SPEED To Present Two-Hour Thanksgiving Night Special, Hollywood's Hottest Car Chases

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SPEED To Present Two-Hour Thanksgiving Night Special, Hollywood’s Hottest Car Chases

Hollywood’s Hottest Car Chases features more than 40 movies and chronicles over 40 years of automotive hi-jinx, danger and excitement...

David Harris | Posted October 26, 2010 Charlotte, NC

Hollywood’s Hottest Car Chases premieres Thanksgiving Night at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on SPEED.

SPEED™ TO PRESENT TWO-HOUR THANKSGIVING NIGHT SPECIAL (8 PM ET/5 PM PT) HOLLYWOOD’S HOTTEST CAR CHASES

SHOW CHRONICLES MORE THAN 40 YEARS of GREAT MOVIE CAR CHASES FROM BULLITT & THE FRENCH CONNECTION to THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS & THE BOURNE IDENTITY

EVENING KICKS OFF SECOND SPEED DREAM RIDE CONSUMER SWEEPSTAKES

Action, drama and hair-raising moments have long been a silver screen staple. Nothing exhibits these traits more than a perfect Hollywood-inspired car chase. In fact, these scenes have defined the success of famous films like the 1968 police drama, Bullitt, the original 1971 police mystery, The French Connection, and a more recent offering, The Bourne Identity. Everyone has their favorite – or dozen.

But how were they made? Who created these scenes? How has the movie car chase evolved? Which cars were completely destroyed?

All of these questions and more will be answered Thanksgiving Night when national cable television network, SPEED, premieres a two-hour special, Hollywood’s Hottest Car Chases at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Produced by Pangolin Pictures in association with launching the SPEED Dream Ride II consumer sweepstakes, the program will span more than 40 years of automotive hi-jinx, danger and excitement.

“The expression ‘cut to the chase’ came to mind and we decided to take it literally,” said Robert Ecker, SPEED VP of Programming & Executive Producer. “The title says it all.”

Win your spot on the 2010 SPEED Dream Ride! www.SpeedDreamRide.com(Image: SPEED)

With more than 40 movies featured throughout, the show takes a comprehensive approach to Hollywood’s car chase genre.

“It is going to be a fun, adrenaline soaked, fast-moving show that puts you on the edge of your seat as you watch each one,” said Joey Allen, Pangolin Pictures VP of Production & show supervising producer. “We definitely didn’t want to do a ‘top 10’ or rank the chases, as much as we wanted to honor the greatest ones.

“If you go on the web, you’ll find countless websites of people debating which are the greatest chases, which ones used green screens, ones that didn’t, going back to the traditional ones (like) Bullitt and The French Connection. Then there are the new ones like The Dark Knight and The Fast and The Furious. Everyone has their opinions on what makes a good chase. Our general take on it was to honor the chases and break them down piece by piece. We wanted to show, ‘Why does this (chase) belong on ‘the greatest’ list?’”

The show will be segmented, looking at how car chases evolved over a period of time, including shot angles, dramatic sequencing and planning. The audience will be able to re-live many of their favorite scenes through the eyes and context of those who created them. Allen described what to expect:

“Originally, we looked at going chronologically, but felt we were only going to be showing old ones, so what we came up with was eight different themes the movies could fall under. So for example, the themes we’re looking at include street racers, professional drivers, cops, racing and outlaws who aren’t good, but not necessarily bad, yet often on the shady side of the law.

“We’ve had access to a lot of the directors, a lot of the stunt men who actually worked on the movies, and there’s a lot of great ‘how’d they do that?’ tidbits,” Allen continued. “Everything from why they chose a particular type of car to how they were able to get the shots is examined.”

The SPEED Dream Ride II campaign is supported by www.speeddreamride.com, an Internet micro-site hosted by the network Web site www.SPEED.com (Keyword: “Dream Ride”). The micro-site, which opens Nov. 1, will offer sweepstakes entry beginning Thanksgiving Day, “SPEED Dream Ride 2” video teasers and promotional content, as well as prize information and program schedules.

Hollywood’s Hottest Car Chases on Thanksgiving Night (8 pm ET/5 pm PT) also will provide a sneak peek into five new original series set to premiere on SPEED next February. It will be the largest and most significant roll-out of new original programming in network history.

About SPEED™ - SPEED, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation’s first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. Now available in more than 80 million homes in North America, SPEED, a member of the FOX Sports Media Group, is among the industry leaders in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEED.com, the online motor sports authority.

About FOX Sports Media Group - FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) is the umbrella entity representing News Corporation’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets under Chairman & CEO David Hill. Built with brands that are capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FSMG includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FSMG now includes FOX Sports, the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; Fox’s 19 regional sports networks, their affiliated regional web sites and FSN national programming; SPEED and SPEED2; Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus; FUEL TV; and Fox College Sports. In addition, FSMG also includes FOX Sports Interactive Media, which comprises FOXSports.com on MSN, whatifsports.com and scout.com, reaching over 20 million unique visitors monthly. Also included are Fox’s interests in joint-venture businesses FOX Deportes, Big Ten Network and STATS, LLC, as well as licensing agreements that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network, FOX Sports Skybox restaurants and FOX Sports Grills.