you dont really believe they trash high dollar cars for movies do you???.its calle MOVIE MAGIC.......i.e. the wagon in tool time was a beater s/w they made look like a nomad,sometimes its models or cgi,very rare they fuck up a really nice car.........
Well, ya can't help but wince when an old car gets destroyed in a movie. I just saw The Punisher and his flat black GTO is great... and it gets a nasty hit (I won't ruin it for you). Great movie, a couple cool cars. I'd hate to see that happen to my GTO... she's my first car and I still have it after 18yrs. It's not about money - 'Tingler' is WAY off base in making that generalization about any of us. I don't have anything to prove. I know what I like - and most people that I know kinda look at me sideways when I'd rather have a beat-up muscle car or hot rod to drive around in than a Porsche or BMW. That post sounds like bitterness posed as a toughguy... I'm noy buying it (pun intended!). A couple great points made by some others - people are far more important, and we can't cling to anything too tightly. I will say - I love seeing any old car in modern movies. Fast & Furious (althought I'm not too into them) gave some good credit to the muscle cars. I think the wreckage should be donated... to tech schools or groups like HAMB (?!?!). I know that most of us hate seeing good stuff go to waste (eh... I've got a good frame for the Punisher GTO!!!).
I always thought it would be cool to win the lottery buy up several very expensive old cars and take them to say Hershey. Put up a 10' high fence around your flea market spot and proceed to smash the cars to bits. just imagine the crouds reaction! Cars after all are just chunks of metal, they have no soul. It always surprises me how many car guys loose sight of that fact.
Coolest scene in the whole movie! Moving on: I think Tingler's little rant is pretty much right on the money, (pun intended) and a lot of you guy's missed the point. Like the man said, think about it. Moving on: In the old movies the cars were just cars not unobtainable dreams. Even in the '70's a '69 Charger was just a 10 year old, clapped out used car to 99% of car nuts, much less to normal people. So..., so what if a studio in California smashed up a bunch of them for some hokie TV show. It does bother me to see a nice old car die for a modern movie. Seeing a '69 charger rolled up in Bullitt, when it was one of literally millions of new Chargers is totally different from seeing one rolled up as window dressing for Vin Diesels giant ego. But that's because this is 2009 not 1969 or 1979. There are a lot fewer of those cars around now and the ones that survived are out of most people's reach, including mine. Oh and to the guy who said cars have no soul, I have to disagree. Just like people, not all cars have a personality (or soul for that matter) but, some definitely do. Every vehicle I've ever owned has had a different personality. And yes, sometimes we talk to ourselves.
I worked at Warner Bros. during the time that Dukes was on the air. The celebrity liars have had a field day with this show. They did wreck quite a few Chargers for that show, but NO WHERE NEAR 300 cars were destroyed. Figure it out. There wasn't a big wreck in every episode, they only made 145 episodes. There were plenty made where the car was hardly featured at all. The liars that claim they built hundreds for WB are just trying to make themselves seem important. At a shop where I worked we built 5 identical 59 Cads for Fandango with Kevin Costner. They were all painted a color that the director chose from the cap on a tube of lip balm (I shit you not). All had to start, run and drive. All had new interiors installed. All had brand new tires and batteries. I was still working at WB at the time and doing the cars at night and weekends. We delivered all the cars on a Friday. Monday when I got there, one of the cars had the entire front end removed. Fenders, hood grille bumpers, gone. The frame was cut off at the firewall. No engine or trans. The new tires and battery, gone. Windshield, gone. They had it mounted on a trailer for process shots. Another had the roof cut off. Another had the front clip removed so they could bolt an International Harvester clip on it (Long story, rent the movie). I would imagine all of them went to the crusher after shooting was over. 5 59 Cads gone forever
