Tuesday, December 9, 2008

A great design could save a car company


America and the rest of the world loves cars.  The Post Office issued Fins & Chrome stamps, the movie CARS did some business, and oil or no oil, America is still on wheels. Kids sketch cars in their notebooks and when they get older, slide under them in their driveways.

In our car script, STREAMLINED, three teenage misfits enter a car design contest. When their entry is wrecked, they make an amazing discovery and go on to victory with the help of Raymond Loewy, from on high, and the Lost Studebaker of 1964.

David is French, cocky and mechanical. Cullen is younger, an eager-to-please computer genius. Riley is a leggy sculptress from New York transplanted to South Bend, Indiana.

With the encouragement of a mysterious black gentleman driving a tricked-out Greyhound, they hook up with an engine designer named Ed, who in his grumpy way, teaches them as much about pride and excellence as about building cars.

When their concept car is destroyed, only the Greyhound remains. The kids learn its secret, then whirl onto the track, driving their magically inspired vehicle to a breathtaking climax.

Ross Stansfield and I are writers, filmmakers, and winners of a Telly for a short we made several years ago called OMNIFAX, which showed in New York and Los Angeles.

The great industrial designer Raymond Loewy's late daughter Laurence supported this project.

Want to make a movie--celebrate a time and a car--and have some fun? Many people think the Lost Studebaker of 1964 could have saved the company. No gigantic bailout needed.

Coolness would have done it.

No comments: