Written by Jaden Thompson, Variety
William Wages’ upcoming film “The Neon Highway,” produced by Stratton Leopold and presented by Mountain Movies, will be theatrically released on March 15, following a Nashville premiere on March 13.
“The Neon Highway” stars Beau Bridges as a country music artist whose star is fading. Other cast members include Rob Mayes, Sam Hennings, Sandra Lee-Oian Thomas, T.J. Power, Brett Gentile, and Ezekiel Bridges. Country artist Pam Tillis plays herself and Curb recording artist Lee Brice plays Lamont Johnson.
The script is co-written by Wages and Phillip Bellury. The film’s description reads, “Twenty years ago, Wayne (Mayes), an aspiring singer/songwriter, was a heartbeat away from making it in Nashville when a car accident derailed his ambitions. Now working a 9-5 job and struggling to support his family, Wayne has a fateful encounter with waning country music great Claude Allen (Bridges) who reignites Claude’s musical dreams.”
The summary continues, “Together they go to Nashville with one of Wayne’s songs, believing that with Claude’s fame and contacts, they can make it big. The problem is the industry has changed and no one is interested in the song – or Claude. Devastated and out of options, Wayne creates a way to get the song out to the public; not for himself, but for Claude.”
Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval composed the score with Curb Records Releasing. The film’s title track “The Neon Highway,” written by Dallas Davidson and performed by Lee Brice, was released on Jan. 26. Original music by Grace Asbury is also featured in the film.
In addition to Leopold, Lori Berlanga serves as co-producer. Executive producers include William Wages, Phillip Rob Bellury and Craig Miller.
“I couldn’t be more excited to bring ‘The Neon Highway’ to audiences throughout the country,” said Leopold. “This film means a great deal to me, and after spending so much time working on mass entertainment it is a privilege to bring this film to audiences across the American Heartland, and to share a story about the music that fills our lives.”
“The Neon Highway” will be released in Los Angeles on March 15 and in select cities including Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Memphis, Nashville, Orlando and San Antonio. It is distributed by Freestyle Releasing.
