Neill Byrnes and Anthony Rocco Bovo will play Aerosmith rockers Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, respectively, in the Lynyrd Skynyrd biopic “Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash”.
The film, which began shooting in Los Angeles on Monday, centres on drummer Artimus Pyle's recollection of the events surrounding the crash of the group's touring plane in Mississippi on October 20, 1977. The accident killed original band members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, an assistant road manager, and the two pilots.
Ian Shultis plays Pyle, with Taylor Clift as Van Zant, Samuel Kay Forrest as Gaines, and Rich Dally III as Allen Collins. Jared Cohn is directing from his own script.
One week before Lynyrd Skynyrd boarded the doomed flight, members of Aerosmith were scheduled to board the same Convair CV-300. The band deemed the plane unsafe and decided not to lease the Convair. Byrnes is the lead singer of Aerosmith tribute band Draw the Line.