Why Are There No Good Car Guys In Hollywood?

[Guest]

I have seen this type of blunder quite often.

Last night I watched "USS Indianapolis, Men of Courage" starring Nick Cage and set during 1945. The show was alright if you can get past Mario van Peebles blatant re-writing of history. An average sailor on leave drives his family pick up truck over to his girlfriend's house. Her father is rich and has several beautiful vintage cars parked out front. The sailor pulls in the driveway in what appears to be about a 1940 International pickup. Complete with mismatched tail gate and 40 years of patina and rust. But wait!! How can this be? The truck is only 4 or 5 years old. In fact, it's the newest car in the driveway!!!!! 

Now that truck in that condition might have screamed "vintage farm boy look" to a 20 something transportation captain, but it's so incredibly wrong you have to wonder how they qualify these people for these jobs?

[Terry Wiegand]

Because it's the land of fruits and nuts don't you know.

 

Terry Wiegand

Out Doo Dah Way

[Guest]

Of course.

[supercargirl]

Here is my Hollywood experience that left me scratching my head..  I was contacted by a Casting company to provide a car for their new reality show:

Hi I would really like to talk with you about your 62 Triumph. We're casting a new television series on Discovery's Motor Mondays and we're looking for builders who need help finishing their restos. We provide the remaining parts, materials, and garage space needed to finish your job. There's no cost to you at all to finish your car. We film the entire process and feature your car and your story on one of our episodes. Filming is in Kansas City. I know this sounds crazy, but please use the links below to see that we are legit. If interested, you can email back, apply online with the link below or give us a call.

 

So the idea according to the casting company is to find cars that are projects that owner's are selling.  And then, instead of selling the owner would work with a designated restoration shop to finish the car and then sell the car with the restoration shop getting a portion of the proceeds.  The viable candidate must have skills to be able to work alongside the restoration shop to complete the project.

 

In my humble opinion this is a ridiculous concept on many levels - someone is selling their project car because they are done with it.  Not because they want to spend hours with a restoration shop which might not have any experience with that type of car.  And the turn over time - who knows?  So instead of freeing yourself of your project now you are tied into it until it is finished and you have to share the proceeds with the resto shop.  Did I mention they only want cars worth about 30k when they are completed?  I just couldn't help but wonder how there could be such a big disconnect between the realities of restoring a project and thinking this would be a great idea for a reality series.

 

On the other hand if this appeals to anyone let me know and I will send you the link.  Just let us know when we can watch your fifteen minutes of fame.

Edited March 31, 2017 by supercargirl (see edit history)

[Brass is Best]

Hollywood gets a lot of other things wrong when it comes to history. Authenticity is not as important to them as telling a story. Like in the movie "Pearl Harbor" there are kids playing baseball at 7am on a Sunday morning. If you want to enjoy seeing old cars in movies try watching old movies where the old cars are new.

[Guest]

TCM......my favorite!

I also watched all the Adam 12 and Rockford Files episodes on Netflix just to see all the cars in the background.  It's like a daily car show. When the only imports you saw were Volkswagens and the odd Triumph or MG.

[Bhigdog]

1 hour ago, GregLaR said:

starring Nick Cage

 

That right there speaks volumes..............................Bob

[60FlatTop]

The facts don't matter if you pay attention to the background music. You just aren't getting into the "big picture".

 

"Those people" know what the public wants. Ever seen a blue eyed child looking for a donation? There are rules to follow.

 

A few nights ago I watched a pretty good show on Yellowstone Park, except for a pensive one fingered piano player who invaded the background.

 

I am thinking about trying a Ken Burns style documentary on the Irish participation in digging the Erie Canal. I am recruiting members of the local Tourette Syndrome Association as readers of the old diaries to keep that original flavor. Hollywood doesn't do stuff like that.

 

Bernie

[jeff_a]

My grandad was paid to provide a 1922 Lincoln Sedan for a movie that was made in the 70s, and he and the car did get in one scene for 10 seconds. The director wanted him to do a second scene with the car going down a road at 50 or 60 and having someone in a biplane let someone hanging from the landing gear down onto the roof of the car while matching speed & direction. "Glenn D.", my grandfather, refused to do it. Something about wrecking the roof of the Lincoln and killing off a bunch of expensive actors(Cliff Robertson, Royal Dano, Pamela Franklin, Eric Shea, and Bernadette Peters(her film debut) were in it, and Steven Spielberg wrote the movie).  

