Untitled Slick Lawson Project

Directed & Produced by: Ryan Green

Stage:
- Production
Location:
- Tennessee, United States
Updated: April 3, 2026
Project Type:
- Feature,
- Installation
Project Style:
- Archival ,
- Biographical
Theme Subject:

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Logline

Wilmer “Slick” Lawson was a staunch bon vivant and dynamic force in Nashville during the Golden Age of country music. A celebrated photojournalist as skillful in a duck blind, hot air balloon, or chef’s hat as he was with his signature Leica, his work graced the pages of major publications in addition to hundreds of album covers leaving an indelible mark on Music City that continues to this day.

Synopsis

...

Wilmer “Slick” Lawson (1937-2002) was a staunch bon vivant and dynamic force in Nashville, captivating all with his adventurous pursuits and magnetic personality. A celebrated photojournalist ever ready with his signature Leica, his work graced the pages of Time, Life, and People Magazine in addition to hundreds of album covers during the Golden Age of country music. With his karmic ethos: “Help the next guy,” Slick left an indelible mark on Music City that continues to this day. With the full participation of the Slick Lawson Foundation, the lid will be lifted on Slick’s career-spanning Archive containing hundreds of thousands of never-before-seen images of a veritable who’s-who of country music.

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Participants

Roy Blount Jr

Self

Participant

Roy Blount Jr

Self

Roy Blount Jr. is an American writer, speaker, reporter, and humorist known for his witty style and his frequent appearances as a panelist on the NPR news/comedy quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!. He is a prolific author who has published over twenty-four books across various genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and memoir.

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Marty Stuart

Self

Participant

Marty Stuart

Self

Born John Marty Stuart in 1958, Marty Stuart displayed a prodigious talent for music as a child, teaching himself guitar and mandolin. By the sixth grade, he had already envisioned a future filled with singing and winning musical awards. In 1972, at just 13 years old, Stuart joined Lester Flatt’s Nashville Grass as a full-time member. He remained with Flatt until 1979, gaining an unparalleled apprenticeship in bluegrass.
Following Flatt's death, Stuart’s versatility led him to tour and record with legends such as Doc and Merle Watson, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Emmylou Harris. In 1980, he achieved a childhood dream by joining Johnny Cash’s band, where he spent years touring the world and absorbing lessons in performance and artistic integrity. Stuart transitioned to a solo artist in 1986. His career reached new heights after signing with MCA Records in 1989, leading to multiple gold albums, chart successes, and numerous industry accolades. Beyond his commercial success, Stuart is recognized as a master instrumentalist, historian, and cultural steward of country music. He is celebrated for his ability to bridge diverse genres, including bluegrass, gospel, honky-tonk, and rockabilly, while maintaining the genre's authenticity. A renowned photographer, he has documented the intimate world of country music and the American South in books such as Pilgrimage: Soul of the American South and Country Music: The Masters. In 1997, he married fellow country star Connie Smith, fulfilling a personal dream he had held since he was twelve years old. Today, he stands as a singular figure dedicated to preserving and carrying forward the living history of American music. Marty is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as an active member of Grand Ol Opry since 1992.

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Bob McDill

Self

Participant

Bob McDill

Self

Bob McDill (born April 4, 1944) is a retired American songwriter who became one of country music's most prolific and respected writers, penning or co-writing 31 number-one country hits during his three-decade career. One of the most respected and influential songwriters in country music history, McDill emerged in the 1970s as a master of plainspoken storytelling, writing songs that captured everyday American life with wit, heart, and emotional honesty. His catalog includes classics like “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” “Song of the South,” “Louisiana Saturday Night,” and “Amanda,” recorded by artists such as Don Williams, Alabama, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings. Known for his meticulous craftsmanship and understated lyricism, McDill helped shape the sound and soul of modern country music. His work earned him induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, securing his legacy as a songwriter’s songwriter.

