Year: 2025
Director: Josh Roush
Starring: Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Mickey Rourke, Leonard Maltin, Haley Joel Osment, Justin Long, Robert Rodriguez, Mark Frost, Jim Mickle, Matt Pinfield, Kevin Smith, Ralph Garman, James Parks, Mark Lewis
Format: DCP
Running Time: 1hr 45min

Long Lonesome Highway: The Story of Michael Parks is an unflinching and intimate portrayal of the life and career of actor Michael Parks, a man whose journey through the Hollywood system was as unpredictable and unique as the roles he portrayed.

Once dubbed “the greatest living actor” by Quentin Tarantino, Michael’s career swung the pendulum between the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. When “discovered” by Lew Wasserman, Michael starred in some of the biggest blockbusters of the time, however, when he bit the hand that fed him, Wasserman had him relegated to TV, and later to having no career at all. Michael’s answer? Pivot to music, where he recorded several gold albums, performed with Johnny Cash, and on the Ed Sullivan show.

Despite living on the outside of the movie industry for decades, Michael continued to take the work where he could get it, resulting in dozens of small, yet incredibly noteworthy performances in B-movies and TV. All this hard work culminated in the resurrection of his career at the hands of filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Mark Frost, Kevin Smith, and many more.

Michael first met filmmaker Josh Roush on the set of Kevin Smith’s movie Tusk, where Josh was working as a behind the scenes cameraman. Due to Michael’s declining health at the time, Kevin asked Josh to change gears and be his personal assistant throughout the shoot. Though the older curmudgeonly actor and the young brash Punk Rocker had little aesthetically in common, the two struck up an immediate friendship that lasted until Michael’s passing and resulted in Josh creating this documentary in his honor.

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NY Cat Film Festival