A couple from Slovakia will be married on the Missouri side of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis at noon Saturday, May 31, as part of a tour and documentary film by the Czech Route 66 Association. And there's more, according to a news release about the event: The public is invited and … Continue reading Wedding scheduled on Old Chain of Rocks Bridge
Category: Movies
Museum wants to organize tours of Joliet Prison
The City of Joliet, Illinois, hopes to strike an agreement with the Illinois Department of Corrections so the long-closed Joliet Prison can be reopened for tours, reported the Northwest Herald. The Joliet Area Historical Museum is clamoring for access of the old prison because tourists -- many of them traveling on Route 66 -- want to … Continue reading Museum wants to organize tours of Joliet Prison
A visit to Cars Land
Here's one of the best videos I've seen about Cars Land in Disney California Adventure Park. It's another example of high-quality equipment and editing software being available to regular folks. Scott & Jimmy Visit Cars Land from Rick Stewart on Vimeo. Naturally, Cars Land's fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs is based on the … Continue reading A visit to Cars Land
“The Grapes of Wrath” was published 75 years ago today
John Steinbeck's famous novel about the Great Depression and a family's Moses-like journey on Route 66, "The Grapes of Wrath," was published 75 years ago today. The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Calif., is marking the anniversary all year, and I'll post a review of a new book about the writing of the novel when … Continue reading “The Grapes of Wrath” was published 75 years ago today
It’s official: There will be a third “Cars” film
Disney-Pixar plans a second sequel to the animated "Cars" movie, according to Variety and many other media outlets, although we'd long reported it would happen. Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger made the announcement during the annual Walt Disney Co. shareholders meeting Tuesday in Portland, Ore. However, author Michael Wallis, a Route 66 consultant to … Continue reading It’s official: There will be a third “Cars” film
Upcoming film set along Route 66
An upcoming independent film titled "The Frontier," starring Kelly Lynch of "Magic City" and "The Drugstore Cowboy" and Jim Beaver of "Deadwood," will take place in a motel along Route 66, reported Deadline Hollywood. Pic is set in 1974 along Route 66 and centers on a desperate woman on the run from the law who … Continue reading Upcoming film set along Route 66
Life-size replica of Tow Mater will be auctioned
A man in Washington state who built a life-size replica of Tow Mater from the Disney-Pixar "Cars" movies will auction the truck Arizona later this month, according to the Daily Herald of Everett, Wash. The film's original inspiration to Tow Mater -- a rusty 1951 International boom truck -- still sits on Route 66 in … Continue reading Life-size replica of Tow Mater will be auctioned
“American Giants,” Episode 8
Here is the eighth episode of Joel Baker's ongoing "American Giants" series about roadside fiberglass giants, also known as Muffler Men. https://youtu.be/nHZekubninc This episode covers the last of the Muffler Men in Chicago, including one extensively modified into a Frankenstein monster. Baker told me that the next episode will take place in Dodge City, Kan.
John Lasseter’s introduction at the Route 66 roundtable
The folks at the World Monuments Fund a few hours ago posted this video that played at the beginning of the "Route 66: The Road Ahead" roundtable a few weeks ago near Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. If you're a newcomer to Route 66, John Lasseter directed the Route 66-inspired 2006 Disney-Pixar film "Cars" … Continue reading John Lasseter’s introduction at the Route 66 roundtable
DVD review: “The Spirit of 66”
Here's an interesting addition to a Route 66 fan's library -- a documentary shot so long ago and out of circulation for so long, it's become a relic in its own right. That would be the DVD version of "The Spirit of 66" ($20, plus shipping), the 50-minute pilot for a proposed 10-part television series … Continue reading DVD review: “The Spirit of 66”