Ghost Town: The Movie (2007)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Directors:

Jeff Kennedy
Dean Teaster

Writers:

DJ Perry (screenplay)
DJ Perry (story)
(more)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

A story of love, murder and moonshine

Plot:

Dean Teaster's GHOST TOWN "The Movie", is a unique "Eastern" Western. It is N.C. native Dean Teaster's...

Plot Keywords:

Ghost Town | Western U.S. | Burt Reynolds | Maggie Valley | Great Smoky Mountains

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward	...	Harmon Teaster
Bill McKinney	...	Victor Burnett
DJ Perry	...	Will Burnett
Princess Lucaj	...	Violet Teaster
Rance Howard	...	Sheriff Tom Parker
Renée O'Connor	...	Little Jack
Tony Becker	...	Deputy Tuck
Stella Parton	...	Betsy Mae
Terence Knox	...	Mayor Emerson Rogers
Sammy Kershaw	...	Marshall Morgan Duckett
Charles Edwin Powell	...	Young Victor Burnett
Terry Jernigan	...	Young Harmon Teaster
Charles Matthau	...	Doc Morrison
Dean Teaster	...	Digger (as Dean West)
Anthony Hornus	...	Captain Ketner
Robert Bradley	...	Jim Jumper / Cherokee Clan Spirit
Russ Stine	...	James Martin
Jordan Engle	...	Cole Sorrells
Bill Steele	...	John Burnett
Paul Proios	...	Jim Dandy
Fred Griffith	...	Whiskey Walters
Greg Mason	...	Henry Spits
Tommy Dippel	...	Bob Cat Roberts
Tom Chaudoin	...	Young Jim Jumper
Austin Two Feathers	...	Copperhead
Mark Jones	...	Young Digger
Patrick Walker	...	Moose
Bill Whitworth	...	Jackknife Jack
Randall Godwin	...	Smiling Joe
Taymour Ghazi	...	Deputy Wilson
Alaska Presley	...	Madame Birdie
Robert Shepherd	...	Judd
MaryBeth Hampton	...	Young Susie Teaster
Jon Bowman	...	Pete
Grace Junot	...	Linn
Harry Valentine	...	Ransom Teaster
David Papenfuss	...	Howard
Tammy stephens Teaster	...	Susie Teaster
Nathaniel Nose	...	Junior
Phoebe Bond	...	Young Violet
Ashley Mauney	...	Nell
Ralphene Rathbone	...	Mrs. Burnett
Kera O'Bryon	...	Mrs. Sorrells
Stephen Walkingstick	...	Paul
Jacob Holton Stephen	...	Dunn
Popcorn Sutton	...	Sutton
John McElrath	...	Moonshiner
Bobby Teaster	...	Undertaker Mathias Holland
Ed Mantell	...	The Stranger
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rooney Baxter	...	Town Folk
Sampson Bradley	...	Himself
Tim Bradley	...	Town Folk
Bill Bradshaw	...	Town Folk
Dianne Brown	...	Town Folk
Steve Brown	...	Town Folk
Phillip Buckmen	...	Town Folk
Simone Cabe	...	Saloon Girl
Crystal Chambers	...	Saloon Girl
Jennifer Chavez	...	Saloon Girl
John Conner	...	Rough Three
Dawson Cook	...	Cherokee Clan Spirit
Sarah Crider	...	Town Folk
Richard Dooley	...	Town Folk
Sara Dunlop	...	Saloon Girl
Patricia M. Fairchild	...	Town Folk
Jonathon Dane Feather	...	Cherokee Clan Spirit
Judy Ferguson	...	Towm Folk
Jacob Franklin	...	Kalob
Johnny Freeman	...	Outlaw
Mary E. Freeman	...	Town Folk
Ron Freeman	...	Town Folk
Joseph Gaddis	...	Town Folk
Judy Green	...	Town Folk
William Gunn	...	Town Folk
John Harris	...	Town Folk
Eric Holloway	...	Taft
Betsy Sue Hull	...	Town Folk
Donna Hunkabee	...	Town Folk
William Jervis	...	Town Folk
Jeff Kennedy	...	Stand In Flashback Harmon
Wesley Koenighans	...	Town Folk
Michael Koenighaus	...	Town Folk
Bill Leatherwood	...	Outlaw
Genia London	...	Saloon Girl
Mary London	...	Town Folk
Eddie Lovelace	...	Town Folk
Briana Mashburn	...	Town Folk
Kristen Mashburn	...	Town Folk
Dan Massey	...	Town Folk
Jimmy McCallister	...	Town Folk
Mike McDonald	...	Town Folk
Patrick McNatt	...	US Deputy Marshall Reed Robinson
Brian Merrick	...	Shotgun rider
Timothy Mintz	...	Town Folk
Roger Moore	...	Town Folk
Mark Mounce	...	Cherokee Clan Spirit
Keith Potts	...	Rough One
Dennis Price	...	Town Folk
Diane Price	...	Town Folk
Chatea Ray	...	Town Folk
Johnny Rich	...	Rough Five
Patrick Riley	...	Town Folk
Edward Ruthorford	...	Town Folk
Charles Swift Hawk Smith	...	Cherokee Clan Spirit
Dalton Smith	...	Cherokee Clan Spirit
Kenneth E. Smith	...	Town Folk
Ted Spidle	...	Town Folk
Jess Sutton Jr.	...	Town Folk
Rufus Sutton	...	Town Folk
Bryan Teaster	...	Town Folk
Glen Teaster	...	Town Folk
Jason Teaster	...	Rough Two
Dennis Therrian	...	Piano Player
James Thompson	...	Stagecoach driver
Chris Tingen	...	Town Folk
Tony Wilburn Walkingstick	...	Cherokee Clan Spirit
Larry Walter	...	Rough Four
Dometrius Williams	...	Town Folk
Gary Woods	...	Town Folk
J. Calvin Yoder	...	Town Folk

