How did Juke Box Hero come to be made?

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The story for Juke Box Hero was inspired by the lyrics of Foreigner's 1981 hit song 'Juke Box Hero'. The story of a young boy standing out in the rain unable to afford a ticket to see his favorite band play and in that moment uncovering what he wants to dedicate his life to, being the one on that stage.

 

The story was written originally by two cousins Tomas Samaniego-Evans (enrolled at the New York Film Academy Conservatory) & Nic Samaniego (enrolled at Syracuse University) as a full feature-length film script, recounting the rigorous tale of David Cooper on his quest to find a band of misfits willing to charge with him into the unknown of the music industry.

 

This hour-and-a-half-long tale dives deep into the dedication it requires to give everything to a dream and the people you meet on the journey who make it all worth doing.

 

Through many adaptations with the help of many NYFA students at that time including, Pj Guerra, Liam Fitzgerlad, and Christopher Calculus, JUKE BOX HERO was trimmed down to a 20-minute short film as a proof of concept. Dedicated to providing usable reel footage to all the actors apart of it and a chance to tell this story for film festivals.

 

None of it would be possible without the friends who came together in support of making this film possible, dedicating their time, energy, and effort to make this film come to life. Many of the cast & crew involved in the project did so while enrolled at NYFA and while the others were working full-time. 

 

This is a film that stands for all those people out there working to make their goals a reality and provides a beacon of hope for those with the courage to charge headfirst into the unknown.