STRAIGHT OUT OF LAKE HIGHLANDS

How A Screenplay Writer Got His Mojo Back In Our Neighborhood

YOU KNOW HOW THE STORY ENDS. The young, struggling artist is discovered by a stroke of luck and skyrockets to the top. Or there’s the singer who’s fallen from grace and is reborn after leaving behind a volatile lifestyle.

But what about the performer who never makes it? That’s what director Josh Jordan explores in his first feature film, “This World Won’t Break.” The production, which premiered in April at the Dallas International Film Festival, follows broke-down, middle-aged Texas troubadour Wes Milligan as he pursues his musical dream. He longs to be remembered as a country legend, but his failings and self-doubt frustrate his career.

The storyline was personal for Jordan, an actor at the Ochre House Theater who has also appeared on “Scrubs.” After years as an actor, Jordan turned to writing and direct- ing. He produced numerous video shorts like “The Boxer” and “Sam and Gus.” But when he turned 40, he realized his career hadn’t turned out the way he’d hoped.

“I got in a funk,” he says.

Jordan found consolation in his friend, Houston country singer Greg Schroeder. While the pair filmed a music video in New York, Schroeder echoed Jordan’s sentiments, and they started working together on the film.

“He said the exact same thing I was feeling, but it looked more poetic coming from him, especially in the snow and in his cowboy hat,” Jordan says. “Nobody wants to see a movie about a struggling screenplay writer, so I started writing how I felt with him as a vessel.”

Schroeder stars as the lead, alongside

Story by JAIME DUNAWAY Portrait by DANNY FULGENCIO

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