Coming Next Summer: Exit 102

Peter Dobson (l), Dan Jouett and Ran Ballard/Photo by Mike Black

Perhaps the most important part of Saturday's festivities surrounding the premiere of the "Exit 102" movie trailer came when producer Ran Ballard announced that the film has secured financing to the tune of $7 million. That means the movie is on schedule to be made late next spring and early summer in Asbury Park, with filming slated to begin in May. The announcement was greeted by raucous applause by the crowd in the Paramount Theatre that came to watch a 14-minute trailer for the film, shot last summer in Asbury. Ballard also announced that legendary producer Robert Evans will be involved in an executive production capacity; if you don't know Evans' name, you certainly know some of the films he's produced, which include "Rosemary's Baby," "The Godfather," and
"Chinatown."

   Exit 102 is a story set in the summer of 1974, when The Circuit was still thriving in Asbury Park, with hot rods and motorcycles cruising up and down Ocean Avenue. If the trailer is any indication, the movie's soundtrack should be killer: the trailer included snippets of Bruce Springsteen's "Jungleland," the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man," and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." Those songs were just used for the trailer, and will not necessarily appear in the movie, as all the music has to be licensed for film. But the filmmakers do promise a great soundtrack of tunes from that era. Peter Dobson directs and executive produces the film, and other producers include Ballard, Melissa Prophet, Dan Jouett and Mike Black. The trailer features a bunch of Asbury musicians and people connected to the music industry; their appearances on screen drew cheers and applause in the Paramount Saturday night when the trailer was shown after a performance by "Status Green." Later everyone adjourned to the Wonder Bar for more music by Matt O'Ree and "Maybe Pete."

Peter Dobson (l) and Frank Vincent/Photo by Mike Black

The movie stars Frank Vincent, perhaps best known for his recent performance as Phil Leotardo on "The Sopranos." Vincent recalled Saturday that he had once played in a band in Asbury Park, and that he was happy to return to the city to play the role of a bookmaker in Exit 102.

Over the years a bunch of movies have been filmed in and around Asbury, and most of them, frankly, have not done well (perhaps because most of them were not very good). Think "Homeboy," the almost-unwatchable Mickey Rourke flick, or "Earthly Possessions," a Susan Sarandon HBO movie, or even "City by the Sea," the Robert DeNiro movie that filmed in and around Asbury in December 2001, a week when Springsteen played two holiday shows at Convention Hall and the Sopranos also filmed in town at a local go-go bar. Will Exit 102 be the film that finally breaks the curse of bad movies shot in and around the city by the sea? Only time will tell, of course. But it should certainly be an interesting summer.