Battling COVID shut-downs and the death of a lead actress, Hannover House finds a winning formula for the WILDFIRE movie

Production of the "WILDFIRE" movie from Hannover House hit multiple obstacles, including the death of Anne Heche. But the final result is a notable homage.

Hannover House, Inc. (OTCMKTS:HHSE)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, CA, UNITED STATES, September 21, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- For indie film distributor Hannover House, Inc. (OTC: HHSE), the idea of producing a family movie based on a #1 hit song seemed like a no brainer. ”WILDFIRE: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse” was envisioned as a mix of themes from the hit song by Michael Martin Murphey, and the spiritual legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse. But what was planned as a four-week filming schedule extended into eight-weeks spread over a three-year time-frame, due largely to unavoidable circumstances.

“It was the most challenging film out of the sixty-eight features that I’ve produced,” said director Eric Parkinson, who is also CEO of Hannover House. “We lost a primary investor, we got shut down during COVID and one of our leading actors died. By the time we resumed filming after an 18-month COVID break, some of our younger actors had grown so much that we had to reshoot scenes. It was a long journey, for sure,” he concluded.

Legendary film star Anne Heche died in a tragic car accident in August of 2022, and some of her scenes as the rodeo-champion-turned-trainer had to be rewritten and reshot.

“Anne’s death was a shocking development that obviously no one anticipated,” said producer Chris Large. “She was so great during her first two weeks that we wrote new scenes for her character in the film. Still, what we got with her was cinematic gold, and the film is a touching legacy performance,” he continued.

Eric Parkinson relayed his favorite story of working with Anne Heche.

“On the first day of Anne’s scenes in the horse arena, she came up and asked if she could try the barrel racing herself, instead of filming with a stunt double. I was concerned, of course, but felt that I needed to defer to her request. So, Anne ran the barrels in record time and the footage was spectacular. She rode the horse right up to me and said ‘did I do good, Eric?’ I responded that ‘your agent told me you were not an experienced rider,’ to which Anne replied, ‘I’m not, but my character is a champion!’ To me, that attitude perfectly captured Anne’s professionalism and commitment to the role,” Parkinson concluded.

But challenges and delays also impacted the post production of “WILDFIRE.” With hundreds of hours of raw footage – from herds of wild horses to dramatic thunderstorms – the edit assembly took over a year when many indie features are wrapped within three months. Then, the process of adding music, visual effects, color-corrections and sound effects added to the post-production time, but ultimately delivered a better product.

“We could have finished and released the film sooner,” said Parkinson. “But with this being Anne’s final performance, we felt an enhanced responsibility to do our best with the music and other post issues. We think it was worth the wait.”

“WILDFIRE: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse” will finally hit theatres starting Friday, Sept. 26. Initially, it will be playing in local markets where the film was shot (Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico). But during the month of October, the release to theatres will expand to additional markets, including New York and Los Angeles.

In addition to Anne Heche, Chevel Shepherd and Michael Martin Murphey, other principal stars in the film include Mo Brings Plenty (“Yellowstone”), Adrian Paul (“Highlander”), Thesa Loving (“Second Chances”) and Cara Jade Myers (“Killers of the Flower Moon”). The film was shot primarily in and around Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Other locations include Fayetteville, Arkansas, Farmington, New Mexico and New Braunfels, Texas. The production received significant assistance in terms of content consultation and cultural accuracy from the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians.

“The release of ‘WILDFIRE’ is the first in a series of major events and announcements from Hannover House,” said Parkinson. “We have an impressive slate of new productions and completed acquisitions, as well as our stock up-listing to move off the Pinksheets exchange. We have organized these and other activities to launch following the material development of getting our first in-house facilitated feature film production into release. Watch for big things from Hannover House over the upcoming weeks,” he concluded.

To view the trailer, visit: www.WildfireMovie.com

Eric Parkinson
Hannover House / Hemdale Film Corp.
+1 818-481-5277
email us here

1-minute theatrical trailer for WILDFIRE feature - Launches to theatres beginning Sept. 26, 2025

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