Brandon Davis to pitch action-drama for network president
With abandoned industrial buildings, graffiti-kissed railcars and treacherous potholes, Columbia was practically built to be the backdrop for a blockbuster car chase — and fourth-year interdisciplinary studies student Brandon Davis has made the city his playground.
Davis is the writer and star of the action-drama series “Shifting Gears,” which he recruited fourth-year media arts student Will Golladay to direct. He also scooped up actors Antwon Tanner — best known for his role as Skills in the television series “One Tree Hill” — and Merritt Vann of “Revolution” and “Sleepy Hollow” fame.
Davis even got a foot in the door with the president of AMC, who he and Golladay will pitch the pilot episode to within the next three weeks.
The story centers around Jason Scott (Davis), whose beloved mother and world-class racecar driver father (Vann) were murdered in a car-jacking incident. Years later, Scott finds himself caught in the middle of a local crime ring trying to track down his parents’ killer and serve up his own brand of justice.
There’s lots of punching, shooting and high-speed car chases (which were filmed with the help of real members of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department), but Davis says not to lump the show in with all the other tough-guys-driving-fast-cars movies.
“It’s different from anything you’ve seen in a long time — you’re rooting for the criminal in the car chase,” Davis said. “He’s a criminal for the right reasons, but as he gets higher up in the crime ring, you start to wonder if he’s still in it for the right reasons or if he just wants to be a criminal.”
Tanner plays Marus Mack, a hardened, gravelly voiced thug who is Scott’s ticket to the heart of the crime ring. The actor became involved with the project after bumping into Davis in Five Points one night. He liked the idea so much that he offered to lend his acting experience to the pilot for free while he was in town for the weekend.
As someone familiar with the world of show biz, Tanner says that while Davis’ talents are raw, the show will have a fighting chance in the executive office of AMC.
“It’ll be competitive,” Tanner said. “I think people will fall in love with some characters on his show because the way he does it is different — it’s a whole ‘nother world. I’d compare it to shows like ‘The Wire’ — natural grittiness and lots of handheld steady cam.”
Vann, who was introduced to the project through a friend who works with Davis at Longhorn Steakhouse, also agreed to act for free.
Davis originally wrote “Shifting Gears” as a movie, but when a friend’s mom who works for Ion Television heard the idea, she told Davis that she would put him in front of Charlie Collier, the president of AMC, if he turned the idea into a TV show.
“I’m very confident we’ll be picked up,” Davis said. “We’re going to push the limits of what can be seen on TV, and AMC does unconventional shows.”
Davis says that if the channel decides to pick up the show, the crew will most likely have to reshoot the pilot and switch out much of the cast and crew (including Davis himself) with professionals. He says that he will try to keep as many of the original members as possible — many of who are college buddies, not industry pros.
See clips from “Shifting Gears” on YoutTube at http://bit.ly/1kLcMM2, and track the show’s progress by following @uscBD on twitter.