FIVE TEENAGERS WALK INTO A BAR To Begin Film This Month Outside Of L.A.

Producer Ron Hanks today announced the start of filming of Five Teenagers Walk Into A Bar later this month outside of Los Angeles. This coming-of-age, short film tells the story of five barely acquainted teens - an almost-famous Instagram model Nicole Elizabeth Berger, a Goth girl Lana Schwartz, a young transgender person Isaiah Stannard, a blonde truth teller Violet Young and a sassy redhead cheerleader Clara Young - who are abandoned in the middle of the barren desert on a field trip from a fancy LA private school.

They are forced to band together in a bar that they stumble upon to find their way back home. The only adults at this desert way-stop are a creepy bartender Kristin Johansen, a badass biker chick, Dot Marie Jones, and a tall and creepy bar owner Carla Johnston. The film is directed by Vivian Sorenson and written by Carla Johnston. Five Teenagers Walk Into A Bar is a production of Meteora Entertainment, LLC and 1157 Productions, LLC.

Five Teenagers Walk Into A Bar traces the unexpected journey of a group of diverse teens who really dislike each other but must figure out how to work together to get out the wilderness to find their way back to civilization. The teenagers have no cell phones, food or water, but they see a dive bar in the distance that brings them some temporary relief. However, when they walk in, they soon encounter another world with creepy people stuck in the 1980's. Something weird went down the night before. Is the bar a safe respite, another dimension or a dangerous detour in their quest to return home? Will trouble return or will this group of teens be ushered on to other mirage-like adventures? The film is well rounded and nuanced as it depicts the diverse identities of the teens and shows how they can overcome their differences to save themselves from each other and from their circumstances.

The cast of teens include: Nicole Elizabeth Berger (The Place of No Words, All At Once, Clover), Lana Schwartz (Claremont Street), Isaiah Stannard (Good Girls, NBC), Violet Young (Genius: Picasso) and Clara Young (My Life As A Zucchini) - and adults - Kristen Johansen (Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl), Carla Johnston (Orange is the New Black, Netflix,What Would You Do, ABC), and Dot Marie Jones (Glee, Fox, Modern Family, ABC) - come together to make this modern-day drama an adventure in the wilderness. Director Vivian Sorenson (Chopped, CHOPPED JUNIOR and Chopped After Hours, Food Network) has been a director and producer of over 20 films and television shows since 1996 and over 550 episodes of the Chopped series of TV shows.

Hanks commented on the cast coming together, "I am very excited to be able to work with such a distinct but collaborative cast. They come together from backgrounds in film, theater and television. In their characters, the teenagers are at odds with one another, but in reality, they work together almost seamlessly. Their differences are highlighted in positive ways in the script, and the film's underlying story makes you want to learn more about the teens, their odd adult acquaintances and their journey from LA private school to science-school trip to the uncertainty of the desert experience - all as told through their subtle identities. The story ends with their futures in question."