Bill Pohlad’s ‘Dreamin’ Wild’ Music Biopic Lands at Roadside Attractions

Etan Vlessing
·2 min read
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Roadside Attractions has picked up the North American rights to Dreamin’ Wild, the Casey Affleck and Zooey Deschanel-starring music biopic that debuted in Venice.

Bill Pohlad directed the film that is set to hit theaters Aug. 4. Roadside released Pohlad’s 2014 feature Love & Mercy, a portrait of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys that marked his feature directorial debut.

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Dreamin’ Wild captures the real-life story of musical duo Donnie and Joe Emerson, whose family leveraged their farm in the 1970s to produce the brothers’ record Dreamin’ Wild. The album languished until it was rediscovered nearly 30 years after its release, creating an unexpected music career for the Emerson brothers.

“I’m honored to be back with Roadside Attractions for my next film since Love & Mercy. I’m hoping that audiences will connect with this family’s heart-felt story as much as with Donnie’s extraordinary music,” Pohlad said in a statement on Thursday.

In Dreamin’ Wild, Affleck plays the older Donnie Emerson and Noah Jupe plays the younger version. Walton Goggins and Jack Dylan Grazer take on Donnie’s brother Joe, while Beau Bridges does double duty as the family patriarch. Deschanel plays Donnie’s wife, Nancy.

“As he proved with his debut Love & Mercy, nobody understands the power of music to heal and transform lives better than Bill Pohlad. We are so excited to bring his second film, the story of a family whose lives were changed by making one classic record, to theatrical audiences this summer,” Eric d’Arbeloff, Roadside Attractions co-president, said in his own statement.

Dreamin’ Wild is produced by Jim Burke, Pohlad, Kim Roth, Viviana Vezzani and Karl Spoerri. Affleck executive produced, along with Christa Workman, Dan Clifton, Steven Snyder and Tobias Gutzwiller.

Zurich Avenue co-financed Dreamin’ Wild alongside Pohlad’s River Road Entertainment, with Innisfree Pictures co-producing. The acquisition was negotiated by Roadside Attractions’ Howard Cohen and Angel An, with Christa Workman with CAA Media Finance representing the filmmakers.

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