Wanted: Producer/production company to develop the below "doccie" More details + pics of this '61 "burb in the bush" + other African "bush" vehicles on receipt of resume/webite. Email. fitzwinslow@mail.com
"RETURN TO SENDER"
Howzit!
On a recent South African "safari" up near the Cullinan mine, where the famous "Star of Africa diamond was discovered in 1905, I found my own "diamond in the rough"- a rare left hand drive, 5/7 seater '61 Chevrolet Suburban.. Incredibly, after lying out under the harsh African sun for the last 30 years, the body had only minor rust. Granted it needed a bit of work but the only thing that really concerned me was the badly damaged,(yellow/black) curved shaped windscreen. The owner, Monty (83), a sun baked, wily African Boer said he'd sell it to me but only if I accepted his challenge - TO RETURN THE VEHICLE TO GM HEADQUARTERS! Somewhat amused, I told him I'd think it over and set off to check out another classic - a '35 Chevy Pick Up, on the Skeleton Coast, a heavily restricted diamond mining area in Namibia
Driving through the sweltering Namibian desert, my thoughts kept returning to that "burb in the bush". I just couldn't leave it there to "RIP" (rust in peace! This old classic had plenty of life left in it. Suddenly, I got an idea. Why not take up Monty's challenge? I'd simply fix it up, ship it to Buenos Aires, drive it West over the Andes into Chile, on up through South / Central America / Mexico, right up to GM's Detroit car park! Who knows, maybe those GM marketing lads could use this old Chevy for a unique publicity campaign or simply, exhibit it in their museum! With some serious current losses, these lads needed all the help they could get!
Over a well earned, cold beer in the Namibian coastal town of Luederitz, another idea came into my head! Why not make a road trip TV show? Surely viewers and those TV network lads must be fed up with all those reality shows? Here was a real life adventure! Everything was in place - a cool, rugged, weather-beaten vehicle, spectacular scenery, plenty of classics to track down and interesting characters to interview. I had the time, passion, experience, energy and with all my Cape Town movie contacts, it wouldn't be difficult to round up a motley crew of 3/4. There was only one obstacle - dosh!
Sadly, I wasn't exactly flush having invested considerably in my own '40's -'60's collection of Bentleys / Chevy Pick Ups and so on. Granted, renting them out as Cape Town movie "prop" vehicles did pay for some of those costly "hospital" bills but if I was going to restore/ship this old Chevy across the Atlantic and film the whole adventure, I needed a partner whose investment could be recouped from TV/DVD network sales. Any adventurous souls out there?
Perhaps the next time one of your golfing buddies asks you " What's up Hank?" "Well actually Tom, I'm making a road trip movie!
Slan! The Celt!
PS. On a recent "safari" I discovered a '53 Chevy hearse which looks like something from an early Bond movie or used by Papa Doc's dreaded secret police, the Ton ton Macute to "voodoo" terrorize local Haitians. I may just paint it cream/black, tint the windows and approach Guinness (my favourite drink) to find out whether they'd be interested in launching a unique marketing campaign. "Dead on Time" could be a cool logo!
Slan - the Celt!
"RETURN TO SENDER"
Howzit!
On a recent South African "safari" up near the Cullinan mine, where the famous "Star of Africa diamond was discovered in 1905, I found my own "diamond in the rough"- a rare left hand drive, 5/7 seater '61 Chevrolet Suburban.. Incredibly, after lying out under the harsh African sun for the last 30 years, the body had only minor rust. Granted it needed a bit of work but the only thing that really concerned me was the badly damaged,(yellow/black) curved shaped windscreen. The owner, Monty (83), a sun baked, wily African Boer said he'd sell it to me but only if I accepted his challenge - TO RETURN THE VEHICLE TO GM HEADQUARTERS! Somewhat amused, I told him I'd think it over and set off to check out another classic - a '35 Chevy Pick Up, on the Skeleton Coast, a heavily restricted diamond mining area in Namibia
Driving through the sweltering Namibian desert, my thoughts kept returning to that "burb in the bush". I just couldn't leave it there to "RIP" (rust in peace! This old classic had plenty of life left in it. Suddenly, I got an idea. Why not take up Monty's challenge? I'd simply fix it up, ship it to Buenos Aires, drive it West over the Andes into Chile, on up through South / Central America / Mexico, right up to GM's Detroit car park! Who knows, maybe those GM marketing lads could use this old Chevy for a unique publicity campaign or simply, exhibit it in their museum! With some serious current losses, these lads needed all the help they could get!
Over a well earned, cold beer in the Namibian coastal town of Luederitz, another idea came into my head! Why not make a road trip TV show? Surely viewers and those TV network lads must be fed up with all those reality shows? Here was a real life adventure! Everything was in place - a cool, rugged, weather-beaten vehicle, spectacular scenery, plenty of classics to track down and interesting characters to interview. I had the time, passion, experience, energy and with all my Cape Town movie contacts, it wouldn't be difficult to round up a motley crew of 3/4. There was only one obstacle - dosh!
Sadly, I wasn't exactly flush having invested considerably in my own '40's -'60's collection of Bentleys / Chevy Pick Ups and so on. Granted, renting them out as Cape Town movie "prop" vehicles did pay for some of those costly "hospital" bills but if I was going to restore/ship this old Chevy across the Atlantic and film the whole adventure, I needed a partner whose investment could be recouped from TV/DVD network sales. Any adventurous souls out there?
Perhaps the next time one of your golfing buddies asks you " What's up Hank?" "Well actually Tom, I'm making a road trip movie!
Slan! The Celt!
PS. On a recent "safari" I discovered a '53 Chevy hearse which looks like something from an early Bond movie or used by Papa Doc's dreaded secret police, the Ton ton Macute to "voodoo" terrorize local Haitians. I may just paint it cream/black, tint the windows and approach Guinness (my favourite drink) to find out whether they'd be interested in launching a unique marketing campaign. "Dead on Time" could be a cool logo!
Slan - the Celt!