Thunder Road The Movie… It’s a GO!

Back in early August we told you about 3 actors on the road in search of making a difference and raising money for an important story that they were desperate to tell … Steven Grayhm, Matt Dallas, and Charlie Bewley have been successful in their journey!

For the past 2+ years these men have been traveling off and on around the United States, Canada, and Great Britain spreading awareness about PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and encouraging their fans and followers to join them in their quest to get Thunder Road (their movie about PTSD and it’s effects on military service members) funded.

Last week we received this message from Steven and the Thunder Road boys and we wanted to share it with you!

Check it out Boot Campaign! We did it!!

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After two months on the road, actors Matt Dallas, Steven Grayhm and Charlie Bewley have returned home to Los Angeles with a quarter million dollars in the company bank account. The trio will be producing and starring in THUNDER ROAD, a feature film described as “the first film for this generation that truly explores the physical and psychological repercussions of war for this generation’s soldier,” under their newly formed Astoria Film Co umbrella. When their Indiegogo campaign came to a close, they had raised an impressive $256,140 becoming the fourth most funded film on the site. 

Originally launched in late July on Kickstarter, the guys made a bold choice to switch crowd funding platforms to Indiegogo mid campaign with a then total of $186,000 raised. Bewley explains, “we made the switch to Indiegogo to accommodate all of the Veterans Service Organizations and non-profits that were reaching out to us whom we were previously forced to turn away under the Kickstarter module.” (which doesn’t permit 501c3 affiliation and has an “all or nothing” goal format).

Along the way, the guys managed to secure large contributions from PepsiCo and commitments from top brass at American Airlines. Their journey eventually garnered the attention of producers at CNN and Fox & Friends for which they appeared, leading them to sit down with Larry King. “That was a surreal moment in the campaign. Two and a half years ago, when we first set out to research the script, we were just three guys on a road trip trying to make a difference and bring awareness to the growing epidemic of veteran suicides, 22 every day in America. Two years later, we were sitting across from Larry King like we were the authority on it. We have a great responsibility to tell the stories of so many and take nothing for granted,” says Grayhm who also wrote the screenplay.

“Make no mistake. This was no easy task. We fought for every dollar and went down swinging. Just like Calvin, the underdog in the script. Failure wasn’t an option for us. From day one, we always had the warrior mentality: complete the mission or die trying. We still have a long way to go so we hope to avoid the latter,” says Dallas.

Astoria Film Co is now looking to partner with other film production companies to bring THUNDER ROAD to the silver screen. “There is no film out there like this. It is a modern day The Deer Hunter. It is very close to the bone and will lift the veil on the sweeping epidemic of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for our combat veterans. Millions of people across the country want this film made,” adds Bewley.

Astoria Film Co can be reached at astoriaent@gmail.com and further details on the film are at www.ThunderRoadFilm.com

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