What happened to the Mulholland "King of the Hill" RSR?

[Noah930]

So if they employ those speed meters, are we all going to be gunning for high score?

[mrbeverlyhills]

[Noah930]

Not car related, but in the spirit of William Mulholland:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/giant-inland-ocean-southern-californias-130001153.html

I never knew about this until this article.

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Not car related, but in the spirit of William Mulholland:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/giant-inland-ocean-southern-californias-130001153.html

I never knew about this until this article.

News to me. Thanks for posting. Gotto go water my lawn.(kidding)

[TCracingCA]

My Aunt lives near that Diamond Lake and gives tours of all of the dinosaurs found. Everytime I visit, she wants to show and tell me about the same dinosaurs, especially Max. Going up the road from Hemet to about Mountain Center heading toward Idyllwild Is a spirited hillclimb run!

If I get too close to dams with a lot of running water, I feel like I have to pee!

[TCracingCA]

Originally Posted by mrbeverlyhills

130 should be 5 points, if you can't get to 140. I guess 150 plus, no points!

[DJtheDJ]

I realize this usually gets overlooked as not important, but has anyone uncovered anymore about where the KOTM Speedster is? Been looking for about 20 years with no luck. I oddly had a dream recently it was for sale in my neighborhood and that got me thinking.

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by DJtheDJ

I realize this usually gets overlooked as not important, but has anyone uncovered anymore about where the KOTM Speedster is? Been looking for about 20 years with no luck. I oddly had a dream recently it was for sale in my neighborhood and that got me thinking.

I spoke with Noel the director a few years ago about about filming locations and vehicles. Both the Corvette and VW based Speedster were scrapped once production was completed. Considering the budget of the film scrap or languishing on a studio lot was par for the course on most films. Some of the other driven vehicles were picture cars and race cars used as static props for the shop scenes were loaned.

I keep dreaming Cal is going to climb up the shoulder and some hot chick is going to pull up in a new generation mid engine Corvette, do a burn out and fade to black. (seriously)

[Jeff Hail]

Last month was the 40 year anniversary of King Of The Mountain. I still recall where and when I saw the movie the first time. It was back in the early days of cable. ON TV which was like the Z Channel except ON had only one channel and a whopping 32 movies per month. A set top box that you turned a knob to ON.






40 Years later or at least last year Scorpion Releasing re-released a BluRay version of King Of The Mountain as well as a new trailer.

https://video-ssl.itunes.apple.com/itunes-assets/Video122/v4/b6/1e/49/b61e4949-1837-2cbe-4f22-b9d27bf3b4f2/mzvf_4646955882388021360.640x478.h264lc.U.p.m4v

Special Features and Technical Specs:
BRAND NEW 2K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
NEW Interview with Star Harry Hamlin
NEW Interview with Director Noel Nosseck
Theatrical Trailer

[DJtheDJ]

[QUOTE=Jeff Hail;11370152]I spoke with Noel the director a few years ago about about filming locations and vehicles. Both the Corvette and VW based Speedster were scrapped once production was completed.

I feel like someone just punched me in the stomach! Like years of looking for a missing person, only to find out they are dead.
...but that does explain it's complete disappearance.

Not kidding, I feel like I may puke!

[Jeff Hail]

I snagged a copy of the BluRay re-release of King of The Mountain. It is a legitimately done works and includes modern interviews from the director Noel Nosseck and Harry Hamlin.

Interesting facts Polygram handed Noel Nosseck a mess of a script and said do something with it. Noel gave it his best shot even know they lost the writer part way through production. Original release date was first for the Japanese market and that date was already in stone before production started. They had to shoot quickly and considering the tiny budget could not afford and real complicated effects. CGI was out of the question and was very limited at the time and lacked realism.

Harry Hamlin was shopping at Fedco when his agent called the store and had him paged. His agent told him to get over to the studio asap as he was offered a part. He had a meeting with the producer and due to lack of time shooting commenced that same day. Why, because Hamlin looked like the stunt driver hired to drive the Speedster, same build, hair etc.

As Nosseck indicated it was a crazy time in Hollywood during the 1970's with lots of drugs.

The interviews were insightful and in hindsight now that 40 years had passed. Two Speedsters were actually built. One for driving/ stunt duty and the other for close ups and main character shots.

__________________________________________________ _______
The BluRay redux was done well. The release is in 2k (1080) and the upconvert is actually pretty good. Both visual and audio is improved greatly.

The movie was shot on film using Arri and Panavision cameras so the 24 frame per second is still retains the film grain. This is a plus for the scenes involving driving to provide "motion blur" and a little grit.

Coloring is actually amazing, clarity, shapening is very good. You can actually read the tire size on the Corvette in the garage scene. Its a good update or restoration.
The fact that they did an update to the film that honestly was needed to improve the viewing quality officially puts it into cult status. For a shoestring budget film that was loosely produced based on the original magazine article it is what it is. Looking back that's what racing on Mulholland was. It's a page in the long story.

Harry Hamlins opening script lines are actually haunting in retrospect. It's as if they were written today looking backward in time -

"23 miles of Mulholland slicing Los Angeles like a knife. Like a trip in time. Sometimes I just can't wait for night. You see too much in the sun shine. The roads changing. Civilization is choking it. At night the straight aways are shorter, the turns sharper, the drop steeper. It's the only place I ever felt safe. Clear,clean and fast, freedom."

The music is good: Styx, Robert Palmer, The Police, Atlanta Rhythm Section and more.

