The Motoring Journal

"Introducing Stephen Mitchell, our newest contributor. Steve is a known Filmmaker, novelist and branding specialist but above all, a Ferrari enthusiast! Among the many collector cars he has owned, he had the pleasure of owning Ferrari 250 GTO #3987 which we will let him tell us about in another issue. You can enjoy his blog here http://emcpb.blogspot.com/ Welcome to the Motoring Journal team of car fanatics Stephen!"

http://www.themotoringjournal.com/

Thank you, Chris!

Riverside International Automotive Museum

After Marc Sonnery's recent visit to Elysée Wednesday, he invited me to visit the Riverside International Automotive Museum which is owned by his friend Doug Magnon. Riverside Raceway played a large part in my formation as a racing enthusiast but I had never visited this museum and was glad for the opportunity.

We met for a delicious lunch at Magnone Trattoria after which we made the short drive to the museum where race cars and memorabilia are on display. What I did not expect to see was the interesting array of Maseratis in evidence. I have owned and driven a number of Maseratis and this is the first time I've seen a museum that is dedicated to the brand to such a degree. One can actually see an active restoration in progress with a Maserati Sebring being brought back from a neglected condition on the day of my visit. This shouldn't have come as too great a surprise as Marc is a dyed-in-the-wool Maserati aficionado having owned and loved a Khamsin so who better to conduct the guided tour? His newest book is on the subject: Maserati - the Citroen Years 1968 - 1975.
http://www.eaurougepublishing.com/

The museum can accommodate group events and catering lunch or dinner on the premises is not uncommon for car clubs looking to stage a special event. It occurred to me that it would make an interesting drive for Kenny Lombino to make on one of his Ferrari Club of America drives.
http://www.riversideinternational.org/Welcome_to_the_Riverside_International_Automotive_Museum.html

 

Ferrari 250GTO at Infineon

This is a clip of a Ferrari 250 GTO negotiating a turn at Infineon Raceway during the 45th anniversary event organized by Jean Berchon of Moët & Chandon. It was a great track day with some very enthusiastic drivers!

Chad McQueen, Derek Bell, Vic Elford: Le Mans

Last night I attended a panel discussion followed by a screening of the Steve McQueen film Le Mans as the guest of Jay Huffschmidt and Beverly Hills Porsche. The event was part of the on-going TCM Classic Film Festival and it was an outstanding evening.

 The pre-event panel was held across the street at the Hollywood Roosevelt and featured Chad McQueen and drivers Derek Bell and Vic Elford--an evening of legend.

Though I saw Le Mans on the day of its Los Angeles release and many times since then on cable and DVD, it was a treat to see it again on the big screen and enjoy the sights and sounds that are now long gone. As Vic, Derek and Chad agreed, the world of diesel racers at Le Mans lacks the aural excitement of those magnificent Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s.

As a side note, I spoke briefly with Chad at the end of the panel discussion and remarked that he and his father shared a particular mannerism. Not unusual, but it brought back a vivid memory of my conversation with his father so long ago at the Chez Club.

Thanks, again, to Jay Huffschmidt and Beverly Hills Porsche!

Matthew Ettinger at Elysée Wednesday

Matthew Ettinger tells a Ferrari-related anecdote to Jay Huffschmidt of Beverly Hills Porsche at our Elysée Wednesday gathering. Matthew has been using Ebay to his benefit the way some have used the NYSE. In this instance, a buyer surprised him.

Marc Sonnery, author of Rebel, Rebel at Elysée Wednesday

Last night was a special occasion at Elysée Wednesday. Marc Sonnery, author of Rebel, Rebel (the book about the Ferrari Breadvan) joined us and it was the first time I've seen him since I interviewed Marc in Paris and we visited my former GTO at the Louvre where Ralph Lauren had it on display with other cars in his collection.

The local 'inner circle' of Ferrari enthusiasts from a golden era congregated to catch up on unheard anecdotes and other chicanery. Ed Niles (former Breadvan owner and Ferrarista Emeritus), Matthew Ettinger (former Breadvan owner and raconteur extraordinaire), Peter Helm (who shot the GTO footage I narrated of us on Mulholland and at Willow Springs) and I have spent time with each other over the years but it was the first time we had been together in the same location since Matthew crashed one of his Ferraris back in the day. Larry Crane (Automobile Quarterly) is an EW member who has also bridged the time gap with his remarkable photos of my GTO taken at Riverside Raceway in the sixties and his appearance in Elysée Wednesday: Drive! piloting Scott McClure's magnificent Dino.

