Maddie Ziegler

In January 1991, Eau Claire's Uniroyal tire plant employees received devastating news: after 75 years of manufacturing tires, the plant was scheduled to close. As the city struggled to overcome the loss of its largest employer, the former employees struggled to find their footing in a quickly changing world. What would happen next was anyone's guess. But if the city hoped to survive, it was up to its citizens to figure out how. When Rubber Hits the Road is more than a story about tires. It's the story of a Midwestern city's attempt to reinvent itself in the wake of America's manufacturing decline. It's a blueprint, too, for how a community can bounce back--when people commit themselves to embracing change.

Bolstered by new friendships forged under sudden circumstances, high school student Vada begins to reinvent herself while reevaluating her relationships and her view of the world.

Sometimes things are not always what they seem, especially in the small suburban town where the Carpenter family lives. Single suburban mother Susan Carpenter (Naomi Watts) works as a waitress at a diner, alongside feisty family friend Sheila (Sarah Silverman). Her younger son Peter (Jacob Tremblay) is a playful 8-year-old. Taking care of everyone and everything in his own unique way is Susanís older son Henry (Jaeden Lieberher), age 12, whose creativity is without limits. Protector to his adoring younger brother and tireless supporter of his often self-doubting mother and through investments of the family as a whole Henry blazes through the days like a comet. Susan discovers that the family next door, which includes Henryís kind classmate, 12-year-old Christina (Maddie Ziegler), has a dangerous secret ñ and that Henry has devised a surprising plan to help. As his brainstormed rescue plan for Christina takes shape in thrilling ways, Susan finds herself at the center of it.