Principal photography has begun on "twentysixmiles," it was announced today by creator/executive producer Rob Miller and producer Scott LeGrand. The project, a six-hour dramedy made for television, written by Mike Petty and Kevin D. Guzowski, is headlined by John Schneider ("Nip/Tuck," "The Dukes of Hazzard"). Todd Turner ("Greek") is directing four episodes for Miller's Tower 17 Productions, with Schneider serving as co-executive producer and director of two episodes. Gary "Griff" Griffith is credited as co-creator/executive producer.

The producers are shopping the project to broadcast and cable networks as either a six-part stand-alone miniseries or as the first season of a potential hour-long series. Gersh is handling international and domestic rights.

The story follows high-powered corporate exec Jack Kincaid (Schneider), whose wife divorces him and moves with their children from a materialistic existence in Malibu to small-town life on Catalina Island, twenty-six miles off the coast of Southern California. In order to spend more time with his kids, Jack soon follows, ultimately quitting his high-pressure job, falling in love with a local woman, and re-embracing his love for music by reuniting his college band, The Renegades.

In addition to Schneider, the film also stars Jessica Tuck ("Judging Amy"), Eric Lange ("Criminal Minds"), Daniel Quinn ("Without a Trace"), Tessie Santiago ("Good Morning, Miami"), Aris Avril ("Gilmore Girls"), John Billingsley ("The Nine"), Jordan Garret ("Death Sentence"), Spencer Locke ("That's So Raven"), Hannah Dworkin ("Zack and Cody"), Diamond Dallas Page ("Wrestlemania") and "American Idol" alumnus Kimberly Caldwell.

Golden Globe winner George Segal ("Just Shoot Me"), six-time Emmy nominee Jeffrey Tambor ("Arrested Development"), and SAG Award winner James Denton ("Desperate Housewives") will all contribute cameos, along with NASCAR champion Carl Edwards and recording stars Los Lonely Boys.

The production will also feature a soundtrack of country, Americana and reggae tunes written by acclaimed independent musicians, and performed by Schneider and "the Renegades."

One of the songs in the film appropriately uses the lyric, "Some folks say I'm brave, some call me crazy," says Miller, "but we're confident that the remarkable enthusiasm of John and everyone involved with twentysixmiles will translate into a fantastic show that networks and viewers of all ages will embrace."

Adds LeGrand, "We're thrilled with the entire cast and production team we've been able to assemble for twentysixmiles. I've been involved with many ambitious projects in my lifetime but none as rewarding as this one is turning out to be.

The production will spend most of its nearly eight-week shoot on Catalina Island, with the filmmakers utilizing products, processes, services and other activities dedicated to the protection of the environment in an effort to leave the island a beautiful and well-kept small-town community. These include golf cart transportation, reusable water bottles and coffee cups, and being shot entirely in HD, omitting the need for petroleum base film products.

Schneider notes, "I am very excited to be involved with a production that takes leaving a small "footprint" on this planet so seriously. So many productions seem to think that they are "above the environmental law" these days. twentysixmiles is putting their production money where their wallet is! I am even wearing a vegan motorcycle jacket for crying out loud!"

Schneider's credits span successful work in television, feature films, music and theater. He starred for six seasons on the hugely popular '80s comedy-adventure series "The Dukes of Hazzard" in a role he reprised for the television movie "The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood." He was also a series regular on the family drama "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," the syndicated drama "Heaven Help Us," the long-running WB drama "Smallville," and recently, had a recurring role on F/X's controversial series "Nip/Tuck." The actor's television movie credits include "Mary Christmas" (which he also directed), "Michael Landon, the Father I Knew," "True Women," "Night of the Twisters," "The Legend of Ruby Silver," "Texas, Desperate Journey" and the recent Hallmark Channel movie "Shark Swarm." On Broadway, Schneider has starred in the Tony-winning musicals "Grand Hotel" and "Chicago," in which he played lawyer Billy Flynn earlier this year. Schneider recently completed shooting the independent feature The Gods of Circumstance.

Turner's extensive resume includes working as assistant director on the hit ABC Family series "Greek" and ABC's "October Road," among other series and feature films, as well as production work on features such as The Hunt for Red October, A River Runs Through It, The Mosquito Coast, and Say Anything.

LeGrand's varied background includes working as production manager touring for the Grateful Dead, and in production management for live television events including the Grammys, Emmys, 1996 Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. After a five-year stint working for "Disney on Film" projects for "Tokyo Disney Sea," LeGrand produced the independent feature film Familiar Strangers starring Shawn Hatosy.

Miller founded Tower 17 Productions in 2004, with twentysixmiles marking the company's first project. Prior to Tower 17, Miller founded and built several successful companies that went on to become industry leaders with an emphasis on community involvement and financial responsibility. Miller received an "Inc. Magazine/Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1992. Tower 17 currently has multiple film projects in development.