When we’re not writing about cars or driving them, we like to kick back with some popcorn and watch movies starring our favorite four-wheeled machines. In this section, get a jump on upcoming movies featuring one of our greatest loves: cars.
Remember when we first brought to everyone’s attention about the plans regarding a Need for Speed movie? Well, today, we have a very interesting update on the Dreamworks movie project: the projected date of the movie’s opening.
Gentlemen, pencil - for now, at least - the date February 7, 2014.
The choice of date is a little interesting considering that it’s the time of the year where most of the movies being released will be in the Oscars running. Unless they have plans of turning Need for Speed into a drama starring Meryl Streep - highly unlikely, by the way - then we don’t know the thinking behind slotting it for a February release.
Then again, projects like this that are still in the infancy stages of production don’t have release dates that are set in stone yet. What that means is that February 7, 2014 could be moved to another date, maybe even a few months to coincide with spring releases or maybe even the blockbuster-heavy summer schedule.
Whatever the case may be, we, at this point, are just ecstatic to know that the movie’s development is moving along quite smoothly.
Move over, Fast & Furious. A new racing movie is about to be born.
Following months of rumors and whispers, Electronic Arts, the people behind the Need for Speed franchise, recently announced that a movie based on the popular racing game is currently under development.
EA’s new partnership with DreamWorks Studios paved the way for NFS to be adapted to the big screen, thanks in large part to the latter’s acquisition of film rights to the game. No word yet on what kind of story is being developed for the movie, but apparently, people from DreamWorks are currently doing their own version of production ’need for speed’ in order to begin the framework for the movie in time for its 2014 release.
Directing the movie will be Scott Waugh, who recently made news with Act of Valor, a real-life movie featuring U.S. Navy Seals. Joining Waugh on the NFS movie team are writers George and John Gatins, both of whom are responsible for penning some of Hollywood’s recent flicks, including She’s Out of My League and Real Steel.
Legendary director and Dreamworks co-founder made no bones about his excitement in getting to work on the Need for Speed movie. "I’m excited about getting back into the creative trenches with John and George Gatins and my partners at EA to bring to life an exhilarating script based on an epic video game that seems to have been made for the movies.”
Capitalizing on the hype being generated by The Dark Knight Rises, Chrysler has partnered with Warner Brothers on a new commercial that takes the reigns from the automaker’s highly-popular "Imported from Detroit" campaign with something a little more appropriate to the movie’s setting.
The ad takes us to what we can only assume is Bruce Wayne’s BatCave where a number of engineers are piecing together a concept version of the 300C that fits more into Batman’s wheelhouse. We don’t know a whole lot about the car, but the jet engine thrusters on the rear are as good an indication that this isn’t just another 300C sedan.
Towards the end of the ad, the tagline "Imported from Gotham City" is shown, taking the place of Chrysler’s "Imported from Detroit" tag. It remains to be seen if Batman’s 300C will make a cameo in the movie itself, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it actually did.
Imagine what kind of sales the 300C is going to get when folks realize that it’s got the Dark Knight’s stamp of approval. Could be quite an advertising coup for Chrysler again.
The 2012 London Olympics is a little over a month away so it’s hardly surprising that we’re seeing a lot of promo videos coming out hyping up the quadrennial sporting spectacle.
One automaker that has taken this route is MINI and their recently unveiled video called the "Britalian Job."
Produced in the same vein as the 1969 classic "The Italian Job," the video features a number of MINIs trying to chase after a thief who stole gold. Well, if you’ve ever seen the Italian Job, you’ll know how the video ends. The special edition MINIs chase after the thief and relive some of the more iconic scenes from the movie, particularly driving down the Duke of York Steps off the Mall, chasing through through Leadenhall market, and the cars coming out of the same Park Lane basement as the movie. The video even has a couple of British Olympic legends in it, including Daley Thompson and Matthew Pinset, as well as racer and model Jodie Kidd.
"It was great fun making this film and London makes such a brilliant setting for an action sequence like this," said James Cracknell, British rowing champion and double Olympic gold medalist.
Check out the video and see exactly what Mr. Cracknell is talking about.
The Le Mans 24 Hours races may not be the pinnacle of the racing world, but they certainly separate the men from the boys and women from the little girls. For the most part, over half of the field ends up retiring before the race ever finishes and the ones that do finish are completely exhausted – both car and drivers – by the time the race ends.
Audi has seemingly always been a part of the Le Mans 24 Hours and has earned tons of success in the race. In the 2011 running, Audi was set up to fail, as two of its three cars were forced to retire early due to freak accidents on the track. Truth in 24 II, narrated by none other than British bad-ass action star Jason Statham, documents the running of the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours race and how the last remaining Audi managed to overcome all of the competition, including three Peugeot 908s, to take home the overall No. 1 position.
What’s even more awesome is that Audi is providing both Truth in 24 and Truth in 24 II completely free of charge. You can download the debut Truth in 24 here, if you haven’t seen it yet, and then snag up Truth in 24 II here. It’s not too often that an automaker gives you something this cool for free, so take advantage of these free movies while you can. They are simply awesome.
