Chase Scene Survey

Hello, I recently posed this same question to all the people at the FantasyCars messageboard under the name NeedHelp (which oddly enough, is already taken here) - and got a lot of good responses - but I found this site and would like your opinions as well.

So here's the deal, I have almost finished rewriting a feature film screenplay to the extent of my contract except for one part - the chase scene in Act 1. In an effort to aim high, I’ll say I’m planning to write the best chase scene ever put to film - and I think you guys can help me do it.

First of all, the movie isn’t about cars, there’s a single chase scene which I can allot maybe ten minutes to. So no Gone in Sixty Seconds-long chases. Ten minutes. The chase goes through downtown LA and across the freeway. The protagonist is initially chased by a caravan of gunmen then by the LA police.

At the moment, I’m thinking the protagonist will be driving a 70’s American muscle lowrider equipped with hydrolics and NOS. 76 Impala perhaps? What I haven’t decided is if the gunmen will be in a variety of cars or one “bad guy” make and model. If I go for the latter, the main bad guy will drive something different than his henchmen – it needs to be glitzy, really fast and have a back seat for his body guards. Any ideas?

Now for some generalized questions:

What would you like to see in a chase scene?

What kind of cars would you love to see in a chase scene?

What special driving techniques would you like implemented?

What have some of your favorite film chases been?

And one offshoot to the above: The film is a horror/comedy hybrid but I’m not sure how comically concerned I want this scene to be. But suggestions relating to funny ideas for a chase are also welcome.

I thank you for your time.

the car chases in ronin were good but then again i just liked the move...
and if your gonna have a good chase then you have to have an acura nsx in there somewhere... with lots of drift... well as much as ya can...
and no comedy.... just vtec..... :monkeypis

Forget vtec... overrated ;) I prefer an sr20det :D *lol* I had to fight ya on that one.


Car type: I prefer to look at cars that look nice... not "rice." What I mean is something that looks like it has a bit of a speedy touch, but not like it's supposed to be launched into outerspace for the aliens. I like to see something that looks a little bit speedy to pull some mad b@lls out of somewhere and whoop some @ss. It's more exciting.

Driving techniques: Um, whatever you do, don't have a person driving a 5spd shift 7 times... a bit lame, ya know???

Oh, and it's NITROUS not "nos". That would be like calling your textbook a "Harcourt Brace" instead of a sociology book. Not all brand names are suitable for reference!

No you need some Euro cars in there

Screenwriter I have never gotten over the chase in the French Connection :frog:

Since there are no els (elevated NYC trains) in LA, my second all-time 'edge of the seat' awesome chase The Getaway, which took place in San Fran, may be more apprapro, as a 10 min chase can include the outskirts of LA thru canyons and nearby mtns. to get some of the 'hill' affect. Add a great looking guy like Steve McQueen and you will only enhance the scenery for us females:D



p.s most exciting chases are not comical