My latest TV project was a pilot for A&E about a rough-and-tumble sheriff in rural McCreary County, Kentucky in the Danielle Boone National Forest. We shot two half hour episodes following Sheriff Gus Skinner, and his deputies as they enforce the law in the hollers and back roads on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains.
This series was produced by Skip Film, and I was a Field Producer on location in Kentucky for several weeks. The shoots were often run-and-gun, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants in nature, as we filmed Sheriff Gus respond to emergency calls, bust moonshiners, track down drug runners, and serve warrants with dangerous criminals. The colorful characters in McCreary County (one of the poorest and most rural communities in Kentucky), and the strong personalities of the deputies and Sheriff Gus himself made this a really fun and interesting project. Here’s hoping that it gets picked up for a full series!
I can’t say much more about the show until it airs, here are a few Instagrams I took during the shoot:
Good grief! Gus Skinner is an old friend ( and frat brother -) of mine from his home town here in Columbus, Ga. I hadn’t seen or heard anything from him in years,…and simply googled his name, and ..lo and behold, here’s this story about him from 2012! Obviously that’s been a few years back, but what’ s the latest on him? How can I get in touch with that old boy? Besides being friends while in high school and early college, he and first wife, Donna ( who passed away while still young) were in our Sunday School class, and then he married Tracey,… and they had moved to Kentucky. Last I heard from him. If you still have any way to contact Howard ( we always just called him Gus), please let me know…..or let him know I was asking about him, so he can contact me.