A man with stricken anxiety is forced to move his family to a remote area of the Appalachians where they make a shocking discovery lurking in the mountains when their dog captures a baby monkey.

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CAST LIST:

Narrator: Val Cole
Hayden: Geoff Mays
Warren: Shawn Ballantyne
Sherriff Barnes : Shawn Devlin
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Get to know the writer:

1. What is your screenplay about?

Feral Mountains addresses the issue of the inability of controlling a situation due to a condition. I created a world around a person who has developed a crippling anxiety disorder. The affected person does not have the capability to control his behavior and think in a normal, expected way. I wanted to expand on this situation and integrate it with another most unlikely situation; that is, introducing a disparate world of monkeys subjected to unethical but legal experiments for the benefit of humans, with anxiety being one of those benefits. The situations and conditions are beyond the control of the innocent and defenseless victims. In order to illustrate the similarities of both worlds, I needed to the worlds to confront each other. Consequently, to illustrate the similarities, I needed to write the script as a thriller with a conscience.

2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?

The screenplay is considered a thriller with a dysfunctional family setting;
however, it also includes the action and horror genres.

3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

The screenplay is different from other thriller-type films. Blood is shed only when it is necessary and makes sense. The dysfunctional family bonding gives the story depth and structure. The seemingly unethical but legal experiments performed on Rhesus monkeys are based on fact. There is nothing supernatural in the script. To a certain degree the story shows the monkeys as well as the family are victims.

4. How would you describe this script in two words?

Overcoming injustices

5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?

Casablanca, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Day the Earth Stood Still,
Apocalypse Now… many others.

6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?

Over one year. I finished the first final draft in about three months, then constantly revised it. My last major revision was about two weeks ago.

7. How many stories have you written?

I have finished eleven screenplays - six features and five shorts. I have three other outlines for feature screenplays to be written when time permits.

8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?

I originally planned to write a simple thriller about creatures, possibly one based on folklore, terrorize a man with crippling anxiety and his family who are forced to live in a remote area. However, I could not do it. I wanted it to mean more. I read a few articles in the national news about facilities that experiment on Rhesus Monkeys and decided the monkeys would be the creatures. However, I did not want to show them in a disparaging light. I wanted them to have personalities, characters, so I took the liberty of slightly anthropomorphizing them. I did not want it to be black or white, I wanted it to be more complex. So I started from that idea and created the other characters and story around them.

9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?

I was still recovering from divorce, alcoholism and liver cancer, which exhausted me. The hours I dedicated into writing the screenplay was greatly curtailed.

10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?

My passion revolves around movies. I enjoy older classic films and dissect them from the viewpoint of a writer. I love traveling; that is, exploring different places and meeting new people in all cultures. I’m also a voracious reader, whether it’s in book form or on my computer or phone, which allows me to keep up with current events or check into anything of interest.

11. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?

The festival appealed to me because it emphasized screenplays that focus on action, fantasy, sci-fi and thriller genres. The feedback is exceptional. It’s spot on.

I feel the evaluator has valid and fair points positive and negative. The evaluator also gives actionable examples to enhance some issues on my story. If an evaluator expresses a criticism, it is well explained and offers useful suggestions.