DeLorean Car Show 2014 - Part III

DeLorean Car Show 2014

Saturday, 14 June 2014

It is car show day, this is what the event is all about.  The official count was 159 DeLoreans, the most for a show like this.  Heck, it may be the most assembly of DeLoreans since they were sitting at the factory.  There was even a unique reunion of sorts when three consecutive VINs were there, parked side by side by side. Surely the first time in thirty-three years that have been together.

In the trade show tent, there were representatives from DMC vendors from across the country.  Some debuted new exclusive parts ranging from tail light boards, front shock tower bars, front lower control arms.  There was shirts, movie license plates, jackets, photos, and of course.memorabilia from Back to the Future.  Everything and anything DeLorean was available.  There was even a table or two with Bricklin stuff.

"Bricklins, what DeLoreans would look like if they came in Skittles colours" - Jeffery Weissman

Oh, I forgot to mention this.  Along with the 159 DeLoreans, there was about 10-15 (do not know the official count) Bricklins there.  It was a convention of cars with goofy doors.

Hanging out with Bob Gale

I was not able to drive my car the 2200 mile to Dayton.  So, I brought a piece of my car, the driver's side visor, with me instead.  The hope was to get some of the cast of Back to the Future to sign it.  I first went to my buddy Bob Gale and asked him to sign.  He had already signed my car when he came to Mattel for a visit.

Don Fullilove, I like the sound of that

I saw Don Fullilove, better known as Goldie Wilson, and got his autograph.  He recognized me from last night as 'the Hot Wheels guy'.  He could have easily recognized me as 'the only Asian guy at the event'.  I would have been more impressed if he remembered me from Orlando 2012...I remembered him.

No caption needed

The one autograph I wanted was that of Christopher Lloyd.  It was known early on that he was attending the event.  He was part of the reason I wanted to go, and the reason I brought a piece of my car with me to the event.  Needless to say, Doc Brown was surrounded by people where ever he went.  It was hard to get to him through all those people.  Luckily, he had a table set up, but only for a few minutes.  I was fortunate to be near the front of the line to get to meet him, get his autograph, and shake his hand.  Wow, just wow.

But wait, there is more.  The Choir Club from Fairfield High School performed their Back to the Future production for the last time.  Many of the cast were seniors and came back just to do this final performance for us.

Fairfield High School performing Back to the Future

This was an amazing production.  Everything from the arrangement, choreography, props, costume, set...everything, just amazing talent all around.  I bet it was fun for the students as they performed not only in front of Back to the Future fans, but some of the cast from the movie




Wait, there is more. After the performance, there was a wedding proposal in front of 500 people.  Not a dry eye amongst us.  She said yes.

DCS wedding proposal

It gets better for the newly engaged couple.  Harry Waters Jr., Marvin Berry, said, "this one's for all you lovers out there".  Then sang Earth Angel, just as he did in the movie.  What?  Yeah, that happened.  How do you top that wedding proposal?

Fairfield High School cast with Back to the Future cast

One of the highlights for me was seeing the original prototype of the Hot Wheels DeLorean that never made it to production.  The only know prototypes were in the DeLorean Archive and I got a chance to see them up close. 

Hot Wheels DeLorean prototypes and other die-cast DeLoreans

 The curators of the items allowed me a private viewing...and touching...of this rare item.

Prototypes of the Hot Wheels DeLorean that never was

Image above from left to right:  My production Hot Wheels DeLorean (c. 2010), Hot Wheels DeLorean pre-production sample (c.1979), Painted resin casting (c.1978), Unpainted resin (c.1978), Pre-production sample (c.1979).

John DeLorean's hard hat and shovel from Dunmurry ground breaking

The DeLorean Archive curators even let us put on John DeLorean's hard hat and pose with the ground breaking shovel.  Truly an honour.

The closing ceremonies included a awards, raffle, and presentationwith the Back to the Future cast.  Bob Gale shared his "Doc Brown Doesn't Drive A Fucking Mustang" story.  I have heard it twice and it never gets old.  Right after the punchline was said, Ken handed Christopher Lloyd the famous shirt inspired by Bob Gale's story.

Doc Brown Doesn't Drive A Fucking Mustang

I received a plaque for Honored Speaker for my presentation.  Of all the awards I have received, granted I have not received many, I am most proud of this one. 

Marty and I, posing with our plaques

My buddy Marty won an award for Most Awesome Canadian Who Owns A DeLorean...or was it for Best Car with 75,000 miles?  I forget.  Notice his plaque is better than mine.  The difference between having one of the best DeLoreans at the show and some guy talking about toys.

That was the end of the show.  Before we left, we said our goodbyes.  We met up with Terry and Oliver Holler of Team Fox and took a picture next to their clock tower display.

