"I think he's a guy who feels his dream was ripped away from him and he worked so hard and he wrote all these songs and his best friend, who he cares about more than anyone in the world, stabbed him in the back and stole all his songs and became a huge rock star and left him at home," Ritter said.
But his second album tanked. Now, threatened with being dropped by his label, the rock star returns, hoping to recruit his ex-friend for more music magic.
"I think the reason that we're fascinated as a culture with rock 'n' roll is there's this incredible music that's created and then there's this sort of dangerous, destructive side and we get obsessed with artists who seem to be kind of living on the edge and imploding right in front of us," Ritter said.
Ritter does his own singing in this movie and even his own guitar playing in some scenes.
Ritter said he felt passionate about this low-budget movie, and when he feels that, it's all about the project, not the paycheck.
"At the end of the day, the paycheck, you go through it. You spend that money. And if you've made something that you're proud of, that lasts longer," he said.
"The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll," is in theatres now.