Marc signed everyone's copy of Rebel, Rebel and anyone missing this opportunity will have another chance in two weeks. His new book on Maserati promises to be an important look at the brand. Marc, by the way, is partial to the Maserati Khamsin.

It was fun to see the reaction of Elysée Wednesday regulars to this somewhat historic event and to see them connect with a magical moment in time.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rebel-Breadvan-Recognizable-Ferrari-World/dp/0981727077/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270816156&sr=8-1

A GTO at the drive-in

When I first got my GTO, I was going to school at night studying film courses that were taught by Peter Gibbons who was head of the camera department and Elliott Bliss who was head of the sound department at CBS Cinema Center on Radford in Studio City. I wanted to take classes that were instructed by industry professionals rather than English teachers looking for extra credit.

One of the benefits of this decision was having access to the sound stage and mixing board at CBS with which to practice and learn. One of our assignments was to remove the sound of a barking dog from a fire chief's recorded speech. I accomplished this removing every one of them and for extra measure, I strung all the dog's barks together at the end of the speech. I think the dog ended up having a longer speech than the chief.

Another benefit of studying with these men was it allowed me to be absent during final exams. Family friend and director Paul Stanley hired me onto the CBS TV movie Sole Survivor which called for me to be out in the California desert for about a month while shooting on El Mirage dry lake bed with a B-25 bomber. Having professors who were directly involved with the production allowed me to take my final exams while on location.

James Crabbe (Rocky, Karate Kid 1 & 2) was the director of photography on that production and he was always interesting to watch as he did his job effortlessly and with unparalleled equanimity. Nothing seemed to bother him. Steve Shagan (Save the Tiger, The Formula) was the executive producer. Steve was also a writer who wrote novels on which some of the films he produced were based.

My most frequent dinner companion during that month was actor Alan Caillou who had been with the Palestine Police in the 1930s and joined the British Army's Intelligence Corps during World War II. He operated behind enemy lines in Libya and Tunisia which resonated with the story of the movie we were making. Alan drove a cycle-fendered Bentley wearing goggles with the windshield folded down and I had often seen him driving around the San Fernando Valley. His stories recounted to me over dinner and margaritas in the dining room of The Green Tree Inn were quite vivid and memorable. Though I drank one for every two of his margaritas at these dinners, all I can say is it was a good thing I could walk back to my room at the end of the evening.

Being the director, Paul was able to have his car--a pristine, 1959 fuel-injected Corvette--on the location and did some high-speed runs on El Mirage on weekends. My GTO remained at home obliged, as I was, to use studio transportation. When I wasn't being regaled by Alan, I was usually having dinner with Paul who would fill me in on the behind-the-scenes developments of the production. Steve Shagan and Richard Basehart, one of the movies' starring actors, would stop by the table for a few words.

I managed straight As in all my cinema courses and also in my Italian class. As for the rest of the curriculum, I couldn't be bothered. I took what I needed and left the rest behind. And so it was that, on some evenings, I didn't attend classes choosing another form of education in its place--one that has continued to serve me well, if truth be told.

What did I do instead of going to class? I drove the GTO to one of three different nearby drive-in movie theaters in the Valley where I would see a double bill featuring movies that inform my taste to this day. You could say I was taking supplemental cinema courses.

Would that I could take the GTO to a drive-in today.

Charles Manson and the 6 degrees of separation

The sixties were a time of change in many ways. Political and cultural upheaval were the order of the day. Fashion and style were evolving quickly. If one has seen video clips of the Beatles' historic first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, one might remember seeing a shot of the camera panning across the audience. What struck me about this shot was that everyone--whether youngster or adult--looked like they were in their fifties or older. It was as un-stylish as a crowd could ever be. All that was about to change.

