‘A John Hughes movie’ on Route 66

Brad Hansen, a 26-year-old Iowa native, has just finished his first feature-length film, “Driver’s Ed Mutiny,” that takes place on Route 66.

Hansen told the Muscatine (Iowa) Journal that he sought to make a “Breakfast Club” movie on wheels.

“I set out to make a modern-day John Hughes movie,” Hansen said. “I was sad to see that no one was setting out to make those movies anymore, those funny and dramatic PG-13 movies about real kids with real problems.” […]

On a budget of $40,000, Hansen and a cast and crew of more than 100 traveled over nine states and 51 locations to film “Driver’s Ed Mutiny.”

“It’s been a wonderful process, because filmmaking is not instant gratification,” he said. “I’ve been working on this film for 2 1/2 half years. It wasn’t until recently when we had screenings of it that you get to see if those years were worth, based on audience reaction.” […]

“I’m pleased with how they’re reacting to it,” he said. “They’re laughing, gasping and sighing in all the right places.”

Here’s the plot for the movie:

Driver’s Ed Mutiny follows three teenagers who have to make their way from Chicago to Los Angeles, each for their own personal reasons. With no other options, they hijack their driver’s ed car and embark on a coming-of-age journey down the historic Route 66, with plenty of bumps along the way.

Hansen is trying to get a distributor for his film. In the meantime, you can see the trailer:

As you can see from the trailer and the production photos, the film included Cadillac Ranch, POPS, Oatman Road, Oatman, Galaxy Diner in Flagstaff, Cool Springs Camp, Wigwam Motel, and the wind farm near Weatherford, Okla., among many of its shoots.

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