Middle Tennessee film director Jesse Edwards reunites with actor Brycen Patterson and others who have worked with them on their previous local film project for an upcoming mystery-comedy suitable for all ages.
Where The Wildman of Shaggy Creek led viewers on more of a suspenseful household viewing adventure, Edwards frames Robbery at the Rockvale Theater as lighter and more comedic.
Set largely inside a theater, the story plays as a whodunit centered on a robbery and a threatened school performance.
Film Director Jesse Edwards
“It’s like Knives Out, but for kids, and it’s got a lot of elements of the Pink Panther in it as well,” said Edwards while describing the new movie. “Both my older girls love mysteries, so . . . it’s got some Boxcar Children in there too. It’s like if you took those three movies, Boxcar Children, Pink Panther and Knives Out, and mixed them together, I think this is what you get.”
Edwards also said ’90s comedies like Richie Rich and George of the Jungle helped inspire the feel of the film’s effects.
Brycen Patterson, a Rutherford County resident and recent graduate of Rockvale High School who served as one of the leads in Robbery at the Rockvale Theater, said the film reminds of classic mystery movies inspired by Agatha Christie novels.
Patterson has high ambitions for a future in television and film. He got his start in musical theater, such as an experience playing the lead role of Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, performed by Rockvale High School at Spotlight Awards 2025 at TPAC.
“That’s why I really liked this movie, especially because I got to sing, dance, and act in it, which is, you know, something that a lot of people don’t get to do,” Patterson told the Pulse. “I got to tie in what I love most, acting, but also the things I’ve learned from musical theater, like singing and dancing as well.”
Several composers contributed to the film’s soundtrack and score, with music licensed from publishing titan Warner Chappell used to enhance certain scenes.
Production ran with a primary crew of around 10, expanding to as many as 20 on heavy days like the shooting of the big dance sequence, and filming took place over 10 primary days with three additional pick-up days.
Patterson rounded up a group of fellow Rockvale students to come in as extras.
“My younger brother, Baylor, is at Rockvale High School right now, and my two other friends, Piper and Reagan, just graduated with me from Rockvale,” he said. “Another one of my friends was an extra in it; she just graduated, and then my girlfriend was an extra in it. She just graduated, so yeah, there’s a lot of Rockvale alum.”
Actors Ayla Bullington, David Dupre, Josh Futcher and Allee Sutton Hethcoat all return from The Wildman of Shaggy Creek to join the cast of Robbery at the Rockvale Theater.
The Packard Playhouse in Columbia served as the main theater location, with additional scenes filmed in various Middle Tennessee locations in Spring Hill, Franklin and Green Hills, with a pivotal key insert shot in Edwards’ garage in Brentwood.
Robbery at the Rockvale Theater will premiere at the Franklin Theater on Sunday, June 28, with three showings at 12, 3 and 7 p.m. Because The Wildman of Shaggy Creek sold out at its premiere last year, organizers decided to add a third showing for the new film this year. Find tickets for the premiere at franklintheatre.com.