Terry and Olver of Team Fox

Go to Part I - Part II

Retribution High, by Bob Gale

Bob Gale's new short story deals with bullies in non-traditional way.

Retribution High, by Bob Gale

The writer/producer of the Back to the Future trilogies, Bob Gale, takes us back to your high school day.  Well, unless you are in high school now...and if you have not been to high school yet.  Either way, Bob Gale's tale is a fascinating look into social conflict.  We seem to be affected by bullies, whether you are in school or at a work place, the groups are interchangeable.

There are two versions of this book, a standard (green) version and explicit (red) version.  The explicit version holds nothing back.  I am not sure how the author toned it down for the 'standard' version.  It seems that you would miss out on some of the details in the standard version.  Given the choice, get the explicit version.

I enjoyed the story, even to the point where I 'could not put the book down' and staying up until 2AM to finish the book.  The story starts out with a slow build.  The first few chapters took me a few days to read.  Once you get to Chapter 8, the story picks up really fast and you will be up until the late hours reading to see what happens.  Sure, I am a slow reader, the average person could finish this in a few hours...about the length of a full-length feature.

The story revolves around two 'low life' high school students who are bullied by a group of 'better off' students.  One day, they pray for help.  Little do they know that help comes from different sources.  As the tag line of the book suggests, "Sometimes God answers prayers, and sometimes the devil does".

Both versions of the book are available at Amazon in print and Kindle.  You can even sample the first two chapters, just enough to get you hooked in.  You can find more information on the book and Bob Gale on the official website.

I would love to see the big screen version of this some day.  Hey, maybe my good friend Bob Gale will cast me as an extra in the movie.

Bob Gale with Time Machine Restoration Update

DeLorean Car Show 2012 - Part II

Group shot in front of the raffle car.  Picture by Kevin Abato

Friday, 15 June 2012

We spent the morning and afternoon at Downtown Disney. This time, we hit the shops and Planet Hollywood for lunch.  The convention pretty much starts this afternoon.  There were about a dozen guest speakers, including myself, giving presentations on all things DeLorean and Back to the Future related.

By late afternoon, the crew had brought in around 40 cars

The best part of any convention is meeting the people that share the same passion as yourself.  I got to meet Stephen Clark, the guy who runs BTTF.com.  Great site, check it out.  If you ever need anything Back to the Future related, Stephen's site is the best place to go.

Stephen Clark of BTTF.com

Finally got my picture taken with Bob Gale

In all the excitement of our meeting with Bob Gale, I totally forgot to get a picture with him.  Well, three months and three thousand miles later, I finally got that picture with Bob.  You want to know the cool part?  Bob remembered my name.  Classy guy!

Finally a picture with Don and Nancy

Speaking of time and space, this picture with Don and Nancy of DMC-California, took over two and half years and also three thousand miles to happen.  I got my car from their shop, as well as having it serviced there.

The raffle car

We took a group shot with the raffle car, see picture at top of post.  Then, it was back inside the hall for dinner and presentations from the guest speakers.  We were unable to get photos of some, busy listening and preparing for my segment.  Kenn Knowlton talked about Cliff Schmucker's collection of original DMC documents, some were displayed at the show.

Production Illustrator, Andrew Probert

Andrew Probert gave a presentation on his work on Back to the Future.  The highlight was the storyboard sequence of an alternate ending.  I love alternate endings and I love storyboards, this was amazing.

Shawn Kerkhoff and Donald Fullilove

If you ever saw the episode of American Dad where Stan and Steve drive in DeLorean in search of a door, you will recognize Shawn Kerkhoff.  Shawn works on American Dad, and is the guy in the Time Machine that was racing against Stan to get the DeLorean door.  There was a surprise appearance by Donald Fullilove, you probably know him better as Goldie Wilson from the Back to the Future series.

Oliver and Terry Holler discussed their Time Machine that was featured in an ad campaign for Garbarino, an electronics store in Argentina.  Christopher Lloyd reprized his role as Doc Brown for these viral ads.

Then there was this guy.

Holding up my Hot Wheels DeLorean

There were a lot of speakers, so we were limited to about twenty minutes of babble.  I went a little over at about thirty minutes.  My presentation included:

- A brief history on the relationship between Hot Wheels and the original DeLorean Motor Company.
- Story of the almost Hot Wheels DeLorean, released as Turismo after slight modification to the casting.
- My responsibilities at work
- How I finally got the DeLorean into the Hot Wheels line up
- Process of how I made the DeLorean
- Summary of the different versions, including the Back to the Future Time Machine
- Mattel Hoverboard and my involvement on the project
- Sneak peeks that were exclusive to DCS 2012
- Q & A session

Yeah, I covered a lot.  You can see how I went over.  As you can tell from reading my posts, I am not the best at communication.  Things get a little harder when there are 300-400 people in the audience, plus video cameras pointing at you.  A lot of pressure when you are representing a big company like Mattel.

