Comedy/Drama

Budget Projection: $25 million

Plot:

A loving wife recalls the time when her future Los Angeles husband with a flashy job must drive his cantankerous rule-loving father from Iowa down Route 66 one last time in a 1970’s Cheyenne Pickup truck, before Pops will be put in a nursing home.

Background:

This screenplay began as a project to take a record from the 1970’s and turn it into a “soundtrack” for a new feature film.  I loved the concept of going backwards with having the songs already in a specific order and trying to create scenes around it.

As for the topic of the film, I read an interview with an actor who talked about wanting to work again with his famous father who is also an actor.  Their brands were a major influence on the initial characters of Son and Pops. 

I needed a location which I could add to the storyline, so I found inspiration from a documentary about Route 66 from the History Channel.  The large advertising statues and cartoon-esque gas stations, diners and hotels provides a subliminal element reminding the audience that Pops values are from an era long before Son.  The worn-down tourist sights remind the audience of Pops’ age and that at one point in time, Pops was a vibrant, strong man. 

The story then morphed into a story told by a loving wife reminiscing about her future husband’s last road trip with his father.  Dylan gives another perspective to Son’s life and frequently an opinion which may or may not offend but it’s done with a gentle, loving feel which takes the edge off.

Landon “Son” Barrett is a man who is comfortable in Los Angeles with his flashy job and who sometimes falls into the trap of being a jerk.  He remembers his Iowa roots and falls back on what he learned from his father, Pops, when he needs to get water to fix the overheated truck, which causes him to be a man stuck in a world he knows but rejects (middle America) with a desire to get back to the world that he chose (entertainment industry).  Son cares for his father, Pops, but still holds a lot of baggage from events that happened with his mother, Shirley Barrett, Pops, and himself.  He holds a lot of PTSD from his mother’s death as well.

Ralph “Pops” Barrett is a former Marine who met an independent woman, Shirley, and oops had a child, Landon “Son” Barrett, with her so he married her.  They lasted for nine years before they broke up, partially because they drifted apart and partially because of Shirley’s illness.  Pops is a tough talking, man’s man who loves the ladies, a good cigar and pissing off Son.  Onery as can be, Pops has a deep love and a connection or reliance upon Son that grows throughout the road trip. 

Dylan Taylor, Son’s girlfriend, then fiancée, is a gentle woman who enjoys riding the crest of Son’s wave.  She runs her own production company and knows famous and influential people in the entertainment industry on her own, but she still loves the push that Son gives her into not following the rules.  Dylan gives her jaded views of the entertainment industry, Son’s family, and life with a twist of sarcasm and hypocrisy, but you can tell that she genuinely cares for and about the people involved. 

Trying to Reach 100 is the story of the love between a father, Pops, and Son and two very similar, yet in some ways, very different people who are trying to last through a very stressful trip through Route 66 told by the woman who loves them.

Cinematic Style:

Trying to Reach 100 is the perfect project to use IMAX 3D cameras. The visual impact of the landscape along Route 66 and the larger than life iconic sites and locations, especially in 3D, places the audience on the bench seat, right next to Pops and Son, in the 1970’s Cheyenne Pickup truck.