R.J. Daniel Hanna is the latest filmmaker from Arkansas to have his movie hit big screens nationwide.
“Hard Miles,” starring Matthew Modine and Sean Astin, is in theaters right now in Little Rock. The film will screen at least through Thursday.
“Hard Miles” is a road movie based on the true story of a Colorado coach, Greg Townsend, who gathered 10 teenagers from an alternative school in Denver on a cycling trip to the Grand Canyon.
“It’s about them learning there is a wider world beyond what they know,” said Hanna. “There are not many stories like this happening right now. I think it is a story that embraces the grit and values I feel like a lot of people in Arkansas have. It also explores some more modern themes about incarceration. I think it’s really a story about redemption, second chances, and things that are really universal.”
The film premiered at the Bentonville Film Festival in June of 2023. It was screened at several other festivals around the country as well, including a showing at Filmland in Little Rock last October.
“Hard Miles” won the Jimmy Stewart Legacy award at the Heartland Film Festival and also won audience awards at the Denver Film Festival.
Hanna grew up in Conway and Bentonville before obtaining his undergraduate degree at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He graduated with a degree in economics, however during college he found himself more intrigued by English and film classes. He always had a passion for writing and filming.
“I always loved writing. I made my first short film right after high school, so it was something I was working on all the time. It took me a while to get to the place where I wanted to pursue it as a career,” he said.
Hanna would be accepted into graduate school at the University of Southern California. It was during his time in Los Angeles he made the transition to focusing on filmmaking as a career.
“Hard Miles” is Hanna’s second feature film he directed. His first film was “Miss Virginia,” which can be found on streaming services like Amazon Prime Video.
Modine starred in “Miss Virginia” as well. “Hard Miles” is Hanna’s second time working with the award-winning actor who starred in classic films like Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket” and Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts.”
Most recently, Modine stars in the hit Netflix show “Stranger Things” along with last year's Best Picture at the Academy Awards, “Oppenheimer.”
“We worked together in my first movie and he was a key supporting part. When I decided to write this script, he was on my mind as someone I would like to work with again. He’s interested in positive stories,” said Hanna.
The film was shot on an ALEXA Mini LF camera with an anamorphic lens. Scenes were filmed in California, Arizona, Denver, Aspen, and cities in Utah.
Although the picture is just now hitting big screens with its distribution deal, Hanna says it was essentially finished last February.
“We have done a few more weeks and cuts since then,” added Hanna.
Even though his film had a strong festival run and starred actors like Modine and Astin, getting a distribution deal wasn’t easy.
The market in Hollywood and the film industry for stories and films like “Hard Miles” is a struggle amidst the influx of big-budget blockbusters like films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“We had some good screenings and we knew there was interest but it was always kind of hard because we wanted a theatrical release. Which has really become a tough thing to do and pull off,” Hanna said, while expressing that he didn’t want his film to go straight to on-demand streaming services.
The film is now being distributed by Blue Fox Entertainment. “It’s one of those things that just worked out,” he added.
Hanna hopes the film will resonate with audiences in Arkansas, as his upbringing and time in the Natural State were on his mind while writing and making the film.
“I was in Boy Scouts growing up. I took a lot of stuff from my Arkansas Scoutmasters and camping. It gave me things I really have not thought about in a while. I think there are a lot of themes in the film about the value of getting out in nature. Arkansas is The Natural State. I think it will resonate and could even be a talking point with kids about the value of getting outside a little bit.”
“Hard Miles” is currently screening in Little Rock at the Regal McCain Mall and RPX.
