Rudderless

Rudderless
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William H. Macy
Produced by	Keith Kjarval Brad Greiner
Written by	Jeff Robison Casey Twenter
Starring	Billy Crudup Anton Yelchin Felicity Huffman Selena Gomez Laurence Fishburne
Cinematography	Eric Lin
Edited by	John Axelrad
Production company	Unified Pictures Tee Rob Pictures Amberdale Productions Bron Studios Dog Pond Productions Toy Gun Films
Distributed by	The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release date	January 24, 2014 (2014-01-24) (Sundance Film Festival) October 17, 2014 (2014-10-17)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$5 million

Rudderless is a 2014 American musical drama film which was the directorial debut of William H. Macy, and stars Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Huffman, Selena Gomez and Laurence Fishburne. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2014. The film was released in theaters and through video-on-demand beginning October 17, 2014.

The film opens as Josh Manning (Miles Heizer) is recording his own songs in his college dorm room for demo and is interrupted by one of his floor mates looking for someone. He stops recording, annoyed at the interruption. Meanwhile, his father Sam Manning (Billy Crudup) has succeeded in landing a large account at his advertising firm, and calls Josh to celebrate with him and skip that day's classes. Josh tells him he cannot make it but his father insists, though Josh begins to make his way to the campus library anyway. Sam continues to wait at the bar where he told him to meet him and even leaves a message for Josh who has apparently stood him up. He is distracted by a news report of a school shooting incident at his son's campus library on the television in the bar.

Later, a memorial wake is being held at Josh's home by his mother, Emily (Felicity Huffman), and due to the media coverage received, Sam has a difficult time being able to grieve in his own way with press being cordoned at the end of the street by police, and a news helicopter hovering above the family home. Sam is consoled by family and attendees while sitting alone to one side as his wife is greeting others. Sam walks into Josh's bedroom to look around, attempting to find some kind of understanding over the loss, and is interrupted by Kate Lucas (Selena Gomez), who tells Sam that she and Josh had been dating the year prior. Sam then makes his way to his own home and finds the media coverage is interfering with his daily life, and he eventually succumbs to alcoholism, as far as showing up intoxicated at his firm; acting erratically and kissing his receptionist in a drunken state, for which his employer is advising him to take time off to better cope with the situation.