John Schneider has starred in hit television shows like “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Smallville,” where he played Superman’s father on earth, and is currently starring in Tyler Perry’s popular “The Haves and the Have Nots” on the Oprah Network. Schneider has had five singles reach No. 1 on the country music charts. He also has made and starred in dozens of films.
His latest adventure, however, may be the one he finds the most exciting.
Monday, October 31-Friday, November 3, Schneider and producer Alicia Allain (founder of Maven Entertainment) are bringing the CineFlix Film Festival to the Cobb Grove 16 & Cinebistro in Wesley Chapel as part of what Schneider says is a first-of-its-kind independent film festival.
The concept: to showcase new filmmakers while also giving them a cut of the festival’s sales proceeds.
“It’s our first year, so there may be some bumps in the road,’’ Schneider says. “Not only have we never done this before…no one has done this before.”
Schneider then chuckled. “In two weeks, I’m sure we’ll be saying, ‘What in the world were we thinking?’ But, we’re all about trying new things and helping folks have a new experience.”
The idea to take the film festival on the road, with seven other stops in three other southeastern states, including Lakeland and Palm Beach Gardens in Florida, arose from Schneider’s career as a touring country music singer. Schneider recorded 10 albums and had five No. 1 hits, three of those coming after his role as Bo Duke on “The Dukes of Hazzard” came to an end in end in 1985.
“I noticed that film festivals seem to be more about the festivals than they are about the filmmakers,’’ Schneider said. “I started to realize that I thought somebody needs to start a filmmaker-centered film festival, and wouldn’t it be cool, since I used to travel on country music tours, to take it to the people instead of people having to search out independent films?”
The tour, though, almost didn’t happen. Louisiana, where Schneider started John Schneider Studios to help independent filmmakers, was beset this summer with its second flood in this calendar year, almost completely submerging all 58 acres of Schneider’s property, which includes a film set, a bamboo forest, a lake, a swamp and a large home that was built in 1910. Almost half of the movies he helps make are filmed and edited there.
“I tell everyone that the first flood took everything, and the second flood took everything else,’’ Schneider says, adding that all 75,000 square feet of floor space was under at least three feet of water, with some places as deep as six feet.
Because they had no power or Wi-Fi, he and Allain went to a nearby hotel and watched the film festival entries there.
“This is going to slow us down, but this is not going to stop us,’’ Schneider said.
The flood also inspired Schneider to make a new country album, which will be called “Ruffled Skirts.” The album was cut with other southern musicians in the ruined living room of the house.
Although he is still best known for his role as Bo Duke, one of three rabble-rousing cousins — Luke and, of course, Daisy Duke were the others — who spent their days outfoxing Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in their customized 1969 Dodge Charger, aka the General Lee, Schneider grew up in southern New York running around filming things on a Super 8 camera and making movies even as a kid.
“I’ve always considered myself a filmmaker,’’ he says.
A New Career Path
When his run as Bo Duke ended, Schneider became a country music star. But, technology, he says, helped get him back into filmmaking. It doesn’t take nearly as many people to make movies today as it once did, and running your own movie studio doesn’t require the millions of dollars it once did. It was an easy decision to return to his roots.
Independent films are often stereotyped as low-budget, off-the-beaten-path movies that aren’t profitable enough for the major studios to bother with. Schneider, who has a lead role in one of the films that will show in Wesley Chapel, as well as cameos in a few others, says there are plenty of hidden gems in the field.
“The great thing about independent filmmakers is they have an idea, they have a story they want to tell, they have a perspective, and they carry that story and perspective all the way through to the end,’’ Schneider says. “So, you see an A+ term paper.”
Schneider says there are movies and documentaries. One of the movies, Hate Crime, opens with police surrounding a suspect who is holding a weapon as dead bodies lay scattered around him. The police then proceed to take the weapon in for questioning, and the film follows the prosecution of the weapon all the way through trial.
“It is absurd and wonderful all at the same time,’’ Schneider says.
A Salute to Honor revolves around three World War II veterans, each of whom had to give up their dream to serve in the military during the war. And, another film centers around two sets of parents, one dealing with the death of their son at the hands of the son of the other parents.
“It’s really terrific,’’ Schneider says. “It will make you think, it will make you cry, it will make you wonder and somewhere in there, it will make you want to be a better parent.”
Schneider understands that even though “The Dukes of Hazzard” went off the air 30 years ago, his star power is still enough to draw people to the festival just to see him. But, he hopes those who do come for that reason will end up sticking around for the movies themselves.
“There will be a tent outside, I’ll be there and so will other filmmakers,’’ he said. “We’ll have some Q-and-As, some music, some private time. This is really for people interested in the process of filmmaking and film distribution what goes into telling a story. Yes, people can come out and bring their ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ lunchbox and that’s fine, but I’m hoping to skew more towards film students and musicians and artists, really, who want to know how it works.”
The Neighborhood News is a proud sponsor of the CineFlix Fest, which is scheduled for Mon.-Thur., Oct. 31-Nov. 3, at the Grove 16 & Cinebistro at 6333 Wesley Grove Blvd. For more information, check out CineFlixFest.com, or call Cinebistro at 948-5444.
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