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Cheryl Smith

Self

Participant

Cheryl Smith

Self

In 1986, Cheryl (Melton) Smith was offered the opportunity to promote a large catalog of master recordings to Fortune 500 companies, supporting music licensing for non-broadcast corporate video productions, broadcast commercials, and both major and independent film projects. Additional requests included licensing for merchandise, trademarks, and the print use of lyrics and photographs.

To meet these needs, Clearance Quest was established, with a “first and foremost” approach to rights clearance—prioritizing thorough negotiations with songwriters and publishers to ensure proper authorization for commercial use.

With a deep understanding of copyright law and licensing opportunities, Clearance Quest later discovered Slick Lawson, a well-known Nashville photographer recognized for documenting major country music artists, as well as contributing work to Time, People, Newsweek, and other national publications. Recognizing the historical and commercial significance of his work, Cheryl proposed organizing and preserving his photographic archive, creating a dedicated space for its stewardship.

Cheryl has described the experience of organizing, preserving, promoting, and sharing Slick Lawson’s images as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. She believes this extensive and historically significant collection of classic recording artists’ images will always be treasured.

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Alan Messer

Self

Participant

Alan Messer

Self

Grammy Award winning photographer Alan Messer has a storied career documenting five decades of legendary iconic musicians, capturing the heart of Country Music's legends and newcomers alike.

He was photographing pop stars like John Lennon, George Harrison, Iggy Pop, The Doors, The Who, etc., in London when he was a teenager in the sixties and seventies, and then international Country stars during the mid 1970s that inspired Alan to relocate to Nashville in 1978 to open his own studio.

An unparalleled opportunity unfolded to photograph the sights and sounds of Music City.
Messer's distinct and intimate English photography style attracted Country Music musicians, record companies, and icons like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, Tanya Tucker, Lucinda Williams, and more. He racked up hundreds of album covers and photo sessions.

Beyond the local Nashville scene, Alan has photographed artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Joe Ely in Austin. With numerous legendary album covers and photo sessions to his name, plus a Grammy for album photography.

Alan Messer's extensive archives take us on a visual journey through the genres of rich musical history. Currently he is working on exhibitions and photography books that celebrate a lifetime behind the lens.

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Dean Dixon

Self

Participant

Dean Dixon

Self

Dean Dixon is a seasoned Nashville-area photographer celebrated for his authentic portraiture and wide-ranging commercial work. With an innate talent for lighting, composition, and—most importantly—making people feel at ease in front of the camera, Dean brings warmth and connection to every session, whether he’s photographing a CEO, artist, healthcare worker, or a lifelong craftsman.

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Dean’s early interest in visual storytelling led him to study at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. After graduating he pursued photojournalism, working at several newspapers before settling in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1980.

For more than three decades he has built a distinguished commercial photography practice, shooting portraits, editorial assignments, corporate work, and personal projects. One of his most meaningful efforts is Traditions: Tennessee Lives and Legacies, a book-based project celebrating the people and folk heritage of Tennessee—work he considers among his most personal and powerful.

Dean and his wife Joanie live in historic Franklin, Tennessee, where he continues to create images that reflect the spirit and diversity of the people he photographs.

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Style & Tone

...

The style of this film will be dictated, first and foremost, by the bounteous availability of its two precious natural resources. The first is the living memory of the scores of individuals who were touched by the life of Slick Lawson. These range from former camera assistants to Country Music Hall of Famers, from ex-lovers to renown authors. The second natural resource is Slick's Archive itself, his life's work. It is immense, it has been preserved intact, and it has not been unsealed in over twenty years. It is replete with a who's-who of Country Music from the 1960s through the 1990s, but more than that, in its boxes, envelopes, folders, and sleeves is to be found a formidable survey of American history during the time period as well (for instance, Slick was on assignment in Memphis for Elvis's funeral).

As for tone, the film aims in every way to match the energy, enthusiasm, joie de vivre, and the wide appetite for experience that the man himself displayed throughout his life. That is not to say his life was without problems, controversies, and paradoxes. The man died at 65, alone, drunk, in a tuxedo. But in acknowledging the difficulties, the film seeks to make the good times all the more precious and communicate to modern audience that even in strife there is still much to celebrate if you choose to see it. And the sweetness is found in community.