After my long-winded portion, there were a handful of other speakers, including Stephen Wynne, who spoke about how he acquired the parts and the name for DeLorean Motor Company.  Tony Ierardi talked about his involvement with Proto-1 and the promise that it will always be preserved and part of the DeLorean community.

Going back in time, there were two presenters that spoke about their time with the original DeLorean Motor Company.  Mike Knepper and Nick Sutton gave us some interesting historical information. They probably could have had more time, but some idiot was talking about toys and went over his time limit.

Back to the Future Special Effect Supervior, Kevin Pike talked about his experiences in working on the movies.  

Kathryn DeLorean

Last speaker of the night was Kathryn DeLorean, John DeLorean's daughter.  Always fascinating to hear behind the scene tales as she shared interesting stores about her father.  Afterwards, before we were kicked out of the hall, there was time a little time for guests to mingle.  I got a picture with Kathryn. 

Photo with Kathryn, with Danny (DMC-CA) in the back.

See that hoverboard?  That is the prototype board that was shown at Toy Fair in February.  I had to carry that thing around the whole day...the things I do for work.  It gave a lot of people a chance to handle and take pictures with the board.  Many came up to me and had questions and comments about the board and Hot Wheels.

End of a long day, and there is another day to go. Luckily, I will not have to talk in front of hundreds of people and cameras, tomorrow.  I can fake one-on-one conversation, but winging it on stage is another thing.
 
Go to Part I

To Be Concluded...

Mattel Hoverboards to Benefit Michael J. Fox Foundation

Micheal J. Fox Foundation

From MattyCollector.com:

“Mattel proudly sponsors the Michael J. Fox Foundation and will be working with them to auction off a limited number of Michael J. Fox autographed Hoverboards this fall with all proceeds benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation. If you would like to donate or learn more about the foundation and how you can help, please click the banner below.”

Not keeping my hopes too high, but maybe I can meet Michael J. Fox, one day.

In other hoverbaord news, you have until Tuesday to pre-order your Hoverboards over at MattyCollector.com.  Boards will ship in the fall.  There is a chance that there will be some boards for sale during the fall, but prices may be higher and will not include the mini board that comes with pre-orders.  Also, boards may sell out, so pre-ordering is a good idea...if you want one.

Get an EXCLUSIVE Hoverboard Scaled to 6" Action Figures When You Pre-Order!

Pre-orders are accepted from March 1, 2012, through March 20, 2012 only at MattyCollector.com, with an expected shipping date of November/December 2012. Pre-order during the 3/1-3/20 period and not only will you be guaranteed to get an authentic Hoverboard prop replica, you'll receive a pre-order exclusive, too… a Hoverboard scaled for 6" action figures! It'll hold most Mattel 6" figures, so your favorites can get in on the futuristic fun, too. The only way to get this totally rad lil' ride? Pre-order during the 3/1-3/20 period!

Here are some more images of Bob Gale, Michael Lantieri and Mary Anne Lantieri from our meeting last week.

Michael, Bob, and Mary Anne checking out my car

Bob just signed my car

Update:  This just when live at Beyond the Marquee:

Bob Gale and I Are Best Friends

I took some photos of the items signed by Bob Gale.  Enjoy

Japanese movie programs

These are rare Japanese movie programs.  The Japanese go all out when there is a movie release.  They make these programs to hand out to movie goers to give them a little information on the movie.  Bob Gale personalized each one.

Back to the Future - "Have a wonderful FUTURE->!"
Back to the Future Part II - "Best wishes for the FUTURE->!"
Back to the Future Part III - "May your FUTURE-> always be bright!"

I like that he puts a little arrow in FUTURE, like the logo.  Nice touch.

Hand painted cell from the animated series

 I got this at one of the Open House events at DMC-California.  Another rare item, this one is truly one-of-a-kind.  Personalized with "GREAT SCOTT!"

San Diego Comic Con Exclusive

This was the highlight at San Diego Comic Con last year...at least for Back to the Future fans.  Sold out within the hour.  Luckily, as the designer of the car, I have a few.  This one means a lot to me.  It is as if, Bob 'signed off' on it with his approval.  We had a few lying around, and me sure he went home with a couple of these. Another one personalized with "GREAT SCOTT!"

