Aahana Swrup
The country-music-driven film, ‘The Neon Highway,’ brings a story about the other side of fame, ripe with daunting challenges and trite corporate connections. The narrative follows Wayne, a starry-eyed musician who tries to break it into the country scene with his brother, Lloyd, and their musical act, The Collins Brothers. Nevertheless, a tragic accident undoes the former’s dreams. Years later, while working for a cable company, the singer-songwriter meets the country legend of the past, Claude Allen, who takes an interest in his talent. Thus begins Wayne’s second chance to grasp at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Nonetheless, the reality of chasing after one’s dreams turns out to be much more difficult than expected. The film’s depiction of the somber truth of entering the industry and riding on the coattails of once-held novelty imbues the storyline with authenticity and realism. However, does the same extend to its characters, the Collins Brothers?
The Collins Brothers: Fictional Elements in a Fictional Tale
Much like other elements within the fictitious narrative of ‘The Neon Highway,’ Wayne and Lloyd— the Collins Brothers— are also works of fiction with no actual basis in reality. Filmmakers Phillip Bellury and William Wages, who co-wrote the script with the latter as the director, wanted to create an authentic story that conveyed the reality of the music industry with their project. Nevertheless, in order to do so, the duo preferred to fabricate characters and their narratives to highlight the exact storylines they wanted to explore in the film.
Consequently, The Collins Brothers, who enter the story to showcase the bright-eyed wonder the industry holds for new faces, are just characters built to serve their narratives. As such, neither Wayne nor Lloyd have real-life counterparts and stay enclosed within the film’s fictionalized tale. While Lloyd’s character exists to enhance Wayne’s storyline— and punctuate a twisting reveal halfway through the movie— his older brother plays a more substantial role in presenting the realities of artists struggling for a big break. He comes close to signing a deal until a fated accident changes his life’s direction.
Nonetheless, after Wayne’s path intertwines with Claude, it reignites his dreams and pushes him to venture on another adventure. For his second chance, the musician is much more focused on simply getting his music out and making a pretty penny out of the deal. His initial helpless attitude toward his song depicts how his previous run-in with the industry has dampened his spirits. Consequently, he receives a compelling character arc that ends with his return to his risk-taking self.
Therefore, Wayne’s narrative ends up encapsulating the strenuous demands of the music industry alongside its inspiring nature. Similarly, since Lloyd remains a significant tool in actualizing his brother’s central storyline, he serves much of the same purpose. Ultimately, neither character holds real-life inspirations but represents the truth of reality regardless.
Rob Mayes Drew From His Own Experiences to Portray Wayne
Even though the filmmakers didn’t take real-life inspiration from any individuals for Wayne Collins, Actor Rob Mayes interestingly ended up sharing some experiences with his character. In an interview with Movie Fone, Mayes, who embodies Wayne-onscreen, spoke about how he came across the project. “The reason this whole thing came together for me was because I took a publishing meeting about three and a half years ago to talk about songwriting, and the first thing that they said to me was—there’s a movie, and maybe you could be in it,” said the actor. “We don’t know anything about it. But lo and behold, here we are.”
Therefore, similar to Wayne’s chance meeting with Claude, the stars also aligned for Mayes. Furthermore, the actor was also able to draw from his own experiences as a musician to ensure authenticity behind his character. Specifically, Waynes was all too familiar with the grueling grind that singer-songwriters face when attempting to find an outlet and an audience for their music. “[In ‘The Neon Highway’] There’s so many parallels to my own life,” The actor/musician told Comic Screenwriting in an interview.
“Doing what I do, there’s a lot of rejection every day as an actor, as a songwriter, as an artist. There’s always that battle. That was something that I really resonated with really, really strongly right off the bat, and [I] just knew I had to be part of this movie in any capacity, and it turned out that capacity was the lead.” Therefore, Wayne’s narrative as an amateur musician— with a song written in real life by Dallas Davidson—is separate from Mayes’ professional career. Still, a thread connects the two, adding another layer of nuance to Wayne’s otherwise fictitious storyline.
Read More: The Neon Highway: Is Claude Allen Based on a Real Country Singer?
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