Martin Sensmeier To Star In ‘The Chickasaw Rancher’; Lydia Hearst Joins Indie Film ’50K’

Martin Sensmeier, who recently appeared in the Denzel Washington-starring Western The Magnificent Seven, is set as the lead in The Chickasaw Rancher, a film inspired by the life of Chickasaw rancher Montford Johnson. Orphaned at a young age, Johnson survived great hardships and tragedy to establish a vast ranching empire along the famous cattle highway of the American West, the Chisholm Trail.  Nathan Frankowski is directing the pic, which co-stars Dermot Mulroney (Shameless), Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy), James Landry Hébert (Looper) and Tatanka Means (A Million Ways to Die in the West). Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said film production is part of the Chickasaw Nation’s effort to tell the true story of Native Americans, with citizens of the Chickasaw Nation, Cheyenne, Arapaho and other tribes to appear in pivotal roles. Paul Sirmons is producing the film with shooting to take place in Oklahoma and Florida.

Lydia Hearst as been tapped to co-star in the Marc Martinez-directed indie thriller 50K. The film, written by Andrew Costello, follows Robert Stone, who is kidnapped and held hostage with his only chance of survival is to engage in a campaign of psychological warfare against his captors. Hearst plays Chloe, one of the captors. Repped by APA, MPE and Gray Krauss, her credits include South of Hell for WEtv, IFC’s film #Horror with Chloe Sevigney and Natasha Lyonne, and Condemned alongside Dylan Penn.