BOMB CITY
my word we were going to
tell his son’s story.”
the audio of a speech
Manson gave about Brian
D eneke for potential
investors without telling
them who was speaking.
After speaking with Mike
Deneke, Dodge set out to
finance Bomb City, driven
by his ambition to keep
his word and assisted by a
visionary “look book” put
together by Brooks.
“They would always
(guess it was) a politician
or maybe a lawyer because
he’s so well spoken,” Dodge
said. “When I tell them it’s
Marilyn Manson, their jaws
drop to the floor. He’s so
well spoken and articulate
– and that’s the film. If I
would have shown them
who that was immediately,
I would have lost half
the audience because
they would have been
turned off by (Manson’s)
appearance.”
The film took three years
(2013 to 2016) to produce
f ro m s t a r t t o f i n i s h ,
production lasting 19 days.
Bomb City’s premiere
at the Dallas International
Film Festival won the film
Best Narrative Feature and
Audience Choice Award,
followed with another
Audience Choice Award at
the Nashville International
Film Festival.
Music for the film was
provided almost entirely
by Brian Deneke’s real-life
favorite bands; the score
was produced by Sheldon
Chick and his brother Cody
Chick. Some rap music was
provided by another New
Albany native and friend
of Dodge’s, Rodney Brown,
who goes by Young Zillion.
The awards don’t end
there either, with Dave
Davis (True Detective,
The Big Short) winning
Best Actor in Nashville for
his leading role as Brian
Deneke.
Competing against the
likes of Burt Reynolds, this
is a prolific win for Bomb
City, but far from the peak
of its profile.
Richard Linklater
(Dazed and Confused,
B oyh o o d) p ers onally
endorsed the film, and his
daughter, Lorelei Linklater,
plays a role as well. Rocker
Marilyn Manson also
appears in the film.
“(Manson) is the film,
in a nutshell,” Dodge said.
He recounted playing
“Bomb City,” the movie New Albany High School alumnus Major Dodge executive
produced, has garnered major buzz in the film industry.
“ T w o o f R o d n e y ’s
original songs are in the
film,” Dodge said. “What
was crazy is I asked if he
had anything that could
pass as (90s rap) without
telling him what the story
is about, and he sends me
this song about driving
around in my Cadillac,
(which was) the murder
weapon (in Brian Deneke’s
death).”
No matter the odds, a
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