What a Tyrone native thought was a practical joke, turned into a starring role for his vintage 1958 Packard Hawk in the upcoming Warner Brothers movie “Down with Love”. The chance for the car to make its movie appearance almost didn’t happen because the owner Chris Rinker thought his friends were playing a practical joke on him.
The movie, according to Variety Magazine, is an unusual comic homage to the sweet romantic films done by Rock Hudson and Doris Day. It includes nostalgic imagery as scenes that take place in cars with fake backgrounds passing behind them, once so common in movies.
The story is set in New York City in 1963 about the budding romance between a womanizing journalist and playboy Catcher Block, played by Ewan McGregor, and a budding columnist Barbara Novak played by Renee Zellweger.
The story of how the car was selected for the movie is comical.
“There is a group of people who take pictures of unusual cars and show them to Hollywood producers and if those cars are used, they get a finders fee,” said Rinker. “We had the car in a show at Knotts Berry Farm and someone took a picture of the car. I came home one night and there was a call from the producer asking me if I would like to have my car in the movie. I thought it was a joke until the producer called back the next day.”
The way the shooting schedule was set called for the vintage car to be on the set for four days. The scale for the car was $350 per day, and Rinker was paid Screen Actors Guild scale of $10.50 per hour to drive the car.
“The car was supposed to be driven by David Hyde Pierce (Dr. Niles Crane from Frasier), but he can’t drive,” said Rinker. “He is from New York City and has never gotten a driver’s license. I would drive the car and stop. He would get in the driver’s seat and sit there, and then I would drive again.”
Rinker was surprised at the amount of work that went into the movie.
“I thought it was just like rock and roll,” said Rinker. “They gave me a VIP pass and I had full access throughout the studio. I ate my meals with the stars of the movie and we were treated well. I had no idea the hard work they put into the movie. We filmed from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. They worked very hard to put the film together.”
As with any movie, there are always scenes that go to the cutting room floor in the final editing.
“I am looking forward to the movie coming out,” said Rinker. “There is a possibility of being invited to the first showing of the movie. I am wondering how much of the car will stay in the movie and not on the cutting room floor.”
Rinker has been collecting Packards for 30 years.
“I have had 25 Packards over the years,” said Rinker. “The Packard Hawk, that is in the movie is one of the last Packards. It is a crossover between the Packard and the Studebaker. It meets everything I look for in the driving experience. It is a car that you can take on the freeway and enjoy the ride.”
With his car making a movie, the value of it as a collector’s car keeps going up.
“This car has been in four magazines and two television shows, now this movie,” said Rinker. The more publicity the car gets, the more value it is worth. Right now the car would be valued between $60,000 and 80,000.”
Even though Rinker left Tyrone to move to California in 1960, he still returns to visit and will do so this summer. His famous car will not be making the trip.