Screen shots taken off tv with a Pixel phone. The disc is much better quality.

















Dennis Hopper looks like he has seen a ghost. Maybe Charlie Woit just walked on to the set?

[Jeff Hail]

Cont









Looks a lot like Hollywood stuntman Buddy Joe Hooker in the mirror!

[Jeff Hail]

In the film interviews Noel Nosseck mentioned filming took place in Griffith Park because one area looked similar to the race course. It is also indicated and again repeated by Hamlin that some filming wasn't legal or permitted and if by todays standards was not anywhere close to what would be approved.

I would assume some filming was done run and gun style.

On the race course area traffic cones are in some shots, these are the turn points the stunt drivers use to mark where they need to be.

Some of the filming locations.

The house is located at 8520 Mulholland Drive across from the Nancy Hoover Pohl overlook park.










On the race course.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hail

I snagged a copy of the BluRay re-release of King of The Mountain. It is a legitimately done works and includes modern interviews from the director Noel Nosseck and Harry Hamlin.

Interesting facts Polygram handed Noel Nosseck a mess of a script and said do something with it. Noel gave it his best shot even know they lost the writer part way through production. Original release date was first for the Japanese market and that date was already in stone before production started. They had to shoot quickly and considering the tiny budget could not afford and real complicated effects. CGI was out of the question and was very limited at the time and lacked realism.

Harry Hamlin was shopping at Fedco when his agent called the store and had him paged. His agent told him to get over to the studio asap as he was offered a part. He had a meeting with the producer and due to lack of time shooting commenced that same day. Why, because Hamlin looked like the stunt driver hired to drive the Speedster, same build, hair etc.

As Nosseck indicated it was a crazy time in Hollywood during the 1970's with lots of drugs.

The interviews were insightful and in hindsight now that 40 years had passed. Two Speedsters were actually built. One for driving/ stunt duty and the other for close ups and main character shots.

__________________________________________________ _______
The BluRay redux was done well. The release is in 2k (1080) and the upconvert is actually pretty good. Both visual and audio is improved greatly.

The movie was shot on film using Arri and Panavision cameras so the 24 frame per second is still retains the film grain. This is a plus for the scenes involving driving to provide "motion blur" and a little grit.

Coloring is actually amazing, clarity, shapening is very good. You can actually read the tire size on the Corvette in the garage scene. Its a good update or restoration.
The fact that they did an update to the film that honestly was needed to improve the viewing quality officially puts it into cult status. For a shoestring budget film that was loosely produced based on the original magazine article it is what it is. Looking back that's what racing on Mulholland was. It's a page in the long story.

Harry Hamlins opening script lines are actually haunting in retrospect. It's as if they were written today looking backward in time -

"23 miles of Mulholland slicing Los Angeles like a knife. Like a trip in time. Sometimes I just can't wait for night. You see too much in the sun shine. The roads changing. Civilization is choking it. At night the straight aways are shorter, the turns sharper, the drop steeper. It's the only place I ever felt safe. Clear,clean and fast, freedom."

The music is good: Styx, Robert Palmer, The Police, Atlanta Rhythm Section and more.

Screen shots taken off tv with a Pixel phone. The disc is much better quality.

















Dennis Hopper looks like he has seen a ghost. Maybe Charlie Woit just walked on to the set?

Where can I get a copy?

[TCracingCA]

This King of the Mountain Vette, as I am the Corvette guy here, had to be someone's project, not built for the movie is my thought. Probably someone at the movie lot had a neighbor they suggested, with this car. Some guy once approached me up near those studios, telling me I should register one of my cars, in case someone was looking for such in film or TV.
My first thought on this Corvette is it looks like Brunos Corvette work. They did all of the hot body mods we see here (flared, rear spoiler, taillights, etc). The side pipes are period correct, rims, etc. I wish I could see up under the backside of the car, and a better shot of the engine, as most really had not too much more in suspension than F-41 option..Naturally the Speed Guru's from about 1972 onward had catalogs offering a-arm bushings, double adjust shocks, etc etc etc.
It is too bad they embarrassed this car with those painfully slow racing scenes!

[Noah930]

Congrats, lfot! Very cool.

[lfot]

Thanks, man! I can cross that off my list of "to do's" now.

Originally Posted by Noah930

Congrats, lfot! Very cool.

[DJtheDJ]

Banning - I thought you'd like to see this since you have one of these. It's a Corvair rampside on racingjunk.
https://www.racingjunk.com/chevrolet/184160344/1963-Chevrolet-Corvair.html?category_id=&search=porsche&quickSearch=1&np_offset=94&from=search

[Banning]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hail

I snagged a copy of the BluRay re-release of King of The Mountain. It is a legitimately done works and includes modern interviews from the director Noel Nosseck and Harry Hamlin.

Interesting facts Polygram handed Noel Nosseck a mess of a script and said do something with it. Noel gave it his best shot even know they lost the writer part way through production. Original release date was first for the Japanese market and that date was already in stone before production started. They had to shoot quickly and considering the tiny budget could not afford and real complicated effects. CGI was out of the question and was very limited at the time and lacked realism

Here is the original Release Poster for the Japanese Market.

[Banning]

I have many of the release posters for King of the Mountain.
This is the one for Release in Turkey where is became a Cult Classic like it did in other Countries like Australia.

I've got the Original Movie Trailer in 35mm along with many other items from King of the Mountain that I can post here.