Jalopnik: Hollywood

The Enormous Secret Weapons Depot Hidden Underneath Manhattan

Sam Biddle — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:15:00 EST

Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood is mostly filled with bored models and stupid-expensive boutiques. But on one grimy, absolutely ignorable corner is the entrance to a cavern stuffed with guns, rockets, cocaine, and riot shields. This is where Hollywood locks and loads. More »

The Hollywood Cars of Future Present

Raphael Orlove — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:30:00 EST

For next week's LA Auto Show, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru and Mercedes designers let loose with what they imagine the movie cars of the future will look like. More »

The other reason why people think Chris Brown is an asshat

Justin Hyde — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:30:00 EDT

The mistreatment of handicapped parking spaces by Los Angeles' celebrities has grown to include singer/actor/girlfriend mistreater Chris Brown, whose having trouble finding spots for his car fleet — including his famous custom-painted P-51 Lamborghini. More »

Honda Accord Only Flaw In Otherwise Perfect Wisconsin Drive-In Theater Experience

Murilee Martin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EDT

I spent my senior year in high school working as the ticket-booth guy at the soon-to-be-defunct Island Auto Movie, and so I feel profound pain over the Death Of The American Drive-In Theater. But the drive-in isn't dead in Wisconsin! More »

Tom Cruise And Cameron Diaz Visit Top Gear, Molest The Stig

Sam Smith — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:30:00 EDT

While in England promoting their film Knight and Day, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz stopped by the Top Gear test track/set for a few laps in the show's Reasonably Priced Car. They also found time to grope the Stig. More »

Warren Zevon Would Have Appreciated This

Sam Smith — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EDT

There is so much going on here. The hairy-handed gent who ~~ran amuck~~ hooked up with the bride of Satan and rocked some serious snake action in Kent? I love it. [via FuckYeahCarburetors] More »

At 80 Years Old, Steve McQueen is Still Cooler Than You

Sam Smith — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:45:00 EDT

Terrence Steven McQueen was born eighty years ago today. Three decades after his death, the King of Cool has lost none of his luster. This one goes out to him, Peggy Moffitt, and a certain Ferrari Lusso. More »

Alex Cox Goes HO Scale: Repo Chick!

Murilee Martin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST

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I say Alex Cox's Repo Man stands as The Greatest Car Movie Of All Time. His latest film- which should be released this year, Hollywood politics permitting- might turn out to be the Greatest Toy Car Movie Of All Time. More »

The Movie That Put Paul Newman In The Driver's Seat: "Winning"

Murilee Martin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EDT

After reviewing a good Paul Newman book, we ought to watch the trailer from the film that helped turn Newman from ordinary car lover to rabid racer. More »

Mean Mopar Streets: Harvey Keitel Versus David Proval!

Murilee Martin — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:30:00 EDT

We honored Harvey Keitel's Mean Streets ride in the Murilee's Movie Car Hall Of Fame, and there's no better way to start winding down Crash Week than to show that car getting violently destroyed, gangland-style! More »

The Sinister 15: Murilee's Favorite Bad Guy Movie Cars

Murilee Martin — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EDT

I admit it, I missed a whole bunch of great cars in my last movie car list and the biggest omission was the '73 Eldorado driven by the Drāno-force-feeding pimp in Magnum Force. More »

Murilee's Movie Car Hall Of Fame

Murilee Martin — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EDT

If you were outraged by our neglect of your very favorite films in the 12 Greatest Car Movies post, get ready to blow your remaining head gasket! It's time for Murilee's Maddening Movie Machines! More »

Big In Japan: When Western Stars Make JDM Commercials

Murilee Martin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:30:00 EST

The money's great, babe, and they'll never see it back home. Yeah, but then came the internet, and now those agents' promises to their clients have turned out to be lies. More »

Nice Price Or Crack Pipe: Wizard Of Oz Tin Man's '69 Cadillac For More Than $9600?

