It’s a story 12 years in the making.
Ryan Roth, a singer-songwriter from Northwest Ohio, is making a film with friend Michael Cullen II based on the lives of both himself and his late father Britt, who died in 2000.
PHOTO COURTESY SUNNY NEUENSCHWANDER
And if you ask Ryan Roth, it’s a deeply personal story born out of the cornfields of Wauseon.
The 37-year-old singer/songwriter is currently in the midst of the production “Down Along the Road: The Life and Times of Fulton Williams,” a documentary-style narrative film chronicling the rise and fall of a local musician who mysteriously disappears while on the brink of fame.
The story of Fulton Williams is based off the lives of both Roth and his late father Britt, who died in 2000.
A writer and musician in his own right, Britt used Fulton Williams as his pen name as a tribute to his home near the Fulton and Williams county line. Before he died, Britt asked his son to carry on the name in whatever way he could.
“The character himself is loosely based on his life and mine,” Roth said. “It kind of shadows the same walk. Everything that happened in this guy’s life is true. Every story that’s going to be told in this film is a personal story to somebody telling it.”
“Fulton Williams” is a passion project for both Roth and Michael Cullen II, an aspiring local filmmaker and close friend of Roth who helped him come up with the idea back in 2002.
However, years went by and the project remained nothing more than an idea between friends.
Two months ago, the duo reconnected and finally decided they were at a place in their lives where it made sense to get the project moving.
“I think it was just about being at the right point in our lives,” Roth said.
For the project, Roth and Cullen enlisted the time and talent of nearly 40 area actors, as well as local musicians who will weave their own true-life stories into their “experiences” with Fulton Williams.
“Fulton Williams” has a budget of $2,500, which is being sought through Indiegogo.com, a crowdsourcing website. As of Dec. 18, the project has raised $1,974 with 30 funders. The fundraiser ends Dec. 29.
To donate to the cause, visit the Indiegogo page at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fulton-williams-film-project-documentary-style.
