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Eleanors at the Petersen Main Page
PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM HOSTS THIRD ANNUAL CARS AND STARS GALA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dave Linden, Public Relations Manager 323/964-6344
From James Dean to James Bond Hollywood Star Cars:
Great Cars of the Movies Takes the Spotlight at the
Petersen Automotive Museum
Thursday, June 15, 2000 6 p.m.
Lights, Cameras, Cars! The Petersen Automotive Museum
will play host to the 3rd Annual Cars & Stars Gala, a
celebration of Hollywood's ever-changing influence on the
history of the automobile in Southern California and the
nation. Proceeds from ticket sales ($175 per ticket) will
benefit the Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation, a
non-profit organization, its educational programs and the
May Family Children's Discovery Center. The benefit brings
together many of yesterday's biggest screen legends
along with today's most recognizable stars. Celebrity
attendees have included Jay Leno, Connie Stevens,
Charlton Heston, Tim Allen, James Garner, Robert Stack,
Van Halen's Michael Anthony, and KISS' Paul Stanley. The
Cars & Stars Gala will kick-off the Petersen Automotive
MuseumÕs newest exhibit Hollywood Star Cars: Great
Cars of the Movies, from June 16 to September 24.
Featured Cars:
Where: Petersen Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Blvd. (at Fairfax)
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Contact: Dave Linden---323/964-6344
Now in Exhibition
The Art of Flame, the latest images by famed automobile
photographer Scott Williamson, are now on display
indefinitely in the Bruce Meyer Gallery at the Petersen
Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Williamson's skill as a
photographer is evident in his technique which entails no
retouching or computer manipulation of any kind. His
images are entirely the result of meticulous studio work.
In The Art of Flame, Williamson focuses on the form and
design of his subject, capturing the lines, curves and fine
details.
Williamson of Santa Ana has enjoyed a diverse career
with commercial and industrial clients. His commercial
clients include Toyota, Lexus and Mercedes Benz. Selected
pieces are included in the automotive art collectionof the
Behring Auto Museum in Danville, California. In addition to
The Art of Flame, Williamson also has a long-term display
of automotive photographs in the escalator corridor at the
Petersen Museum.
New Exhibition
Hollywood Star Cars: Great Cars of the Movies First-Hand
Look at Some of the Most Famous Cars in the World
Premieres at the Petersen Automotive Museum June 16,
2000
Lights, Camera, Cars! Twenty of the most recognizable
automobiles ever to appear on the silver screen will
premiere June 16 through September 24, 2000 at the
Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles Hollywood
Star Cars: Great Cars of the Movies will include the 1955
Chevrolet convertible from American Graffiti, Batmobiles I
& II and the Batcycle from Batman, the Flintmobile from
The Flintstones, and the 1966 Thunderbird convertible
from Thelma and Louise.
Other automobiles include the 1949 Mercury driven by
James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, 1972 Ferrari
Daytona Spyder from The Gumball Rally, 1964 Hannibal 8
from The Great Race, and the 1977 Lotus Submarine from
The Spy Who Loved Me.
Long famous for their work on movie cars, artisans like
George Barris and Dean Jeffries will be featured for their
ability to transform ordinary vehicles into pop culture
icons. Customizers, like Barris and Jeffries, worked with
film companies to determine how such cars were modified
for their starring roles and how they were prepared for
stunt work or specially set up for unusual filming
requirements.
In another behind-the-scenes look, the exhibition shifts its
focus to the directors and producers whose vision and
ability to coordinate the variety of details bring these films
to life. Hollywood Star Cars explores the role of
automobiles in movies by explaining how they are chosen,
how they are used on camera, and how moviegoers
respond to them.
In addition to cars, motorcycles, and other artifacts, a
Museum sponsored film festival will round out the
chronological and cultural aspects of the parallel histories
of the car and the cinema. Film screenings at The Silent
Movie Theatre in Hollywood and Los Angeles County
Museum of ArtÕs Bing Theatre will explore broader cultural
issues, including how race, gender, and class figure into
Hollywood's portrayal of those great cars of the movies.
General Information
The Petersen Automotive Museum is located at 6060
Wilshire Boulevard (at Fairfax) in Los Angeles. Admission
prices are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and students with
ID and $3 for children ages 5 to 12. Museum members and
children under five are admitted free. Covered parking is
available for $4 per car. Museum hours are Tuesday
through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For general
Museum information, call 323/930-CARS or visit the
Museum's website address at
www.petersen.org.
Dave Linden |