It’s a movie star!
Yep. My Explorer (before the dented hood) was in Tuck Everlasting.
Okay. Watch the boring preview for the movie that’s already been out for years. Wait until almost the end, after they show the title. The horse drawn carriages start to fade to cars. Coming up the street, straight towards the camera, just as it starts to fade away — is my truck. Ahh, the fame and glory.
The location was Berlin, Maryland, a small town here on the eastern shore also known as the location of The Runaway Bride. Because of a contact in the movie industry, The Architect and I got to sit on the set on one of the hottest days on the planet and watch a car-load of teens drive our truck in circles around the block as they filmed shot after shot. We got to see one set hand call another a “Primadonna prick,” and that was the highlight of excitement for the day — well, that and getting to eat from the craft services table (Twizzlers taste so much better when they’re intended for famous people). Sadly, the only person anywhere a near celebrity was the stunt double, who drove the hero’s motorcycle while having a spectacularly bad wig planted on his head. At the prompting of barked orders over a megaphone, sweaty extras walked the street acting casual and then went back to walk again. Cars were lined up and sent down the road via my most excellent car wrangling contact only to later loop around the block and repeat the tedious process.
By the end of the day, I was hovering near heat stroke and wondering what would drive any sane person into the movie business. So much work went into shooting a tiny scene that the audience would see for only a second or two. And the repetition! It was like a bad re-enactment of Groundhog Day (now that I think of it, that movie must have been horrible, shooting over and over the already repetitive scenes). Still, it was a unique experience, and one that fixed my little Explorer onto the timeless glory of celluloid.
Hell and Wheels 
May 14th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Sir Jorge — Thanks for stopping by. Unfortunately, my car isn’t all that ‘famous.’ Only on occasion do the fans swarm it, begging for autographs (see Kate’s comment above).Spy — Just go stand outside and wait twenty seconds; one that looks just like it ought to be rolling by. What kills me is that the car made it into the trailers, too. It was a pretty boring shot. Still don’t know who made that executive decision.
May 11th, 2007 at 4:53 am
Hah! You’re kidding me! That’s so cool. 🙂 I just loved that movie.You should post a picture, post-dent! Your car’s famous! 😉
May 10th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I wish my car was famous.
May 10th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Jay. I seriously don’t know how anyone in the business is still sane.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
That’s a funny fact about your car.I couldn’t take the tedium, either. Blech. I have no patience for do-overs.
May 9th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Kate — Sure. I’ll just drive over a piece of paper for you. My baby is in the opening and closing shot — so you’ll have double the chance to see it. The Architect and I were sitting just behind where the boom camera was, hiding in the meager shade of a dental office’s awning.Charles — If you mean the sweaty, greasy guy with the blue shirt and name patch who resurrected it from the dead, then, yes, it has an agent.
May 9th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
So your vehicle had it’s fifteen minutes of fame? Have you gotten it an agent yet to prolong those fifteen minutes?
May 9th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
But can I get its autograph? :)That sounds like an interesting experience. I’ll be sure to sure watch for it next time. I liked that movie.
May 9th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Everything’s good on this end. The weather is warming up, slowly. They close the streets for the movies and every car you see has been hired by a Picture Car Coordinator. That’s what my friend does. She specializes in mostly period pieces, anything with antique or vintage cars. That movie just happened to have a modern scene along with the vintage cars earlier in the film, so we lucked out. The movie guys like generic cars, so ours was about as generic as it gets. My friend is always looking for cars to add to her portfolio, so if anyone is on the east coast and want your vintage car in a movie, send me an e-mail and I’ll get you in contact with her.
May 9th, 2007 at 6:13 am
That is so awesome that your car got into that movie. I always wondered how they filmed busy roads, if they had to get rights by the people to show them driving, etc. Hope everything is good for you and the weather is nice. It’s starting to get very hot out here.