by Wallace Wyss –
A movie studio called Gunpowder & Sky, (yes,I know that’s an odd name for a movie company) announced last week that they will have a “Monterey Car Week” screening of McLaren, a documentary based on the life of Bruce McLaren, the legendary racing champion, designer, engineer and founder of the iconic supercar brand that bears his name.
The screening is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on Friday, August 18, at the historic Golden State Theater in downtown Monterey. Tickets are available at McLarenFilmUsa.com.
McLaren was a New Zealander who got his love of cars from working in his father’s auto shop in Auckland. He worked his way up in racing to become the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix. He died young, at 32, in a testing accident.
The documentary features interviews of his closest friends and family members.
Directed by Roger Donaldson, McLaren was written by Matthew Metcalfe, Tim Woodhouse and James Brown, with Fraser Brown and Metcalfe producing. The film was made by General Film Corporation and Universal Pictures in association with the New Zealand Film Commission, Images & Sound, The Giltrap Group and FB Pictures, with funding through the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Funding Grant and financing from the ANZ Bank.
The producers thought that Monterey Car Week presented an ideal setting for a special screening. Several new model McLarens are expected to be on display at the screening.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in NY and London, Gunpowder & Sky was founded by Van Toffler, Floris Bauer and Otter Media, a joint venture of AT&T and The Chernin Group.
For additional information, film trailers and tickets, please visit McLarenFilmUsa.com
THE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss hopes to give a report on the film for My Car Quest readers.
I lived in Newport Beach in 1968 , working on the Reuben E Lee floating restaurant . I attended Riverside Raceway for Can Am series of races & as an Aussie was thrilled to see our NZ neighbours McLaren & Denny Hulme driving Bruce’s own cars and knocking the socks off all the other competitors and totally dominating the series . It’s a pity that so a young genius lost his life in England at only 32 testing one of his cars . Poor Denny lost his life in a huge accident doing 140 mph on Conrod Straight in the annual Bathurst 1000 driving a BMW M3 . Love to see this latest movie when it comes here .
Actually Wayne, Denny Hulme died as a result of a massive heart attack while competing at Bathurst, it wasn’t the crash that killed him.
I hope all your readers have seen – or intend to see – the McLaren movie, if not in a cinema then on DVD. I went to a “for one night only” showing at my favourite local picture house, The Savoy in Heaton Moor, Stockport, England. The auditorium wasn’t full, but there were plenty in attendance. I cannot recommend the film highly enough. I watched the audience file out at the end and it was clear most were deeply moved. There was a tear in my eye too, but please don’t be misled: this is not a movie overladen with schmaltz. Most of the audience were “of a certain age”, but younger people should see the film too: anyone who thinks McLaren is just a Formula One team that makes road cars run, until recently, by Ron Dennis will receive a rude awakening and an education!