Agreed alot is not what it seems, (Camero destroyed, not Challenger at the end of Vanishing Point) and it's very suprising to learn a lot of cars still survive, but stiil, I hate it, and at this point I've pretty given up watching most movies, to me its just pointless, besides I have far much better things to do anyway. Most late model cars are insurance totals. Lots of flood cars find their way into the movies. As far as Christine; here are a couple of pretty cool links, there was pics of what was left in the salvage yard that bought the remainding cars/parts. http://www.allpar.com/history/christine.html http://www.plymouthcentral.com/Christine2.html
i used to work sometimes for a production company that contracted old cars for film shoots. without fail, directors would request some outrageous shit involving somebody's car that would result in one or more irate owners storming off the set, taking off with their cars and holding everything up. the directors would always get all pissed off, as though these owners were being unreasonable not wanting them to risk smashing up their babies for some shot that probably wouldn't make it past editing. a lot of them are pure egotists and treat everything at their disposal as exactly that, disposable. even understanding this fact, i could never understand what it seemed to suggest: filmmakers are out to kill the movies. here's what i mean: movie directors, more than just about any kind of creative professional (other than maybe hot rodders), work in constant conversation with their predecessors. they drone on and on about their influences and they're always running around constructing some homage to somebody to prove they're legitimate and cultured and well-versed and what not and they all seem to be in love with the aesthetics of a bygone era and they're all auteurs. which might all be ok, i guess, were it not glaring effing hippocracy, especially in this context. They draw out of a vast artistic continuum and, in doing, add to it. or so you would think. but here's the rub: by crashing up old cars, filmmakers are actually taking the tools to which they have access, the tools which benefit them as filmmakers, out of the hands of future generations. not to mention destroying some of the only tangible, functional, practical pieces of history that exist. don't they have any interest in preserving the aesthetic artifacts of the past with which they're so obsessed? don't they want to be worshipped by future dildos in the same way they worship their idols? do they want their films to eliminate the possibility of historical settings, do they want that artistic continuum to crash and burn? plus, you'd think they could do some shit with computers that'd work. we need a lobby for this shit. and i don't mean sema, they just want to make sure you can have your choice of manifolds. not that manifolds aren't great and the lifeblood of the aftermarket automotive industry and all of that. i don't mean to offend any of you skilled manufacturers out there. nor do i, by the way, mean to offend any of you who may be film directors. i just mean we need a voice as old car guys. i don't see a huge difference between, say, historic houses and old cars, so what gives? alright, that's enough, think i'll quit while i'm way the hell behind. manifolds.
The film industry has been responsible for making a number of cars 'cool', Since the early days this has involved wrecking them, Look at some of the great black & white films from the early days, I don't think Stan & Ollie ever drove a car that did not end up smashed. I have had many argue that cutting up old cars to make customs, was exactly the same vandalisum for art's sake. End of the day mass produced cars are expendable, where as it's art that's the cool thing.
Cars are cheap compared to multi-million dollar film budgets. It still hurts a bit to watch sometimes though....
I remember an old movie where a guy is in love with a 1st gen 'vette (pre IRS) and tells the owner " if I had this car I would just drive and drive". Vette guy sez "if you stay in your car for 1 month I'll give it to you". Well they welded the doors shut on his sedan and bars on the windows. On the 30th day sedan guy pulls up to the hotel where Vette dude is with sedans' girlfriend followed by a CEMENT truck! Fills the car with wet cement, tires blow out, etc... I coulda died. Probably made in the 60s? Anyone know? Oh yeah and I'm in no danger of impressing anyone with the value of my cars when I'm welding & grinding in the privacy of my shop. I do this for ME! Like my ride? Cool! Don't? Thats cool too.
In the Superman movie where he fights the 3 Supervillans a 32 roadster is parked in the street and it gets crunched by cars flying all over the place.