Directed by
Jeff Kennedy
Dean Teaster		(as Dean West)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
DJ Perry		screenplay
DJ Perry		story
Dean Teaster		story (as Dean West)

Produced by
Robert Bradley	....	executive producer
Bo Buckley	....	co-producer
Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward	....	associate producer
Taymour Ghazi	....	associate producer
Fred Griffith	....	associate producer
Anthony Hornus	....	producer
DJ Perry	....	executive producer
DJ Perry	....	producer
Alaska Presley	....	executive producer
Dean Teaster	....	executive producer (as Dean West)
Tammy stephens Teaster	....	associate producer
Harry Valentine	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Dennis Therrian

Cinematography by
David Isern

Film Editing by
Dennis Therrian

Production Design by
James Thompson

Costume Design by
Kathryn Coombs

Makeup Department
Crystal Chambers	....	assistant makeup artist
Jennifer Chavez	....	key makeup artist
Holly Sago	....	key hair stylist
Holly Sago	....	special makeup effects artist
Courtney Vanhoy	....	assistant hair stylist

Production Management
Bo Buckley	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eric Scott Jones	....	first assistant director
Patrick McNatt	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Justin Haskins	....	art production assistant
Ed Mantell	....	set dresser
Bill McIntosh	....	property master

Sound Department
Shawn Allred	....	boom operator
Jason Endres	....	additional boom operator
Jason Endres	....	additional sound mixer
Eric Holloway	....	sound mixer
Arvind Krishna	....	sound: second unit
DJ Perry	....	foley artist
Dean Teaster	....	foley artist (as Dean West)
Dennis Therrian	....	adr
Dennis Therrian	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Brian Merrick	....	pyrotechnician
Brian Merrick	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Stephen Cook	....	second assistant camera
Matt DeFago	....	grip
Jason Endres	....	electrician
Jason Endres	....	grip
Patrick Horne	....	key grip
Jefferson Loftfield	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Gregg McNeill	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Matt Mosher	....	gaffer
J. Michael Whalen	....	camera operator: "b" camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Roger Moore	....	wardrobe assistant
A.J. Roberts	....	wardrobe supervisor
Danette Vogel	....	key set costumer

