Mini to Star in New ‘Italian Job’ Movie
After minor roles in a couple of other movies, the Mini gets to be The Star in a new movie with the same name as the one which brought it world fame – ‘The Italian Job’. In this modified 2003 edition of that famous 1970s movie, mastermind thief Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) pulls off an amazing gold bullion heist from a heavily-guarded palazzo in Venice, Italy, only to be double-crossed by one of his crew. Seeking revenge, Charlie recruits Stella Bridger (Charlize Theron), a beautiful nerves-of-steel safecracker, and along with his former gang, follows the backstabber to California where they plan to re-steal the gold by tapping into Los Angeles’ complex traffic control system, then manipulating signals to create havoc on the streets of L.A.
Though no stranger to major traffic jams, the city of Los Angeles has yet to experience what filmmakers of ‘The Italian Job’ produced on film. In fact, it took extensive planning to shut down two blocks of Hollywood Boulevard, right where Mann’s Chinese Theatre, the Kodak Theatre and the El Capitan Theatre are located.
“We literally controlled those streets for a week, and that’s a big deal,” said producer Donald De Line. “We had 300 cars and several armoured trucks on the ground, helicopters flying low overhead, and motorcycles and Minis driving down the stars on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ sidewalk.”
The elaborate stunt sequences had the little cars performing spectacular jumps, withstanding numerous bullet hits and surviving a series of narrow scrapes. The actors even drove the Minis into the Metro Rail entrance on Hollywood Boulevard, down the stairs and into the subway station! Although audiences will see only three Minis – one red, one white and one blue – the BMW Group provided a total of 32 cars for filming.
Director F. Gary Gray admitted that the movie wouldn’t have been the same without the charismatic little cars. “The Mini’s personality is a major driving force behind the third-act chase,” said Gray, who sent his actors and actresses to driving school so that they could better understand the Mini’s manoeuvrability. “They’re quick, they’re nimble, they’re compact, and they happen to be very stylish as well.”
“It’s really just a lovely car to drive,” said Charlize Theron, who thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of driving school and learning how to really push the MINI to its limits.
“It’s not every day that you get to drive a car on the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard over the stars of James Dean and Jean Harlow!” she added.
Produced by Paramount Studios, ’The Italian Job’ is due for a US-only premiere on May 30th (other countries will get it later).
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