Shepard & Dark

Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark met in Greenwich Village in the early 1960’s and, despite leading very different lives, remained close friends ever since. Shepard became a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright (Buried Child) and an Academy Award-nominated actor (The Right Stuff), while Dark was a homebody who supported himself with odd jobs.

Through the decades, they stayed bonded by family ties. Dark married an older woman named Scarlett and  Shepard married her daughter. For years, the two couples lived together, until Shepard broke away for a relationship with Jessica Lange in 1983, leaving Johnny to help father his first son. Nevertheless, he and Dark continued writing to each other, amassing hundreds of letters.

Director Treva Wurmfeld began filming the two friends in 2010 during a period of transition and reflection for Shepard. At the time, he had quietly ended his relationship with Lange and agreed to publish his correspondence with Dark. The task required them to meet and sift through years of their shared history, stirring memories both good and bad. Wurmfeld observes the two men over a period of eighteen months and captures an indelible portrait of a complex male friendship rarely depicted on screen.

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Score Produced by Graham Reynolds

Recorded and Mixed by Buzz Moran and Graham Reynolds

Recorded at Red House Studio, Austin, TX

Album Mastered by Buzz Moran

Performed by:

Guitars  -  Adam Sultan, Kelly Doyle

Saxophones / Reeds  -  John Mills

All Other Instruments  -  Graham Reynolds

Featuring Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark

Produced by Amy Hobby

Executive Produced by Emily Wachtel and Treva Wurmfeld

Edited by Sandra Adair

Film Released on October 11, 2012

CD package design by Buzz Moran

CD cover image courtesy of Music Box Films, S&D logo by Matt Frost