KUAR and the Old State House will present a screening of End of the Line (1987) on Friday, Jan. 9, at the Old State House Museum, as part of the Second Friday Cinema series.
ABOUT THE FILM
End of the Line was a collaboration among numerous Arkansans. The writer and director was Jay Russell, a North Little Rock native, who got his start working on commercials for the Arkansas Parks and Tourism Department at the age of 19. He received an MFA in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University in New York, and conceived End of the Line as his first feature film, to be shot in his home state.
Newport native Mary Steenburgen served as executive producer and took a supporting role in the film. Steenburgen had already made a name for herself as an actress by 1987, having co-starred in movies with Jack Nicholson, Dudley Moore, Paul Le Mat, and Malcolm McDowell, whom she married in 1980. End of the Line would be her first producing credit.
Levon Helm, who grew up near Helena, was one of the co-stars of the film. Helm had performed as a musician since 1959, most famously as the drummer and lead singer for The Band. Helm appeared in a handful of pictures before 1987, most notably playing the father of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter in 1980.
The film was shot in several locations around Arkansas – Little Rock, Benton, Pine Bluff, Lonoke and the Union Pacific rail yard in North Little Rock. It’s the story of two railroad men, played by Wilford Brimley and Helm, who commandeer a train engine and ride north to Chicago to protest the closing of their freight line. Others in the cast include Kevin Bacon, Bob Balaban and Barbara Barrie. Several other Arkansans worked both behind and in front of the camera.
EVENT DETAILS
The screening will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Old State House Museum, 300 W. Markham. Reception starts at 5 p.m. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Old State House Museum at (501) 324-9685 or info@oldstatehouse.org.
WHAT IS SECOND FRIDAY CINEMA?
Second Friday Cinema is a collaboration between KUAR and the Old State House Museum to screen a series of Arkansas-related movies on Second Friday Art Nights. KUAR General Manager Ben Fry, who also teaches courses in film history and criticism at UALR, introduces the movies and leads a discussion after each screening. Second Friday Cinema is presented in celebration with the Old State House's exhibit "Lights! Camera! Arkansas!" The screenings take place on the second Friday of the month at the Old State House Museum.
