Series Synopsis: A group of strangers must come together to stop a secret society from destroying their town, uncover the dark secret of the town's founder, and a cloaked figure that locals say wonders the area at night.
Pilot Synopsis: When an outsider arrives in Barton City to take over the mining operation, he quickly discovers the situation is vastly different than he expected.
Series Write Up: The American west has always been portrayed as an untouched wilderness waiting to be discovered. But classically the people that originally called these territories home have been pushed to the background of these stories. Whispers in the Mountain aims to put those people at the center of these stories and explore the impact of the era on them. A combination of a classic western with a campfire ghost story, the series looks to add a new perspective to some of the oldest types of American legends. When greed drives gold tycoon Theodore S. Barton to obsession, the impact of his hubris is felt by the entire region. Blasting deeper into the mountain causes a massive earthquake killing him, dozens of miners, and decimating the once-booming town of Barton City. Now years later, Damian Harper, a clerk in a Philadelphia investment firm has discovered that some of his clients are hiding more than just their wealth in the Arizona desert. He travels in secret to stop a deal that would finish off Barton City for good. Once there, he finds himself among, crooked ranchers, hot-headed card players, and eventually face to face with a figure that haunts the halls of an old house at the edge of town.
Whispers in the Mountain is my latest and by far favorite writing sample to date. The idea of giving Latino and Indigenous peoples more presence in a classic western story has been in my head for years. In April of 2020, I finally had enough time to sit down and write it. Knowing full well I don't have the recourses right now to produce something on this grand of a scale meant this would serve as merely a writing sample for now. But with the idea burning in my brain, I needed to have the script exist in the world. It literally haunted my dreams. The final shot of the script on page 31 was quite literally from a nightmare I had. I woke up and was immediately sent into a frenzy. Too frantic to sleep I started the outline that very night. Over a year later I’ve gone through multiple drafts and have outlines for more episodes, character breakdowns, and a show bible that’s becoming rather large with the lore of this world. If you’re a fan of classic action-adventure, ghost stories by campfires, and long for the return of the spaghetti western, I guarantee this is one for you.
