The Bridge to Nowhere (2009)

Director:

Blair Underwood

Writer:

Chris Gutierrez (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 August 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Plot:

Centers on the rise and fall of four blue-collar men who team with a destitute prostitute to create a high-priced escort service.

Cast

Ving Rhames
Bijou Phillips	...	Jasper
Danny Masterson	...	Kevin
Ben Crowley	...	Brian
Daniel London	...	Chris
Thomas Ian Nicholas	...	Eddie Stanton
Alexandra Breckenridge	...	Sienna
Sean Derry	...	Darick
Annie Kitral	...	Brian's mom
Alanna Janell	...	Kimberly (as Alanna Romansky)
Tom Kurlander	...	Realtor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Billy Elmer	...	Dirty John
Ryan Gorham	...	Tattooed guy by pool table
Falconer Hudson	...	Police officer
John W. Iwanonkiw	...	Deputy Sheriff
Tommy Lafitte	...	Homeless Man
Mike Miklosko	...	Police Officer
Corey Rieger	...	Partygoer
Rejeana Silla	...	Jacuzzi girl / party girl
Max Starks	...	Prisoner
Tony Amen	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
William Kania	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Jeremy Moon	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Jackson Nunn	...	Bar Guy # 1 (uncredited)
Dwayne Pintoff	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Mike Wittlin	...	Commander Bernsen (uncredited)

Directed by
Blair Underwood

Writing credits
Chris Gutierrez		(screenplay)

Produced by
Blondel Aidoo	....	producer
Ben Barton	....	executive producer (as Benny Barton)
Mike Dolan	....	executive producer
Alexandra Gurule	....	associate producer (as Alexandra Mehlman)
Brian Hartman	....	producer
John O. Hartman	....	co-producer
Annie Loeffler	....	line producer
Gary Mehlman	....	executive producer
Tommy Morgan Jr.	....	producer
Mike Wittlin	....	producer

Original Music by
Scott Glasgow

Cinematography by
Keith Gruchala

Film Editing by
Chuck Aikman

Casting by
Monica Swann

Production Design by
Lendie Lee

Set Decoration by
Rebecca Brown

Costume Design by
Diane Collins

Makeup Department
Patty Bell	....	makeup department head
Nancy Keslar	....	department head hair
Susie Popovich	....	assistant makeup artist
Rachael Ryan	....	additional makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John O. Hartman	....	second unit director
David 'Yoko' Jose	....	second assistant director
Steve Parys	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Bill Franko	....	leadman
Andrew Huntley II	....	art department intern
Jeff Lavezoli	....	storyboard artist
Lee Nagle	....	property master
Jesse Ross	....	set dresser
Kelley Snyder	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Hidefumi Aoki	....	sound effects editor
James Barth	....	dialogue editor
Miriam Cole	....	audio post coordinator
Chad Djubek	....	boom operator
Leobardo Ledon	....	adr recordist
Leobardo Ledon	....	foley recordist
Michael J. McDonald	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Michael McDonald)
Michael J. McDonald	....	supervising sound editor (as Michael McDonald)
Manuel Mendoza	....	sound effects editor
G.W. Pope III	....	foley artist
G.W. Pope III	....	sound designer
Todd Smith	....	foley recordist
Alex Ullrich	....	foley artist

Special Effects by
Cody Hartman	....	special effects assistant
Chucky Hendershot	....	special effects technician
Steve Tolin	....	special effects props coordinator

Visual Effects by
Ryan Leonard	....	compositor
Chris Rauch	....	dustbuster

Stunts
Jason Silvis	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Matthew Bulleri	....	dolly grip
John Codi	....	grip
Kiely Cronin	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Ray 'Chazz' Edwards	....	best boy grip
Alison Evans	....	film loader
Jeff Garton	....	director of photography: second unit
Jean-Pierre Nutini	....	electrician
Melvina M. Rapoza	....	first assistant camera
Amanda Rotzler	....	film loader
Matt Schafer	....	electrician
Keith Seymour	....	key grip
Colin Sheehy	....	camera production assistant
Adam Stevenson	....	gaffer
Nick Tallo	....	dolly grip
Don Yockey	....	grip

Casting Department
Bridgette Glover	....	casting associate
Nancy Mosser	....	casting: Pittsburgh
Katie Shenot	....	extras casting director

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Midian Crosby	....	set costumer
Jennifer May Nickel	....	wardrobe assistant
Catherine Riley	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Francisco González	....	international (as Francisco J. González)
John-Michael Trojan	....	digital intermediate producer
Andy Williams	....	digital intermediate

Music Department
James Barth	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Donald A. Kraus	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Jessica Abrams	....	production manager
Jason Calabro	....	production assistant
Erika Canchola	....	production attorney
Jason Elrod	....	production assistant
Erin Gillette	....	assistant production coordinator
Francisco González	....	sales representative: international
Ryan Gorham	....	security
David Hall	....	production assistant
Chris Hinton	....	location manager
Josh Kubizne	....	production assistant
Matthew M. McCloskey	....	assistant location manager
Elsa Ramo	....	production attorney
Vickie Toner	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Smithfield Street Productions

Distributors

• Image Entertainment
• Koch Media (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)

Special Effects

• DIVE (visual effects)

Other Companies

• DIVE  digital intermediate
• David Haddad  transportation equipment
• Haddad's  transportation equipment
• Media Distributors Film Source  film stock provided by
• Private Island Audio  post-production sound services
• Ramo Law PC  production legal (as Law Offices of Elsa Ramo)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for drug use, pervasive language, sexual content and violence

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Smithfield Street Productions

If Goodfellas and Scarface had an illegitimate son

Four close friends from Pittsburgh (Danny Masterson, Ben Crowley, Daniel London, Sean Derry) meet a couple of prostitutes (Bijou Phillips and Alexandra Breckenridge), and decide to hire them to start their own prostitution service. Well, the ringleader (Brian, played by Ben Crowley) decides, and the three others seem to reluctantly go along with it. A fifth member of the gang (Thomas Ian Nicholas) stays out citing moral objections.

The business plan quickly expands to involve drug dealing, which is where Ving Rhames enters the picture as the drug source. Incidentally, Rhames' part is not nearly as big as the movie poster would have you believe, amounting to a total of perhaps 20 minutes interspersed throughout the movie. Since the plot description already says this movie is about "the rise and fall" of a prostitution ring, I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that this business does indeed come crashing down in the end.

This movie starts out pretty slow. Things get more enjoyable once Ving Rhames makes his first appearance, which is fairly early on, but reminds you how much you don't really care about the other characters. I was looking forward to seeing what Danny Masterson could do (you know him as Hyde on "That '70s Show"), but he was just sort of "there", playing it real cool as the level-headed one, and perhaps a little too understated to be interesting. I didn't find Ben Crowley all that convincing as the ringleader/mastermind or the junkie bad boy he transformed into, and I thought his part was too big.

This movie is certainly no Hollywood blockbuster, but the effort is apparent. Many obvious cues were taken from Scarface and especially Goodfellas, eg. the ever-present voice-over narration. In the end I can say I enjoyed this movie, but only barely. The best thing I can say about it is that it's a pretty believable story, and does succeed in showing how easy it might be to make it big, as long as you're willing to sacrifice your morals and your future. Oh and Alexandra Breckenridge is very hot and fun to watch.