Not always, but usually where there is a car chase, there is a car jump. The Gone in Sixty Seconds bridge jump is no exception. The film comes to a climax as Memphis Rains nears his delivery deadline. After being chased through town by Castlebeck and the LAPD, Memphis is confronted with what looks like a dead end. A car crash on the Vincent Thomas Bridge.
Memphis stops for a second to look for a way out. Memphis will do anything to save his baby brother. Ahead he spots a roll-back tow vehicle with the bed down. Perfect! A jump ramp. He jumps back into Eleanor to back up and prepare for jump. Castle Beck pulls up from behind thinking he's got his mouse. Memphis floors the GT 500 and bangs through the gears. The camera shows several angles, including a speedo shot approaching 100 mph. Memphis flys through the air and clears the crash scene while scraping the top of an ambulance. Memphis lands with a swerve or two. But he quickly gains control. How did they do it?
The Magic
If I were Castlebeck, I would have given up at this point. Memphis seems to be nearly unstoppable. The jump is amazing. Granted there's a quite bit of movie magic going on. The whole jump staged in three pieces. But it's still some what believable (at heart). At least three Eleanors were used for this jump alone. Not to mention a Computer Generated Graphics (CGI) version as well. Two cars were completely destroyed. One was loss in the initial part of the jump on the ramp. The second was lost on a long jump during the landing. A third car was suspended by wires for the in-flight shots. The CGI car filled in the gaps. All of the stunts performed in the film were coordinated by Johnny Martin . Johnny also did stunt work in films Live Free Die Hard, The Italian Job, and The Matrix Reloaded.
Vincent Thomas Bridge - Scene Site
Final Thoughts
Even though the jump is some what fake. I totally enjoyed it. I think it deserves mention in our Famous Jumps section. It will live on in the hearts of movie car fans every where. Even if it's cheesy. I did find a great remake someone did in Grand Theif Auto IV on YouTube. Take a look at the clip below. Muztang2 did a great job of putting this together. By the way. A piece of trivia for ya. The Vincent Thomas Bridge was also used in the filming of the original Gone in Sixty Seconds. Your job is to find where and when in the film. Comment to us your best answer. Till next time. Keep your Mustangs on the ground! See ya next time at OnScreenCars.com
So what does the Olds 442 and the band Chicago have in common? One wicked music video! Ah the 80's. Music videos of the time may have been much simpler compared to the high production videos of today. But a lot of them have something modern music videos often lack, vintage muscle cars! This early 80's video from Chicago is no exception! In the video a guy trying to convince this girl to stay the night. She finds him disrespectful and runs off in the 442 (we're not clear if it's his or hers). Grab'n gears and burning rubber, she manages to jump a car hauler twice while being chased by the dude on the back of a Ford F100. Apparently he still doesn't get the message and jumps onto the hood. She tries to throw him off by doing donuts.
Amazing car, amazing video. Not to mention awesome stunt work. From what we've gathered the gal in the video is stunt driver Debbie Evans. She's known for her work in the Fast and the Furious, Matrix and other popular films and tv shows. Watch the video closely. You will notice that two 442s may have been used. Some note the differences in the dash shots. Some note that there was a 4-Speed car and an automatic car. We're still looking. Comment and tell us what you saw! Till next time keep those wheels safely rolling!
Now I know this isn't exactly an On Screen Car. But it is related! I promise you! A french artist named Nils Guadagnin has recreated one of the pop icons from the movie Back to the Future II. I'm sure you recall seeing Marty McFly running from future Tannen gang on the streets of Hill Valley 2015. We may be less than six years away from 2015. But we still don't have hover technology. Or do we? I wish. Guadagnin was able to simulate the hovering in his artwork by using electromagnets and a laser tracking system. It can hover but not support weight. None the less it's still pretty sweet. That's all for now. Hope you're having a great holiday weekend. Be sure to thank all those who have served and are currently serving our country.
Great Scott! The 2010 Delorean Car Show is almost here! Great Scott! It's in Lexington, KY! We're excited to report that this year's DCS event will be held June 17th - June 20th at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort and Spa. We're making plans to attend and give as much support as we can. Not to mention bring as much media coverage of the event as possible! This will be our first DCS event to date. But from our understanding, we're in for a treat.
The Delorean Car Show features a huge gathering of Deloreans from around the world. During the event, a private collection of Delorean Motor Company artifacts will be on display. Of course there will be a Back to the Future display. Rumors have been confirmed that Bob Gale, co-writer and producer of Back to the Future will be at the event. Other speakers include Kevin Pike & Andrew Probert of the Back to the Future production team. As you may know, Andrew was a major contributor to DeLorean time machine design. Kevin Pike was the Special Effects Supervisor for the films. I know I have only dreamed of meeting these gifted people. It will be an exciting time! You can find out more about the event on the Official Delorean Car Show site. See you in the future!
Roger Dodger, Speed Buggy article ready to go! Vroom-a-zoom-zoom! Ah Speed Buggy one of the most beloved cartoon tv cars of the late 70's. Even though I was born in the 80's doesn't mean I didn't enjoy re-runs of the show. Not to be confused Scooby Doo, the show Speed Buggy was about a teenage cartoon detective team created by Hanna Barbara. If you've seen the show you would know the car Speed Buggy came to life after Tinker and gang built him. The opening credits does a great job of explaining the origin of the crazy car. Some say Herbie the love bug was the inspiration for the car. But where did the voice come from? That was none other than Hanna Barbara's Mel Blanc, voice to famous characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and more. Check out the opening credits.
Final Thoughts
One of my favorite parts of Speed Buggy, is the opening credits where they create the car. You can see the team working on the engine. Which I think looks like a hybrid between a Volkswagen engine and a Ford Flat-Head design. Gotta love the big exhaust headers. Not to mention the spitting and sputtering sounds Speed Buggy makes as he talks. At the time of the show, fiberglass Volkswagen/Dune Buggy conversions were really popular. Especially the Manx body kits. I think that may be part of why I enjoyed the show so much. You can find out more about those designs at the Manx Club site. Die hard Speed Buggy fans need to check out Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1 That's a great collection of not only Speed Buggy cartoons, but also some of your other 70's cartoon favorites as well! We'll that's all for now folks! See ya next time here at OnScreenCars.com!
Vincent Thomas Bridge - Scene Site
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That's a great collection of not only Speed Buggy cartoons, but also some of your other 70's cartoon favorites as well! We'll that's all for now folks! See ya next time here at OnScreenCars.com!