Breaking into Hollywood is seldom easy. It takes talent, persistence, determination, and lots of luck. Director Robert Harmon and screenwriter Eric Red have managed to put together all of the above in creating The Hitcher, a new thriller starring C. Thomas Howell, Rutger Hauer, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

The project began with an eventful cross-country trip from New York city to Los Angeles. As young filmmaker and ex-taxi driver Eric Red drove alone through a dark Texas night, he found himself starting to doze off at the wheel. “I picked up a hitch-hiker,” explains Red, “just to pass the time. To help keep me awake. But the guy just sort of sat there, smelling dirty and staring at me. I started feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation and thought maybe it wasn’t such a good idea picking him up. He had a rough edge. I finally stopped the car a few miles down the road and asked him to get out. He left willingly enough, and that was it.”