Coast Life: Movie maker draws inspiration from law enforcement career

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - Before you see the story and action unfold in a motion picture on the screen, someone must come up with an idea. That’s the role of a Gulfport man who’s gone from a career in law enforcement to writing movies.

“I’ve had two feature films produced, and I have a third in the process of being made now,” Joe Pevey said.

Most people on the Coast probably know Pevey from his 26 years in law enforcement with the Biloxi Police Department and later Captain for the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office.

“There’s hardly anything in police work I didn’t get to do,” Pevey said.

All those experiences behind the badge give Pevey plenty of memories to draw stories from into his scripts.

“I began to write a script about a character that is an okay guy, he just put himself in bad situations and made some bad choices.”

That turned into the movie “Bastard’s Crossing.”

When this movie was released in 2020, Pevey watched his words weaved into action on the screen.

His second movie to be produced, “Wilderness Road,” was released in 2021. Pevey contributed a chapter in the story of land pirates causing havoc on the Natchez Trace in the early 19th century.

Pevey got an unexpected break into movie making. In 2018, he offered consulting for the movie “Cornbread Cosa Nostra,” about the Sherry murders in the 80s.

“I would hear from the cast and crew, ‘You should write some of that down, some of that is pretty good stuff.’”

He took their advice and started writing, but it wasn’t anything new for him.

“I tell people that cops have a PHD in film or script writing, because if you think of what we do,” Pevey said. “We document things, write narratives, and paragraphs to present to a judge or jury for them to imagine and paint a picture of what occurred. That’s what a screen writer does.”

“Turn and Burn” is Pevey’s next project audiences will see. It’s scheduled to be shot later this year in Arizona. The idea for this story of a barrel racer following her dreams came to him while attending one of the many barrel racing events he’s been to.

“I was just sitting in the stands watching a barrel race. I could see these little huddles of teenage girls or women, and I said, ‘There’s a story there.’”

“I’ve been very lucky. I’ll continue doing it, and there may be more down the road.”

Pevey’s two films that have been produced so far are available on several platforms including Amazon Prime and Tubi.

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