From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is written like an advertisement. Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view per Wikipedia policy. Mark blatant advertising for speedy deletion with {{db-spam}}. (help, talk)

Written by Ty Roberts and David Trimble. Directed by Ty Roberts. Produced by Ryan McWhirter and John Pitts Presented by Hecho en Cine Productions.

Spend a night in old Mexico with Neal Cassady, one of the Beat Generation's most infamous legends, before his mysterious death along the railroad tracks outside of San Miguel de Allende.

A foreboding tale based on his final hours, Neal confronts ghosts of his past with his best pal, legendary writer Jack Kerouac, as they ramble through the night during their most forsaken hour. Neal's search for salvation takes us down a dark road of loss, betrayal, and redemption through a Mexican netherworld of haunting deserts and heavenly bordellos.

Here, Neal's struggle to cross the threshold into his afterlife is guided by the beautiful prostitute Luz who frees him of the condemnation he feared would ride him to his grave. Luz del Mundo is a gritty, unnerving account of one man's unconscious search for death through his conscious search for experience.

In February of 1968, Neal Cassady was found unconscious beside the railroad tracks outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He died the following day, a forsaken man haunted by a scattered past of lost loves, betrayed friendships, and a lifestyle fueled by addiction and vices. He was 42 years old.

Over a decade before, Cassady was immortalized in Jack Kerouac’s classic novel, On the Road, serving as the inspiration behind the unforgettable protagonist Dean Moriarity. As Kerouac’s muse for his most famous work, Cassady became a beatnik legend enthroned by a generation that revered his intense energy, free will, and relentless pursuit of pleasure. His incongruous lifestyle would involuntarily cast him into a role that he would play throughout his lifetime, one that he would attempt to outrun, but would ultimately catch up to him that fateful night along the tracks in San Miguel.

In "On the Road", Dean and Sal’s (Cassady and Kerouac) ramblings led them around the country and concluded in Mexico where the final chapters are played out. It is here, in the Gregoria, Mexico scenes, where the heart of Luz del Mundo’s story unfolds. Blending Cassady and Kerouac’s last hurrah in Gregoria with Neal’s fateful voyage in San Miguel will become the parallel visual journey of the short film Luz del Mundo.

Witness Neal and Jack during their final night in old Mexico as they submerge into a netherworld of booze, dancing, and prostitutes. A foreboding tale, Neal’s final hours are played out in a symbolic twist of loss, betrayal, and redemption. Neal is haunted by a lost love, Natalie, whose horrifying suicide he witnessed and assumed responsibility for several years before. She becomes the primary source of his turbulence as he leads his cohorts on a rampage through the night. Fate, however, steers him down an ominous path to confront her ghost.

In a symbolic hallucination, Neal discovers Natalie in the form of Luz, a local prostitute who becomes the guiding light in his search for salvation. As the night ensues and death’s ferryman creeps closer, Luz attempts to free Neal of the guilt and condemnation he feared would ride him to his grave. Trying to outrun his fate, Neal flees Mexico, leaving Jack to fend for himself in an act that will forever scar their friendship.

Revisiting these memories on the night of his death, Neal searches for absolution, which will ironically propel him towards his own death. But before he can fully transcend he must once again revisit their Mexican fling and the toll it took on his friendship with Jack.

Although inspired by the writings of Jack Kerouac (On the Road, 1955) and Ernest Hemingway (The Light of the World, 1933), Luz del Mundo is an original screenplay derived from these works and years of research on the mysterious death of Neal Cassady in San Miguel. The recurrence of Mexico in Cassady’s life as both the location for his final days of dalliance with Kerouac and as the destination for his end-of-life journey is hardly a coincidence. Its abundance of austere beauty and deep religious faith provide a highly symbolic backdrop for the film.

Although Gregoria and San Miguel, Mexico set the stage for Luz del Mundo, the actual locations will be in and around San Miguel. We will utilize as many authentic locations as possible. Scouting has been underway for months and we have secured many of the locations for the shoot. Final scouts will occur in the spring with all locations to be secured by early May. Principle photography is schedule to begin the first week of May of 2006.

Hecho en Cine Productions, an Austin, Texas-based production company, will play the primary role in the development and production of Luz del Mundo not only as a short, but later as a feature film. Hecho en Cine will consider partnerships with other producers and/ or production companies in the production of both film projects.

Cast

• Will Estes as Jack Kerouac
• Austin Nichols as Neal Cassady