Music Department
Dennis Therrian	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Alice Cannon	....	transportation captain
Donna Koenighaus	....	driver
David Papenfuss	....	driver
Jeffrey F. Smith	....	wardrobe transportation

Other crew
Matt Baker	....	production assistant
Erin Connarn	....	script supervisor
Dean Conner	....	wrangler
John Conner	....	wrangler
John Conner	....	wrangler
Tommy Dippel	....	wrangler
Brooke Emery	....	production assistant
David Eubanks	....	head armorer
Mary Hampton	....	key set production assistant
Lesley-Anne Morrison	....	script supervisor (as Lesley-Anne Isern)
Justin Soponis	....	production coordinator
Magan De'Light Stephen	....	craft service
Bobbie Teaster	....	wrangler
Jeremy Underwood	....	production assistant

Thanks
Bill Bishop	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Collective Development

Distributors

• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Barnholtz Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Collective Development (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Triumphant Pictures (2008) (non-USA) (all media) (foreign sales)

Other Companies

• Forest Post Production  online mastering and color correction
• Martin J. Barab & Associates  legal
• Old Trading Post  leather goods
• Siciliano Mychalowych Van Dusen and Feul  legal
• Smooth Moving Productions  Steadicam equipment provided by
• Therrian Productions  post-production facilities

Also Known As:

Dean Teaster's Ghost Town (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some western violence.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (hd) | Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Canton, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Collective Development

Trivia:

Writer DJ Perry took actual stories and historic events and wove them into the final screenplay. He took the story of Harmon Teaster and how he lived in a cave for 7 years and the some Appalacian history of Harmon's Den and brought to life, Harmon Teaster, the great great grandfather of Dean Teaster.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Behind the Scenes of 'Ghost Town: The Movie' (2008) (V)

Personal comments on Ghost Town

I saw Ghost Town at the '07 Asheville Film Festival. For an Independent low budget film it was done very well. There was a lot of detail given to costumes and settings. Usually these are the areas they save money and use clothing from their closets. My favorite thing about this movie is they DID NOT dress the Native Americans in deer skin clothes. They kept them authentic to the era. I'm so glad the Native Americans weren't played as half naked, inhuman savages. Kudos to the powers that allowed that!

I think the writing was done well. It seemed to drift off topic and start in one direction and then abandon that either because it wasn't working or the scheduling didn't allow them to continue it. This is fairly common in indie films and part of why I like them so much. You see the struggle of getting screenplays to flow on screen. I imagine all the actors had complete biographies of their characters and this helped form how they played them. Only a few of them managed to make you curious about what happened in their lives to make them the way they were.

Renee O'Conner did really well in her role. She dressed as a man much like a Calamity Jane character. What I liked about her performance is that she played the character differently than you would expect. She wasn't a hard drinking, cussing, fighting character. Her dress and manner seemed more for survival than a gender confusion or confusion over her sexuality. So I enjoyed seeing a stereotypical western character played non typically. I would be interested in knowing how she developed this version of a typical character seen in so many westerns. She has more talent and range than I think she is given credit for. Hopefully parts like this will open more eyes to that.

Princess Lucaj (Violet Teaster) played her part extremely well. She actually managed to convey her character's history in her performance. You could almost see and feel what her life had been like secluded and protected by her gruff mountain hermit father. Sometimes when I see a movie or character I often wonder what their lives had been like after the story ended. Princess Lucaj performance as Violet Teaster makes me wonder what happened to her. How did the events in the movie alter the course of her life?

All though I do feel like Ghost Town was crammed full of western stereotypes, they all had a variation to them that kept them interesting. To be able to write a plot line that's been done dozens of times and make it interesting, that takes talented writing IMO. DJ Perry isn't among the best screenwriters (yet) but his stories are well enough that they are made into films. They get talented actors to play the parts with dignity and not just an opportunity to earn money acting. Skilled directors, producers, set designers and a host of other background people bring his writing to screen and care about the outcome because they saw something in the script worth it to them. That says he has a great deal of promise. I respect him and his talent.

All in all I think Ghost Town is a good independent film that didn't bore me to tears.