Well, since this thread has become more serious in tone, I'm goin' to chime back in to give my 2 cents worth. For me, hot rods and muscle cars (and the lifestyle) are all about fun. Yeah ... lookin' at 'em ... drivin' 'em ... workin' on 'em ... is what's important to me, but it's still about fun and excitement. When I see the Mustang in the movie Bullitt get ... uh, rather used up ... Yeah I cringe a bit, cause I hate to see a thing I consider beautiful messed up. However, I love the movie ... I'm a big fan of McQueen. But when that movie was made, the car was a current model offered at the time. After that movie was made, I'm sure Mustang sales spiked big time in 1968. As for movies now bein' made smashing classic cars, I still cringe ... but it's like what was stated before on this thread, they are the property of those smashin' 'em; they are movie props. I bet a lot of 'em are not really all that nice and probably not really classic at all ... like the '55 crashed in American Graffiti ... it was a rough 4 door that was made to look like Falfa's '55. When talkin' about Monster Garage, cuttin' and smashin' cars ... makin' whacky things out of 'em ... and yeah, even droppin' heavy things on 'em, are in keepin' with the "monster" spirit of the show. It's operating on the edge, it's crazy, and it's fun. And sometimes, to many folks, it's shocking. The Anglia that gets totaled ... yeah I cringed big time ... but I also laughed. And sure, I would have loved to have that Anglia (or any Anglia for that matter), but THAT one was not for me to have, it belonged to someone else who did what they pleased with THEIR stuff ... just like we all do. Oh yeah ... about money ... I'm sure there're lots of people who wish to impress others with how much they can spend (is that what the so called "Gold Chainers" do?). Personally, I don't get it. I'd rather impress with my creativity and mechanical know-how. I also like to be impressed with what EACH AND EVERY ONE of you can do. Well, this is my take on things ... for whatever that's worth. OK ... 'nuff of bein' serious ... back to havin' fun.
In the link I posted earlier from Chinatown. The owner of the '36 4dr convertible knew full well what the movie was going to do to the car. He agreed if they would give him time to gather all the parts to repair it. This included another frame. I wish I could find the article that I read on the subject but it was years ago. Bottom line, his car, his decision, and I am sure he got paid handsomely for it, and got the fun of rebuilding his car again. A lot of mass carnage of vintage stuff is done with miniatures, the fellows who build these are master model makers, it is very hard to tell on screen if a model was used or it was the real thing. I would almost bet money that the '32 in the Superman movie was a model.
It could be that they are in love with the image on the screen, the film in the can, not the physical items that they have filmed. In Hollywood perhaps all is image, and substance is nonexistant therefore irrelevant, so they have no respect for the material item except as a means to an end. If you destroy something there's always another one to be bought or built, in that world. If someone dies, it's not a tragedy, it's a story. Filming hundreds of hours of film/tape and having it cut down to forty minutes or so and the rest discarded, over and over and over must do something to your outlook on the world.
This whole thread makes me happy I only watch porn, they may do some nasty stuff to cars, but at the end of the day it just washes off.
if that's the case, it's one hell of a jaw-dropping logical disconnect. you've absolutely got something there as far as the sociological/psychological implications, though. i've often wondered what effect movies have had on the collective psyche of the generations raised by them (this probably includes television as well, at least by extension). seems to me the rice-rocketeers, for example (whom some of our more "respectable" publications are so quick to lump in with the rest of us hot rodders) are missing that sense of the importance of conservation, reuse and improvisation that's so central to real hot rodding. the problem is, these douchebags are the key demographic for most filmed entertainment. and they identify with it. putting a ready-made fart pipe and a cold air box and a body kit on your civic doesn't make you a hot rodder by any means, but damned if you don't look just like paul walker driving down the road. wait, am i blaming films or honda civics? screw it, how about both.
The cars you see getting destroyed are 10-20 Footers,,most are 1 foot in the grave..Know a guy who preps cars for films.. They will have a few of the same car,,they will all get a quick paint job so they look like the same car,,( and that just the outside ) quicky patch ,bondo etc if need be,,1/2 dead motors,,Kinda like make-up for cars.. The nice ones are the close up scenes etc
Well its an o/t car but im a early bronco fan. the newest txas chainsaw massacare just about made me cry.
i've seen a warehouse or two full of workable stuff just waiting around to die. and, yeah, they might be 10-20 footers, but i know 10-20 guys who'd love to have them. there's really no excuse for wasting old steel.