Murilee Martin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:30:00 EST

There's no end to the Nice Price Or Crack Pipe choices here, even after 57% of voters went with "Nice Price" on the $4,500 Twin Stick Turbo Colt Bumper Car yesterday. Today we're going to explore the value of fame in a car, in this case a '69 Cadillac Fleetwood- a cool machine in its own right- that was once owned by Jack Haley, the man who played the Tin Man in The Wizard Of Oz. The last time it went up on eBay, the $9,600 top bid failed to meet the reserve, so it's apparent that the seller feels the Tin Man connection to be an extremely valuable one. That's apparent in his selection of photographs; when the car itself isn't as important as its intangibles, you shoot the photos with the sun behind the car and your family posed in front of it, throwing in a single shot of the hood emblem for good measure. Well, what do you think? Cool car, interesting past… but worth over $9,600? More »

Searching For A Grim Minnesota Murder Movie Car? Simple Plan Volvo Amazon For Sale!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST

While you might not be able to afford Jerry Lundegaard's Olds Ciera, Fargo wasn't the only downward-spiral Minnesota crime movie made in the 90s! That's right, the '66 Volvo 122S wagon driven by Bill Paxton's character in A Simple Plan is up for sale on Craigslist! It's not running, so it's more of a Project Movie Car Hell machine than a daily driver, but: fame! More »

Isn't This Fun, Old Man?

Murilee Martin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

The 1980 film Used Cars may be the finest Malaise Era car movie ever made, and that includes anything featuring a '78 Trans Am. We've already shared the Marshal Lucky and Test Drive For Toby scenes, and now it's time to watch a beautiful '57 Chevy two-door- priced at just $2,400 on the New Deal Used Cars lot- get completely destroyed. More »

W. C. Fields Makes "Road Hogs" Pay For Their Driving Sins

Murilee Martin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EDT

When some jerkola signals right and turns left right in front of you, or goes too slowly, or commits any one of the other moves from the Jerkola Driving Handbook, wouldn't you love the freedom to run that road hog off the road and then have your car instantly replaced by a new full-size sedan… whose driver has been following you for just this reason? SCROGGS, so inspired by the 2CV-versus-Bentley crash scene yesterday, has hipped us to a W. C. Fields film in which this is exactly what happens! Make the jump to read Richard's description and watch W.C. dispense a little vigilante road justice, 1932 style!
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Criminal Mastermind Ronald Reagan Demands '59 Ford Hoonage!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EDT

The Killers was Ronald Reagan's last film, made just a few years before he became governor of California. In it, the Great Communicator plays a crime boss setting up an armored-car-heist caper, and John Cassavetes- one of the greatest directors in cinema history, in my opinion- plays a down-and-out race driver hired as getaway-car wheelman. It's a car-freak-stravaganza of a movie, with Lee Marvin as an Impala-driving hitman, race sequences packed with Cobras, and- best of all- a '59 Ford chasing a '58 Olds in some dirt-road madness. Murilee says check it out! More »

I've Got This Ticking Noise In My Head!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EDT

The lengthy tracking shot showing vast quantities of old European cars in Week End was pretty cool, but when you use the words "lengthy tracking shot" and "cars" together in a sentence, you've got no choice but to bring up the opening shot in Orson Welles' 1958 Touch Of Evil. A 1956 Chrysler New Yorker convertible is the ill-fated star of this sequence, but we're pretty sure- well, we hope- a beater stunt double was used for the last bit.
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50s Fords Haul Moonshine To Quench The Devil's Thirst: Thunder Road

Murilee Martin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:20:00 EDT

Robert Mitchum outrunnin' revenoors in a triple-carbed '50 Ford sedan full of white liquor- now that's what we call a car movie! Thunder Road still holds up well after 50 years; thanks to this YouTuber, we can watch the preview. Make the jump to get the theme song. More »