Ben Collins rose to what some may call infamy last year when he exposed himself as "The Stig" from the famous Top Gear show. Shortly after his reveal, Collins got fired, but unemployment was never an avenue we thought he would take. Turns out we were right, and he is doing rather well and currently working as a stuntman on the set of the new James Bond movie "Skyfall."
Once the man behind the white helmet, Collins is now the man doing all of the dirty work for Daniel Craig. Collins has been in the driver seat in some of the most daring chase sequences filmed in Istanbul and Turkey. His recent job was to crash a grey Land Rover into the side of a black Audi, almost destroying it. However, this is not the only Audi crashed in the movie: a total of 15 cars found their death during filming, including six during pre-filming tests.
Collins has done stunts for James Bond before in Quantum Of Solace and Casino Royale. The job seems to be pretty easy for him, but it’s actually a tough job and an expensive one: just one scene can cost up to $1 million.
By our count, the Need for Speed gaming franchise has produced 18 video game titles, making it the most successful racing game franchise in history. With their success in video games firmly entrenched, recent rumors are suggesting that Need for Speed might be interested in crossing over to Hollywood.
Word has it that Electronic Arts, the publisher of the NFS gaming franchise, has tapped a pair of writers, George and Joel Gatins, to develop a script based on the Need for Speed games. The Gatins boys recently penned the script for the Hugh Jackman movie, "Real Steel," so these guys have some serious credibility.
Adding more credence to this report is word that a number of big-time studios are already in the hunt to acquire the rights to the prospective movie, including Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and Paramount with the last one considered the favorite to land the rights to the movie.
While the thought of a Need for Speed movie has us salivating, it’s important to keep a level head and not get too caught up in all the talks, especially considering that the whole project is still in the script-developing stage.
With Formula One being such an intense and well-followed sport, literally dozens of films could be made about it tracing the various rivalries which have made the sport as great as it is. After the resounding success of ‘Senna’ 12 months ago, the latest F1 blockbuster is currently being directed by Ron Howard and follows the historic rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt the Brit.
We’ve already brought you some exclusive photos from the set, and the latest scene has just leaked online and it’s arguably the most important scene of the entire film. As we’re sure you know by now, the film revolves heavily around Lauda’s infamous crash at the Nurburgring in the 1976 German Grand Prix and the resulting fight Lauda put up to re-enter the sport and compete with James Hunt.
And that exact scene was recently spied when being filmed at the Nurburgring by Bridge to Gantry and it really highlights the intensity of this film. As the film is a true story, rather than the work of a creative producer, historical accuracy is paramount and it only makes sense that the crash was staged in the exact same spot that it took place.
To make a relatively long story short, Niki Lauda was at risk of perishing in the blaze which engulfed his car and if it wasn’t for the help of fellow F1 drivers, he would have indeed died. The 1976 ended up being the final race on the Nordschleife sector of the circuit, while the Nurburgring racetrack is still used to this day.
No release date has been set, but the film will likely debut in 2013.
Now that we have seen the official images of the Acura NSX Coupe, everyone is expecting a roadster version for the sports car. This will surely happen in the near future considering Acura has already filed a patent for a roadster’s design, but until the production NSX Roadster shows up in 2014, we get another opportunity to take a gander at its design.
Acura has just officially unveiled the one-off NSX model that will be driven by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the new "Avengers" movie. This new sports car is a $9million project, and this is the first official image of the concept!
The concept is powered by a palladium-powered 80,000 TOHC 32-valve engine with titanium-forged block and nitrous fuel-injection system combined with a 9-Speed HYPER-Shift transmission. There aren’t any details on the engine’s output, but the concept can achieve 234 mpg in city traffic and 302 mpg on the highway. Now that’s efficiency!
The exterior of the concept shows off an underbody kit with an aero-dynamic spoiler lip and black-night painted-wheels with particle matter technology. Since this is a superhero movie car, it was also equipped with plenty of defensive systems like advanced radar-deflecting capabilities with wave modifier, a bullet and foreign element-proof clear coat, and metal skin and bulletproof hyper-traction tires.
"Acura is developing an impressive second chapter as the official vehicle of the cutting-edge S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, enabling us to reinforce Acura’s brand philosophy of innovation and advancement, and leverage excitement for the new ILX, RDX and NSX supercar concept product news announced earlier this year," said Susie Rossick, Acura Brand Manager.
Many racing fans - about $1,113,077 worth in USA and and an astounding $7,193,497 everywhere else - went to see the Senna documentary when it came out in 2011, including us. We thought it was a fantastic film and now, award winning director Ron Howard is at it again. He has announced that he is filming a new "Rush" movie inspired by the rivalry of former F1 drivers Niki Lauda and James Hunt during the 1970s. Both Lauda and Hunt have great stories, so the thought of combining both their lives in an action packed movie would be awesome.
For those who don’t know, Niki Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. At the Nurburgring in 1976, Lauda’s Ferrari swerved off the trackdue to a suspected rear suspension failure, hit an embankment, and rolled back into the path of Brett Lunger’s Surtees-Ford car. Lauda’s Ferrari burst into flames, and although he was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Six weeks later he was back on the track challenging Hunt for the world championship.
An official debut of Rush has been rumored for early 2013, so stay tuned!
