Local flavor: Filmmaker to premiere Toledo-centric new movie at Imagination Station

Toledo filmmaker Anthony Wright wants to be to the Glass City what director John Waters is to Baltimore and Spike Lee is to New York.

The 29-year old auteur is debuting his new feature-length film The Ride to Nowhere on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Imagination Station’s Key Bank Theater.

The Ride to Nowhere is the third feature length film from the 2014 Central Catholic High School graduate to be filmed around the Toledo area. Scenes for the film were shot at such familiar locales as Home Slice Pizza, Tiedtkes’ Coffee in Maumee, Howard’s Club H in Bowling Green, and the Basement Bar below the Distillery.

Wright grew up watching marathons of coming-of-age movies, with such classics as Superbad , Ferris Bueller’s Day Off , Stand By Me , and 10 Things I Hate About You being among his favorites. Wright says those movies directly inspired The Ride to Nowhere .

What : The Ride to Nowhere world premiere

When : Friday, 6:30 p.m.

Where : Imagination Station, 1 Discovery Way, Toledo

Cost : $10

Information : The Ride to Nowhere on Facebook or Instagram

“I just had  a lot of fun watching those movies as a kid,” said Wright. “I still enjoy them.”

Wright got his start in filmmaking back in 2008 when he filmed the short horror/comedy film Talking Tina Strikes Back , which he says can “still be found on the deep reaches of YouTube.”

“That movie ignited a big spark within me,” said Wright about his inauspicious teenage film debut.

Previously, Wright directed the feature films Renegade and Monarch and described his new film The Ride to Nowhere as a road trip movie.

“It’s a coming-of-age road trip movie about a young man named Jimmy who goes on a trip to see an old crush and there are a boatload of surprises along the way,” said Wright.

Wright said he wrote the screenplay for The Ride to Nowhere in 10 months back in 2022 and held auditions towards the end of that year.

Playing the role of Jimmy is local actor Ben Kunec, who was wrapping up his education at University of Toledo when he was cast.

“There were multiple iterations of the script and when I read the first version I kind of got an idea of who [my character] was and the world around him,” said Kunec. “There were edits and revisions made to the script on the fly, so I took everything with a grain of salt to see what the changes were. When it came to preparing for the character, the first thing I read about him was that he loved playing the guitar but he fell out of love with it.”

Though Kunec didn’t play the guitar in real life, he put together a playlist of songs that he thought his character would like and used the music to get into his role.

Kunec said he was “really grateful” for the opportunity to play Jimmy, one of the main roles in the film.

“I was actually on my way out of Toledo when Anthony called and offered me this opportunity,” said Kunec. “I auditioned for the role of Zak [a secondary role] and he gave me Jimmy. And I was really grateful for that.”

Wright self-funds his movies, but he got an Accelerator Grant from the Arts Commission which helped with production costs.

All of the music in the film is performed by Toledo bands and performers. The songs were all chosen by the film’s music supervisor Tanner Wertz, who met Wright in college and wanted to get involved with independent filmmaking.

“I knew Anthony in college and we met for coffee one day to discuss the film that ended up being The Road to Nowhere ,” said Wertz, who performs with local band the Currents, which will play a set at the screening. “I said I would love to be involved with the music of the film. Anthony is a very Toledo-forward type of person, so that led to me being the music supervisor for the movie, and I just used Toledo artists like Eerie Point, the Currents, and Max Boyle.”

Wertz said that the local flavor is what makes this movie worth seeing.

“A big thing about this movie is that it’s a very Toledo movie, from the acting talent, to the locations. It reminds me of the ’90s movie Singles ,” said Wertz, name dropping the 1992 Cameron Crowe cult hit that featured appearances from members of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. “It’s got a great soundtrack, except we’re in Toledo instead of Seattle.”

As for Wright, he’s excited to debut his new movie.

“It’s always challenging trying to find a balance to work on the project you’re really passionate about,” said Wright. “But we got the movie done and we finished editing it in June and now we’re ready to share it. People are coming near and far to see the film and I couldn’t be more excited.”