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John Layne A Dark Destiny Photo
A Dark Destiny

A battle-scarred police chief in West Texas fights his inner demons to save the town that gave him a second chance.

A Dark Destiny Film Poster
About the Film

When retired officer John Garrison takes the job as police chief in small-town West Texas, he hopes to leave violence behind. Instead, a brutal domestic assault involving his secretary forces him to confront her dangerous estranged husband. Before he can process the aftermath, a murder case linked to a missing young woman drops in his lap. Now Garrison must face not only the dark underbelly of his adopted town but also the trauma that comes with wearing the badge—proving that even in the quietest corners of Texas, evil has a way of finding those who hunt it.

Awards

Star International Film Festival

  • Best Short Screenplay

  • Best Producer

  • Best Film Poster

  • Best Supporting Actor

  • Best Supporting Actress

  • Best Actress

SSU Film Festival

  • Best Modern Western Short

  • Best Actor Modern Western-Short

  • Best Supporting Actress-Short

  • Best Supporting Actor-Short

  • Best Female Filmmaker

Wild Bunch Film Festival

  • Best Actor

  • Best Supporting Actress

  • Best Modern Day Western Short Film

  • Best Drama Short Film

  • Best Texas Short Film

  • Best Original Song

Awards

Texas Short Film Festival

  • Finalist Dark Drama 

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Bass & Belle Wild West Film Festival

  • Best Female Director

  • Social Awareness Film Award

 

Portugal Independent Film Festival

  • Best Actor Short Film

  • Best Director Short Film

Barcelona Independent Film Awards

  • Best Female Independent Director

  • Best Independent Short Film

  • Best Short Film

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Billy The Kid Film Festival

  • Best Film Local

Red River Photo
Red River Reunion

Adapted Screenplay - Available for Option/Purchase

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In the Old West, a gunslinging U.S. Marshall plagued by a cryptic past reunites with a weathered Texas Ranger on a perilous mission to defend a Texas border town from ruthless outlaws.

RRR Screenplay Cover
About the Screenplay

From John Layne's internationally acclaimed novel comes a classic Western tale set in 1877, where two legendary lawmen unknowingly ride toward a reunion that will test their limits. When outlaws terrorize the Texas border town of Range, U.S. Deputy Marshal Luxton Danner and Texas Ranger Wes Payne converge on the settlement from opposite ends of the territory.

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As Danner uncovers wealthy businessman Jared Barry's connection to the violent raids, complications multiply: Barry's daughter trails Danner in secret, a nun vanishes without a trace, and a massive cattle drive payment looms with no safe haven in sight.

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Outnumbered and facing impossible odds, Danner and Payne must risk everything in an explosive showdown that could save Range—or reduce it to ashes. Their hell-bent-for-leather heroics pit two of the West's finest lawmen against a tide of evil that threatens to destroy the very town they've sworn to protect.

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Based on the award-winning novel Red River Reunion by John Layne, this screenplay adaptation co-written with Christine Baker captures the grit, action, and raw justice of the American frontier.

Awards
  • 2022 Genre Celebration Festival Toyko, Japan Top 5 Final, Nominated Best Feature Screenplay​

  • The 2023 Women's Independent Film & Screenwriting Festival Finalist​

  • 2022 Screenplay Festival Finalist​

  • 2022 Page Turner Screenplays Quarterfinalist​

  • 2023 Santa Barbara International Screenplay Awards Honorable Mention​

  • 2023 Wiki: The World's Fastest Screenplay Contest Quarterfinalist

Retro Clock and Glowing Lights
Just Before Midnight

Screenplay - Available for Option/Purchase

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Emotionally ravaged by the tragic death of his wife, a former homicide detective, now bourbon-drinking private detective, is summoned by his former police lieutenant after two homicide victims, both murdered in the same unusual manner, are found to be private investigators.

Just Before Midnight Cover
About the Screenplay

Bourbon-soaked PI C.J. Pike can barely keep his own demons at bay, let alone solve a case. But when his former partner Lt. Travis Rocklin reveals someone's methodically killing private investigators across the city, Pike has no choice but to shake off his three-year hangover. The murder of his friend and fellow investigator hits too close to home, forcing Pike to confront not only a calculating killer, but also the guilt he's been drowning in bourbon since his wife's tragic death. Now he's in a race against time – and his own personal hell – to stop the next murder.

Awards
  • 2023 The World’s Fastest Screenplay Contest Quarterfinalist Short Film/Pilot Screenplay

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