John Lasseter, director of Disney-Pixar's summer blockbuster movie "Cars," was given the highest honor at the Will Rogers Awards Evening on Friday in Albuquerque, capping an emotional event that marked the 80th anniversary of historic Route 66. Lasseter was unable to receive the Will Rogers Award because he was on an overdue vacation in Europe. … Continue reading “Cars” director John Lasseter wins Will Rogers Award
Category: Movies
“Cars” road show in Tulsa
Brad Nickson of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association shot photos when the "Cars" road show made a stop in Tulsa. Here is the set of photos on Flickr.
“Cars” movie remains No. 1 in box office
According to box-office estimates from Box Office Mojo, Pixar's "Cars" movie was No. 1 for the second consecutive weekend, with total estimated grosses of $31.2 million. It beat out stiff competition from "Nacho Libre" ($27.5 million) and "Fast and Furious 3" ($24 million). "Cars" also has soared past the $100 million mark in total grosses … Continue reading “Cars” movie remains No. 1 in box office
“Cars” inspires others to take two-lane vacations
I perform blog searches nearly every day to see what's going on with Route 66. For about a week, since "Cars" opened wide, I've seen many entries like Mommy Life's: The effects of this movie will be long-lasting in this family. I've already told Tripp we need to save up to take a road trip … Continue reading “Cars” inspires others to take two-lane vacations
“Cars” at the Admiral Twin Drive-In
Red Fork Hippie Chick and I saw "Cars" at the historic Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa. Here's her writeup of it, which includes a lot of photographs of truly vintage advertisements shown before the main feature.
“Cars” may spark second thoughts about highway bypasses
Earl Watt, the publisher of the Southwest Daily Times in Liberal, Kan., thinks the movie "Cars" provides "a great lesson for young and old alike." U.S. 54 runs through Liberal, and improvements to the road are being built south of town, so there's not immediate danger. However, the possibility that a future bypass could make … Continue reading “Cars” may spark second thoughts about highway bypasses
Ace Jackalope meets “Mater” inspiration
Ace Jackalope of The Lope blog went back to see "Cars" again at the 66 Drive-In in Carthage, Mo., and ran into Dean Walker of Kansas, who's one of the inspirations for Mater the tow truck. I previously didn't have a photo of Walker turning his feet backwards. Now I do, thanks to Ace.
Pixar’s Route 66 inspirations
Those who stick around to read the end credits to "Cars" will notice that Pixar included a thank-you list to people who inspired and gave them hospitality during their research trip down the Mother Road several years ago. I e-mailed Pixar for that list, as I thought it would be of considerable interest to the … Continue reading Pixar’s Route 66 inspirations
Were the opening-weekend grosses of “Cars” a disappointment?
Well, maybe ... if you had really high box-office expectations like Jim Hill Media and others did. "Cars" is the first Pixar film to not do better on its opening weekend than its last one. "The Incredibles" grossed $70.5 million its opening weekend, and its predecessor, "Finding Nemo," grossed $70.3 million. "Cars" grossed an estimated … Continue reading Were the opening-weekend grosses of “Cars” a disappointment?
Filmmaker says “Cars” may fuel a renaissance
A news release came out today of Jim Jenner of Paccom Films essentially hawking his Route 66 documentaries. But Jenner certainly has one thing right -- Pixar's "Cars" film "could be the biggest thing to hit the highway in many years." "It may be a cartoon, but Pixar has done a terrific job in helping … Continue reading Filmmaker says “Cars” may fuel a renaissance