‘Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash’: Release date, plot, trailer and all you need to know about the survival drama
If you're a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan, you must be in tune with songs 'Sweet Home Alabama' and 'Free Bird' as the band popularized the Southern rock genre during the 1970s. In 1977, a tragic incident took place when Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines were killed in an airplane crash. The band temporarily took a break, but reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie's brother, Johnny Van Zant, as its lead vocalist.
Shedding light on the incident, 'Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash' is a musical survival drama directed and written by Jared Cohn along with writer Brian Perera. Already a hit among fans before its release, the movie has been chosen as People's Choice for Best Feature Film at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival. Tom Jenkins, who plays pilot Walter McCreary said, "I am the only one old enough from the cast to have seen the original group perform."
Release date
'Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash' first premiered in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival downtown in February of 2020 and is all set for release on June 30 from Cleopatra Entertainment.
Plot
In 1977, a plane carrying Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd mysteriously ran out of gas mid-air en route to a concert, crashing into a dangerous Louisiana swamp while killing several of the band members, crew, and both pilots. The film documents the tragic incident from of one of the survivors, drummer Artimus Pyle, who not only survived the fatal crash (that claimed the life of the band’s founder and frontman Ronnie Van Zant amongst others) but who also bravely pulled the remaining survivors out of the plane wreckage before staggering towards the nearest farmhouse in rural Louisiana to seek help.
Jenkins drew attention to how the plane had an older engine that burned a combination of oil and gas. "This mixture had to be checked and well-balanced. One actually had to go out on the wing, and stick a dipstick in the fuel tank to see if the mixture was properly balanced." he said, adding, "When the trouble started, the co-pilot accidentally dumped fuel, rather than shifting to the reserve tank. This not only caused a shortage of fuel while in the air, but it also caused the flame out." He then said, "The plane basically became a floating tin can hitting the ground."
Cast
The actors in the movie include Ian Shultis as Artimus Pyle, Taylor Clift as Ronnie Van Zant, Samuel Kay Forrest as Steve Gaines, Rich Dally III as Allen Collins, Chris Peritore as Ed King, Neill Byrnes as Steven Tyler, Kelly Lynn Reiter as Margie, Anthony Rocco Bovo as Joe Perry, Keith Sutliff as Everett Farley, Hudson Long as Billy Powell, Nick Cairo as Leon Wilkeson, Collin Lee Ellis as Kevin Elson, Mark Dippolito as Ron Eckerman and Anthony Jensen as Agent Wallace.
Creators
Jared Cohn
The movie has been directed and penned down by Jared Cohn.
Trailers
"This is something that shouldn't have happened, but it did," the two-minute 20-second trailer states. It then documents the band's performances and leads up to the tragic incident. The clip has been captioned: "In 1977, a plane carrying Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd mysteriously runs out of gas mid-air en route to a concert, crashing into a dangerous Louisiana swamp while killing several of the band members, crew and both pilots."
Where to watch
'Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash' will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and Video on Demand on June 30.
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