Larry Crowne Film Trailer

The trailer for Larry Crowne holds some excitement for Yamaha Riva fans everywhere! See th trailer here:



And check out Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks scootin' along here:

The film has a July 1st release date. Plan a ride with your local club to see it!


Blog entry soundtrack:

Scooter in Oscar Winner "God of Love"

Last week's lackluster Oscars' ceremony was punctuated by just a few bright spots: seeing Billy Crystal again, some impressive dresses, and the acceptance speech of the seemingly genuine and funny Luke Matheny whose short live action film, "God of Love" won the award in its category. Missed it? Well here it is: [deleted by YouTube].

I was roused awake to see this fine acceptance speech by the montage that included a bit from this film in which a scooter could clearly be seen. Scooters? Well I had to find out more.

The trailer for the film does not show the scooter:



So I tracked down the montage with snippets from all of the films, and indeed, it is a Genuine Stella. I bought the film and thought it was funny, quirky and sweet.
 
Buy it for the pocket change of $1.99 (or $2.99 for HD) and support a young filmmaker. Would be a good film to show at a scooter film night.


Blog entry soundtrack:

Brighton Beach Premiere Brings out Scoots

Helen Mirren attends the European Premiere of Brighton Rock in London, England.

from Tom & Lorenzo/ Project Rungay Thanks to Lara for pointing this out.

Brighton Rock trailer

The film is based on the book by Graham Greene, and was originally made into a film in 1947 with a young, dangerous Richard Attenborough.  Early reviews trash it, but I'll see it bacause it is now set in 1964 with Mods & Rockers clashing it up.The film debuts in the UK on Feb. 2.






Still from the film. Read the "pre-review" from a very passionate Simon Heffer at the Telegraph.

Scooters in New Film "Exit Through the Gift Shop"

Just saw the new street art documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop which was an interesting and funny film about the world of street art, more specifically about the way that street art can be co-opted by society and transformed by money. There are a few shots of street artists using scooters to transport themselves in France and England. One shot even has the infamous and blurred-face Banksy holding a helmet. Perhaps he's a scooterist?
Here's a preview:

Tom Hanks/ Julia Roberts film with scooters?

In a story on Julia Roberts' career, the Los Angeles Times included this tidbit of info:

...Now comes word that Roberts is taking on another lead role, with 'Charlie Wilson’s War' buddy Tom Hanks writing and directing a movie for the two of them about a man re-inventing his life at middle age. The man endures a midlife crisis and joins a kids' Vespa gang; Roberts plays an instructor at a school that Hanks' character enrolls in...

This must be one of the reasons that Tom Hanks bought a new Genuine Buddy from Route 66 Modern Classics last year.  My guess is that like most mainstream media, the scooters are not actually Vespa(r) scooters but the generic "vespa" scooter which is much like Kleenex and Xerox. But we'll have to see.

Internet Movie Database has 8 films listed in development for Roberts. Wanna guess which one you think it is?

1. Happiness Sold Separately
   
2. Youngblood 
3. Hothouse Flowers 
4. In the Neighborhood
   
5. Monte Carlo 
6. A Flowering Evil 
7. The Friday Night Knitting Club 
8. Birds in Fall 

My money (which is Monopoly money by the way ) is on #1.

New UK Film Needs Scooterists

A new film is looking for 200 scooterists to act as extras with bikes predating 1965, according to the BBC. The film is a remake of the original Brighton Rock from 1947 with a young Richard Attenborough. While us US scooterists can't be in the film, keep an eye out for it when it appears in 2010.

New Film: We Are the Mods

Independent filmmaker E.E. Cassidy's new film We Are the Mods is on the festival circuit, appearing next week at Outfest in Los Angeles on July 18th. For more info on the director and the film read this indieWire interview.

Watch the trailer.

LA Times: Motos in Movies

L.A. Times motorcycle reporter Susan Carpenter recently posted a story about motorcycles and scooters appearing in films. It's no accident that we see actors riding macho motorcycles or quaint scooters. A person's transportation says a lot about them, and those non-verbal cues are also exploited in films. What did it convey when The Terminator rode a Harley wearing a tough leather jacket? What do filmmakers want the audience to know about a character when he or she rides a scooter?

Let's forget about Roman Holiday for a moment as I think the science of product placement wasn't quite dialed in. And Quadrophenia is totally another ballgame...

Here are some notable films with characters riding scooters.


Saved: Patrick Fugit is the son of a Christian school principal who not only rides a skateboard, but he also has messy hair and drives a Vespa. His scooter adds another layer to his outcast nature, and gives him a cool ride to give Jenna Malone a lift. The filmmakers obviously wanted him to be both cool and on the outside.

