Yahoo Movies ‘Midnight Rider’ Director Randall Miller Trying To Start New Film About Aging Rocker
EXCLUSIVE: Randall Miller, who is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass in the death of 27-year-old Sarah Jones on the set of his film Midnight Rider, has been quietly putting together another film project. The pic is called Slick Rock Trail – about a washed up, hopeless long-haired old rocker with addiction problems who shaves his head and drives to Utah in an effort to tie up loose ends in his personal life before he dies. In the process, the rocker, named Keith Aldridge, ends up helping out a young rock and blues band called The Drainpipes.
Miller has apparently been trying to keep the project under wraps and the script is being circulated without a name on its title page. The subject matter seems close to the previous Gregg Allman biopic Midnight Rider, at least similar terrain to that project. The story takes place in Utah where Slick Rock Trail actually is (it runs through and around Navajo land in Moab, Utah). Pagano/Manwiller are the casting directors working to cast the picture now; Pagano and Miller go back at least eight years, having worked as a casting directgor on Miller’s films CBGB, Bottle Shock and Nobel Son. It is not clear where financing is coming from.
One of the band members, Derek, at one point in the script, utters the unfortunate line: “Two drummers. That will be a train wreck.” I read the script and that line made me wince. Jones was killed and several others injured on the set of Miller’s Midnight Rider on February 20 after being hit by debris from a metal bed smashed by an oncoming train while Miller and his crew (which included Jones) filmed on the live track.
In addition, in a Q&A on Amazon.com promoting his book, My Cross to Bear, Allman says this specifically: “In the book, I talk about when my brother first called me about being in the band he said he had these two drummers and two lead guitarists, and I remember thinking that sounded like a train wreck.” It is part of the Allman Bros.’ origin story and the rocker has repeated that line several times.
Miller was indicted with three other crewmembers and will fight the charges against him when the trial starts March, 9 2015 in Georgia.
His lawyer, Atlanta-based Don Samuel, declined comment on Slick Rock Trail.
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