Beau Bridges movie filmed in Columbus has opened. Why city’s theaters aren’t showing it
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A feature movie starring Beau Bridges and Rob Mayes was filmed three years ago in Columbus and Harris County, including Teresa Mehaffey’s property in Midland. Since then, she eagerly has been waiting for the chance to see the finished product.
So she was surprised and disappointed to learn “The Neon Highway” isn’t scheduled for any of the city’s theaters — and it’s not streaming online. The only local theater showing the movie is Lucas Cinemas at Fort Moore. The U.S. Army post is open to the public, but vehicles must stop at an entrance gate to be screened and obtain a visitor’s pass.
“It is a hassle,” Mehaffey told the Ledger-Enquirer. “There are so many people that contributed to letting their places be used for the filming, and we have to go through the hassle of going through security and everything to see it. It’s kind of a slap in the face.”
In the movie, Mayes plays a singer-songwriter who thinks a car crash ends his dream of making it in Nashville. But a chance encounter with a washed-up country music legend, played by Bridges, gives both of them a second chance. “The Neon Highway” also features appearances by country music stars Lee Brice and Pam Tillis, plus an original theme song by renowned Nashville songwriter Dallas Davidson.
The movie’s production crew turned Mehaffey’s hair salon, which operates in a cabin amid a rural setting, into a fly-fishing shop. She was pleased with how they treated her and her property during the three days of prep work and one day of filming. The $2,000 and the priceless memories she received from the experience make her glad she agreed to the deal. So she is compelled to sees the movie.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” she said. “It did make me excited to be a part of it and more excited to go see it in the theater. … But that’s just crazy for me to have to go to Fort Moore and do all that, but I want to go see it, so I will make the effort.”
Mehaffey and anyone else who wants to see “The Neon Highway” in Lucas Cinemas at Fort Moore have one week to do so at the following times:
March 22 – 3:50 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.
March 23 – 12:15 p.m., 2:40 p.m., 5:05 p.m . and 7:30 p.m.
March 24 – 12:15 p.m., 2:40 p.m. and 5:05 p.m.
March 25-28– 5 p.m.
Dale Hurst, vice president of operations for Lucas Cinemas, told the Ledger-Enquirer the plan is for “The Neon Highway” to be shown on only one screen at the Fort Moore theater. But if ticket sales show the demand for another screen or an extended run past March 28, the theater could make such a request, he said.
Why ‘The Neon Highway’ isn’t being shown in Columbus
“The Neon Highway” producer Stratton Leopold told the Ledger-Enquirer that it’s up to the theaters to determine whether they will show the movie.
“The distributor contacts all the major chains,” he said. “The chains have buyers for each region. Buyers determine what goes.”
Jim Lucas, president of Lucas Cinemas, told the Ledger-Enquirer he asked his booking company in Atlanta to get the rights to show “The Neon Highway” — but he emphasized his contract isn’t an exclusive deal. That means AMC Theatres, which owns the theaters in Columbus, also could show the movie at the same time.
“The fact that it was filmed in the Chattahoochee Valley and that we’re a local company that’s able to show it, it’s just exciting for us,” Lucas told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Ryan Noonan, communications director for Kansas-based AMC, offered a different explanation.
“In most cases it is the film’s distributor, not the theatrical exhibitor, that determines a movie’s release strategy and the markets where it plays,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email. “AMC works closely with a film’s distributor to ensure we can support the distributor’s release strategy in the markets they have selected for us to play the film.”
Despite “The Neon Highway” not being shown in a Columbus theater, Leopold is grateful at least one venue is providing the opportunity for local folks to see it.
“It’s wonderful to finally get it on the big screen,” he said. “… During production, we had COVID, which held us up somewhat. Then the actors and writers strike kept us for months from the release date we had last year.”
In addition to Mehaffey’s hair salon, local settings that appear in the movie include the former Carmike building, The Loft on Broadway, street scenes on First Avenue, the Georgia Power building, Bobby’s Bar on Morris Road, the Soho Bar & Grill on Milgen Road and the Valley Inn and RV Park in Hamilton.
“The city of Columbus welcomed us,” Leopold said. “It was an amazing experience.”