Edited April 10, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[Guest]

Bernie, you crack me up!

[Vila]

The Lost Battalion was a World War I movie that came out in 2001 and as I recall near the end several officers drove up in a Model A Ford.

[Terry Wiegand]

Jeff, that movie was 'Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies'.  The majority of that movie was filmed over around Mount Hope, Kansas and was done around late 1970 I believe.  I remember your Grandad talking about that.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas 

[cahartley]

7 hours ago, supercargirl said:

Did I mention they only want cars worth about 30k when they are completed? 

 

Unless a car is worth $30K when completed it probably isn't worth restoring anyway.

Big difference between wanting one restored because that's what you want and making money after restoration.

 

[jeff_a]

On 3/31/2017 at 7:14 PM, Terry Wiegand said:

Jeff, that movie was 'Ace Eli and Roger of the Skies'.  The majority of that movie was filmed over around Mount Hope, Kansas and was done around late 1970 I believe.  I remember your Grandad talking about that.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas 

Hi Terry,

   I bought a dvd of the movie recently. It had some great scenes of cars and the biplane here and there, and I can see that the original story was fine, but it came out the same time as a bigger film with the same plot("Paper Moon"), and they sent it back for a new screenplay and tried to spice it up. The result was so bad -- several people asked to have their names removed from the credits.

   Someone told me one of the cars prominent in the film was a Kissel Gold Bug, but Ron Hauseman, a Kissel owner here on the forums, took a look at the movie and said the yellow roadster some woman drove was definitely not a Kissel. He thought the movie was awful, too. I went to see it at the Fox Theater in Hutchinson when it premiered there about '73 and I remember everyone saying the extra scenes(shot back in Hollywood, not in Kansas) wrecked the story.

   My Dad chatted with Cliff Robertson a bit back then, and told me that Cliff wanted to "Chuck Hollywood, move to Kansas, and raise Black Angus on the Ninnescah River." I think he did get out of acting at some point, but never heard about a move into raising cattle in the Pretty Prairie-Plevna-Hutchinson part of Kansas.   ----Jeff

Edited April 10, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[ron hausmann]

Jeff,

Thanks for mentioning me in your post and that car, although nice, was NOT a Kissel.

On a similar vein, most everyone has seen Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie, Great Gatsby. Unless I'm mistaken, the Great Gatsby era was in the early to mid 1920's, yet the two luxury cars cars used in the movie were much later years, possibly 1930's. Since there are so many wonderful early 1920's Stutzs, Kissel Kars, Mercers, and Marmons, i wonder why this otherwise well-placed movie didnt use more correct early American sports cars like these.

[ron hausmann]

Here's a Great Gatsby American Sports Car

[ron hausmann]

All, Just answered my own question -

The 1925 Great Gatsby book was about folks in 1922 New York.

 

But they were driving a 1932 Duesenberg and a 1933 Auburn.

Go figure - - -

 

Thanks, RON

[JV Puleo]

The previous Great Gatsby, with Robert Redford, was nearly as bad. The two main cars were a 28 or 29 Phantom I RR and, correctly enough, a 21 Silver Ghost. Most of the "back up cars" seen in the drive of the mansion and in other scenes were too new... including my 26 Cadillac. As far as I know there was only one 30s car and that one appeared only in the distance, if at all. I wasn't too disappointed. It's really a bit much to expect any movie company to come up with multiple pre-1922 luxury cars, especially when we know the owners aren't going to let anyone drive them beside themselves and almost certainly all have lives of their own so aren't ready to satisfy some directors plans for too long.

 

A friend of mine was involved in finding cars for an ongoing TV drama set in the early 60s and the producers were resigned to just buying the cars associated with the main characters but - that hardly works when you need the cars that would be required for the Great Gatsby.

[ron hausmann]

Thanks JV.

