Part of Nashville: A City On Film
Arriving at the old Greyhound station on 8th Avenue S., hopeful new New-York-to-Nashville transplant Miranda (Samantha Mathis) heads straight for the Bluebird Cafe where both she and truck-driving James Wright (River Phoenix in his final role) are late for an audition. Falling in with James and a crew of new friends (Sandra Bullock, Dermot Mulroney), Miranda lands a job at the storied venue, assimilates to the local singer/songwriter scene, and eventually falls into a whirlwind romance with James. Legendary filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW) directs locals including Webb Wilder, KT Oslin, Pam Tillis, Trisha Yearwood and Larry Black (ERNEST SCARED STUPID) — and the Nashville of the early 1990s is on full display: the pre-Whole Foods complex, Hillsboro Road and Green Hills are featured prominently, as are the Drake Motel, the Shelby Street Bridge and more.
“Bogdanovich’s Nashville canvas is far more modest than Altman’s, yet both directors understand and appreciate the way music can reflect lived life and personal expression.” —Fernando Croce, Slant Magazine “It has a snap, pace and rhythm we don't ordinarily see in today's movies. The dialogue scenes have a headlong pace and crackling self-confidence reminiscent of Howard Hawks, and the three- and four-way love combats recall Ernst Lubitsch.” —Chicago Tribune “There’s not much new to say about the dues and disappointments involved in breaking into the country music scene, but the scenes are fresh and the emotions real in Peter Bogdanovich‘s tune-laden, mixed-mood drama.” —Variety (Dec 31, 1992)
