It’s almost the weekend, which means that in my house it’s almost time to order takeout, set up the projector and get ready for movie night. But, since we’re almost out of car films to watch, we thought it’d be a good idea to dream up some scripts for the next automotive blockbuster.
To do this, we turned to you and asked what automotive stories would make for great movies. From shady sponsors to racing rivalries, we had some great responses back. Here are some of the best we got.
“The story surrounding ‘Unsafe At Any Speed’. After publishing the book, Nader was supposed to testify before congress. GM hired private investigators to follow him to dig up dirt to smear him with, like that he was a homosexual or deviant.
“It backfired spectacularly.”
Activist Ralph Nader published ‘Unsafe At Any Speed’ in 1965 to document the car industry’s reluctance to adopt essential safety features. For this film, I’m picturing a gritty drama similar to 2015’s Concussion.
Suggested by: hangovergrenade
“John Godfrey Parry-Thomas, just Parry-Thomas to most, started out as a car designer. After test driving a new Leyland of his design, he realized that he should race. And became a successful racer. Then, he wanted to be not just faster, but the fastest.
“So he built Babs, a 27-liter chain driven car that he would attempt to take to more than 170mph. When he arrived at Pendine Sands in Wales on March 3rd 1927, it was raining. He could barely stand up due to really awful flu, but drove anyway.
“The car crashed, he died.
“In the local library nearby is a little exhibition about that day. I saw the death certificate, it redefines ‘understatement’. While attempting to break the land speed record in a chain driven, aircraft powered car on a soft beach, it turned over and slid upside down at 120mph, no roll cage. Or much of a helmet. The cause of death is recorded as ‘head injuries sustained in a motor accident’.
“There is also a counterpoint available in the study of another ultimately self-destructive person, as Dylan Thomas’ writing cabin is a mile up the hill, and Brown’s bar is also nearby.”
Ambitious engineering projects and land speed record make for great films, take The World’s Fastest Indian as an example. I think this tale might suit Domhnall Gleeson, I can see him pickup up the role of John Godfrey Parry-Thomas.
Suggested by: bonacontention
“Sydney Allard building his own car, driving it to the Monte Carlo Rally and winning at the wheel.”
Sydney Allard triumphed in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally with his car, the Allard P1. He pipped racing legend Stirling Moss to the win, so this could be billed as a true underdog story.
Suggested by: @theOlliePickard (Twitter)
“In all seriousness, I’ll toss this one out on behalf of Elizabeth.
“Hellé Nice
“Cabaret dancer, skier, gran prix racer, fastest woman alive, ‘Queen of Bugatti’, accused Nazi spy. Here, Elizabeth can explain it better.
“Starring Jodie Comer as Helle’ because I’m batshit crazy about Jodie and want her to star in everything.”
So Hellé Nice sounds like an incredible person. I’d definitely watch a film about her, and agree that Jodie Comer would make for a great casting. But, as another commenter said, we might have to call her VillanHellé.
Suggested by: majordawlish
“I’m surprised there hasn’t been any solid film about Graham Hill.
“The glamor of Lotus under Colin Chapman, the wild history of the 60s, and managing to be the only racing Triple Crown winner of all time. (C’mon Alonso, win Indy already!)”
This is one of those stories where I can’t decide if I’d like a dramatic retelling of the facts, or a fly-on-the-wall style documentary. Either way, I would 100 person watch this.
Suggested by: Kris Brand (Facebook)
“During the Bosnian War, which decimated the civilian population and created thousands of refugees, aid trucks were regularly attacked, being slow and clumsy. They needed a way to get humanitarian supplies into the country while either avoiding detection, or being able to get away if spotted.
“Enter Danish commando Helge Meyer, who offered up his 1979 Camaro as an option. It was armored, painted with radar-blocking stealth paint, and outfitted with nitrous, a ram bar, and a mine-clearing blade underneath. He ran countless supply missions into Bosnia armed only with a Bible and a pack of smokes. After a few close shaves, and once he learned the landscape well enough, he found routes that would allow him to slip in and out completely undetected. For his efforts, he earned the nickname ‘God’s Rambo’.
“This sounds like the plot of a ridiculous action movie I would have written when I was 13, except that it is absolutely true.”
You had me at Camaro. If there aren’t Hollywood execs already casting Viggo Mortensen as Helge Meyer, then something is awry.
Suggested by: jode72
“Group B rally. Just, like, all of it.”
Low weight, high power and few restrictions on technology and design make the Group B rally era a prime candidate for dramatization. The only question, who do you pick to play Timo Salonen?
Suggested by: @devalkk (Twitter)
“A movie about George Harrison’s year traveling with F1 back in the 70s. Combining a musical biopic (all the rage now) with vintage F1 racing and international locations would be a pretty sweet trifecta.
“Apparently he ended up becoming quite close friends with a number of the drivers, including Jackie Stewart – and another driver who ended up dying in a race – so the necessary emotional / character development is in there as well.”
We can all agree that George Harrison was the best Beatle, so let’s give him his own movie. The film can culminate in Harrison heading to the studio to pen ‘Faster’.
Suggested by: z2221344
“The Rise and Fall of Saturn from the perspective of the UAW’s innocent collaboration with GM’s Roger Smith with its Game of Thrones backstabbing by the other GM divisions.
“Maybe not a movie but a limited series on Netflix.”
