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Lights. Camera. Action. In Maryville?

This small Southern city might not seem the place for a film career. However, screenwriter Eddie Nickerson thinks it's just perfect for that and an excellent place to raise his children, where life is simpler and the schools are great.

"I am really getting the best of both worlds," Nickerson said. "My children are getting the life I wanted them to have, and I have the unexpected blessing to achieve what I gave up on."

Nickerson is earning acclaim since a screenplay he wrote several years ago, "Wrong Turn at Tahoe," set to be released on DVD in September or October. Franck Khalfoun directed the low-budget film starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Harvey Keitel and Leonor Varela.

The movie reportedly cost $3.5 million to make, Nickerson said. He describes the film as an underground crime drama. While family is his No. 1 focus in life, the drama is one his two young children won't watch until they're much older. "It is a very dark movie that has a lot of violence and foul language," Nickerson said. "It has 'The Sopranos' feel to it. It was just letting my imagination run wild."

The Iowa native said he appeared in a "10-second cameo where I get shot in the back by Cuba Gooding Jr." when he spent four days on the set in Spokane, Wash., where it filmed in February. Nickerson said he would like to rent a space in Maryville so he can do a screening and invite his friends to view it with him when it's available for purchase. The movie started out as a 20-minute short film called "Tahoe Plus Two."

As for success, Nickerson said it's exciting to have a screenplay filmed. It has opened doors for him that had remained closed for years. For example, he now has an agent who is trying to get some of his other scripts into production.

"There is another horror Western movie I wrote that is at a production company right now, and they are considering attaching themselves to it to get it made," Nickerson said. "Once you are a produced writer, you are taken more seriously."

Internet-enabled

The Internet, Nickerson said, makes it possible for him to be a Hollywood screenwriter while living in Maryville. He said it's easy to make changes to a script and send it off. And, the recipient can make changes and send it back to Nickerson.

"I can write from anywhere," Nickerson said.

Nickerson wanted his kids to grow up in an area with a more laid-back atmosphere rather than "the rat race of L.A.," where "rejection is a big part of that lifestyle."

He, his pregnant wife and young child moved to Maryville about two years ago in January, after hearing he could get video production work, and he was impressed with the area's top-notch schools. His wife's sister had already settled in the area, which made the move more enticing. It wasn't until the family moved from L.A. to East Tennessee that Nickerson realized the skills he used in California did not transfer into the world of cable television shows.

"Going from feature movies and stunt work to cable 'How To' shows, you're basically starting almost from ground zero, at least as a writer," he said. "It's a completely different media."

The parents decided not to work outside the home until after his second child, a girl, arrived two months later. Six months later, Nickerson started working for a group home in Knoxville for with the developmentally disabled, something he also did at one time in California. Now, Nickerson works as a corrections officer in the Blount County Juvenile Detention Center while he continues his writing career.

Theme park jobs

In California, Nickerson paid the bills doing live stunt shows at several theme parks in the summers. In winters he worked at a home for developmentally disabled adults while continuing to write screenplays. He wrote and performed a Wild West stunt show for Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif. He also performed at both Six Flags and Universal Studios, sometimes doing two theme parks on the same day, one in the morning and the other in the evening.

"I was always a reluctant stunt man," he said. "I was an actor with better sense than to jump off a building. The highest fall was 25 feet into an airbag."

Nickerson wanted to be an actor but discovered first-hand how much down time they have. To fill those gaps, he started writing screenplays in 1996 and 1997, the first one, a Western based on his family history. Though Westerns were hard to sell, Nickerson said it did get him a meeting with actor Burt Reynolds. Unfortunately, the project fell through.

Nickerson said his goals and aspirations took a backseat to his family for quite awhile.

"I want to see where it goes from here," he said. "I have six other screen plays I would love to see get made into movies. But, my main goal is to be the best parent I can be for my two kids."

The Nickersons enjoy the outdoors, hiking and spending time at Cades Cove and along rivers. They also own season passes to the Knoxville Zoo, Dollywood and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies.

Nickerson continues to work at his craft, taking full advantage of the new doors now open to him. The acclaim has been a long time in coming.

"I'm a 12-year overnight success," Nickerson said.