By DAVID GUNTER

Feature correspondent

SANDPOINT — Two talented sisters, one great script and a feature film that could change the cultural landscape of our already arts-intensive town.

That’s the recipe behind the project that siblings Sarah and Hailey Hines have going under the umbrella of Planted Roots Productions — a production company that exists primarily to realize their dream of bringing the movie industry home to Sandpoint.

“Our biggest undertaking right now is that we’re trying to make a feature western film, locally,” said Sarah Hines, listing a cast of up to 20 actors, a host of support crew members, costumers, lighting and sound technicians and caterers who stand to benefit financially from such an endeavor. “They’re not just jobs — they’re fun jobs.”

The plans for such a film didn’t happen all of a sudden for the sisters, both of whom have been into theatre almost since they can remember.

“It started really young with us,” said Sarah. “I auditioned for my first TV series when I was 7 and began writing short stories and screenplays when I was 12.”

That early training has culminated in her script for the proposed movie titled, “Peace Among Black Hills.” Planted Roots screened a 16-minute short of the film at the Panida Theater in November, followed by a showing last month at the Pearl Theater in Bonners Ferry.

“We wanted something that would show people what the film was all about,” Hines said. “We shot that in six days and everybody on set was a volunteer.”

As the process moved forward, the sisters worked with talent agencies in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane to round out a cast made up of local actors. The tight-knit troupe came together organically. Instead of traditional readings and rehearsals leading up to filming the short, the group got together for bonfires and campouts, making music and playing card games to find cohesion.

“When we got on set, we were like family,” Hines said.

The “set” for the project could cover not only Sandpoint locales, but also ghost towns in Idaho and Montana to capture the right visual feel for the movie. As a lifelong lover of epic westerns, Hines plans to include at least a few large-scale scenes, including a historically accurate saloon and a Native American village. Those elements, she explained, represent the art behind the film. Then again, she drops the same word when talking about all aspects involved.

“From the makeup to the set dressing, right down to the clapper operator — it’s all art,” she said. “Every single part of it is art.”

The screenwriter describes the plot as “a combination of ‘Dances with Wolves’ versus ‘Young Guns.’” Elaborating somewhat, she shares that the story line follows a young half Lakota Indian girl who gets torn away from her family and has to make a life for herself. She meets up with a group of women — all of whom, according to Hines, are misfits — who decide to start a cattle ranch in Montana.

The script takes the cast through more than a few tribulations and triumphs, including lost cattle, found love and a sheriff from Silver City who is hell-bent on turning an accidental death into a murder rap.

Wholly original in content, the screenplay nonetheless takes ample inspiration from the movies Hines watched as a youngster.

“I grew up on westerns,” she said. “I’ve probably seen every John Wayne movie twice over, because my grandmother was secretly in love with him.”

A second well of inspiration came from Sylvester Stallone’s first film, “Rocky,” which he wrote and starred in. Spurning interest from directors and producers who wanted to take on the project with another actor playing the role of the comeback boxer, Stallone insisted on playing the eponymous part himself. In like fashion, Hines is holding fast to her designs on bringing her lead character to life on screen.

The other ironclad prerequisite is that the Sandpoint sisters keep their hometown as home base for the film.

“We still have hopes that we could get a big-name director, but we want it to stay here,” Hines said. “And I’m not giving up my role. I’m playing that role.”

Planted Roots has a two-tiered production budget in mind. If the project can attract one A-list actor — said thespian already has expressed interest if the budget comes together — the cost would be about $600,000. Version two dreams bigger, pulling in Sam Elliott and Tom Selleck to reprise their popular roles as cowboy brothers and pushing the cost up to $3 million and change.

A long shot, maybe, but the writer thinks she has a potential magnet for such pros in the story itself.

“At the end of the day, it’s definitely the script,” she said. “I think it’s because it’s an original story where everything flows and fits together really well.”

If the pieces fall into place financially and artistically, Planted Roots Productions will start filming next spring, using Sandpoint as its headquarters for lodging actors and crew here, as well as employing support services within the community. Filming for the 136-page script would take about three months to complete, according to Hines.

For more information, visit online at: facebook.com/plantedrootsproductions or call 208-597-1588.Preface