Word association time! I only have one, and here it is: DeLorean.
If you didn't respond with "Back to the Future" or some obvious derivation thereof -- Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, flux capacitor, hoverboards, time travel -- then we just don't speak the same language. In the wide world of pop culture, John DeLorean's stainless steel automobile -- the DMC-12 -- is primarily known for its starring role as the time machine in "Back to the Future."
The real story of DeLorean's car and the company that produced it is far more sordid. Enough that the creator will be the subject of a biopic to be produced by Time Inc. Studios and XYZ Films, according to a report in Variety.
Time/XYZ are not alone in their pursuit of a John DeLorean biopic. They are in fact the third group to join the party of filmmakers looking to tell the auto-maker's story. Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour") is pursuing a DeLorean project of his own for India's Reliance Big Entertainment, with which he has a first-look deal. Ratner hopes to direct, with James Toback delivering a script and Robert Evans producing.
Also in the queue are producers David Permut and Steven Lee Jones, who may have a heads-up on the competition as they own the life rights of DeLorean's lawyer, Mayer Morganroth. Alternatively, Time/XYZ own rights to the story via a number of sources: Time and Fortune articles, a DeLorean biography and DeLorean's unpublished memoirs. The Time/XYZ pairing also boasts cooperation from DeLorean's friend Fred Dellis as well as his son Zachary.
DeLorean's story is a pretty wild one, perfect biopic fodder. The car itself was a spectacular failure, and serves as an object lesson to all automakers of the dangers inherent to covering your vehicle with stainless steel panels (it rusts). The wacky only blossoms from there, as DeLorean was arrested in 1982 on drug trafficking charges. It was believed that the "side job" was meant to save his struggling company, though in the end, only 9,000 DeLoreans ever rolled off the assembly lines.
Do you have any DeLorean associations beyond "Back to the Future"? Are you interested now that you know the gist of the real-life story? Which of the three projects are you most looking forward to seeing on the silver screen?
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