American Pie:
Finch, the friend in he film's group who had more refined taste, and was a 40-year-old in a teenage body rode a scooter. Of course, he stalled it in front of his friends to their amusement. He's a quirky character who seems out of place and from another time, thus he pursues his friend's mother. I liked Finch best! Can you believe that it has been 10 years since this film debuted?



Vampires Anonymous:
A small indie film, but with the benefit of Michael Madsen (rahr!). The film's protagonist, Vic, is a vampire trying to go clean. He enters a AA-style rehab plan where Madsen is his sponsor who teaches him how to feat on sheep instead of humans. He is sent to a small town to lay low. His sponsors tell him to blend in and not look conspicuous. Instead he shows up to his new backwater country town in a slim cut suit on a mod-style Vespa. Of course he stands out and his charm and uniqueness get him The Girl, but those qualities also make him the target of local ridicule from town jocks. In this film, the scooter was chosen to make the character standout from his rural surroundings and give him an outsider appeal. A fun independent film.

I could go on, but let's hear about your favorite scooter-riding film characters.


Blog entry soundtrack: "I Like the Rose" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Vespa in new Sacha Baron Cohen film

Cohen's new film, Bruno has him playing another foreign goofball. The trailer shows him tearing off on a scooter with an adopted African baby on a Vespa. This film is sure to shock, offend and amuse.

The Cake Eaters- indie film with scooters

Mary Stuart Masterson's film directorial debut, The Cake Eaters opened in limited release last month and is making its way around the film festival circuit. The film features a character who rides a Vespa ET, although I can't tell if it is a 50 or 150 from the trailer.

While the film is still showing in limited areas, you can order it on DVD from Netflix.

Thanks to Josh for the tip.



UPDATE 4/22: I saw this film this past weekend. Only a small amount of scooter action. An interesting indie film, but the ending was lacking.

Scooter movie: Yes Man

The new Jim Carrey movie co-stars Zooey Deschanel who rides a scooter. Looks like a Honda Mojito/Habana type scooter.

You can also download a desktop with Zooey on the scooter at the film's website.

Added 1/19/08:

In response to the comment about the Aprilia Mojito. Yes! I spaced that one out. My feeble brain meant to type "Joker/Mojito/Habana" and I left Honda as a placeholder until I could confirm whether the right name was a Shadow or Joker. Both bikes are similar. See below:
Honda Joker/ Shadow





I originally saw the Habana in England in 2004 and *loved* it, but when they brought it here and we could only get the 50cc with a classic headset, I was bummed out. Me no likey the open headset. I really wanted a 150 with an enclosed headset. If I had a bazillion dollars and could create my own scooter...

Jimmy's Quadrophenia Lammy for sale

Josh found this post on the uber-cool blog Retro To Go about the bike used as Jimmy's bike in the Who's film Quadrophenia.

A piece of movie history is going through Bonham's auction room later this month - the scooter rode by Jimmy Cooper in the cult mod flick Quadrophenia, complete with its original KRU 251F number plate.

It's a Lambretta Li 150 Series 3 scooter, originally dating from 1967 and being sold by current owners Allstyles in Portsmouth. The bike is on its third owner since the movie finished, but has been overhauled to a high standard fairly recently - although this does mean some of the original parts have been replaced by modern spares. Its recent used has been mainly confined to shows and press events of late - a possible money spinner should you want to invest in it.

And it might need to earn its keep, with a hefty estimate being quoted by Bonham's, between £20,000 and £25,000. Check over the page for a picture of the bike in the movie or check out the Bonham's site for more on the bike. The auction is being hosted at the Knightsbridge branch on 25th November 2008.

Place your bid now...

Scooter Collector Alert: Movie Posters

Recently I was doing some work on a new book of movie poster art called, "Art of the Modern Movie Poster" which collects 1,500 post-WWII film posters from 15 different countries/regions. It is a gorgeous book and a great gift for film buffs and collectors. The posters come from the collection of Posteritati, a shop in New York City. I spoke with the shop' owner and asked (of course) if he had any film posters with scooter on them. Coincidentally, he said that their website has a search tool where you can look up by subject and "vespas and scooters" is one of them. Tuns out that they have a few on sale there and I just had to buy one for my boyfriend for x-mas. Don't tell him. He won't find out here because he never reads my blog :( so for now it works.

If you are looking for a cool gift or just want to further add to your scooter items collection, check out Posteritati and bookmark it for future searches.

BTW- the book has a cool Quadrophenia poster that I'd love to get my hands on!


Here's the Ferry Across the Mercy poster that I bought. Apparently, in Argentina they prefer All are Well or Everything is Great:

Poll is Closed

Well, my first poll wasn't a HUGE success, but it did yield some interesting results. Of course Quadrophenia won out as favorite film. I love it but didn't vote for it since it is too obvious and I have seen it a million times.