I met the actor Robert Phillips (The Dirty Dozen, The Killers) on the set of Mission: Impossible--either The Contender or The Council episode, I can't recall which--when Paul Stanley was directing. We met again at a party Paul and Jacqueline Stanley threw at their home in the Pacific Palisades. Robert usually played 'heavies', a movie term for bad guys. He looked like a bad guy but wasn't. We talked about movies and acting and the business, which is to say that I drew him out wanting to learn as much as I could--an instinct that would serve me well a lifetime later with (Interview). Before we parted company that evening, Robert gave me the name of his barber saying he thought I would like him. The name was Jay Sebring.

It was a time when hair stylists were becoming celebrities. Gene Shacove--the inspiration for Warren Beatty's character in the movie Shampoo and an owner of the hot disco The Candy Store--was known for taking care of well-known ladies. Jay Sebring was becoming known as the hair cutter to the male stars of Hollywood with Steve McQueen and Warren Beatty among his clients. I called for an appointment and remember seeing Jay's black Porsche parked in front of Sebring International on Fairfax Avenue when I arrived. I think it was the first time I ever walked away from a haircut without a scowl on my face--probably because the way he cut my hair made it look as though I hadn't had a haircut. I became a regular customer. The photo of me below taken during that period shows his handiwork.

Later, I met Sharon Tate on the set of the Dean Martin film The Wrecking Crew. Jay and Sharon had been a couple before she became involved with Roman Polanski. Thus, I had encountered two of those present at the house on Cielo Drive that terrible evening of August 9, 1969. Another person I'd met was supposed to be there that night but didn't go. His name was Steve McQueen.

 In yet another eerie connection to these events, my friend John Andrews recently had a number of cars stolen from his property in Riverside County. One of them was a very desirable Ferrari 275 GTB/6c which had previously been owned by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Brian would allow the Ferrari to be driven by an acquaintance who ultimately ran the car off the road and into a mountainside at which point Brian lost interest in the car and it passed into the hands of another. The fellow who wrecked the car was none other than Charlie Manson.

Sometimes, six degrees of separation turns into one.

The Question-Asker Chronicles

I have been involved with branding since the early eighties when I founded my film and TV repertory company. Patterning it after the old Hollywood studio system as I did, the process was to brand the talent and then produce material--movies and television shows--to monetize the brand by selling the products we produced in addition to marketing the talent to others in the industry who would to want to use them as well.

Recently, I've been working with my friend Tom Gurnee with his brand and promotion, which has been easy for me to do inasmuch as his brand is easily defined; he is best at playing characters who are quietly menacing, driven and determined. The articulation of his brand is as easy to understand as is the brand slogan "The ultimate driving machine". What is more, when you have Tom in front of you, that definition is what is looking you in the face.

As part of our work, I wrote a monologue for Tom to play with and use whenever he would be asked to do something that could show his skills. I dictated it to him in about three minutes and thought no more of it until Tom suggested we tape it. I had forgotten what I had written, so he kindly sent me a copy of it. Reading it anew, it occurred to me that we should do more than tape it. I felt we should promote the character and idea as the starting concept for a series--whether a series of short, interstitial programs or longer more conventional half-hour or hour long programs didn't matter. I saw the character and the dynamic of his involvement with the unseen recipient of his "question" to be both enigmatic and foreboding. Thoughts of the old Twilight Zone and Dexter came to mind.

We'll see where this goes.

Ignorance is Bliss (excerpt): At the police station

Martin hailed a cab, which turned out to be a police car. The rest of the evening--or rather morning since the police report cited 2:15 am as the time Martin had been taken into custody--was spent entertaining law enforcement while waiting for his attorney to appear. When the man finally showed up, it wasn't the one Martin had been expecting. Instead, it was an attorney he'd met only once in order to finalize Martin's purchase of a racehorse that died a week later.

“Don't say anything to anyone,” the attorney told Martin.

“What do you mean?” Martin wanted to know.

“What do you mean what do I mean?”

“What about my car?” Martin asked him.

“That's exactly what I'm talking about. You're going to need a good criminal firm. There's one in particular that I can recommend.”

“Why would I be in need of a criminal just to report my car stolen?” Both men chose to ignore the mistake.

“Please allow me to advise you against trying to formulate a defense at this stage without the help an attorney.”

Martin wanted to extract a fuller explanation but the man was gone. So, too, was Martin as the police escorted him from the building. Bail had been arranged.

The sergeant waved him off. “Have a nice day, Senator.”

Ignorance is Bliss on Amazon