The show opens with GM execs excitedly talking about how they’ll take down the rising Japanese car makers. It ends with dust swirling round an abandoned factory as the last worker departs in a Honda. Somewhere in between we’ll talk about Saturn Rocks Times Square, but I’m not sure where.
Suggested by: Jerry Appel (Facebook)
“Richard Burns’ 2001 WRC driver’s title followed by his death from brain cancer just four years later.
“It has all the elements – a soft-spoken but brilliantly talented underdog endures years of coming up just short (he was championship runner-up in 1999 and 2000) before putting together a remarkable title run, finally reaching the top of the mountain, and passing away far too young.
“Burnsie’s 2001 championship was unusual in that he only won a single event, when three other drivers (Colin McRae, Tommi Makinen and Marcus Gronholm) each won three, but his intelligence, consistency and lack of retirements – despite a Subaru that was generally a little bit down on pace against some of his rivals – put him in position to take advantage when others faltered down the stretch. At Rally GB, the final event of the season, both McRae and Makinen DNF’d while Burns made the podium in third, making him champion by just two points. He was England’s first (and still only) World Rally Champion.
“After his championship year he moved to Peugeot, where he struggled with the car in his first year. The following season, in 2003, he put together another title challenge with no wins but seven podiums, and had a shot at a second championship heading into the final round of the year. While headed to Rally GB, he suddenly blacked out and was pulled from the event. The diagnosis was a malignant brain tumor. Petter Solberg won the rally and the driver’s championship with Burns’ old team, Subaru. Burnsie would never race in WRC again.
“His death on November 25, 2005 at age 34 was four years to the day after his 2001 WRC championship win.”
Start working on a script, because this has got blockbuster written all over it. This story has it all, and surely could follow in the footsteps of modern classics like Rush?
Suggested by: stoke
“Rich Energy!”
Huh, a Blackstock talking about Rich Energy and its shady dealings in Formula 1. Why does that sound familiar?
Suggested by: Karen Hooker Blackstock (Facebook)
“The story of the Whittington Brothers could be made with no embellishment whatsoever and still be utterly unbelievable. They’re actually decent drivers. They build a fairly decent team. They’re funding the whole thing with drug money and smuggling. They buy a race track specifically because the back straight is long enough to land a small plane.
“You get to tell the story of drug smuggling in the 70s and 80s, 2 guys with a duffle bag full of cash who buy a race car, the whole IMSA/weed connection... Just don’t give it to Tarantino, give it to Michael Mann.”
Michael Mann is in line to direct a new film all about Enzo Ferrari, so this tale of drug smuggling race drivers could be the logical next project for him.
Suggested by: buckfiddious
“Being Alice.
“The story of the first woman to cross the United States by automobile. She drove the now forgotten Lincoln Highway.”
Alice Huyler Ramsey finished her monumental drive across the United States on August 7th 1909. But over the years, she also took part in several endurance races and helped market cars to women.
Suggested by: Gene3067
“The story of Carlos Ghosn, but it has to start with him stuffed in a music equipment box asking us how he ended up in that situation, and basically tell his life story as the film goes.”
I can just picture it now, a trunk opens to reveal a hooded figure in the back and the voiceover says “That’s me, you might wonder how I ended up here. Well, that’s a funny story.”
Suggested by: Luis Pérez Morales (Facebook)
“During World War Two, several Bugatti works drivers including Robert Benoist and Jean-Pierre Wimille joined the French resistance and created a sabotage cell led by British racing driver William Grover-Williams.
“It’s an incredible story. Wimille’s wife, a competitive skier, was also involved. Benoist once had to leap from a moving car to escape the Gestapo. They would move weapons around northern France in trucks that used to haul Bugatti race cars.
“Benoist and Grover-Williams would eventually be executed by the Nazis, but Wimille survived the war and would have been the most successful Grand Prix driver of all time if he hadn’t died on a training lap in Argentina where he had become Fangio’s mentor.”
This does sound like an incredible story, kind of like a historic retelling of the latest Fast & Furious films. Not that we’re suggesting Vin Diesel should be cast in this particular flick.
Suggested by: Jonee
“I’ve been hopeful something will come out for that magical 2009 Brawn GP season for awhile now. Probably best as a Drive To Survive or a 30 for 30 feature instead of a film.”
Hard agree here, I’d love to watch a five-part miniseries focusing on the build up to that surprise first win in Australia. It’d be great.
Suggested by: @eugene_rosos (Twitter)
“Another good one: Pierre-Jules Boulanger, president of Citroën during WWII.
“Hid the in-development 2CV so the Nazis couldn’t get ahold of it. When forced to build trucks for Nazis after the invasion of France, directed Citroën factories to build trucks slowly and also change out the dipsticks so they would have less oil.
“Considered a prominent ‘enemy of the Reich’.”
“He’s an inspiring figure.”
In this film about Pierre-Jules Boulanger, we can also feature the moment he refused to meet with Ferdinand Porsche and the moment his name was added to a list of Germany’s most wanted.
Suggested by: citricola
“I always thought the story of the Pontiac GTO was a beauty.
“GM Management bans all divisions of auto racing (!)
“Pontiac brand team finds a way around it with ‘special’ VIN modifications and engine options.
“Ends up being a smash hit with younger buyers...the rest is history.
“Who doesn’t love a story about a rogue group of employees working on a skunkworks project that even their bosses (allegedly) didn’t know about or approve?”
Company secrets, undercover design studies and a great “I told you so” moment in the final act. This has got “Academy Award winner” written all over it.
Suggested by: gated-shifter93