Musical-related films remain quite popular as evidenced by the continued influx of excellent concert flicks and those upcoming music biopics. Now, the 2026 movie schedule is set to play host to a hip-hop-infused title, Rolling Loud: The Movie. As people can probably guess, at the center of the wild and raunchy flick is the titular music festival, which will serve as the backdrop for some wild shenanigans. Interestingly enough, a teenager has a story credit on the movie, and CinemaBlend asked the director about that.
Rolling Loud: The Movie comes from the mind of filmmaker Jeremy Garelick, who is known for directing films like The Wedding Ringer and Murder Mystery 2. His latest film, which stars Owen Wilson and Christian Convery, among others, sees a father take his teenage son to the aforementioned festival, and wild time ensues. When CinemaBlend spoke to Garelick – alongside cast member Chrstine Ko – we questioned him about his oldest son, Zion, supposedly having a writing credit on the comedy flick. Garelick then clarified that:
I believe he is credited as a story [contributor]. We shared the [Story By] credit.
Honestly, it’s not all that often that you see a teenager get a story credit of some sort on a film, though Garelick was happy to give Zion the credit. That’s because the film’s plot is loosely inspired by the father and son’s own real-life experience at Rolling. Jeremy took Zion to the concert in 2022 when he was 13 years old and even briefly lost the boy. Considering the experience, the older Garelick felt it was only fitting that his son receive that credit. The Plan B producer further explained:
This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for him asking me to go. And, for him loving this music so much. It was really the first time that I saw him get passionate and excited about something. To the point where I'm like, I'm going to do whatever I can as a dad to cultivate this and to make him happy. And this is what he wants to do. He wants to go to this crazy festival.
Those are truly sweet sentiments and emphasize the love this father has for his son. On the subject, Garelick also said:
He's sharing [the] story [credit] because we were like—a lot of things that happened during that movie that just came straight from real life.
Anyone who wants to know just how much the film’s story aligns with the Garelicks’ should know that just like Zion’s counterpart in the film, he made a PowerPoint to convince his folks to let him go to Rolling Loud. (Talk about really going the extra mile to get what you want.) The only difference between the presentation in the film and the real one is just “two or three” slides, according to Jeremy. The director also shared this:
I'd never seen him make a PowerPoint or any sort of presentation like that up. He was never [that] passionate about anything until this…. Thirteen's a tough age, and we had a challenging time connecting and going through this experience. You know, it was something that we shared that is going to be a memory for us for a lifetime.
And now that memory is immortalized on film, with Wilson playing Jeremy Garelick’s counterpart and Convery. Joining them in the film alongside Ko are also Matt Rife, Olivia Luccardi and Henry Winkler along with real-life hip-hop artists like Travis Scott, Sexyy Red and Ty Dolla Sign.
For over a decade now, RL has served as the basis for some major moments, like Kanye West’s unexpected dance performance and Nicki Minaj’s not-so-smooth set from 2023. So it makes all the sense in the world that Jeremy Garelick would want to make a movie that takes place at the festival, and what makes it even sweeter is that it’s something he can share with his son for years to come. Check out Rolling Loud: The Movie when it opens in theaters on October 2.