"GREAT SCOTT!"  This was made by Sal Celeste.  Designed to replace the cubby hole door behind the driver.  It looks too good to hide behind the seat, and I am too lazy to mount the hardware.  If you have a DeLorean and you have a chance to get you hands on one of these, do not hesitate, it is worth it.  Quality piece of work, Sal.

Yes, that is a figure of Troy McClure that I have, always sitting in my car.  Troy McClure, of course, owns a DeLorean, as seen in  Season 7, Episode 19 of The Simpsons.

Troy McClure's DeLorean

Passenger side of my car

Having Bob Gale sign your DeLorean, and writing "Drive at 88!"...achievement unlocked!

Hanging Out With Bob Gale

Ah, the famous Hoverboard Chase scene in Back to the Future Part II.  Well, it took a while, but Mattel is making the famous hoverboard that Marty McFly used to hover around Hill Valley in 2015.  You can pre-order yours at MattyCollector.com, until 20 March.

Mattel showed a prototype of the board at New York Toy Fair last month.  Since then there has been lost of buzz.  This is a unique situation where everyone knows what we are doing.  Most of the time, the industry is very secretive regarding projects in progress.  The hoverboard is essentially 'out', everyone has seen it, and there are countless replica prop builders out there that have made their own boards.

I am proud to be a part of the team that is making this happen.  I serve as 'technical adviser' on the project.  There is a huge team of about ten people on this one project including design, engineering, electronics, sound design, package design, legal, licensing, marketing, etc.

On 8 March, we had a meeting with Back to the Future Writer/Producer Bob Gale, Special Effects Supervisor Michael Lantieri, and assistant to Mr. Gale Mary Anne Lantieri (also Michael's wife).  I spent the better part of the day hanging out them.  The meeting was documented by Beyond the Marquee, and there will be a video of it soon, possibly next week.

You can see more pictures from the meeting at the MattyCollector Facebook page.  Unfortunately, I have the skill of sitting in places where I am either not in facing the camera, or totally out of focus.  I assure I was there.  Here are some pictures I took during Bob Gale's visit to Mattel.

Close up of one of the screen used hoverboards

This is one of the many screen used boards, made of foam.

Some dork with the board

Proof that I was in that meeting with Bob, Michael, and Mary Anne.  And, I got to touch the boards. 

Michael Lantieri and Bob Gale

Michael Lantieri and Bob Gale sharing stories from the Back to the Future trilogy.  On the table, you can see the Pit Bull and a plywood version of Marty's board.  Wood was used for strength and durability, this was a 'stunt' board that Michael J. Fox and his stuntman Charlie Croughwell. 

Bob Gale with Mary Anne Lantieri

On the table, a little piece of the Pit Bull, Mattel's Toy Fair prototype, screen used wood board, screen used foam board.  You can see wired feet holding up the foam board creating the 'floating' effect.  In front of Bob, you can see my San Diego Comic Con Exclusive Back to the Future Time Machine box.  Yeah, that is pretty awesome.

Presenting original concept are for hoverboards

Along with sharing fun stories of production, Bob showed us original concept art for the hoverboards that were hand drawn by John Bell.  He also read some fan mail that we kept for over twenty years.  Kid would write to Universal  (and Mattel) about the hoverboards, usually asking for where to get one or just straight up asking them to send them a hoverboard.  Each letter was answered by Bob and Mary Anne, some were sent pictures of hoverboards.  One kid got a Pit Bull key chain.


Working with Dave Strom, getting the measurements correct

 After our question and answer session, Bob signed a bunch of stuff for everyone.  Lots of DVD's and Hot Wheels Time Machines...yeah, you know it.  I waited until later to get my stuff signed.  We also gave Bob, Michael, and Mary Anne a tour of Mattel's 'top secret' Design Center.  Not really top secret, everyone knows where it is, but not everyone gets to go inside.

I showed them my messy cubical.  Bob Gale was in my cubical, that makes it a historical landmark!  Bob noticed that I had a box of DeLorean sign sheets, I gave them a small stack and they had me sign it.  I personalized Bob's with, "You other friend in time."  Here I am waiting to get my stuff signed and Bob, Michael, and Mary Anne asked me to sign something for them.

Bob signing stuff...on my car

Once the tour was over I walked them outside to my car.  Bob Gale is one of the reasons that I have a DeLorean.  I asked Bob to sign a bunch of stuff.  Of course, I had the good stuff.  Bob was shocked that I had all three Back to the Future Japanese movie programs, he signed all three.  I had him sign a hand painted cell from the animated series.  I had a few more things signed  by Bob, I will post pictures of these later.

Signing my car

One last thing I wanted Bob to sign, my car.  This is all sorts of awesomeness!  He personalized it "Drive at 88!"  How cool is that?

Needless to say that it was an unforgettable day for me.