-One of those stunt-Challengers from "Death Proof" lives on here in Finland. A friend of mine bought it a couple of yrs ago. It had a full cage from the front of the sub-frame on through the pass compartment all the way on to the rear of the trunk (to prevent distorting the structure with all the "aerials" they did in the ending scene, I guess). The door panels had also been ditched in favor of some 1/3" -thick steel plates protecting the driver in all the side-swipes, the fr seat backs had been cut down in half in order for the rear-seat passengers to show in frontal shots, there was a hole right in the middle of the "nostril" -hood for that chick on the hood to be secured in, and like someone already pointed out, there were, in fact a pair of fixed window frames added on the doors for the said actress in the final scene to be secured in also. The hood and the front halves of the fr fenders were crunched in plus the sides had more dents and indentations than You could shake Your stick at. What with the gutted innards and all this, this car could never be restored "stock" with any reasonable amount of work anyway, so due to this and out of respect for the movie-fame of the vehicle, my pal just swapped in a set of straight, used fr fenders, a valance, grille and a bumper on it, and had a local pinstriper paint them the matching white color, and dry-brush the sides of the fenders to match the swipe-marks on the doors and quarters. It draws a lot of attention wherever he goes in it. Usually positive. It´s amazing how many people recognize it. The best part is, he uses it as his daily commuter. Sure wipes the men´s room floor with all the diesel minivans everybody else and their brother drives...LOL.
remake of gone in 60 seconds destroyed i think 6 67-68 mustang elenors but its been a good thing. because of the popularity of the replicas the aftermarket has started to produce complete body shells i wonder when theyll start doing chargers it seems like everybody likes to wreck chargers blade, fast n furious 'death proof ,dukes movies etc.
There's always someone cryin about this shit. You watched the movie so you paid for it to happen. There's an old Ronald Reagan movie about insurance scams where they rolled over a high dollar Lincoln. Some other heavys like a Packard and some Caddys too. Oh well. Conversely, I think the movie was called "She's Got To Have It" where the star (can't recall so chime in if you do) is standing in front of her Duesenberg smashed in to a tree. I have a small still in my garage. Here's the trick to it, they put a heavy tow rope on the front and just pulled it into the tree enough to bend the bumper some and fake out some add'l damage. Even in it's day the mighty Duesy was too much to destroy on all fronts. Same with the Packard at the end of "Topper Returns" where the heavy gets his due. It was staged. And yes the Deuce roadster and ALL the cars in the Superman flick were plastic models. The effect was less than cheezy.
Best quote, yet. They wreck TONS of great cars, and I have seen it first hand. So did the guy who built the '59 Caddys. If you want to read about it look at the article Hot Rod did for the newest fasnt n furious. What i DONT get is why take nice cars to completely trash? Start with some shitty rotted rolling chassis thats 2 feet from the crusher, hack patch it, slap in a crate motor, put China parts on it, done. Tv shows too... Monster Garage=Gay Stopped watching when they took the nice El Camino and trashed it, heard about the beautiful 51 woodie they ripped apart, then the Anglia. I wish I could find stuff that nice around here. Drag race high = why start with a clean chevelle when you're going to end up using the outer skin and the cowl only? WTF man. Dont waste a perfectly good car. We are all here to salvage things from their death and make them usable again... not turn nice things into scrap piles.
The 55' in American Graffiti. The 'Stang in "Last american Hero" along with the other cars The Ford in or fords in "Thunder Road"
moving past what some people said about cars not having soul and being nothing but material possesions which makes me question why they are on a web site like this, THE MAIN idea here is that there is some kind of generation gap (I haven't come up with a better way to describe it dont blast me for this statemet). I believe it is considered cool by society today and I guess non car people (always been true) to see cars wreck. Proof of this can be found in the number of car wreck videos that can be bought or the latest fast and the furious movie. I really don't care if the car is a 20 footer 55 Chevy four door dressed up as Falfa's 55. It is still a 55 Chevy and I don't think it is cool, enjoyable, interesting, or any of the above to see it get wrecked. Not because it represent money or any other materialistic idea simply because I, like many people on here, LOVE cars, ecspecially old cars and would rather see them go fast than get wrecked. This is a web site devoted to these kind of people (at least I thought it was when I joined and read the disclaimer). just me couple cents worth
The Dukes of Hazzard show started with 76 Chargers, not three hundred. After the show was over, several years later, the remaining 22 cars were sold off. The producer or director (can't remember which) was given the opportunity to buy all the cars, but couldn't afford it, or had no place to put them, or something or other. I don't remember the reasons he didn't obtain them. I read an article where he explained the story a few years back. 52 cars were damaged in some way, but not totalled completely. Some of the cars were repaired several times. They didn't just throw away a car after it got hit once. Someone mentioned earlier that there were far more than "52" cars brought back to life, or restored, because of the series. I'll go for that. Takes money to make money theory, I guess.
The Jalopy Journal
