“SLC Bank!” Director James Merendino Directs ‘Gasoline’ to Return to Rock Scene (Exclusive)

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The director is behind SLC Bank! He returns to his roots for an upcoming music-focused film.

James Merendino is set to direct gasolinea feature set in the world of punk rock in the 1990s, Hollywood Reporter I’ve learned. Principal photography is expected to begin next August.

Merendino runs the project from his own script. Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof and Megan Freels Johnston serve as producers for Intrinsic Value Films. The story is based on true events involving the band Eight Buck Experiment, whose founder Evan O’Meara is also producing the indie film. Kate Geller is leading the casting process currently underway.

gasoline The film follows a young singer, strapped for cash and struggling to maintain his sobriety, who prompts his teenage brothers to jump in the family van and spend the summer performing chaotic shows across the country.

“I was so encouraged by the new generation’s growing enthusiasm for old-school punk that I felt compelled to tell a new story driven by chaos and impulsiveness,” Merendino says in a statement.

SLC Bank! It was the opening film at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and cast members include Matthew Lillard, Michael Goorjian, Annabeth Gish, Jason Segel, Christopher McDonald, and Devon Sawa. Sony Pictures Classics released the film in April of that year, and it became such a cult classic that it spawned a 2016 sequel titled Bonk died. The sequel stars franchise newcomers Ben Schnitzer, Hannah Marks, Colson Baker, and Sarah Clarke.

Merendino’s other directorial credits include A river made to drown in, Americana and The Hidden Life of Thomas Lynch.

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