         However, I would have happily lent Leonardo my 1923 Kissel Gold Bug for his Gatsby role though. And taught him how to crash-shift it to boot !. Hell, i might even have shipped it there from Michigan for that chance at car-noteriety.

Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E.

[JV Puleo]

Actually, so would I. I'm not overly protective of cars, if I think someone understands how they work. They are, after all, machines. They can take some getting accustomed to, but it isn't rocket science. However, I suspect we are in the minority.

 

jvp

Edited April 9, 2017 by JV Puleo
better wording (see edit history)

[C Carl]

I enjoy very much letting other people drive my mid-'20s Cadillacs. It becomes a bit of a highlight at regional or national meets. Getting a chance to ride "shotgun" , and in the rear seat , gives another level of appreciation for the cars. I even got to ride the running board of my '24 7 pass. touring at the '94 CLC G.N. in Seattle. When I first got the '24 there were still many people out and about who lived and drove in the '20s. Sandy and I loved to go out to dinner with it to the old family style restaurants where we often met such seniors. You can imagine how happy they would be to take their family for an after dinner drive in a car like Uncle George used to have. Sometimes the patriarch of the family was so familiar with the car that he was invited to do the driving ! I sure didn't have to ask twice ! Those old gents could drive it better than I , and gave ME first hand knowledge from them , the very guys who had learned to drive in such cars. I am an old guy now , and am teaching the younger guys. And so on.

 

Of course movies have to make concessions to practicality in some cases. What strikes me as not period correct is the usual lack of significantly OLDER vehicles in the mix. When I first became interested in old cars , the only post-war cars on the road were almost identical to the immediately pre-war cars. I would say that most of the cars back then  were mid to late '30s. Dad had a '33 Buick , and then a '39 Pontiac. "Old cars" to me were the extremely "vertical" boxes of the '20s and very early '30s. Still plenty of them scattered about on the streets of Chicago back then. Model A Fords were still the only cars some people had. Dad's good friend Frank up the street had an A coupe. That's what he drove. Seemed cool to me. At the other end of the block a deteriorating shape intrigued me. An extraordinarily low convertible sedan. Absolutely fascinating in its lowness. Now , who would do that to an L-29 Cord ? (There were a couple or 3 L-29s I remember sitting out in the weather over near Clear Lake in North Central California in the early '60s.) Where are they now ? And some of you Chicagoans in your late 70s and 80s may remember the 3 or so old Rolls-Royces that fellow had parked on the streets of Hyde Park. Usually on 57th or 58th not far from the underpass below the tracks where the I.C. ran. They got my attention ! And how about the late '30s V16 Cads always proudly represented in the parking lot at Morton's ? Yeah , to make things more "real" to us old car guys , it would be a very different garage supplying the set props ! But the general public ? Day before yesterday Jennifer the young "Bud Lite Girl" treated me to one. I like Bud lite. The doctors tell me I am allowed 1/2 of one occasionally. "Thanks Jennifer ! Check this out !" So on the very device I am tapping out this babble, I showed her a couple pics of my '27 Cad. "What year do you think this is ?" After giving it some thought the charming young lady said "1970 ?" From my exaggerated mock shock , she thought it might be older. She did fall in love with it and asked if she could rent it for her wedding next month. I told her I hoped to be driving it back to Seattle from 'Vegas then. I don't rent it , I would have chauffeured for free. Movies ? Yes , under certain conditions. I have let my '71 Eldo conv , and also the '76 be used. You have to guard against "mission creep" , though. My 2 custom bodied twin screw '68 Gillig 743Ds have been hired twice as set props , but that is another story for another time and place. Worked out all right in the end , but I had some fun along the way.

 

Now about that yellow Gatsby "Duesenberg". Didn't I see that "thing" in the Petersen Museum last Summer ? I don't think there was a Kissel OR a Duesenberg in that flick.   - Carl    (Oh how an old man can just ramble on and on at times)

Edited April 10, 2017 by C Carl
Spelling (see edit history)

[Guest]

C Carl,

             Your story with the Bud Light girl hit home with me. A few years back I owned  1963 Corvette which I drove regularly. Of course it usually garnered comments wherever I went. Stopped to fill up at the Chevron one might and a younger fellow walks over from his Toyota to look at the Corvette. He compliments the car and then says "So this must be what, about a 1935?" I just looked at him and said "Yes, you nailed it." 

