Duel Doc Devil on Wheels Drives to Kickstarter
Steve Barton
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Here we are around 40 years after Steven Spielberg’s Duel chilled folks on TV, and the film’s impact is still cruising along like a Mack truck from hell. The recently announced documentary about it, The Devil on Wheels, is looking to celebrate every mile of the film’s journey, but it needs your help.
From the Press Release:
Today, Wednesday, March 4th, a crowd unding campaign commenced on Kickstarter to fund THE DEVIL ON WHEELS, a feature documentary about the making of Duel, Steven Spielberg’s first success, and the cult that surrounds it. The campaign will run for the next 30 days on an all-or-nothing basis.
The project’s goal is to achieve a minimum of £60.000 (82.500€, $92,000) that will allow the film to be shot this summer in the USA. In exchange for financial support, the production company offers to backers a wide variety of rewards: copies of the film, books, new posters, film credits, and even an appearance in the actual film.
TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING:
The crowdfunding campaign started at noon USA Eastern time, unveiling the project page and its teaser trailer, which was filmed in four countries. Two years ago, an international group of Duel fans joined forces to make this project a reality. Throughout the campaign the team will premiere at least three short documentaries about very special Duel fans.
THE DEVIL ON WHEELS project has the approval of both NBC/Dreamworks and the community of the very loyal fans of Spielberg’s film. The DOW team, coming from Italy, China, Spain, and England, is scheduled to tour the United States exploring the Duel phenomenon. It will interview the surviving members of the Duel crew, reconstruct the way the film was made, and meet with fans and experts to discuss the ongoing appreciation of the film.
AN UNDYING CULT:
In Duel, a Movie-of-the-Week shot in 1971, a terrifying truck, whose driver we never see, for no apparent reason chases a lone driver along the desert roads of Southern California. Such was its success that the TV version was extended and distributed as a film worldwide.
How come this tiny film, made cheaply and quickly for TV, has generated such a passionate, international, and undying cult is the question the documentary wants to answer. THE DEVIL ON WHEELS will find out what makes Duel so unique and, in so doing, will explore the power and fascination of films on people.
INTERNATIONAL DIE HARD FANS:
Duel fans from all over the world regularly visit the film locations in the desert next to Los Angeles. They go to see the surviving truck in North Carolina. Would-be filmmakers analyze the way it was made. Steven Spielberg’s first known work has become a top cinematic reference. Director Alfonso Cuaron revealed he used Duel as a source when he made Gravity.
The title of the documentary, THE DEVIL ON WHEELS, is the straight translation of the Spanish title of Duel, and it’s been chosen as an homage to the international recognition of the film.
A CROSSROADS FOR DUEL LOVERS:
The filmmakers have created a website, which for the first time gathers in one place all Duel-related information to be found on the internet. The Facebook page serves as a meeting point for the fans.
Director Enric Folch, a multi-award winning TV director in Spain, returns to documentary making after the excellent international reception of Chining Me, an ironical view on pre-Olympic China. His most successful TV film, Tempus Fugit, will soon have a theatrical remake through an international co-production.
Sound good? Check out the official The Devil on Wheels Kickstarter page.
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