Scorched Earth
Overview
In early 2016 a casting call came to our attention for post apocalyptic cars in the NW area that would be interested in participating in a feature film for Lighthouse Productions called Scorched Earth. We ran point on the vehicle search for the production company and, out of all of the responses gathered, only our Daytona was chosen.
Not only was this our first experience working with a feature film production company, it was also the first time we've ever allowed any of our creations to be used by anyone other than us. Since production of the film was taking place somewhere around Vancouver BC, it meant shipping the Daytona across the border to the exotic foreign lands of Canada. Not only would it be the first time we've ever let anyone else drive the car, it was the first time we had ever let it out of our sight!
The team at Lighthouse was excellent to work with. Even though our part in the overall production was very small, essentially providing a single (albeit super awesome) prop, they were very understanding of our concerns and the level of trust we were entrusting them with. The stunt coordinator kept in communication throughout production to let us know how things were progressing and that all was well with the car. Well, there was one omission but more on that below.
It's hard to say we had "fun" doing this gig since we weren't really there but we agree it was a positive experience and would consider doing it again. If you have interest in using the Daytona for your project let us know and we'll give it consideration!
Behind the scenes photo during the filming of Scorched Earth. The only one we were allowed to have, unfortunately. Clearly a romance scene of some sort.
Letting Her Go
Naturally, when we were scheduled to ship the car north, the weather was expected to be pretty nasty so we wrapped it up as best as we could. We were extremely nervous as it rolled away but the driver kept in contact during the drive via text and there were no issues. Remember how Han Solo felt just before Lando went to go attack the Death Star? Yeah, it was like that.
We were so uneasy about the prospect of unleashing the Daytona under someone else's supervision that we created a custom user manual. In it we covered every topic we could think of including basic specs, our rules of conduct, and a full overview with simple explanations of the various quirks of the car.
We have no idea if it was helpful or not (or even read at all) but it made us feel better).
Not Without Incident
Apparently, during the filming of one of the action scenes, actor John Hannah tripped and fell backwards into the car hitting his head pretty hard. I t must have been fairly serious considering the size of the dent in the door. Hopefully he didn't have to pick too much yellow paint out his scalp.
While we were disappointed to see the damage, the team at Lighthouse were really great about working with us to get quotes and compensate us for the incident.They also apologized profusely for failing to report the incident before shipping the car back. We've decided to leave the damage in place for now as a battle scar from the gig and honestly it makes for a cool story.
Actor John Hannah, clearly feeling guilty about what he had done.
When the car returned from Canada, there was a minor problem in the form of a sizable dent in the passenger door that wasn't there when it left. Ouch!
Funny Story
““You’ve got a lot of power there. Use it. Get the car sideways. That’s why it’s there!””
Filming took place during Spring 2016 for a month or so. The Daytona was scheduled to be there for the duration but in what capacity wasn't really clear. The stunt coordinator was in contact with me on an almost weekly basis letting us know how things were going but, as one can expect with film production, he was purposely vague. During one conversation, I asked specifically what they were doing with the car, primarily because up to that point we really didn't know and the curiosity was killing me.
"Oh, we're just cruising around the set at 25 to 35 MPH, nothing serious," he said presumable trying to be reassuring.
"Really?" I said back, a bit dismayed. "You've got a lot of power there. Use it. The camera loves that car when it's spitting up dirt. Don't be too crazy but don't be afraid to get on it. Get the car sideways. That's why it's there!"
I don't remember exactly how I worded but it was something to that effect. I have no idea (because we haven't yet seen the movie) if the advice was heeded or not, but I remember it being a funny moment of role reversal. Instead of the production team comforting me that all was well with my car I was trying to reassure him that it was okay to get a little wild with it. I guess we'll see :)
-Chris
Look ma, we're on the poster!
