Will Arnett in Is This Thing On?.

With 12 Oscar nominations in the past 12 years in multiple categories, Bradley Cooper has turned into not only an acclaimed actor, but also a touted filmmaker. Given that pedigree, it might be difficult to remember that he first gained recognition as a comedy star in movies like Wedding Crashers, Yes Man, and The Hangover series. For his latest directorial effort, he has married comedy with drama in Is This Thing On?.

Unlike the previous two films he directed, Cooper only has a supporting role, ceding the lead to Will Arnett. He plays Alex Novak, who, as the film begins, is starting the process of divorce from his wife of 20 years, Tess (Laura Dern). Forced to move to a depressing apartment in New York City and only getting limited time with his two kids, Alex finds the unexpected outlet of stand up comedy when he signs up for open mic night at the famous Comedy Cellar.

The film follows Alex as he continues to pursue comedy while still having to see Tess on a regular basis, thanks to a shared custody agreement and get-togethers with friends like Balls and Christine (Cooper and Andra Day) and Stephen and Geoffrey (real life couple Sean Hayes and Scott Icenogle). While the comedy serves as a form of counseling for Alex, truly moving on proves more difficult than expected.

The film, co-written by Cooper with Arnett and Mark Chappell, is loosely based on the real-life story of British comedian John Bishop, so one of the biggest things they needed to get right was the comedy itself. Alex’s marital situation lends his comedy more of a confessional style than actual jokes, and his evolution in that space is done well. Shooting in the actual Comedy Cellar and populating the club with real comedians like Amy Sedaris, Jordan Jensen, Reggie Conquest, and more gives those scenes an extra dose of realism.

As if to underscore the personal and emotional nature of the story, Cooper and cinematographer Matthew Libatique make liberal use of closeups with handheld cameras. The camera is constantly moving around and often seems to be right in the actors’ faces, something that is most noticeable when Alex is performing. As if the stories Alex was telling weren’t intimate enough, having Arnett's entire face fill the frame forces the audience to pay attention to what his character is saying.

If there is something to knock about the film, it’s a lack of dramatic stakes. While there’s natural tension between Alex and Tess due to the divorce, it’s way less than in a movie like, say, Marriage Story. There’s also a sneaking suspicion that Cooper was just looking to have fun with the film, casting himself as the comic sidekick and working with good friends like Arnett and Hayes. If ever there was a good hang divorce movie, this is it.

Arnett rarely gets to be in movies, much less as the lead, but he ably embodies this somewhat dramatic part. It helps that he’s given a great scene partner like Dern, who knows when to dial her acting up or down for a particular situation. Cooper and Day are also good despite their story being slightly superfluous, and Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds as Alex’s parents lend the film some extra gravitas.

Is This Thing On? is a much different type of film from Cooper’s first two directorial efforts, A Star is Born and Maestro, and it’s nice to see the filmmaker offer something new. It has a relatable story for anyone who has ever been married while offering an element of uniqueness with someone discovering an undiscovered skill late in life.

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Is This Thing On? opens wide in theaters on January 9.