Billy the Kid movie shot in S.C. screened Sunday

William Bonney, alias Billy the Kid, has been a favorite of filmmakers since Johnny Mack Brown strapped on a sixgun for "Billy the Kid" in 1930.

Since that time, the notorious outlaw, little known during much of his life, has been played by such worthies as Paul Newman ("The Left-Handed Gun," 1958), Val Kilmer ("Billy the Kid," 1989), Emilio Estevez ("Young Guns," 1988) and Kris Kristofferson ("Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid," 1973), among others.

Add Christopher Bowman to the ledger. Approaching the character of Bonney (born William Henry McCarty Jr. in 1859) at a time before the legend took root, Bowman and director Christopher Forbes saddle up with "Glass Bullets for Broken Hearts," the latest in Forbes' series of feature films on the Old West.

Shot largely in South Carolina, the movie will be screened at 2 p.m. Sunday at Cinebarre Theatre in Mount Pleasant. Also to be screened at 4 p.m. is Charleston filmmaker Gretchen Dzedzej's comedy "My Doggone Destiny." Admission is $8 at the door for both films.

The Kid legend

"It's an origins picture," said Forbes, an Augusta-based director whose films include "The Battle of Aiken" and "Firetrail." "Although the film will be released as 'Billy the Kid,' it was shot under the title 'Glass Bullets for Broken Hearts,' which derived from our screenwriter, Graye Bumgardner. It refers to a glass bullet necklace worn by Leon Copper, a bounty hunter in the movie and the love interest of William Bonney's mother."

Bumgardner, then 19, approached Forbes two years ago with the idea.

"I was making one of my westerns at the time, and Graye told me he was going to write one that I should consider making. I told him, 'Do it. You never know what might happen.' Six months later, he showed me the first draft, and lo and behold if it wasn't pretty darned good."

Principal photography took place in North Augusta, Fairfax, Brunson and St. George.

"To add legitimacy to the project, we also traveled to Lincoln County, N.M., which is an important location in the Billy the Kid legend," Forbes said. "Lincoln County is a large piece of land with varied landscapes. ... We shot in New Mexico in August of last year."

Like his last western, "Cole Younger and the Black Train," Forbes' latest embraces an icon of the genre with a different narrative strategy, focusing on those elements of a character's life that seldom have been addressed. Only this time, it will be in triplicate. "Glass Bullets for Broken Hearts" is the first of a planned trilogy of pictures that chronicles Bonney's life.

"Playing bounty hunter Leon Copper is country singer Cody McCarver, who was with the band Confederate Railroad for a decade. Cody played a major role in my last western, as well, and has a very natural, very real screen presence," Forbes said. "He also wrote a great original song for the movie, 'I Just Might Live Forever.' I shot the video for that song and we'll screen that video just before the feature. Also in the cast is music legend Billy Joe Royal, who plays a ruthless gunslinger."

Rounding out the gallery are Jerry Chesser, Kimberly Campbell, Ronald Bumgardner, Jason Harbour, Dave Long, Richard Kinsey, Clarence Bernard Nalley, Taylor Grace-Davis and Stan Fink.

Doggone it

Dzedzej's "My Doggone Destiny" centers on Sarah, a young woman who frets she may be next to succumb when a good friend dies unexpectedly from a heart attack at 19.

When Sarah's therapist shows her an article on the power of happiness and positive thinking, she resolves to take control of her own destiny. That resolve is put to the test when the pet she's agreed to "dog-sit" escapes.

Starring are Naomi Doddington, Michelle Mills, Gabrielle Blevens, Ruth Ann Oliver, April Rollins, Barbara Gehl, Monique Morales-Kroll and Toby as Charlie, the dog.