In between the bloody brawls and shootouts, Madison native and Hollywood screenwriter Derek Kolstad likes to throw a bit of his Midwestern roots into his movies.
His hit action franchise “John Wick” is named after his Wisconsin grandfather, who lived in Mazomanie. “Nobody 2” takes place in a fictional version of the Wisconsin Dells. And his newest movie takes place in the snowy Midwestern town of Normal, Minnesota.
“Normal” follows an interim sheriff — played by Bob Odenkirk — as he stumbles across a major international conspiracy in his temporary town and finds out that everyone there is armed to the teeth. The idea was inspired by what Kolstad saw driving across rural Wisconsin…