First Pictures Of Turbo-Boosted Super Pursuit KITT At Comic Convention, KITTchero Teased

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:51:00 EDT

Those on the fence about the new Knight Rider television show need look no further than these shots of the newly upgraded KITT from Popular Mechanics shot at Comic-Con 2008. At a panel discussion in front of Knight Rider fanboys-girls they showed video of KITT employing Turbo Boost (before a very long press conference where the actor that plays Mike Tracer admitted he drives a supercharged Bullitt). The video apparently also featured the actors getting into a truck version of KITT — a KITTchero if you will. More »

Cadillac Fleetwood: Choice Of Seattle Portland Junkies

Murilee Martin — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EDT

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Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy isn't a car movie per se, but you'll see some great old Detroit iron in this 1989 film (which is set in early-70s ~~Seattle~~ Portland). Somehow this choice of vehicle just seems right. Thanks to this YouTuber, we can watch Matt Dillon shoot some smack in a smooth-ridin' 1965 Cadillac Fleetwood. Enjoy. More »

It Ain't Armed Robbery If The Gun Ain't Loaded!

Murilee Martin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST

The Hermanos Coen film Raising Arizona isn't usually thought of as a serious car-chase film (though it has some cool cars), but this Nicholas Cage/Holly Hunter sequence features plenty of tire-squealin' action from a '72 Impala, a later Impala cop car, and a '66 Chevy pickup. Thanks to this YouTuber, we can all enjoy it on this fine Wednesday. More »

Salesman Of The Year: You Killed My Dog, Mister!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:00:00 EST

Back when we posted the infamous 'Marshall Lucky' scene from the Malaise Era Kurt Russell classic film Used Cars, we got a few requests for the 'Test Drive For Toby' scene from the same film. Well, thanks to this YouTuber, we're able to oblige. You see, a real closer gets the customer to sign on the line that is dotted, no matter what it takes! Say, isn't that a Gran Torino wagon, just like Robert Bechtle's original Alameda DOTS car? More »

Francis Ford Coppola Builds Studio Into Dodge Sprinter

Murilee Martin — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:00:00 EST

Mr. Coppola has long been notorious for sets the size of cities and gear that takes an endless parade of tractor-trailers to move around, but all that has changed with the making of his latest film, "Youth Without Youth." All the stuff- cameras, dollies, whatever- gets crammed into one of the few bright spots from the failed Daimler-Chrysler marriage: a Dodge Sprinter van. [San Francisco Chronicle] More »

Project Car Hell, Repo Man Edition: J. Frank or Bud?

Murilee Martin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:30:00 EST

For the first time in Project Car Hell history, yesterday saw a Porsche lose a challenge against a non-Porsche! For today, I was going to reach into the PCH Mailbag and pull out one of the excellent tips y'all have been sending in, but then it happened: I was walking down Howard Street in San Francisco earlier today and I was thinking about how my Civic is due for a new timing belt, and how I should probably do the job this weekend, and then I started this internal mental debate about timing chains versus belts and that reminded me of my friend Andrew and how he got stranded in the middle of rural Alabama when the timing chain in his '66 Malibu ate all the teeth on the crank sprocket... and then I stopped at the crosswalk and a vintage Malibu drove past: Plate O' Shrimp Moment! So, you see, it goes without saying that we must now have a Repo Man-themed Project Car Hell. More »

Marshall Lucky Has The Solution To Inflation!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:30:00 EST

Yessir, you heard Marshall Lucky right! With all the talk about the term 'Malaise Era' this morning, it seemed like a good time to watch this scene from that Malaise Era Kurt Russell classic, Used Cars. In this unforgettable (and semi-NSFW) sequence, Gerrit Graham blasts several Detroit landyachts with a shotgun, then dynamites a Mercedes-Benz 450SL, all with a grim Jimmy Carter speech as the backdrop. More »

Now You Can Have Your Own Bluesmobile!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:30:00 EST