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Team

Ryan Green

Director & Producer

Team

Ryan Green

Director & Producer

Ryan Steven Green is a documentary filmmaker from Los Angeles with a passion for uncovering forgotten regional history and niche cultural practices. His work is notable for his ability to transform overlooked curiosities into compelling cinematic experiences that are informative, entertaining, and move the viewer to wonder and greater possibility. Born in Glendale, raised in Altadena, graduated Arcadia High School and the school of Cinematic Arts at USC, Green is married to an Educator from Long Beach and called “Dada” by Margaret (10), Wesley (5), and Odette (3). In addition to his 40+ documentary titles, Green has had in hand in telling stories for some of the world’s most well-known brands. As a result of the success of his feature doc The Hollywood Shorties, in 2019 Green was invited to become a charter member of the Historian Advisory Committee for Little People of America - the national advocacy org for people of short stature. His ongoing work on the Committee is highlighted by his heading production on an Oral History project funded by Ford Foundation. The project currently sits at 76 on-camera interviews and counting and will begin its second three-year funding window in February 2026. In 2018 Green began documenting the disappearing payphones of Los Angeles, beginning with remnants of phones he himself had used as a youth coming up in Altadena. This led to what has been perhaps the most creatively fruitful seven-year span of Green's 25-year career, yielding thousands of film and digital images, four solo photography exhibitions; a literal funeral for the payphone; a series of ten micro-documentaries; a number of lectures; a book of film photography on LA street artist screwyblooms whose work is singularly focused on, and in, the payphone; a flipbook depicting a single disintegration of the payphone composed of many; and, ultimately, the award-winning documentary It’s For You: Ephemeral Art & The Death of the Public Phone which created its own ecosystem of screenings, events, and lectures.

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Michael Gomez

Executive Producer

Team

Michael Gomez

Executive Producer

Michael Gomez is a Nashville-based photographer, artist, and mentor whose work spans commercial portraiture, music imagery, and cultural preservation. Born in England to an Irish mother and a father from Gibraltar, Michael spent part of his early childhood in Africa before his family relocated to Nashville in the early 1970s. That international upbringing shaped his worldview early on and deeply informs his instinct for storytelling, curiosity about people, and ability to connect authentically with his subjects.

With a career spanning more than three decades, Michael has photographed artists, executives, and creatives across music, business, and culture, developing a style rooted in honesty, trust, and timeless simplicity. Beyond his personal work, he is the founder of Westlight Studios, a creative hub in Franklin, Tennessee, and the Slick Lawson Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to mentoring and supporting the next generation of photographers through education, access, and opportunity. He also curates the Slick Lawson Archives and is producing an ongoing documentary chronicling Lawson’s life and influence, preserving an important chapter of American music and photographic history.

Today, Michael continues to create, mentor, and build community in Nashville—guided by Lawson’s enduring philosophy: just help the next guy.

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Julian Gomez

Producer

Team

Julian Gomez

Producer

Julian Gomez is a Nashville-based creative generalist, builder, and storyteller whose life spans continents and careers. Born in Derby, England and raised partly in Uganda during the Idi Amin era, he later grew up in Nashville after his family fled political unrest—an early experience that shaped his instinct for resilience, curiosity, and reinvention.

He earned a journalism degree from the University of Tennessee and began his career in corporate communications and investor relations, working in New York City before stepping away to reset his life abroad in Spain and France. After returning to Nashville, Julian spent over a decade rising to Operations Manager at a European manufacturing firm before deliberately pivoting toward independent, hands-on work. During this period, he also played bagpipes, harmonica, and bodhrán in a local traditional Irish band, The Get Reels.

Today, Julian works as a renovation specialist and creative collaborator and is the younger brother of Michael Gomez, owner of Westlight Studios, where he plays an active role in developing the studio as a cultural, creative, and community-driven space. Alongside this work, he explores voice acting, documents family history, and is shaping a long-form life narrative centered on fatherhood, resilience, and second acts.

By temperament and trade, Julian is a builder—of spaces, stories, and futures.

