The Duke is back in town

John Schneider, known for his role as Bo Duke in the hit tv series The Dukes of Hazard is making a return visit to Sparta, on Nov. 19.

Last year, Schneider spent a day in Sparta driving through town in the General Lee and greeting fans as he made a few stops along Bockman Way and Spring Street. He ended the day by playing a live concert and then showing his film Stand On It at the Sparta Drive-In.

“I love coming to Sparta, the people are great,” Schneider said when asked about his making a return visit. “I actually came a few months ago to load my truck up with donations for the Waverly flood victims. The people of Sparta really step up when there is a need. I can’t say thank you enough for that.”

His return to Sparta this time will be focused again on fun and entertainment as the Sparta Drive-In will be hosting the premier of Schneider’s new movie, Poker Run, a sequel to last year’s Stand On It.

“We had a winning combination with the first movie,” Alicia Allain, Schneider’s wife and filmmaking partner who served as producer for both movies, said. “We weren’t done with these characters and the possibilities.”

The team brought the characters back together, and all bets are back on in Poker Run, as Tiny (Michael Sullivan) and Timmy Needham (Dane Rhodes) bankroll an illegal Texas hold ‘em-style poker game, while players race from one remote location to the next. The two swindlers front half a million dollars to Frosty (Cody McCarver), Fred (Mindy Robinson), Sonny (Dion Baia) and Papa (Dane Rhodes), while Duke, played by Schneider, has to put up the $500,000 he just won in the previous film. The players go all in, making the pot $2.5 million dollars, and the winner takes all.

“In Stand On It, we did a tribute to Smokey and the Bandit, so people recognized the characters who mirrored some of the characters and story line from the classic, but I think we took the new characters to a different place – we are our own characters now, and I’m anticipating people just loving this new film,” Schneider said.

New characters will be introduced in the film that will premiere at the Sparta Drive- In as well. There will be cameo appearances by actor-comedian Jon Reep, country artist Keith Burns, former NFL star Marcus Dupree, WC wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell, and pro wrestler and Fox News personality Tyrus.

Schneider said the film will continue to build on the formula for adventure that he and Allain used in Stand On It, as they use race cars, police cars, trucks, boats, jet skis, and Frosty’s 18-Wheeler to create lots of fast driving, jumps, and crashes.

“I haven’t had this much fun behind the wheel of a car since The Dukes of Hazzard,” Schneider, who is front and center in the middle of the action throughout the film, said. “The Hell Cat makes every other movie car I’ve driven seem like it’s standing still. Sorry General!” 

“There’s a difference between a singular hit – and Stand On It definitely was a hit, we continue to sell out of the DVD and are having to order copies by the thousands to keep up with demand – but this has the earmarkings of a franchise,” Schneider claimed. “I’ve already started working on the third movie, Double or Nothing.”

Schneider said he thinks three movies will be it. Just a trilogy.

“Maybe,” he added. “It depends on the audience. If people are saying they want to see more of these characters, I would be an idiot not to give it to them.”

Schneider, along with Cody McCarver, produced the music for the soundtrack of the movie as well and will be playing that, along with some of the hits from last year’s movie, in an open-air concert at the drive-in before the movie plays.

In addition to the concert and movie, there will be a meet-and-greet event with the stars, including Schneider and McCarver, and Schneider will again be hosting a car show and giving away Bo’s Award to his favorite car. And, of course, Bo Duke will make a drive through Sparta in the General Lee a few hours before the gates open at the Sparta Drive-In.

Tickets for the event, can be purchased at johnschneiderstudios.com or through the John Schneider app.

Poker Run will be available for purchase on DVD through the same avenues as the tickets and for streaming through either the John Schneider App or CineflixDOD.com on Nov. 26.