SmokeyAndTheBandit Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Have you ever thought, "Gee, I wish somebody would make an update of the 70's classic, Smokey and the Bandit?" Probably not, but it looks like you're going to be getting one anyway. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Craig Brewer, of Hustle and Flow fame, has just signed to write and direct Mother Trucker for New Regency. Trucker will be Brewer's first film since 2006's Black Snake Moan, which was met with mixed reviews to say the least. Brewer has been working on the music-centered Web series $5 Cover for MTV, but he appears to be ready to get back to the big screen.

Trucker is based on an article by Steven Russell, which originally appeared in Maxim magazine. Russell's article was about a man who led the police on a merry chase in a big rig for the noblest of reasons: a sick mom. According to THR, Brewer's script will center on a "man who escapes from jail, steels an 18-wheeler and heads across the South to see his dying mother." The feature was pitched as an "action-comedy", as well as an update on the 1977 Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason chase flick, Smokey and the Bandit.

Back in March, Eric had brought us the news that Brewer would be directing a feature film version of Sudhir Venkatesh's book Gang Leader for a Day, and since Trucker is still in the early stages of development, we will have to see which flick is going to reach the finish line first. Personally, I'm rooting for Gang Leader, because I'm a sucker for all-things 'Freakonomic'. Not to mention the only other 'trucker movies' I could think of were Over the Top and Black Dog, and those particular flicks probably aren't the best calling card for the genre.

Our wonderful friends over at Autoblog have a few movie-related posts this week. I love when Cinematical and Autoblog can share in the interconnection between cinephilia and autophilia, because really what good is a movie without a couple cool cars? Plus, give or take a decade, film and automobiles are roughly the same age, and so their histories are interesting to parallel.

• Frank Filipponio posted Thursday about Hot Rod magazine's list of "Top 40 Car Movies." He points out the mag's editors were biased towards films featuring hot rods, such as #1 on the list, American Graffiti. He also mentions some titles he thinks deserved to be mentioned, such as The Transporter and Cars. I like the list, because I'm not a huge car buff, but I do love all the late '70s/early '80s cars/truckers/dumb cop movies like Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run, and I'm always happy to see them recognized. The list also gives credit to movies with famous car chases, such as The French Connection, and also to at least one historical car movie, Tucker: The Man and His Dream. Also, the list includes a cool key to help you find which movie to watch if you like hot babes, lots of music or teen angst, or if you have a preference for Fords, Chevys or Pontiacs.
  
• Also on Thursday, Alex Nunez wrote up a piece on an Australian promotional tie-in for the home video release of Cars. Inside those Down Under DVDs is a mail-in coupon with which you could win a Holden HSV GTS that is painted to slightly resemble the main character from the Pixar film. For those of you thinking about importing the DVD or even entering online, be aware that the sweepstakes is only open to residents of Australia.
  
• Sunday, Alex reported on the subject of Bond cars and how Ford is very happy to be featured in Casino Royale, not just with the new Aston Martin (typically associated with Bond) but also with their new Ford Mondeo. There's also a little bit of "dissing" going on from the car manufacturer in the direction of Toyota/Lexus.