Hot Rod Indie Film Made by Faith

I caught up with Faith Granger the lady behind the Hot Rod movie, “Deuce of Spades”. Not long ago, I told you more about her in this Blog, but I left out some critical details to the readers at MyRideisMe.com:

She owns a really cool vintage styled 32 hot rod herself and it’s the star of Deuce of Spades and more importantly… Damn! She’s good-lookin too!

Faith wrapped-up the shooting of the painstakingly accurate 40 nostalgia scenes for the movie back in December. Don’t forget this is an independent film done almost entirely by Faith. Any major film company who can make period correct 1950 come alive deserves credit and this is practically a one woman show.

Now, Faith is shooting the scenes when the movie’s back in present time. The first of the 2008 scenes featured hot rod and custom builder Gene Winfield as fictional character “El Mirage George”!! This was filmed live at the last SCTA meet and features quite a few cool race cars.

Faith’s been whispering so many great things about what’s to come including a SoCal drive-in movie premier and hopefully a chance at other drive-in’s around the country. There’s no doubt that would be the perfect place to watch this movie.

Until the films release (I’ll keep you posted!) here are a couple promo shots from the movie. Should I put these in the pinup section or what?

Also, here’s another clip from the movie called “The Jalopy Race.”

Deuce of Spades – The Hot Rod Movie

How long has it been since you were excited about a car movie? Looking back there were a few good car movies, (Who remembers Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry) especially my all time favorite “American Graffiti”. Has there been or will there ever be a car movie with such massive appeal and with an equally massive following? Released in 1973, American Graffiti still spawns clone cars and I saw “John Milner” (Paul Le Mat) at this year’s Grand National Roadster Show. Wikopedia’s got a ton to say about American Graffiti, but none more amazing then this: Graffiti is the highest cost-to-profit success in film history.

When I first saw the trailer for Deuce of Spades, the first thing I thought of was American Graffiti. Deuce of Spades is a true car movie and it’s focused purely on hot rods. I can’t wait. I’m not saying they’re similar, because they’re not!

Faith Granger, the woman (yea, a woman) behind Deuce of Spades tells me, ” American Graffiti is a feel good movie about cruising and coming of age… and having fun.” Deuce of Spades, on the other hand, is “An epic drama. It’s a long, intense, fun and at times a tear-jerker. It’s very dark and deep, inspiring and artistic and fun too! It’s a hot rod film with substance and that in itself has never been attempted.”

More about Faith Granger… I struggled how to describe her then decided to call her the mother of Deuce of Spades. It’s the only thing that fits because she’s doing nearly everything to make this movie:

Its her idea and she wrote it

She’s filming (actually holding the camera!) directing and producing it

She’s editing it and doing about half the music herself (the other half is donated by some cool 50′s style rockabilly artists)

Heck, it’s even her car featured as the star of the movie.

Faith is, in her words, “a Hot Rod girl extraordinaire, renaissance woman, chick of many hats, master juggler, jack of all trades and master of a couple…” No kidding. Faith believes she should have been born in the US, but some how started life in France. A self taught singer/songwriter and guitar player since age 7, at 10, Faith left France for Beirut. 5 months into her stay in Beirut, a civil war broke out. Yea, really! Persevering and eventually finding success in music, radio and even some modeling and acting, she followed her heart and landed in Los Angeles with a suitcase and $400.

That doesn’t sound like somone who can make a convincing hot rod movie does it? There’s more. Faith’s passion for all things mechanical started when she was 12. Everything from sneaking a peak at a mechanic’s handbook under her desk in class to tearing apart her dad’s carb to clean it, Faith liked to get her hands dirty and says, “I was a real tomboy.” She started with motorcycles, then a couple years later go into cars. Finally, she got her hands on the smooth deuce roadster in the film. (more on that in another blog)

Fast forward to January 2007 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA. Faith, to celebrate her Deuce roadster’s 75th birthday, Faith decided to make a short movie called “Last of the Hiboy Girls” honoring women and their old Ford roadsters. As Faith enjoyed watching the car show audience stop and spend a full hour watching her movie (forgetting about the rest of the show) she knew she had to make her own featured film. Deuce of Spades was born. A film true to the era, true to the cars and true to the spirit of hot rodding.

There’s so much more to say about Faith and this movie, but I’ll end it here with this movie trailer for Deuce of Spades. When I first saw it, I immediately contacted Faith to find out who she was and how I can help her with promote the film. Deuce of Spades is almost done now and should be available Spring 2009. With everything she’s done herself, she’s enjoyed, “Full artistic control, pure artistic endeavor” while at the same time, “Glorifying the old jalopies and telling their side of the story for a change.” Sounds great, but that also means she’s footing the bill herself; true, “Indie” film style. If the spirit of the movie moves you, make a donation here. Faith’s having trouble feeding her actors on set, so it’d needed!

Make sure you leave a comment about the trailer here to encourage her. I’ll write more to help her tease the movie later. It’s gonna be great!

Movie Trailer