This exact replica of the car from "The Blues Brothers" has served its purpose well, touring with "the top Jake and Elwood Blues impersonators in the country" for 15 years, and now it's time for Steve "Jake" Ronken and Bob "Elwood" Masewicz to move on. A $19,500 starting bid for what's essentially a '74 Dodge Monaco with Mount Prospect PD emblems on the doors and a big PA speaker on the roof seems a bit steep, does it? You gotta consider the car's history before you scoff at the price- this fine automobile has seen NASCAR tracks and shopping-mall openings alike, in every state in the continental US! And if you're willing to fork over an extra $7500, "Jake" and "Elwood" will deliver it to you in person! [eBay Motors] More »

Buy The Dalai's Land Rover, Get Enlightenment!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 12:15:00 EST

Some might say that $75,000 is on the steep side as the starting bid for a 1966 Land Rover, but what if you could get a Rover that came with a holy aura... and a chance to meet Sharon Stone? In fact, we might speculate that Ms. Stone will cut your hair behind the aquarium if you buy this truck, if you know what we mean and we think you do. Make the jump to learn more about this sacred piece of British workmanship... More »

A '78 Celica- and a Smoke- Will Make You Cool!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:00:00 EDT

Former Combat! star Rick Jason was big in Japan in the late 1970s, if we are to judge from this ad for the JDM '78 Celica XX (sold here as the Supra). Just lean on that sporty fastback and puff suavely on a gasper, and like magic a busty babe appears and throws your bowtie on the driver's seat. Yeah, that's the Celica for you. More »

Trailer Safety Tips From Lucille Ball

Murilee Martin — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:45:00 EDT

Rule Number One: Don't ride in the trailer when it's in motion. The 1954 movie, The Long, Long Trailer, illustrates this point exceptionally well. Though theoretically a comedy, this film is actually one of the harshest Road Trip Nightmare Downward Spiral films ever made; Jalopnik says check it out! More »

You See Vat Happen, Larry?

Murilee Martin — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:15:00 EDT

When we had Intergalactic Malaise Era Torino day earlier in the week, we showed the Torino-versus-dumpster crash scene from the Torino-riffic film The Big Lebowski. It turns out that the influence of the "You see what happens, Larry?" Corvette/Torino-beating scene from the movie is so pervasive that even Croatians feel compelled to recreate it on some sort of Iron Curtain Fiat clone. But wait, there's more! More »

The Dude's Torino In A World Of Pain

Murilee Martin — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:00:52 EDT

Since we're on the subject of Malaise Era Torinos today, we should probably watch the classic Torino-versus-dumpster scene from The Big Lebowski. The 70s Torino occupies a special place in our mythology, and the cool thing is that they're still quite affordable. Movie-car geeks might notice that the private dick tailing The Dude is driving a Beetle, just like the private dick in the Coen Brothers' first movie. More »

Mighty Empires Tremble In Aftermath Of Britney Parked-Car Scrape!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:10:19 EDT

All right, folks, we've got some seriously earth-shattering news for ya: when you hit a parked car, the owner gets upset. Especially when a couple dozen maniacal paparazzi document the entire mess, yet you still don't contact the owner of the parked car. It turns out that Ms. Spears didn't bother to have her people get in touch with the owner of the silver Benz, who ID'd the perp from the overwhelming torrent of media coverage and filed a police report. [Access Hollywood] More »

Bask In The Healing Rays Of The Risky Business 928!

