In the shadows of the courtroom, where the drama of human life unfolds, there sits a figure often unnoticed—the stenographer. This silent observer, who meticulously documents every word spoken, has intrigued Mick Davis enough to inspire his latest film, Walden. Davis’s new project shines a light on the personal and professional complexities of a stenographer’s life, a narrative path less trodden in the cinematic world.
The Inspiration Behind the Character
Mick Davis’s interest in stenographers is not newfound. It’s a curiosity that has been simmering for years, stemming from his observation of their roles in the legal system. These individuals are privy to the most intimate and often disturbing details of people’s lives, yet their own stories remain untold. Davis’s film seeks to explore the depth and breadth of such a character’s experiences, both inside and outside the courtroom.
“I’d always been interested in the stenographer’s life. I, you know, I thought these people, nobody gives a damn about them in the courtroom, they sit there, they take down everything.”
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The inception of Walden came from a place of genuine curiosity about the lives of those who serve the court in silence. Davis’s attention was particularly captured by the stenographer during the Johnny Depp trial, where amidst the media frenzy surrounding the celebrities, he found himself drawn to the quiet presence of the stenographer.
The Double Life
The observation led to a cascade of questions about her life beyond the courtroom, fueling the creation of the film’s central character.
“And then the name Walden came to me and I thought, what if a stenographer had lived a double life and that was it?”
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The concept of a double life is a tantalizing one, and it’s at the heart of Walden. The film promises to delve into the dichotomy of a stenographer’s existence—the mundane reality of their day job contrasted with the possibility of an extraordinary secret life. Davis’s quote teases the audience with the potential of a hidden world, one that the film will undoubtedly explore with the same meticulous attention to detail that a stenographer would apply to their transcripts.
Walden releases in select theaters November 10, 2023, On Digital VOD on December 12, 2023
About Walden
Release Date: In select theaters November 10, 2023, On Digital VOD on December 12, 2023
Director: Mick Davis
Screenplay by: Mick Davis
Executive Producers: David Keith & Emile Hirsch
Producers: Seth Michaels, Sara Sometti Michaels
Production: Benacus Entertainment, RNF Productions
Distribution: Uncork’d Entertainment
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Shane West
Synopsis
People collect sweaters, Walden Dean collects the testaments of justice, he is a stenographer and being the ghost of the courtroom, his mind is agonizingly crammed witnessing the torrent of injustice, until now. Discovering he has a terminal illness sends him into a rage that has been simmering deep within him for years and now he is about to take justice into his own hands, in the most gruesome ways imaginable. But there is a more gruesome piece of business Walden will need to deal with, a pedophile serial killer right on his small town’s own doorstep.
What jobs generally go unnoticed? Do you like to be known while you work? Will you be watching Walden? Let us know what you think on social media!
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