I had not treated this car ("Rev") very well, and it was clear that it needed to be replaced soon. It drove relatively well, but the body was in lousy condition, and it rattled like mad when it drove. So, a year ago, I began to crash the car into things.
At first it was harmless things, like the refrigerator box or the stack of inflatables. Andre and Craig helped me shoot a stunt in which they held an (empty) TV box as I drove toward them, and then they abandoned it at the last moment. Only trouble was that the TV box was exceptionally well built, and that my friends tossed the box into the air, so it cracked the windshield, which eventually would get me in trouble. That TV box survived so well, that we had to shoot an entirely different video to destroy it.
I hit a few more obstacles, mostly in and around the West L.A. alleyway in which so many of Inspired Mayhem's early videos were shot.
Then I got laid off. Suddenly, I couldn't afford to get a new car. I did have enough $ to buy Z, my motorcycle (gas was at $5/gallon at the time), so at least I could keep Rev off the street (it was a cop magnet with that windshield). But I couldn't do away with Rev altogether, for travel or hauling things, or for the annual L.A. rainy season.
What changed, unfortunately, was not my employment status; I'm still eking out my existence. What changed was that I got a ticket for that windshield, and then another for my registration, which I didn't renew, since the car was mostly just sitting in my garage. Rev also developed some axle issues, and that convinced me that it wasn't even safe to drive anymore.
I needed a new car, and I wanted, specifically, a van, to be the perfect vehicular counterbalance to Z. Something that travels well, hauls well, and is very sociable. With the credit crisis on, I asked my parents if they could loan me the $ to get a used van. But, as it turns out, my folks were about to buy a new Prius for themselves, and offered me their old van. Perfect!
(Of course, my parents don't know yet that I destroyed Rev, so shh! don't tell them!)
So once again, I began crashing Rev. My friend John (with whom I collaborated on "Yuri G"), helped by operating camera and by driving for those stunts in which I wanted to be on, or in front of, the car.
We spent two days filming. Day one was the last chance to do foolish things with the car before we destroyed it. We drove around at random, and found junked items in alleyways, and odd features to drive over.
Old dirty mattress became a sled, with my car as the slope:
Found a junked basketball backboard, and turned it into a surfboard:
Found this magliner trailer at City Fibers, and sought out the pivot point. The fit was so tight, you can hear my hub caps scraping:
Then, on day two, we finished the deed, and destroyed the car! Continued on the next blog entry!