It was a dead heat between Repo Man, Saved!, and Roman Holiday. All great movies and all with memorable scooter scenes.

Slightly behind were American Pie and American Graffiti. Interesting since both have dorky guys who have problems getting their Vespas to run. I was thinking that both of them wore plaid shirts, but now that I think of it, I think Ron Howard wore the plaid in Graffiti, and Finch in Pie was wearing a jacket,so maybe my theory was false. Oh, another commonality: the scooter-riding character in Graffiti was nicknamed The Toad, but I think he told Candy Clark that is name was Tiger. Am I right on that one?

Well, anyways if you want to see a good list of films that have scooters in them, check out this page from the Santa Monica Scooter Club. It is quite comprehensive, but I noticed that The Legend of Billie Jean was missing. My poll overlooked The Talented Mister Ripley. For shame!

Vote in my poll...

I just installed a polling add-on to this blog and decided I'd ask people what their fave scooter film was. Unfortunately, it doesn't allow you to type in your own. So I came up with an odd list. Give it a vote and if I missed your fave, leave it in the comments section of this post.

Subway + Get Smart Contest

Another movie/scooter tie-in:
Secret agents in search of fresh fare and the ideal getaway
ride can receive a free $5 SUBWAY(R) card with a test drive or product
demonstration at all Vespa dealers. Participants in SUBWAY(R) restaurant's
Get Smart Eat Fresh Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes will receive a message
to take advantage of a special offer to receive a free Vespa Soft-Touch
helmet, a $300-value, with the purchase of a new Vespa scooter. The online,
print and in-store promotions run June 2 through August 10, 2008 at all
Vespa dealers and more than 21,500 SUBWAY(R) restaurants in the U.S.

In
addition to potentially winning a Vespa GTS or LX 50 scooter via SUBWAY(R)
restaurant's Get Smart, Eat Fresh Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes, amateur
agents are also invited to follow the links to print out a coupon good for
one of the latest Vespa Soft Touch or Piaggio Copter helmets, available www.subwayfreshbuzz.com free
of charge with the purchase of a new Vespa scooter. SUBWAY(R) restaurant's
Instant Win Game and Sweepstakes details are a click away at
, via a special movie-themed microsite. Even if you
don't play the Instant Win Game, all consumers over the age of 18 are
invited to visit a Vespa dealer to receive a free $5 SUBWAY(R) card,
available with a Vespa test ride or product demonstration. Consumers can
learn more about the free $5 SUBWAY(R) card offer at www.VespaUSA.com.

"Penelope" Puts Ricci & Witherspoon on Vespa

I'm eager to see the new film, Penelope, starring Christina Ricci. There's been lots of media coverage about the fact that Ricci plays a girl born with a pig's nose, but I'm more interested in the scooter that she and Reese Witherspoon ride. For some reason (and this happens a lot) pictures of scooters in films are elusive. But, I did a sneaky screen grab off of the movie's official website for this pic of Witherspoon with the Vespa.

While I doubt I could sit through Fool's Gold, I think this film will be an enjoyable one to watch. Not to mention that there is something oddly appealing about a scruffy James McAvoy. I am such a sucker for accents. Let's hope I never have to work in the UK. People could steal my purse and I'd never know...I'd be too charmed by the accent.

Back to my original post....you can go to the film's official site and see the trailer which has a few shots of the actresses riding. But for the full thing, you'll need to see the film which opens February 29th.

Scooter in Fool's Gold

The new Matthew McConaughey Kate Hudson film Fool's Gold has the leads riding a scooter off a cliff into the water. The film is about treasure hunting ex-spouses and promises to be an action/adventure/romantic comedy. Can't imagine it will be that great, but I may rent it for the scooter footage.Opens February 8th. If anyone sees it & wants to pass on a mini-review, lemme know.

Thanks to Josh for the tip!

Scooter Movies

I've beeen playing with the idea of adding a feature to the Scoot! website that lists films that contain scooters. For a few years, I've kept a spreadsheet on my computer that listed films that I've seen. G'head and call me a scooter nerd...

I've also been amassing any VHS and DVDs that have scooters in them for movie nights. These care TV commercials, TV shows, music videos etc.

Does anyone find this an intersting enterprise? I think it would be a cool resource, but I'mnot sure how many people would actually get a kick out of it.

If you think you'd use such a sthing, let me know. Also, if you know of any unusual films or bits of video, lemme know. An up front qualifier: No Quadrophenia! (Isn't everyone sick of that one already?), no Lambretta Twist or Adidas soccer commercials. I've got those! :) Also, no You Tube links unless you know that they are source materials.

You've got your mission... ;)