In The News

Documentary has summer premiere at truck stops

Armed with a handheld high-definition video camera, director Doug Pray and producer Brad Blondheim set out to capture the stories of truckers across the United States.

The result is the new documentary Big Rig, not only available on DVD but also being shown at TA and Petro truck stops nationwide this summer.

Big Rig tells of truckers such as Loretta, a mother from Ohio who hides a weapon in her cab for fear of truck-stop violence; Ron, an American Indian who visits tribes around the country while delivering vinyl; and Bear, a patriotic steel driver from Idaho who thinks the government needs an overhaul.

The 95-minute movie was shot over four two-week periods, with Pray and Blondheim hitting truck stops from New York to California, randomly “casting” everyday truckers. The end result, the producers say, is a film with about a dozen key stories, stories that paint a picture of what life is like for those out on the highways.

Reviewer Drew McWeeny of Ain't It Cool News called Big Rig a “sad, fascinating movie about one of the quiet subcultures here in America, the men and women who drive the trucks that keep almost every industry working … There is a lot of heartbreak on display here, and there are times it’s almost too much, but Pray manages to strike just the right balance.”

Released to DVD June 3 at a suggested retail price of $24.98, the movie also is hitting the open road on the Big Rig Summer Tour 2008, a series of free screenings at truck stops sponsored by the Road Dog Trucking channel on Sirius Satellite Radio and by IdleAire. The movie is also available as video on demand via IdleAire installations.

“This film is so important for America to see,” said Robert Baruc, president of Screen Media Films. “We didn’t want it dying after a two-city run, so we are taking a radical approach to get it out to the masses.”

For more information, visit the movie's website, www.bigrigmovie.com.

Big Rig Summer Tour 2008 stops include:

June 9: Lake Station, Ind., I-80/94, Exit 15B June 10: Monroe, Mich., I-75, Exit 15 June 11: Florence, Ky., I-75, Exit 181 June 16: Bordentown, N.J., I-295, Exit 57 June 18: Mebane, N.C., I-40/I-85, Exit 157 June 26: Las Vegas, I-15, Exit 54 June 27: Barstow, Calif., I-15, Exit 178 June 28: Tonopah, Ariz., I-10, Exit 103 July 8: Rawlings, Wyo., I-80, Exit 214 July 9: York, Neb., I-80, Exit 353 July 17: Lodi, Ohio, I-71/76, Exit 209 July 29: Spokane, Wash., I-90, Exit 272 July 30: Troutdale, Ore., I-84, Exit 17 July 31: Corning, Calif., I-5, Exit 630 Aug. 1: Sparks, Nev., I-80, Exit 21 Aug. 2: Los Banos, Calif., I-5, Exit 152 Aug. 12: Weatherford, Texas, I-20, Exit 409 Aug. 14: El Paso, Texas, I-10, Exit 37

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