Murilee Martin — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:30:59 EDT

The Forney Museum in Denver is mostly known for having one of the world's few surviving Big Boy locomotives, which ranks among the most terrifyingly huge and powerful land vehicles ever built. But who cares about a 6,200-horsepower steam locomotive when, under the same roof, one can find the actual '79 Porsche 928 driven by Tom Cruise in "Risky Business"? The Forney is packed full of other wonderful machinery, including an Amphicar, a brace of real AC Cobras, a whole bunch of early-20th-century iron, and a GM prototype '70 Cadillac station wagon, but the awe inspired by such close proximity to the Risky Business 928 may short out all the circuits in your brain, rendering you unable to appreciate the other cars. [Forney Museum] More »

The Other '69 Charger: Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:00:00 EDT

I saw this movie on the big screen as an 8-year-old and was sent into such a car-chase frenzy that I used up my entire stash of firecrackers that very afternoon, sending exploding Hot Wheels cars to their doom. Far dumber and more ineptly made than its early-70s car-chase contemporaries, Vanishing Point and Duel, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry still deserves a place in the Jalopnik Movie Canon, if only for the Charger, backroad-Stockton settings, and Plymouth Fury copmobiles. More »

Hoony Hackman: French Connection Car/Train Chase

Jonny Lieberman — Sat, 19 May 2007 17:21:20 EDT

Two things to consider here, kids. One is that Mr. Hackman did much of his own driving. Nice left foot braking, Gene. Or was that Bill Hickman, the man who drove the car when the camera was in the back seat looking out? Who is Bill Hickman, you ask? He drove the Charger in Bullitt. The other is this, "The car crash during the chase sequence, at the intersection of Stillwell Ave. and 86th St., was unplanned and was included because of its realism. The man whose car was hit had just left his house a few blocks from the intersection to go to work and was unaware that a car chase was being filmed. The producers later paid the bill for the repairs to his car." Also according to legend, Hackman had the car over 90 mph for much of the chase. All of which goes to show, that even the dullest, brownest Pontiac Le Mans can become a weapon of Awesome in the hands of a determined hoon. – Jonny Lieberman More »

Jalopnik Morning Mourning: Pics of the Dead Redline Enzo

Jonny Lieberman — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:30:00 EDT

Let me first dispel a few myths. Most important, the car actor Eddie Griffin crashed into a wall, and that is now garishly on display in front of the Grauman Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, is indeed 100% Ferrari Enzo Ferrari. There is no doubt. I touched it. I smelled it. I took about 75 pictures of the poor thing's riven carbon fiber body and chassis. (See below for the fatal scars and wounds that will never heal.) You budding conspiracy theorists out there (Hi Tom Anderson!) had best call Art Bell. Number two, people who visit Hollywood Boulevard on vacation with their kids are not sane in any way. And finally, Hollywood has no shame. Less than none. Make the jump to find out how much less. More »

We're Laughing At You: Paris Hilton Might Face 90 Days In The Hoosegow

Jonny Lieberman — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 13:26:48 EDT

Here's a tip - if you are a mutli-gazillionaire-ess, pay someone to drive you around. Seriously, hire Colin McRae or any of the three Los Jalops that live in LA to hoon you about in your drophead Bentley GTC. So what if Bumbeck fills the rear seats with mid-eighties rising sun spare parts? At least you won't go to effing jail. Or better yet, hire someone whose sole job it is to whisper in your ear that if your license has suspended because you got nailed while driving drunk, it is best not to speed around the Westside at night with your headlights off. Even better, donate all you are worth to stem cell research in hopes that they can find a cure for vapidness, idiocy and awfulness. What's that? Right, herpes, too. – Jonny LIeberman More »

Paris Hilton Violates Probation, Gets Bentley Continental GTC Hauled Away In West Hollywood

Ray Wert — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 15:47:04 EST

According to TMZ, everyone's favorite celbrawhore, Paris Hilton, saw her $170,000-plus Bentley Continental GTC hauled away on a flatbed (which Bentley folks tell us is the correct way to have your vehicle towed so as not to void your warranty) yesterday in front of the West Hollywood Virgin megastore. According to TMZ:

"Paris' publicist, Elliot Mintz, tells TMZ the heiress was exiting the parking structure which "is brightly lit so she had not noticed that her headlights were not activated." As she drove a few blocks, she was confronted by other bright lights — those of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.