Nashville's Big Blockbuster

Steve Taylor has been a pillar of Music City’s film scene for decades. Now he’s produced the movie of the summer in our own backyard.

From Jerod Hollyfield

This week, Angel Studios debuts Sketch, the first nationwide theatrical release shot entirely in Nashville since the 1970s. Written and directed by Nashvillian Seth Young, the family fantasy follows Amber (Bianca Bell), a young girl grieving her mother’s death while her father (Tony Hale) struggles to hold the family together. When a mystical pond brings Amber’s eerie sketchbook drawings to life, the family must face their demons before the monsters consume their town.

Channeling the originality of ’80s and ’90s films like Little Monsters and Hocus Pocus, Sketch blends crowd-pleasing adventure with emotional depth about family bonds. It’s also the most high-profile project Steve Taylor—filmmaker, musician, and Lipscomb professor—has produced.

Momentum is building for Nashville’s film and TV production industry. Nashville 9-1-1 has begun filming in the city, comedian Nate Bargatze plans a Tyler Perry-style studio, and Nicole Kidman has shot portions of Holland and her new Scarpetta series locally. As Taylor continues championing homegrown productions, Sketch could spark the kind of word-of-mouth success that cements Music City as the next Atlanta or New Orleans.

Taylor spoke with The Pamphleeter about local productions, Nashville’s film ecosystem, and the power of lifelong creative partnerships.

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🖋️ Edited by Megan Podsiedlik and Davis Hunt.

🗣️ Boring Co. Starting To Make The Rounds Construction for the Music City Loop tunnel project is set to begin next week, but Mayor Freddie O'Connell still has some questions.

His office submitted 78 questions, to be exact, the day before this week’s Metro Nashville Convention Center Authority meeting.

They include questions about funding, ownership, and water mitigation, as well as tunnel access and other emergency and safety response plans. 

The Boring Company’s Vice President, David Buss, went before the Authority yesterday morning and presented some of the plans for the privately financed Tesla tunnel.

He emphasized minimal surface disruption and leaned on the company's safety track record related to the Las Vegas system. Buss also highlighted The Boring Company’s interest in expanding the tunnel network across Nashville based on community feedback. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

🔄 O’Connell Delicately Addresses The Loop During this morning’s media roundtable, Mayor Freddie O’Connell said Metro’s going to have to reassess Choose How You Move’s plans for the Murfreesboro corridor now that Elon Musk’s Music City Loop has been added to the equation.

During Q&A, he reiterated that he has looped key council members into discussions and intends to make sure the underground tunnel project doesn’t hinder other project priorities already in progress throughout the city.  

“I definitely felt like they were making us aware,” said O’Connell when asked how long his office has been participating in discussions with the state about the Music City Loop.

The mayor said his current focus is on preparation for the project and is grateful for the open forum, which will facilitate conversations about the tunnel. MEGAN PODSIEDLIK

🏘️ Housing Market Update Yesterday, Greater Nashville Realtors released some data on the housing market for July that showed:

• Closings up 3 percent
• Pending sales up less than a percent
• For sale inventory up 20 percent
• Home sales typically close in ~50 days

“July data reinforces the resilience and stability of the Middle Tennessee housing market,” said Collyn Wainwright, Greater Nashville Realtors president of the data.

I don’t know if stable is the word I’d use to describe a product with swelling unsold inventory and evidence of dwindling demand, but it’s also not my job to promote real estate and realtors in Nashville. What’s the point of an organization like this if they can’t state the obvious fact that it’s a buyer’s market? DAVIS HUNT

🔒 Public Nuisance Shuttered Yesterday, MNPD padlocked a bar I’ve always been curious about down Nollensville, out by the zoo, behind that gas station-turned-Mexican spot across from Music City Thrift.

404 Bar & Grill has been the scene of more than 120 police calls over the past 5 ½ years for everything from drug transactions to fighting to gunshots.

“Calls to 404 Bar and Grill have been a drain on police resources for years," Chief John Drake said of the matter. Guess that settles it. It’s unlikely I’ll ever have a beer at the 404.

BLACKBURN WITH EARLY LEAD IN POLL

DEVELOPMENT

• Florida-based Naked Farmer rounds out prominent Gulch project (NBJ)
• Downtown's Fifth Third Center eyed for hotel conversion (NBJ)
• Midtown hotel property sells for $19M (Post)
• Cash Museum owner sells downtown building (Post)
• Jefferson Street apartment building listed for $3.4M (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.

TONIGHT

🍅 Tomato Art Fest @ Five Points, Free, Info

🎸 Lightwatch w/ The Absurd @ The Basement, 9p, $12.85, Info
+ read our interview with The Absurd here

🪕 Vince Gill @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, $178+, Info

🪕 Unspoken Tradition @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info

🪕 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info

🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

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📉 Everything you’ve been told about Nashville’s growth is a lie · Nashville housing assessment · D7 True Grit and Mudslinging · Week in Culture · Much more!

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Jim Crow in a Cardigan

🏛️ Last night at the Metro Council · Blackburn launches gubernatorial bid · Battle’s Nothingburger Response · Back-to-school vaccinations · Much more!

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Much Talk About Killers

🚔 Death Row inmate captures headlines · Upzoning in the Nations · Jones vs. the American Gestapo · Saving Main Street · Much more!

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Watching Ivory Towers Crumble

👫 No country for Co-eds · Eyes on D7 · Waffle House shooter back on trial · Blackburn takes on teacher’s unions · Much more!

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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Jerod Hollyfield (Crowd Corner), Camelia Brennan (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).