''Running Wild'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Alex Ranarivelo Alex Ranarivelo is a French filmmaker known for his sports dramas. Early life He was born into a French- Malagasy family in Saint-Jean-d'Angely, France. His great-grandfather, a Malagasy man, married his great-grandmother, a white woman, in 191 ...

and written by

Christina Moore Christina Moore (born April 12, 1973) is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as Laurie Forman on the sixth season of the Fox period comedy series ''That '70s Show'' (2003–04), Tracy Clark on The CW teen drama serie ...

and Brian Rudnick. In addition to Moore who also appears in the film, it also stars

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...

Tommy Flanagan Thomas or Tom Flanagan may refer to: * Thomas Flanagan (bishop) (1930–2019), American Roman Catholic bishop * Thomas Flanagan (Irish politician) (died 1980), Irish civil engineer and politician * Thomas Flanagan (priest) (1814–1865), English Ro ...

, Jason Lewis, Dorian Brown, Tom Williamson.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on August 17, 2015, in Napa,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It was released on February 10, 2017.

Plot

Stella Davis, a widow who saves her ranch by working with convicts to rehabilitate a herd of wild horses that wandered on to her property. Stella must fight prejudice, greed, bureaucracy and vanity (including her own) to finally understand that there is no better remedy to misfortune than helping another living creature.

Cast

as Meredith Parish *

* Jason Lewis as Brannon Bratt * Dorian Brown as Stella Davis * Tom Williamson *

Production

On July 29, 2015, it was announced that

would direct the Horse drama film ''Running Wild'' based on the script by Brian Rudnick. Forrest Lucas and Ali Afshar would produce the film through ESX Entertainment, and the banner would also finance the film. On August 18, 2015,

signed on to play the main villain role in the film as Meredith, while the script was done by

and Rudnick, and Moore would also co-produce the film. On August 19, 2015, Dorian Brown and

joined the film, Brown to play the lead role of a widow Stella Davis, fighting to save her ranch from a herd of wild horses by working with convicts, while Flanagan to play the leader of the convicts. On August 20, 2015, Jason Lewis joined the cast to play the male lead.

on the film began on August 17, 2015, in Napa,

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Sandie Angelo Chen of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

wrote, "despite the filmmakers' overtly anti-activist agenda, this drama is well acted and has a couple of surprisingly empowering messages," and Brian Orndorf of Blu-ray.com called it "unusual", writing "''Running Wild'' isn’t sharp entertainment, but it’s surprisingly convincing, carried along by accomplished performances, a cozy rural atmosphere, and a deep concern for the plight of the American horse." However,

Gary W. Goldstein Gary Wolff Goldstein (born December 24, 1952) is an American author, speaker, consultant and Hollywood film producer, best known for producing ''Pretty Woman'', ''Under Siege'', and ''The Mothman Prophecies'' and generating over a billion dolla ...

wrote in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' that the film "takes a largely simplistic, heavy-handed approach to a potentially deep and vital story," with "shoddy storytelling" overwhelming a strong performance by Sharon Stone.

References

External links