Chad Feehan’s parents took him to the movies nearly every single weekend. “They didn’t have much of a filter,” he joked about seeing heavy movies at a young age. “In my early teens, Tarantino exploded with Reservoir Dogs and Robert Rodriguez exploded with El Mariachi. I saw that not only did people get paid to make movies, but they could come from Texas.”

As a screenwriter, he’s known for Paranormal Activity 4, Southland, Rectify, Banshee Origins, Banshee, Ray Donovan and Lawmen: Bass Reeves where he’s also the creator. The recent story follows, “Legendary lawman Bass Reeves, one of the greatest frontier heroes and one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi River.”

In this interview, Feehan talks about low budget single setting films, going to AFI as a producer with Sam Esmail, getting discovered on the Blacklist, early mentors in the business, understanding the vernacular of Texas, and how shows from people like Taylor Sheridan are tapping into unmet needs for a hopeful, optimistic audience.

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