[Zac Badasci (Pete), writer/director Justin Corsbie, Randal Reeder (Bump) on set. Cover photo credit to Andrea Giacomini]
Writer/director Justin Corsbie is a native of Austin, Texas, who grew up a few blocks away from where the late great Townes Van Zandt held court in the documentary, Heartworn Highways and spent time growing up watching musicians like Townes, Lucinda Williams, Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Corsbie’s mom often read poetry before performances by these iconic musicians.
That background has “served as a blueprint” for Corsbie’s debut feature film, Hard Luck Love Song. The film is inspired by the “storytelling song”, “Just Like Old Times” by Todd Snider, and is described as “a crime thriller wrapped inside a haunting love story wrapped inside a neo-noir western”. The film stars Michael Dorman (Amazon’s Patriot), Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill), Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding), Brian Sacca (Wolf of Wall Street), Melora Walters (Boogie Nights), Academy Award Nominee Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), and Hip-Hop artist RZA (Wu-Tang Clan).
Corsbie comments on the musical inspiration for the film:
“Good music creates such a visceral experience, and storytelling songs have always offered a great window into the less explored corners of American life. Todd’s song was a great jumping off point for this film because it set up an amazing vibe and introduced characters that I wanted to know more about. Todd has an uncanny ability to blend drama, humor, grit and wit, and I humbly tried to infuse this film with those ingredients through my lens as a filmmaker.”
This film also features music by artists Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, Townes Van Zandt, Hayes Carll, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Patrick Sweany, Daniel Johnston, Scott Biram, Durand Jones & the Indications, and, of course, Todd Snider.
Hard Luck Love Song is being released by Roadside Attractions exclusively in theaters on October 15th.
