(PCM) While some actresses are satisfied with performing in their various movies, the multi-talented Christina Moore is also a noted comedian and screenwriter.
The lovely 43-year-old, who is best known for her roles on sketch comedy series MADtv and the TNT show “Hawthorne,” has written a compelling, and heartfelt screenplay for the film, “Running Wild.” The movie stars Sharon Stone, Tommy Flanagan, Jason Lewis, and Moore.
It is not surprising that Moore wrote such a riveting and compassionate movie. She has nearly a dozen film credits to her name and dozens of TV credits, including “90210,” “Castle,” “Last Man Standing,” “Two and a Half Men,” and “Rules of Engagement.”
The recently-released film is about Stella Davis (Dorian Brown, a young widow who is faced with the loss of her family’s horse ranch after the sudden death of her husband, who kept their financial problems for her.
Ultimately, Stella saves her ranch by working with convicts to rehabilitate a herd of wild horses that wandered onto her property. Stela must find prejudice, greed, bureaucracy and vanity, to finally understand there is no better remedy for misfortune than helping another living creature.
In the way “Running Horses,” was written, Stella’s humanity for the horses, and the convicts, elevates this story to a memorable tale, which has many life lessons for all of us.
PCM: Please tell me why you wrote this movie, “Running Wild?”
Christina Moore: Hmmm. Our financer, Forrest Lucas, has a real heart for ranchers and The American Heartland, and knows that not farmer out there is Monsanto. He Came up with the premise and asked me what I could do to get that message out. Also, a friend of mine died in a car accident and his partner was reeling from the sudden loss. Around the same time we were at an auction when the real program involving inmates and wild horses came to my attention, and it all kind of came together.
PCM: It is extremely difficult to cope with that sudden loss, especially when Stella had no idea of her dire financial predicament following her husband’s death.
CM: Yes. This is a woman who needs to pull up her socks. When the convicts and the horse program comes to her, the story is going to be about universal themes and second chances.
PCM: I loved that despite all of the obstacles, Stella didn’t give up.
CM: Yes, I agree. So many of us figure we can borrow from our futures and figure they can pay it off one day. So her husband was protecting her from the truth, thinking if he could hang on then something would change and no one will ever know – which is not how it worked out.
PCM: There are many important life lessons, but what is one overall message?
CM: I definitely loved the idea of the message of redemption. There is a point that Sharon Stone’s character makes that these guys (the convicts) are just circling the drains. So the questions is, ‘Can people really change and make a complete life switch, if given the right program or assistance?’
PCM: What do you think is the answer?
CM: I am a hugely positive person, so I say yes.
PCM: Do you have a favorite of all the male characters in “Running Wild?”
CM: Since I wrote the movie I feel you are supposed to love all of your kids, but Tommy Flanagan – his character speaks to me really deeply.
PCM: He gets the girl in the end, right?
CM: Nope. Tommy gets the job – someone else gets the girl.
PCM: Talk about the horses that were the focus on the movie.
CM: Animals bring out the best of us so the biggest challenge ended up being a big blessing. We ended up adopting 10 horses from a holding pen that were undernourished and wild, so in a lot of scenes real legitimate cowboys and wranglers.
PCM: Give me an example of life imitating art in this movie.
CM: The horse named Aces was not a movie horse, Aces was a wild horse and a lot of what you see in the film, the bonding and the communication really took place. We were profoundly changed by working with these horses. I think maybe the greatest scenes were the magical ones involving the horses. These animals also work with special needs children, and adults, and battered women. It is a profound relationship. Horses can’t lie.
PCM: So do you feel that you were personally changed by this movie?
CM: Oh, my gosh! Yes. It was my first tie producing a movie, and even though I went to film school that was jumping into the deep end. I was inspired. This is what got me into acting in the first place. The idea of ‘let’s put a play on in the barn.’ So I loved watching the way the movie changed by all the artistry. The script came alive and the characters became three-dimensional. It changed again during the editing and post production. This was a bunch of committed artists coming together and it is bigger than I could ever have imagined it could be.
PCM: What’s next for you?
CM: I went on and produced another movie, “Pray For Rain,” starring Jane Seymour. It is set in the central valley of California during a horrific drought. It is a true wasteland that I lacking water. Entire communities have to get water shipped in via a tank. My husband, John, also write a movie in which I play Kevin Dillon’s wife.
PCM: What has been the reaction to “Running Wild,” so far?
CM: We are having a premiere in which I invited 30 of my closest friends. I am both excited and terrified about it. I am hoping everyone will love watching it as much as I enjoyed making it.