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Cheryl Smith

Archival Producer

Team

Cheryl Smith

Archival Producer

In 1986, Cheryl (Melton) Smith was offered the opportunity to promote a large catalog of master recordings to Fortune 500 companies, supporting music licensing for non-broadcast corporate video productions, broadcast commercials, and both major and independent film projects. Additional requests included licensing for merchandise, trademarks, and the print use of lyrics and photographs.

To meet these needs, Clearance Quest was established, with a “first and foremost” approach to rights clearance—prioritizing thorough negotiations with songwriters and publishers to ensure proper authorization for commercial use.

With a deep understanding of copyright law and licensing opportunities, Clearance Quest later discovered Slick Lawson, a well-known Nashville photographer recognized for documenting major country music artists, as well as contributing work to Time, People, Newsweek, and other national publications. Recognizing the historical and commercial significance of his work, Cheryl proposed organizing and preserving his photographic archive, creating a dedicated space for its stewardship.

Cheryl has described the experience of organizing, preserving, promoting, and sharing Slick Lawson’s images as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. She believes this extensive and historically significant collection of classic recording artists’ images will always be treasured.

Close
Bryson Sams

Cinematographer

Team

Bryson Sams

Cinematographer

Bryson Sams is an award-winning filmmaker, Director, DP, and Editor, and the founder of TapeSlate Productions, a full-service production company operating since 2015. His journey in the entertainment industry began at just 10 years old as an actor, working alongside industry veterans such as C. Thomas Howell, Tom Arnold, and Melissa Gilbert. Those early experiences in front of the camera sparked a lifelong passion for storytelling and performance, ultimately leading him behind the lens.

Over the past decade, Bryson has built a reputation for visual storytelling rooted in cinematic intention, technical precision, and emotional impact. As a director and DP, he brings a strong visual voice to every project, while his background as an editor allows him to approach each production with a clear sense of pacing, structure, and final delivery from the very beginning.

Through TapeSlate Productions, Bryson leads a seasoned team of creatives specializing in short films, music videos, commercials, branded content, narrative projects and more. TapeSlate Productions operates as a full-scale production house, boasting an impressive lineup of industry standard Grip and Electric equipment alongside high end cinema cameras such as the RED V-Raptor [X], allowing the team to execute projects at the highest professional level. Under Bryson’s direction, TapeSlate has become a trusted production partner known for combining top tier tools with an agile, story first approach, delivering polished, cinematic results across a wide range of budgets and production scales.

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Stills

Rights

This section includes information about this project.

Producer story film story award editing doc film festival narrative creative. Screenplay film impact camera independent director narrative visual award.

Our Ask

1.) We have an immense archive to assess and digitize. We are looking for an certified Archivist in the Nashville area to step in and assist with this work. Responsibilities will include assessment, handling and security, arrangement, and accessioning and inventory. The good news here is that the current state of the archive is stable, secure in a separately-locked climate controlled room in a photography studio. There are around 60 legal boxes full of ephemera, mostly camera negatives and darkroom prints, color slides, some A/V, some paper materials (newspaper clippings/photocopies, magazines, promotional pamphlets, printed pages, etc). There are also two legal filing cabinets, four drawers high and double wide containing the portions of Slick's Archive that were organized in the 1990s.

2.) Money. Specifically for the two primary tasks before us: filming interviews, and digitizing Slick's Archive. While the first task is underway and will continue as we race the clock to get some of the more vulnerable of Slick's associates on camera, some of whom require travel, the second task is immense and it will require tons of resources in hours, hard cost, and loads of time.

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Untitled Slick Lawson Project

Logline

Participants

Roy Blount Jr

Roy Blount Jr

Marty Stuart

Marty Stuart

Bob McDill

Bob McDill

Cheryl Smith

Cheryl Smith

Alan Messer

Alan Messer

Dean Dixon

Dean Dixon

Team

Ryan Green

Ryan Green

Michael Gomez

Michael Gomez

Julian Gomez

Julian Gomez

Cheryl Smith

Cheryl Smith

Bryson Sams

Bryson Sams

Stills

Rights

Our Ask