Ten years ago, four college friends set out on the Bluegrass Bourbon Trail to visit their favorite Kentucky distilleries. But their exciting adventure took a dark turn when a terrible tragedy struck, something that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Now, ten years later in 1977, the friends reunite for Gordie’s bachelor party. Keaton, his best man, figures there’s no better way to celebrate than to relive the good ol’ days by finishing the Bourbon Trail. But ever since the tragedy in college, Gordie’s life has been especially rough. Their shared secret continues to plague him, and after being injured in Vietnam, he hit the bottle pretty hard. Now that he’s sobered up and gotten his life back together, he’s in no shape to visit a bunch of distilleries. Luckily, Gordie discovers a way out during their distillery tour. He hears of the Bullitt Treasure—buried prohibition money out in the woods of Bullitt County. And legend has it that the Bullitt Family protects the money at all costs. Looking for any reason to hop off the Bourbon Trail, Gordie plays the groom card, and soon the friends are digging for treasure in the middle of nowhere. But something much worse than the Bullitt Family awaits them in Bullitt County. This reunion has begun to erode Gordie’s years of repression, and that dark secret they all share is about to resurface in violent and terrible ways; ways that may rip the friends apart for good.
Bullitt County was written and directed by David McCracken and produced by Josh Riedford. Mike Nelson is Gordie. Jennie Meler is Robin. David McCracken is Keaton. Napoleon Ryan is Wayne. Dorothy Lyman is the Mrs. Richard Riehle is the Mr.
Official Film Website: www.BullittCountyFilm.com
Production Company Website: www.MrPicturesFilm.com
Official Theatrical Trailer: https://vimeo.com/278106182
Bullitt County will be released in AMC theaters this Friday in Chicago, LA, New York, Phoenix and Houston. The film will be available on DVD and VOD in February.
Tell me about your role as Gordie?
I was really excited to be the lead actor in a feature film and carry a movie. I put a ton of pressure on myself. I was nervous. After reading the script I was excited to play it. I don't normally audition for such roles as I do comedy so getting this opportunity and show a different side of myself was really exciting. What helped me to get in the head of this character... One dimensional is easy so I tried to tap into the guilt of what happened years ago, the survivor's guilt and being a recovering alcoholic. I did a lot of research on that from the mid 70s and talked to friends who went through addiction. What's great about the film some people know right away something is weird about Wayne. There's so much to the movie that it doesn’t get spoiled with Wayne’s character.
Is Gordie in love with his friend Robin?
There is an unrequited love from a friend you are into. He has always been infatuated with her but 10 years have gone by - the takes of how he is looking at her, his feelings for her, the stuff at the tent where he is imagining stuff. We all make mistakes. Robin’s character is a feminist and a professor.
We never see or hear anything about Gordie’s wife. Why?
I think the reason is he is trying to live a normal life and get over his skeletons in the closet and trying to act like a normal human being and try to move on. The wedding isn't that important, almost like a convenience thing trying to adapt and make things better.
What did you like most and least about playing this character?
There is not much I didn’t like - it was challenging and a lot of work. Thinking back it was great working with the crew that cared about every detail. We all got along.
Tell me about the last scene. Why did it end in a bar?
These were flashbacks right before the incident in 1967 - 10 years prior right after the car accident. The end is the beginning of Wayne and Gordie’s relationship. Things are messy, relationships are hard.
What is next for you?
I shot a movie for Nickelodeon this past summer. Earlier this summer I also produced a feature film. I am also writing a screenplay. Chicago is always home for me. I grew up in Northwest Indiana.
Bullitt County is your first feature film. What have you learned about yourself as a director from it and what has been your experience like?
I think the biggest lesson I learned is to surround yourself with like-minded people. You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with, the crew and cast and so that is the big takeaway. You can have all the ideas but you need have to have a team that is set on the same goal and gets along and is making the same movie.
What inspired you to write Bullitt County and why did you choose that to be your breakthrough film?
I think a lot of it it all started when I came home for the holidays. I asked my best friend Josh what do you think of a production company? We started Mr. Pictures and then came our first movie. We wanted to make a movie like the movies we liked and put a personal spin on it. That's why we filmed it around our hometowns. It started with the characters. Josh and I have alcoholism in our families and this is a movie that has a soft touch on alcoholism. We felt that it would be an interesting angle. We just didn’t want to make it the message of the movie. It is a very complex story with a twist of humor, comedy, drama and thriller.
What is the message you were trying to convey with the plot?
I do write better when I have a theme because it allows me to filter. This started from a point of that nostalgia for the past - it always affects our present in ways that we don't expect. Set in the 1970s the characters go visit their favourite Bourbon Distilleries in attempts to reconnect and relieve the good old days. The buried treasure came from the nostalgia idea, burying the past in a way to get the adventure started. I do love adventure stories and Indiana Jones movies. But it is about something deeper.
How did you go about the casting and finding the stars as Mike Nelson, Richard Riehle and Dorothy Lyman?
I had worked with Mike before. I wanted to work with a darker material in the hand of comedic actors. When I wrote the lead part I wrote it for Mike. It is his first lead role in a feature film. I met Richard over 10 years ago in a writers’ retreat. I told him I wanted to work with him. I wrote to him, he reached out and accepted. We got a lot of audition tapes. We shot in Indiana, New Harmony.
What is your goal for Bullitt County? How far are you going to take it? What’s next?
We are coming out in theaters nationwide this Friday in NY, Chicago, Phoenix, Houston, LA. We will run for a week or more and then it is going to be released on VOD and DVD in February. Also on Amazon, Itunes, and Redbox.
How did you go about funding for the film?
We raised a bunch with private investors prior to shooting. The movie got bigger and bigger as we kept going. More investors come on board as the film has been successful.
Any other feature you are working on or you have in mind?
We have about 5 or 6 scripts that I wrote. Next one is a full horror movie - a female driven ghost story that takes place over 3 generations. We love 1977 so much! We will hopefully shoot early next year.
Do you like directing or writing better?
I like them all in different ways. The writing is solidarity. They are in the opposite ways of the spectrum. I like writing and directing together, which makes the rehearsal process very fluid.
What advice will you give to young directors/writers trying to emerge in this business?
Never give up - just outlast everyone else. If you stay in the game and keep hustling and keep working hard, and believe in what you are doing, it will be infectious and other people will believe in it too.
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