Of course, on more than one occasion I ran into people who would ask about the car and then tell me that their "uncle used to have one back in the 1950's, y'know, when they were still made out of steel." 

I generally agreed with them on the rarity of their uncle's car. Lol

[Ozstatman]

The 'De Caprio' Gatsby movie was made in Australia with the guy "scouting" for cars for the movie approaching our Packard Club for cars to appear in the filming. Only one made it, a '29 633 Runabout. Even though the owner of the '29 also has a '22 1st Series Sport Tourer. They deliberately upped the vintage of the cars to be used in the movie to the '30's. In fact the Duesey and the Auburn are 'Hot Rod' "film cars" with fiberglass bodies and Chevy V8's and were imported from the US for the movie. Another aspect was that CGI was also used in the car scenes.

[Joe in Canada]

Movie producer will never let history get in the way of a good movie. When they say based on a true event. What they are saying is it happened in this century on some continent, at a seasonal time of the year. Plus some of the names have been changed to avoid law suits.  

[Rusty_OToole]

Gatsby is a great story that could only have happened when it did for a variety of reasons. I wish someone would make a decent movie of it but that is impossible for so many reasons that have nothing to do with the story and everything to do with historical ignorance in general. They can't make a movie that reflects the past. They can only make one that reflects their phony image of the past.

[JACK M]

I saw Gatsby cars at the Warner Bros lot a couple of years ago.

Hot rods would be a good description

Also Batmobiles and the car from Harry Potter among others.

[Rusty_OToole]

A fibreglass hot rod with a Chevy v8 is a good description of what they did to Fitzgerald's story. Wonder when they are going to redo Romeo and Juliet as a couple of teenage hot rodders.

[ply33]

31 minutes ago, Rusty_OToole said:

A fibreglass hot rod with a Chevy v8 is a good description of what they did to Fitzgerald's story. Wonder when they are going to redo Romeo and Juliet as a couple of teenage hot rodders.

 

They already did Romeo and Juliet as teenage gang members back in 1961.

[kgreen]

On 3/31/2017 at 1:32 PM, Brass is Best said:

Hollywood gets a lot of other things wrong when it comes to history. 

 

Hollywood gets a lot of other things wrong when it comes to history facts. 

[Brass is Best]

1 hour ago, kgreen said:

 

Hollywood gets a lot of other things wrong when it comes to history facts. 

History and fact can be two very different things.

[jeff_a]

On 4/9/2017 at 7:53 AM, ron hausmann said:

Jeff,

Thanks for mentioning me in your post and that car, although nice, was NOT a Kissel.

On a similar vein, most everyone has seen Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie, Great Gatsby. Unless I'm mistaken, the Great Gatsby era was in the early to mid 1920's, yet the two luxury cars cars used in the movie were much later years, possibly 1930's. Since there are so many wonderful early 1920's Stutzs, Kissel Kars, Mercers, and Marmons, i wonder why this otherwise well-placed movie didnt use more correct early American sports cars like these.

Ron Hausmann, 

Just as well it wasn't a Kissel Kar. It was probably an Apperson, a C.T. Silver Overland, a Jordan or something. Some wealthy flapper drove the roadster. Looking up the 20th Century Fox movie "Ace Eli", here are some reviews: "A bad idea"; "Wow, what a turkey"; "Disturbing"; "Repulsive"; and "Weird, pointless movie set in the Great Depression". 

Terry Wiegand, 

 I was shocked to find out my family was in the car business a hundred years ago! The Brown brothers, H.H., J.D., & W.J., built a steam car of 6 h.p. in 1905. The automobile they built was one of eleven American cars called Brown, and it made it onto page 154 of The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. "W.J." was Wm. Brown, my great-grandfather....someone both of us knew. I remember that my dad mentioned a Brown car connected with the family....but didn't know it was in The Standard Catalog until yesterday.

 

Edited April 11, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)