SCREENPLAY & DEVELOPMENT

Abomination on Bolt Mountain

Adapted from my stage play of the same name, writing on Abomination on Bolt Mountain began in the spring of ‘21. While working on TV development for the adaptation of my graphic novel, Jazz Legend, with Sanjay Sharma of Marginal MediaWorks, Sanjay introduced me to filmmaker and artist Tim Disney, with whom Sanjay had shared a draft of the play script. In addition to beginning development of The A.R.C. graphic novel, Tim, Sanjay, and I spent the next 9 months updating the AOBM storyline for the screen.

The original story was set roughly around ‘08 during the peak of the opioid crisis in Appalachia. For us, the challenge we found with the AOBM adaptation was that we had both missed our window to make the story feel urgent, and that not quite enough time had passed since ‘08 to make the story feel like a reflection on the past, either. Ultimately, the project was shelved, but with the intention to one day dust it off when the time is right.

About the story: After the disastrous explosion at Piney Fork Coal Company in the fall of 2008, a miner, Billy Ray, finds himself crippled and unable to provide for his family. Riddled with guilt and convinced he was responsible for the accident, which took the lives of many men, Billy turns to liquor and pain pills. As his health and home life deteriorate, things turn even darker when Billy stumbles across a mysterious being in the forest in the dead of night.

created by: JC Lacek

words: JC Lacek, Tim Disney

development: JC Lacek, Sanjay Sharma, Tim Disney

Read the Abomination on Bolt Mountain pitch deck below