by Leigh Ann Matthews
Photos courtesy of Eric Parkinson
In 1975, a young musician from Texas released the song “Wildfire” on his third album, Blue Sky – Night Thunder. The song became a major pop hit and launched Michael Martin Murphey’s career, which now spans more than 50 years. Murphey’s “Wildfire,” co-written with Larry Cansler, was inspired by a legendary Native American ghost-horse story his grandfather told him as a boy — and by a dream he once had about a wild horse.
The song became Murphey’s signature hit, which he has said “broke my career wide open and, on some level, still keeps it fresh.” Years after its release, the song was the inspiration for a family-friendly movie, “Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse,” by writers Eric Parkinson and Mike Snyder. The story centers around a young girl and her experience with a mystical wild horse who helps her deal with guilt and loneliness following a family tragedy.
Rotten Tomatoes, a well-known entertainment review company, recommends the movie as “a tale of native spirituality with Christian doctrine and values to create an enchanting film for all audiences.”
Starring Chevel Shepherd, winner of season 15 of “The Voice,” as Samantha Nichols, the cast also included Adrian Paul (“Highlander”), Mo Brings Plenty (“Yellowstone”), Michael Martin Murphey, Cara Jade Myers (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Thesa Loving of Spiro, Okla., Cassie Haley (Self) of Rogers, Ark., and several others. “Wildfire” was the final film featuring the late Anne Heche, who played a horse trainer and insisted on riding the horse in all of her scenes without stunt doubles. Major Dodge Jr. played Samantha’s younger brother.
The cast also included several Oklahomans from around the state, among them Olivia Slatton-Fite, Chris Large, Mike Garner and Sacha Thomas of Tulsa; Harley Raskey, Choogie Kingfisher, Amy Carter, Angie Workman Cook, Kelly Prewitt, Phoenix Ghost, Ashleigh Ashmoore, Anne Missy Fite, Natasha Bray, Kyle Shambaugh and James McIntosh of Tahlequah; Mariah Davis of Durant; Frederick McAvoy of Oklahoma City; and Lea McCormick of Muskogee. A bonfire scene also included Oklahoma musicians Travis Fite and Monica Taylor of Sperry, Tommy Wildcat of Park Hill, and Scott and Leigh Ann Matthews of Muskogee. More than 75 Oklahomans served as background performers.
Filming began in 2019 in and around Tahlequah, which was selected because of its “rich Native American history as well as the accessibility to many things needed for the film.”
Parkinson became familiar with Tahlequah while working with the Cherokee Nation on commercial projects. “The horses were there, people who wanted to participate were there, the landscape is beautiful, and it just seemed like the best location,” he said. “The decision was made without any incentives to film there, so it was truly a creative decision rather than a financial one.”
Directed by Parkinson, the movie experienced several major setbacks in the beginning. Just two weeks into the project, the film lost its investor, which Parkinson explained “is about the worst thing that can happen to an independent filmmaker. We really had to scramble to figure out a different way to get the movie done, and about the time we thought we did, the whole world was shut down by Covid. We had to stop everything and leave Oklahoma.”
Months later after the Screen Actors Guild permitted filming to resume, the crew and staff assembled in Tahlequah again to finish filming the remaining scenes. Filming wrapped up in August 2021, but the project experienced another delay with the soundtrack, as Murphey’s busy touring schedule was difficult to work around. Once the soundtrack was completed, a screening was held Nov. 4, 2023, at the Lone Star Film Festival in Fort Worth, Texas. The film was labeled as a “work in progress.”
“It was a well-attended sneak peek showing,” Parkinson said. “Murphy and Chevel were there, and we even brought Poncho, the horse who played Wildfire.”
After a few minor changes were made, the film was officially completed and ready for audiences. A Los Angeles film agent presented the movie to the streaming platform Paramount Plus, which delayed the official release yet again for about a year, but it was not contracted.
The film ultimately secured a distribution deal with NBC Universal and was released on the company’s streaming platform Fandango at Home.
“The specifications of the contract and release date on Fandango made it almost impossible to release it in theatres, so we were only out in a few select locations for about two weeks in October 2025,” Parkinson explained.
The filmmaker’s achieved their goal of creating a true family movie that was respectful to the Native American culture and included a Christian theme without being evangelical. So far, the response and reviews have been positive. In January, Parkinson and Murphey accepted the “Best of the Fest” award at the Billy the Kid Film Festival in Texas.
“It was a real challenge, but at the end of the day, Fandango’s statistics indicated the title was consistently in the top 10 best family rented movies before its release on Dec. 19 on free streaming sites Tubi, Roku, Plex and Peacock,” Parkinson said.
Despite the obstacles, bringing the film to audiences made the effort worthwhile.
“We’re pretty proud of the film,” Parkinson said. “We had a lot of fun with it and hope people enjoy it.”
Filmed in eastern Oklahoma and shaped by local talent, “Wildfire” ultimately reflects the state’s enduring bond with horses, history and the stories that rise from its land.
