Hammer Down (Pilot)

The delinquent teenage son of an outlaw trucker questions his own future within his father’s illegal enterprise, as he comes of age in a rapidly changing 1980s rural south.

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Hammer down is a fictional tale, grounded in the real life story, and unbelievable antics, of actual outlaw trucker, Jere Apple, along with a wild group of friends and his delinquent son, during the 1980's - a time in transition for trucking, at the cusp of technical advances that would collide with Reagan’s manufactured war on drugs to all but kill the practice entirely.

The real truth is, it’s all fun and games on the road, until you realize you’re on your 8th marriage. Or you spent all the money you made (or stole) on hookers and crank - while the lights are getting cut off back at the house. Or dad’s going to jail... Again. What sets out to be a good time often ends with chaos and personal destruction for everyone else around. For all of the fun and excitement, someone had to pay, and it’s often the people closest who bear the greatest emotional toll.

Our story touches on these real life aspects of the mythical outlaw trucker, while embracing the action and adventure of the 1980s, the period in which it is set. Hammer Down evokes the low-brow, white trash family dynamics of Shameless, while echoing the small town fun of The Dukes of Hazzard, and the trucking action of the Smokey and the Bandit franchise, while the father-son dynamic of these partners in criming feels akin to White Boy Rick.

  • Stephanie Anne Cooper
    Writer
  • Donald William Apple
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Television Script
  • Genres:
    Crime, dramedy, drama, dark comedy, adventure
  • Number of Pages:
    59
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Writer - Stephanie Anne Cooper, Donald William Apple
Writer Statement

WILLIAM APPLE
I have lived an unconventional life as the son of an actual real life Outlaw Trucker, and that upbringing still has a profound affect on my life. Born and raised in a tiny bypassed town in rural Jackson County, Tennessee, I was born into my father’s corrupt way of life, and while it was mostly a lot of fun, it also caused myself and many others a lot of unnecessary misery.

As you might imagine, by the time I was a teenager, I was nearly as full-on corrupt as my dad, and ready to wholly embrace the darker parts of myself. But times were changing, and when the people I loved began dying and going to prison, I knew that I needed to find a better path for myself or I would definitely end up a convict - and I don’t like the color orange.

I am now a musician and songwriter living in Nashville where I craft songs drawn from my strange, exciting - obviously terrible - upbringing; experiences I’ve drawn from in the creation of Hammer Down and it’s deeply flawed, yet empathetic characters, and unbelievably true-to-life events.

STEPHANIE COOPER
As a biracial female writer, raised in Los Angeles and now living in the south, I aim to bridge gaps and bring forth stories anchored in our multi-cultural American life - because our stories are rarely just black or white, all one way or the other; our real lives and stories are most often lived in the spaces where cultures, experiences and perspectives meet and merge. I feel that my experience with people who tend to live outlaw or otherwise unconventional lives, coupled with my extensive exposure to rural America, helps me shape the voices of the unique players of Hammer Down, adding dimension to create layered, authentic characters with empathy and grace.