Projects & Productions

Biting the Dust, based on a true story, is an action-packed dramady that follows 4 cowboys who'll risk everything for a life on the rodeo circuit and the dream of winning the ultimate "Gold Buckle" prize at the World Championships in Las Vegas. Spanning the 1970s to the 1990s, this gritty, heart-wrenching period piece bursts with moments of comedy, and weaves together the stories of a handful of rough-stock riders, rodeo clowns, a fugitive, and the women in their lives who love them — mothers, wives, grandmothers — who pack the gear, pay the bills, and pray that the phone doesn't ring.

Jake Everly, a gifted rodeo cowboy who watched his father die under the hooves of a bull at age eight — and spends the rest of his life chasing glory to prove to his family and himself that he's "got this." Cal Bowers, son of Jo (Josefina), a beautiful Latina who raised 2 sons on her own, is a quiet man haunted by the ghost of his red-haired, wild-man brother Duke — searching every arena for a peace he can't name. Al Wolf, a Sioux cowboy fighting for his children's heritage and his wife, Enola, a Reservation Social Worker fighting for the lives of the Sioux kids she counsels. Riley Hamich, a crude-but-loyal wild card, racing through the grueling rounds of rodeo with comedic swagger, stunning good looks, and a heart of gold.

Alongside them: Sammy Bello, a "sometimes armed but not so dangerous" fugitive from the law who loves rodeo; Billy Keller, a boy barely old enough to drive who dreams of the finals, and his Mom, Betsy, who has to make some gut-wrenching decisions; Ruth Madden, a no-nonsense editor of Rodeo's largest publication, reporting on the circuit and on the cowboys she loves to hate; Doug Bigsby, a rodeo clown who's seen too much — risking his life as they crisscross the Great Plains chasing prize money, dodging debt, and leaving broken families in their wake.

Biting the Dust, based on the book by Dirk Johnson, is a rowdy, heartbreaking, laugh-out-loud love letter to the diverse array of people that comprise "the American cowboy". It is a story that is ultimately about what it means to stop looking back and start living — where the real ride isn't in the arena, but in finding a way to keep going when the dust settles.